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Birkar is a Kurd born during the Iran-Iraq War in Mariwan County, Kurdistan Province, Iran, in 1978. He had five siblings, and during his early years of school, his brothers taught him a lot of maths. Birkar studied mathematics at the University of Tehran after finishing high school, where he earned a bachelor's degree. He won third place in the 2000 International Mathematics Competition for University Students before moving to the UK as a refugee and requesting political asylum while still a student at the university. Birkar studied for a PhD at the University of Nottingham from 2001 to 2004. As the most promising PhD candidate, he received the Cecil King Travel Scholarship from the London Mathematical Society in 2003. His name was changed to Caucher Birkar when he immigrated to the UK; this name means "migrant mathematician" in Kurdish.Birkar became interested in mathematics at school. "I had a sensation. Nothing major, just a passing thought that I'm brilliant at mathematics, he remarked. His brother served as his primary mentor in his formative years and taught him mathematics' foundational ideas. He was left to learn mathematics on his own in high school, borrowing books from the neighbourhood library. "After finishing all these books, I got the impression that reading isn't enough. I also wanted to make my own things and come up with something fresh," he added. The UK government sent Birkar to Nottingham, where he enrolled in the University of Nottingham. There, he met mathematician Vyacheslav Shokurov, who ignited his interest in birational geometry, a sparsely studied branch of algebraic geometry. Birkar received the Cecil King Travel Scholarship while pursuing his PhD from the London Mathematical Society for being the most promising candidate.&nbsp;More recently, Birkar has contributed significantly to the modernization of ideas in the area through his work at Cambridge, particularly through his proof of the boundedness of Fano varieties, which was published in 2016 and for which he was awarded the Fields Medal in 2018. His groundbreaking work on minimal model theory was also mentioned in the citation for the award. When Birkar's Fields Medal was regrettably stolen after the ceremony in Rio, news of the theft spread throughout the world. Thankfully, a few days later the committee gave him a replacement medal. At the time, Birkar stated, "This has received significant media attention, making me more renowned than I would have been... And far more individuals than last week are aware of what a Fields Medal is. "I just couldn't imagine that this would come true," he said after receiving the medal. "To go from the point that I didn't imagine meeting these people to the point where someday I hold a medal myself — I just couldn't imagine that this would come true." Birkar has won various honours throughout his career, including the Philip Leverhulme Prize (2010), the Moore Research Article Prize from the American Mathematical Society (2016), and the Whitehead Prize from the London Mathematical Society (2018). Two images of the mathematician Alexander Grothendieck are on display at Birkar's office at the University of Cambridge. Like Birkar, Grothendieck was a Fields medalist and a refugee who left Nazi Germany. He is also usually acknowledged as the mathematician who had the greatest single impact throughout the second half of the 20th century. In one of the images, Grothendieck is seated alongside a diverse collection of activists who were active in the early 1970s French environmental movement. Birkar, a Kurd who was raised in England and is now wed to a Thai woman, admires Grothendieck's mathematical vision as well as the ease with which he interacted with various social groups.<blockquote>“All these cultures make things more interesting to me. All these cultures give you a sense of pleasure,” he said. His four-year-old son Zanko is a living example of this diversity because he is fluent in English, his mother's native Thai language, and his father's native Kurdish.</blockquote>A mingling of civilizations can also be seen in algebraic geometry. Algebra, the study of equations, is on one side, and geometry, the study of shapes, is on the other. The two present various angles on the same issues. Consider the mathematical formula y = 2x - 3. If you plot the solutions, you get a straight line, which is a geometric shape. The two viewpoints work well together. You may use mathematics to determine the answer or you could graph the two equations to see where they overlap if you wanted to find a solution that was shared by two equations, such as y = 2x - 3 and y = 3x + 5. János Kollár, a mathematician at Princeton University, stated that "sometimes an algebraic question can be solved by geometric methods and sometimes a geometric question can be solved by algebraic methods." You can travel between these two sides and benefit them both. The simplest algebraic equations are linear ones. There are a lot more varieties. They may contain additional variables, and those additional variables may be increased to various levels. You might also consider the set of solutions that a collection of equations shares. This collection is referred to as an "algebraic variety." An infinite number of algebraic varieties exist; each has a unique geometric representation.<blockquote>“The most important thing is the shape, the form, the structure of the set of solutions,” Birkar said. “The set of solutions is what we call roughly an algebraic variety.”</blockquote>Variety in algebra is a wild horde. Mathematicians want to put some kind of order on them. This tendency is similar to the urge to categorise biological life in that it makes the living world seem more manageable to our thoughts and more significant in its structure when we consider phyla and families rather than each individual organism separately. Algebraic varieties can be transformed using birational geometry in order to be categorised. It's similar to surgery in that you start with an algebraic variety that has a unique shape and then remove some of its lumps and creases to get a more general shape. There are rigorous restrictions on what you can chop, ensuring that you don't completely eliminate the variety you started with. Following surgery, many formerly distinct varieties would resemble one another; this group is referred to as the "birational equivalence class." Christopher Hacon, a prominent figure in birational geometry and a mathematician at the University of Utah, will speak on Birkar's work at the Fields Medal ceremony in Rio. "We're focusing on the big picture and not worrying about varieties disagreeing on some small subset of points," he said. Fano varieties, Calabi-Yau variations, and varieties of general type are the three major birational equivalence classes. Like the name "insect" is relative to the distinct species that belong under that heading, the three classes are generic forms. Each class has a distinct uniform curvature, which can be uniformly flat, uniformly positive, or uniformly negative. Through the process of birational transformation, mathematicians hope to be able to demonstrate how every algebraic variety may be reduced to one of these three categories of generic shapes. Kollár stated, "We are aiming to locate objects that have the same type of curvature everywhere. "We don't want anything that occasionally resembles a saddle, occasionally like a sphere, and occasionally has flat areas. That is too intricate.Birkar has completed most of his significant mathematical work alone in his dining room. He usually works at the table, standing up occasionally to pace and contemplate, prepare tea, or play music, frequently classical or modern Kurdish tunes. "A lot of it is going through my head. Sometimes I might only write one page all day," he remarked. He enjoys taking a bike ride along the trails that wind through his neighbourhood after spending a few hours pondering. It could be difficult to discern from a distance how humming with intellectual activity Birkar's days are. He visited his wife's family in Thailand a few years ago. Her grandfather asked her one afternoon," What kind of profession does your spouse have? He was lounging around in the lawn, gazing at a mango tree. However, Birkar is renowned among mathematicians for the ferocity with which he approaches issues. He is quite successful at mastering the technical details of the current challenge. Algebraic variety research by Birkar is a component of an ongoing project called the minimum model programme. The objective is to demonstrate that all algebraic varieties can be binary transformed into one of the three fundamental types. The minimal model programme dates back more than a century to the classification of two-dimensional algebraic varieties (varieties with three variables) by a team of Italian mathematicians. Shigefumi Mori demonstrated that all three-dimensional algebraic varieties—varieties with four variables—reduce to one of these three types more recently, in the 1980s. The Fields Medal for this work was awarded in 1990 to Mori, a mathematician at Kyoto University and the current president of the International Mathematical Union. However, after Mori's finding, there was a lull in the birational geometry community. The extension of this to higher dimensions presented enormous hurdles, according to Birkar. One of the few who remained in the field throughout the 1990s was Shokurov. He was largely responsible for the revival of birational geometry in the early 2000s. Since then, the classification of algebraic varieties in every dimension has advanced significantly, and Birkar is one of the few mathematicians at the forefront of this work. He co-authored a paper in 2006 with Hacon, James McKernan of the University of California, San Diego, and Paolo Cascini of the Imperial College London that examined the classification scheme for general type variety types. In part because of their work, Hacon and McKernan later received the $3 million Breakthrough Prize. In 2016, Birkar contributed the most to mathematics as an individual. He released two papers that year that resolved one of the most crucial questions surrounding the characteristics of particular Fano kinds. The studies demonstrated how the birational transformation of Fano variants results in a tidy family that can be identified by just a few traits. Consider the flat plane to begin understanding what this entails. Imagine all the lines that cross a plane point at this moment. There are an endless number of such lines. Next, make a circle with that point in the centre. The circle is crossed by each line at two different locations. This means that any line can be defined, or "parameterized," by any one of these points. The fact that every line can be parameterized by points on the same tidy geometric object—the circle—indicates that your family of lines is organised. You couldn't make any type of neat remark about all the lines if they were instead scattered over the plane.Birkar developed a similar type of parameterization in the 2016 publications for particular Fano varieties (those of fixed dimension with "mild singularities"). He demonstrated how, after birational transformation, Fano varieties resemble lines that pass through a point in that they are in a sufficiently organised relationship to one another to be parameterized by the same tidy geometric object. Birkar demonstrated that any dimension's Fano varieties may be described by a finite set of parameters. Infinitely many algebraic varieties share a fundamental trait when it is claimed that they may all be reduced to a small number of features. Create an organism category, but if you need an unlimited number of traits to describe every organism in that category, your category is worthless. However, you've made some strides if you can characterise a seemingly disparate collection of things using a limited number of traits.<blockquote>"When you can parameterize things with finitely many parameters, this means the family shares many properties," explained Birkar. Due to the fact that you can sort of talk about all of them at once, finiteness is significant.</blockquote>Although Birkar has demonstrated that there are a finite set of properties that characterise Fano varieties, there is still a great deal he would like to learn about this enormous family of algebraic equations. He will start working on investigating more particular aspects of their geometry. He will do it knowing how unusual a person he is to have attained his newfound reputation among mathematics. At the same time, he continues to be inspired by the same drive that led him to mathematics when he first encountered the subject in Mariwan decades ago. <blockquote>“You get ideas from someone, somewhere, and you create something new,” he said. “You contribute something new and create more beautiful things.”</blockquote>

From a Refugee to a Fields Medalist: The Remarkable Journey of Caucher Birkar in Mathematics

IntroductionRoad accidents are widely recognized as the primary cause of death, disability, and property damage around the world. This is particularly pronounced in low and middle-income countries where traffic accidents have become a significant contributor to human and economic losses in urban communities (Bhavan, 2019). With increasing rates of transportation and movement through various means such as cars, trucks, bicycles, motorcycles, trains etc., the occurrence of accidents is facilitated leading to loss of life and additionally, economic consequences (Mohamed, 2015).&nbsp; As road safety varies across the Kurdistan Region of Iraq the possibility of being seriously hurt or killed in a collision is substantially higher on highways and in certain regions in comparison to the other parts of Iraq. According to Leidman et al. (2016), the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) had the greatest number of casualties in Iraq when compared to the rest of the nation between the years 2010 and 2013. Erbil had the highest rate of road traffic related fatalities and severe injuries (Ibid). The rate of traffic-related deaths is significantly elevated when compared to that of other nations. To promote public safety on the road, police officers impose traffic penalties that discourage traffic law offenses and negligent driving behaviors. According to Shinar (2017), the implementation of enforcement as the final option to influence driver behavior indicates the importance of reasons other than safety and suggests that there could potentially be shortcomings in driver training, awareness, and licensing mechanisms. Estimating the economic implications of accidents is a challenging issue but crucial to investigate, therefore, this research attempts to examine the financial implications of road accidents in the KRI and the obstacles that hinder traffic safety advancement. Literature ReviewEconomic Implications and Repercussions on HealthAccording to Hughes et al, (2015), road traffic accidents claim the lives of over 1.2 million individuals every year globally, while approximately 50 million sustain injuries. In the city of Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region of Iraq, traffic accidents rank as the second most common cause of mortality (Jrew et al., 2017). This underscores the critical importance of prioritizing road safety for sustainable societal development. As the analysis of the infrastructural aspect of road accidents continues to expand, there remains a dearth of published works discussing the financial implications on an economic system resulting from fatalities caused by these accidents. Research findings have revealed that road accidents impose a significant economic burden on nations, accounting for approximately 1-3% of their gross national product&nbsp; (Kohale et al, 2014). Moreover, the financial consequences experienced by individual households because of these crashes include heightened reliance on borrowing and debt accumulation, which can subsequently lead to reduced expenditure on essential items such as food (Kohale et al, 2014). These incidents may occur due to the driver's insufficient discipline, excessive hesitation to adhere to traffic laws, or inadequate infrastructure, causing these accidents to end in severe injuries or even mortality (Ibid).&nbsp;The monetary effects of road-related injuries and collisions can be assessed by taking into consideration a broad range of elements, such as medical bills, expenses arising from legal, administrative, and law enforcement actions, damages to property along with car expenses for repair associated with repercussions of the accident, and potential revenue loss as a result of absence from work or disability/death. Beyond that, individuals who survive accidents tend to experience a worsening standard of living simply because of experiencing discomfort, pain, or long lasting effects caused by the accident (Kohale et al, 2014). There are different methods used to assess and tackle the economic consequences of road accidents, with a focus on quantifying the financial impacts and gauging how they affect a country's overall productivity. Indicators such as human capital losses or declines are often utilized as approximations for understanding the extent to which these accidents impede economic development. Additionally, costs associated with road accidents can be further broken down into direct and indirect expenses. The former refers to expenditures incurred by public health services, while the latter reflects a broader range of costs that negatively impact the national economy through various channels (Bhavan, 2019). The losses incurred by indirect costs lead to a decrease in national income as a result of decreased productivity and the reduced number of labor hours contributed by the human capital (Jagnoor et al., 2015).Despite the numerous factors that contribute to road accidents, the absence of reliable traffic data poses challenges for professionals and researchers who seek to analyze these issues using scientific methods and make informed decisions based on statistical evidence. Even with the advancements in policies, guidelines, and highway designs, there continues to be difficulty in comprehending the pattern of accidents and driver actions for the purpose of preventing traffic crashes. The acquisition of a dependable database specifically dedicated to traffic accidents is essential in order to gain this understanding. The data gathered by traffic authorities is derived from written reports issued by officials immediately following an accident. These reports include information on the individuals that are involved: driver information, vehicle traits, and the specifics of the setting of the incident. Yet, like in other developing countries, the information incorporated in these police-generated crash reports tend to be limited in comparison to that obtainable in more advanced countries. This lack of complexity can be traced mostly to the crash report form's basic layout (Mohammed et al, 2019). The absence of a comprehensive healthcare system or effective coordination between victims and medical facilities to monitor their well-being has also contributed to the complexity of accurately documenting conditions relating to road accidents. DiscussionUpon the establishment of the Iraqi state in 1921 under British oversight, a government body known as the General Directorate of Police was created by the Ministry of Interior. This organization was assigned various responsibilities including traffic management, formulation and enforcement of driver licensing regulations, vehicle registration processes, adherence to safety standards, implementation of speed limits, as well as issuance and enforcement of fines and penalties for those who violated regulations (Al-Tahafi, 2016).&nbsp;The first traffic regulations were put into effect in Iraq in 1932, as reported by the United Nations (2007). However, The code underwent multiple changes and was subsequently replaced in 1971. In 2004, following the ousting of Saddam Hussein's regime in March 2003, a new traffic code was enacted by the Iraqi Parliament under the Coalition Provisional Authority. This legislation replaced all previous traffic laws that were in place at that time (Mohammed et al, 2019). With the increase in motor vehicle traffic crashes as a major cause of death in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, legislators and law enforcement agencies have implemented different legal measures to combat this issue. These include imposing more severe penalties, heightened fines, and stricter legal sanctions. However, despite these efforts being undertaken with the intention of improving safety, they have not yielded promising results so far. Inadequately developed road infrastructure, an outdated vehicle fleet, unsuitable financial and logistical support for law enforcement agencies, an insufficient number of traffic enforcement cameras, and other innovative methods aimed at preventing such incidents comprise some of the key economic factors that contribute to the occurrence of road accidents.The region currently experiences a dearth of standardized driver’s license programs that aid novice drivers in developing their driving abilities gradually, providing them with exposure to progressively challenging driving situations through phased approaches (Baker et al., 2006). The traffic agencies in Erbil and Duhok have implemented the driver’s license system utilized in South Korea, whereas Sulaymaniyah and Halabja have embraced the driver’s license system used in Denmark (Othman &amp; Carroll, 2015). In particular, the practical training section of both systems is conducted away from actual traffic conditions, especially in Erbil and Duhok. Instead, it takes place within a controlled environment devoid of other vehicles. Moreover, despite significant investments in the reconstruction, expansion, and upkeep of the road infrastructure in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq during the last ten years, many roads do not meet contemporary operational and safety standards. Inadequate safety measures thus result in poor road conditions (Mohammed et al, 2019).&nbsp;The majority of economists advocate incorporating an economic assessment of the impact on quality of life in the overall costs of road accidents. However, accurately estimating this cost is extremely challenging and comes with significant uncertainty. Despite this difficulty, there is general consensus that even approximate assessments of the costs associated with lost quality of life are preferable to completely ignoring this factor (Elvik, 2000).ConclusionDuring the past decade, there has been relative stability, economic growth, and an increase in population within the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. However, it is important to acknowledge that like many rapidly developing countries worldwide, there have been some unintended negative outcomes because of this growth. Recognizing the diverse economic consequences of traffic related incidents emphasizes the need for thorough road safety measures to reduce the financial burden of traffic collisions. Investments in road precautions and crash avoidance projects is vital to minimizing the monetary consequences of traffic accidents. Infrastructure improvements, including well-kept roads along with effective traffic management techniques, contribute to decreasing fatalities. Awareness campaigns and traffic enforcement actions are also critical to establishing an ethic of responsible driving, which will ultimately reduce the number and the seriousness of collisions (World Health Organization, 2018).&nbsp; References&nbsp;Al-Tahafi, A.-W., 2016. The historical development of traffic police in. Iraq Accessed June 02.<a href="http://www.itp.gov.iq/ar/article/" data-mce-href="http://www.itp.gov.iq/ar/article/"> http://www.itp.gov.iq/ar/article/</a>Baker, S.P., 2006. National evaluation of graduated driver licensing programs. US Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.Bhavan, T., 2019. The economic impact of road accidents: the case of Sri Lanka. South Asia Economic Journal, 20(1), pp.124-137.Elvik, R., 2000. How much do road accidents cost the national economy?. Accident Analysis &amp; Prevention, 32(6), pp.849-851Hughes, B.P., Newstead, S., Anund, A., Shu, C.C. and Falkmer, T., 2015. A review of models relevant to road safety. Accident Analysis &amp; Prevention, 74, pp.250-270.Jagnoor, J., Prinja, S., Lakshmi, P.V.M., Aggarwal, S., Gabbe, B. and Ivers, R.Q., 2015. The impact of road traffic injury in North India: a mixed-methods study protocol. BMJ open, 5(8), p.e008884Jrew, B., Msallam, M., Khaled, S. and Abojaradeh, M., 2017. Analysis and evaluation of traffic accidents for principle urban streets in Arbil city in Iraq. Diyala Journal of Engineering Sciences, pp.118-131.Kohale, N.D., Bankar, S.L. and Bagde, N.S., 2014. ROAD ACCIDENTS AND ITS SOCIAL AND ECONOMICAL EFFECTS. International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics Research, 3(2), p.480.Leidman, E., Maliniak, M., Sultan, A.S.S., Hassan, A., Hussain, S.J. and Bilukha, O.O., 2016. Road traffic fatalities in selected governorates of Iraq from 2010 to 2013: prospective surveillance. Conflict and health, 10(1), pp.1-10Mohamed, H.A., 2015. Estimation of socio-economic cost of road accidents in Saudi Arabia: Willingness-to-pay approach (WTP). Advances in Management and Applied Economics, 5(3), p.43Mohammed, H., Jaff, D. and Schrock, S., 2019. The challenges impeding traffic safety improvements in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 2, p.100029.Othman, S. and Carroll, J., 2015. A new strategy to enhance traffic safety in developing countries. In 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (Vol. 15, p. 0059).Shinar, D., 2017. Traffic safety and human behavior. Emerald Publishing LimitedThe Revolutionary Command Council, R, 1971. Traffic Law No. 48 of 1971United Nations, 2007. Road Safety Review in Selected ESCWA Member Countries. 59. UN, New York.World Health Organization. (2018). Global status report on road safety 2018. Geneva: World Health Organization. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241565684.

The Streets of the Kurdistan Region: Obstacles Preventing Traffic Safety Advancements and The Economic Implications of Road Accidents

Introduction Political parties are the means by which political elites connect to formal institutions (formal political institutions such as governmental cabinets or parliaments); that is why understanding the nature of political parties is crucial for understanding the relation of the political elite to the public on the one hand, and, for understanding the relation of the political elite to the formal institutions on the other.In the Kurdistan region, the leaders of political parties direct their parties as ideologues and decision-makers. Thus, the political parties can direct their supporters and followers, the relationship is top-down. In none of the parties in the region are the party supporters capable of directing the political parties. <blockquote>Political parties play a central role; it is unlikely that any other type or model of social movements or social networks could replace the role and place of political parties (Huntington, 1996).&nbsp;</blockquote>In the Kurdistan Region, it is possible that the importance of political elites lies in the powers that they hold. Theoretically, the concept of elites is diffused with the concept of power. Here, power is conceptualized in two ways; Potential Power and Actual Power. Potential power refers to a state wherein the political elite in themselves are sources of power. One can picture&nbsp; a party leader who has masses of wealth or enjoys extensive intellectual capacities. However, Actual Power refers to the power that political elites receive from formal institutions, which is a legally defined and senctioned power. <blockquote>Put differently; Potential Power comes from informal institutions, including social structures, political parties, or a particular religion and worldview. But, Actual Power comes from formal institutions, such as a Parliament bestowing powers upon its Parliament Members, or the Council of Ministers bestowing power upon its Ministers.</blockquote> What is the purpose of political institutions?&nbsp;Institutions, according to Huntington (1965:388) are stable and valuable centers in which behaviors and actions are repeated (For example, parliaments and parliament members). Meaning that institutions are the accumulation of rules and organizational behaviors that persist for a certain period, and many of these institutions bring about a political order that more or less makes up a political system. Thus, political institutions shape a political structure and lay the principles and rules of political action. Institutions can be classified in a few ways, three of which include formal, semi-formal, and informal.Formal institutionsFormal institutions refer to those characteristics that define a particular political system. The organizational structure of institutions and their arrangement in relationship to one another determines the type of the political system. To illustrate, both the parliament and the government are two formal institutions; their relation to one another determines the type of the political system. If in a political system, the parliament were to exercise hegemony over the government, then the political structure would be parliamentarian. If the government were to exercise hegemony, then it would be a presidential structure. Thus, the difference between majoritarian and consensus democracy lies in their differences regarding their organizational structures and the relations of institutions to one another. These formal institutions in the region must be reorganized to establish a consensus parliamentary system (consensus democracy). Of the formal institutions in the region, four of them must be reorganized for the establishment of a consensus parliamentary system (consensus democracy). Firstly, the composition of the governmental cabinet must be based on political consensus. Secondly, the relationship between the government and the parliament must be a balanced relationship in which the parliament exercises hegemony. Thirdly, the political party system must be a multi-party system, not a two-party one. Fourthly, the electoral system must be proportionally representative. Meaning that the number of seats in parliament each party has must be proportional to the number of voters they have and have a proportional share in the government. This is what must take place instead of majoritarian representation, where only one or two parties make up the government.Semi-formal institutionsSemi-formal institutions refer to those preliminary agreements that exist between influential party elites that become prerequisites for the organization and functionality of formal institutions. To consolidate a consensus parliamentary system in the region, two semi-formal institutions are needed. First, all influential parties and their leaders must participate in the government. Secondly, extensive autonomy must be given to all governorates in terms of political, cultural, and economic administration.Informal institutionsThose complex social structures that give order to social relations, such as a feeling of togetherness - whether that feeling is based on faith or worldview. In the Kurdistan region, informal institutions include religions and creeds, ideologies, and supporters of political parties (supporters of a political party are united by a sense of belonging to said party). Just as formal and semi-formal institutions compose a political system, in the same way, informal institutions shape political systems and have a notable impact on the effectiveness of formal institutions. To illustrate, in the Kurdistan Region, formal institutions must consider informal institutions. The parliament is a formal institution and party supporters are informal ones; if the parliament does not take party supporters into account, then it is not unlikely that the formal institution would face impediments and suspensions. Or, the legislative branch must take into account the beliefs of the majority and not pass laws that conflict with the beliefs that the majority holds.&nbsp;<blockquote>What exists in the region can be theorized as elite-democracy.&nbsp;</blockquote>Two characteristics of democratic-elite theory include discussing democracy by highlighting both formal institutions as well as the role of political elites. The theory puts forth two hypotheses; first is that, political power lies in formal political institutions. Secondly, political elites are the catalysts of institutions and exercise hegemonic power over formal institutions in times of decision-making.There is a truth that is somewhat neglected in the Kurdistan region. That truth is that supporting political elites is one of the most important prerequisites for the establishment of democratic institutions in transitional phases - such as the one the Kurdistan Region is undergoing. The scientific conclusion here would suggest that the most preliminary step to be taken, is to transform political disagreements into consensus instead. That step must be taken to guarantee one of the most effective prerequisites for political stability and institutional rigidity; Political Consensus.When political elites are in consensus, they reach a degree of unanimity regarding the value and importance of the work of political institutions (ie: all political elites would respect the decisions of the parliament as decisions stemming from a formal institution). Reorganizing institutions in a way that prevents the rise of majoritarian democracy, but rather consolidates consensus-democracy is the only way for the political elite to reach consensus and unanimity. Following a consensus parliamentary system based the principles of public interest and common interest must be attempted.&nbsp; Works CitedC. Wright Mills. The Power Elite.1956.G. William Domhoff. Who Rules America? 1967.Grofman, Bernard, and Arend Lijphart. Electoral Laws and Their Political Consequences.&nbsp; Agathon Press, 1986.Huntington, Samuel P. The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. Riverside, Simon &amp; Schuster, 1996.Mills, C. W. “COMMUNITY POWER STRUCTURE: A STUDY of DECISION MAKERS. By Floyd Hunter. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1953.&nbsp;Schumpeter, Joseph. Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy. New York, Harper &amp; Brothers, 1942.

A Brief Discussion on Political Systems: Institutions and Political Elites

Tackling Breast Cancer in Kurdistan: Epidemiology, Early Detection, and Intervention Strategies

<h3>Introduction</h3>The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in significant alterations to healthcare practices, including increased infection prevention measures, changes in diagnostic procedures, and the reallocation of healthcare resources. Subsequently, this pandemic placed an enormous strain on healthcare systems worldwide, resulting in the redirection of resources and attention away from antimicrobial stewardship programs. This article explores the repercussions of COVID-19 on antimicrobial resistance and highlights the importance of addressing this emerging threat.<h3>Discussion&nbsp;</h3>Antimicrobial resistance is the broader term for resistance in different types of microorganisms (eg, bacteria, viruses, parasites, or fungi). It encompasses resistance to antibacterial, antiviral, antiparasitic, and antifungal drugs. Resistant microorganisms emerge either by mutations or the procurement of mobile genetic elements that carry the resistance gene. Therefore this can occur irrespective of the presence of antimicrobials. However, it is the exposure to these drugs that gives rise to the growth and spread of resistant pathogens (Prestinaci, 2015). Inappropriate prescribing (whether caused by obsolete guidelines or pharmaceutical pressures), over-the-counter antibiotic availability, and self-medication reflect a general lack of awareness of the global threat that antibiotic resistance poses to our society. Medical procedures such as surgery could become exceedingly difficult, or even impossible, due to antimicrobial resistance (Ibid). Common infections may become untreatable, which could lead to death.&nbsp;Director-General Margaret Chan stated in the foreword to the Global Action Plan that "Antimicrobial Resistance is a crisis that must be managed with the utmost urgency. As the world enters the ambitious new era of sustainable development, we cannot allow hard-won gains for health to be eroded by the failure of our mainstay medicines" (2015).&nbsp; However, clinical trials worldwide implemented the use of antimicrobial agents for the treatment of Covid-19 infections. A plethora of drugs have been used in prophylaxis and treatment of covid infections including several antivirals (lopinavir/ritonavir combination, remdesivir, and favipiravir); two antimalarials (chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine); ACE2 inhibitor (losartan); immunosuppressive agents (tocilizumab, leronlimab and corticosteroids); TMPRSS2 inhibitor (camostat mesylate); anti-parasitic drugs (ivermectin and nitazoxanide); a gold-containing drug, auranofin, an immunomodulator used in sepsis and leprosy (Sepsivac, mycobacterium w (heat-killed) injections); allogeneic Placental expanded (PLX) cells; and convalescent plasma (Breining, 2019; Evan, 2019; Caly, 2020; Diederich, 2020; Smith, 2020; Barkama, 2020; Patel, 2021; Mirjalili, 2022; Massai, 2022). In addition, during the COVID-19 pandemic, soaps and antimicrobial disinfectants have been increasingly used by hospital staff. If these products are based on chlorhexidine digluconate or quaternary ammonium compounds, this can also lead to antibiotic resistance.&nbsp;The uncertainty surrounding the early stages of the pandemic and the lack of specific antiviral treatments contributed to clinicians prescribing antibiotics empirically to manage suspected bacterial co-infections. In addition, the clinical presentation of Covid-19 can mimic bacterial infections, leading to diagnostic uncertainties. Delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis of bacterial co-infections may result in suboptimal antibiotic management, potentially fueling antimicrobial resistance (Ha et al, 2017). Therefore the frequent use of antibiotics for the antiviral therapy of covid patients further aggravated the antibiotic resistance crisis. Antiviral drugs like remdesivir, favipiravir, and others have been used frequently to manage COVID-19 patients (Smith, 2020; Eroglu, 2021).&nbsp;A study by Yale Schools of Medicine and Public Health has conveyed a remdesivir-resistance variant of SARS-CoV-2 in an immunocompromised patient who was being treated with remdesivir (Gandhi et al, 2022). Patients with Covid-19 have weakened and compromised immune systems, making them reliant on antiviral therapy to control the virus, and subsequently making them more prone to developing resistance to the treatment they receive. The focus on managing Covid-19 cases may have led to reduced monitoring of antimicrobial prescribing practices, hindering efforts to prevent inappropriate antibiotic use.&nbsp;Antibiotic prescriptions for inpatients and outpatients led to a setback in the combat against antibacterial resistance (Ha et al, 2017; Hodoșan et al, 2023). The prevalence of antibiotic-resistant pathogens among patients with laboratory-confirmed Covid-19 and bacterial infections emphasizes the urgency of antimicrobial stewardship. Research findings show that approximately 72% of COVID-19 patients admitted to hospitals received antimicrobial treatment, despite only 8% of them having bacterial or fungal co-infections (Rawson et al, 2020). Moreover, various antibiotics such as azithromycin have been suggested for COVID-19 treatment. The mass public concern, in addition to the inappropriate use of antibiotics, directly affects antibiotic access without a prescription, especially in developing countries with weak antibiotic control systems. For instance, it was reported that nearly 69% of COVID-19 patients had used antibiotics like ceftriaxone and azithromycin before hospital admission (Zavala-Flores et al, 2020).ConclusionThe indiscriminate use of antibiotics in the management of COVID-19 patients, combined with diagnostic uncertainties and empirical prescribing, has contributed to the rise of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens. This emerging crisis demands urgent action and strengthened antimicrobial stewardship programs. The prevalence of antibiotic-resistant pathogens among COVID-19 patients underscores the need for prudent antibiotic use and careful monitoring of prescribing practices. Efforts should be directed towards promoting awareness about the global threat of antimicrobial resistance and the importance of appropriate antibiotic use. Collaborative efforts between healthcare providers, policymakers, researchers, and the pharmaceutical industry are crucial in addressing this issue and safeguarding the threatened utility of antibiotics for future generations. References&nbsp;“No Time to Wait: Securing the Future from Drug Resistant Infections.” IACG Report to the Secretary General of the United Nations, April 2019. Geneva: The UN Interagency Coordination Group on AMR; 2019.Barkama, R., Mayo, A., Paz, A., Solopov, A., Mann, T., Vadasz, Z., Appel, T., Ofir, R., Shani, L., Sheleg, M., Allen, H., Shaked Nitzan, R., Tsarfaty, N., Gilad, H., Birch, T., Kachel, E., Reinke, P., Volk, H.-D., Zalts, R., &amp;amp; Raz Pasteur, A. (2020, September 15). Placenta-derived cell therapy to treat patients with respiratory failure due to coronavirus disease 2019. Critical care explorations. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7498138/" data-mce-href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7498138/">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7498138/</a>&nbsp;Breining P, Frølund AL, Højen JF, et al. Camostat mesylate against SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19—Rationale, dosing and safety. Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol. 2021;128:204–212. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/bcpt.13533" data-mce-href="https://doi.org/10.1111/bcpt.13533">https://doi.org/10.1111/bcpt.13533</a>Caly L, Druce JD, Catton MG, Jans DA, Wagstaff KM. The FDA-approved drug Ivermectin inhibits the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. Antiviral Res. 2020Diederich S. EurekAlert, AAAS; Washington, DC, USA: March 5, 2020. Preventing spread of SARS coronavirus-2 in humans: Göttingen infection researchers identify potential drug.Eroglu, E., &amp; Toprak, C. (2021). Overview of favipiravir and remdesivir treatment for COVID-19. International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research, 12(4), 1950-1957.Evan M Bloch and others, Guidance on the Use of Convalescent Plasma to Treat Immunocompromised Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019, Clinical Infectious Diseases, Volume 76, Issue 11, 1 June 2023, Pages 2018–2024, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciad066" data-mce-href="https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciad066">https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciad066</a>Gandhi S, Klein J, Robertson AJ, Peña-Hernández MA, Lin MJ, Roychoudhury P, Lu P, Fournier J, Ferguson D, Mohamed Bakhash SAK, Catherine Muenker M, Srivathsan A, Wunder EA Jr, Kerantzas N, Wang W, Lindenbach B, Pyle A, Wilen CB, Ogbuagu O, Greninger AL, Iwasaki A, Schulz WL, Ko AI. De novo emergence of a remdesivir resistance mutation during treatment of persistent SARS-CoV-2 infection in an immunocompromised patient: a case report. Nat Commun. 2022 Mar 17;13(1):1547. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-29104-y. PMID: 35301314; PMCID: PMC8930970.Getahun, H.; Smith, I; Trivedi, K.; Paulin, S.; Balkhy, H.H. Tackling antimicrobial resistance in the COVID-19 pandemic. Bull. World Health Organ. 2020, 98, 442.&nbsp;Antimicrobial resistance. Ministry of Health NZ. (n.d.). <a href="https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/antimicrobial-resistance" data-mce-href="https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/antimicrobial-resistance">https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/antimicrobial-resistance</a>&nbsp;Getahun H, Smith I, Trivedi K, et al. Tackling antimicrobial resistance in the COVID-19 pandemic. Bull World Health Organ. 2020; 98:442.Ha, D. R., Haste, N. M., &amp; Gluckstein, D. P. (2017). The Role of Antibiotic Stewardship in Promoting Appropriate Antibiotic Use. American journal of lifestyle medicine, 13(4), 376–383. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1559827617700824" data-mce-href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1559827617700824">https://doi.org/10.1177/1559827617700824</a>Hodoșan, V., Daina, L. G., Zaha, D. C., Cotrău, P., Vladu, A., Dorobanțu, F. R., Negrău, M. O., Babeș, E. E., Babeș, V. V., &amp;amp; Daina, C. M. (2023, May 3). Pattern of antibiotic use among hospitalized patients at A level one multidisciplinary care hospital. MDPI.&nbsp;Prestinaci, F., Pezzotti, P., &amp; Pantosti, A. (2015). Antimicrobial resistance: a global multifaceted phenomenon. Pathogens and global health, 109(7), 309–318.&nbsp;Smith T, Bushek J, Prosser T. Elsevier; Amsterdam, The Netherlands: 2020. COVID-19 Drug Therapy – Potential Options. Clinical Drug Information | Clinical Solutions.Zavala-Flores, E.; Salcedo-Matienzo, J. Medicación prehospitalaria en pacientes hospitalizados por COVID-19 en un hospital público de Lima-Perú. Acta Méd. Peru. 2020, 37,393-395.Khuroo, M. S. (2020, September). Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). facts, fiction and The hype: A critical appraisal. International journal of antimicrobial agents. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7366996/" data-mce-href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7366996/">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7366996/</a>&nbsp;Mahmoudi H. Bacterial co-infections and antibiotic resistance in patients with COVID-19. GMS Hyg Infect Control. 2020;15:1–6.Massai L, Grifagni D, De Santis A, Geri A, Cantini F, Calderone V, Banci L, Messori L. Gold-Based Metal Drugs as Inhibitors of Coronavirus Proteins: The Inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease by Auranofin and Its Analogs. Biomolecules. 2022 Nov 11;12(11):1675. doi: 10.3390/biom12111675. PMID: 36421689; PMCID: PMC9687241.Mirjalili, M., Soodejani, M.T., Raadabadi, M. et al. Does Losartan reduce the severity of COVID-19 in hypertensive patients?. BMC Cardiovasc Disord 22, 116 (2022). <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12872-022-02548-2" data-mce-href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12872-022-02548-2">https://doi.org/10.1186/s12872-022-02548-2</a>Patel PS, Patel S, Shah V, Aswani V, Narwaria M. Early Experience of High-dose Intravenous Mycobacterium w in Critically Ill Patients of COVID-19. Indian J Crit Care Med 2021;25(9):1066–1068.Prestinaci, F., Pezzotti, P., &amp; Pantosti, A. (2015). Antimicrobial resistance: a global multifaceted phenomenon. Pathogens and global health, 109(7), 309–318.&nbsp;Rawson TM, Moore LSP, Zhu N, Ranganathan N, Skolimowska K, Gilchrist M, et al. Bacterial and fungal co-infection in individuals with coronavirus: A rapid review to support COVID-19 antimicrobial prescribing. Clin Infect Dis. 2020. May 2.Smith T, Bushek J, Prosser T. Elsevier; Amsterdam, The Netherlands: 2020. COVID-19 Drug Therapy – Potential Options. Clinical Drug Information |Clinical Solutions.<a href="https://www.elsevier.com/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/988648/COVID-19-Drug-Therapy_Mar-2020.pdf" data-mce-href="https://www.elsevier.com/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/988648/COVID-19-Drug-Therapy_Mar-2020.pdf">https://www.elsevier.com/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/988648/COVID-19-Drug-Therapy_Mar-2020.pdf</a>

From Pandemic to Resistance: The Unintended Consequences of COVID-19 on Antimicrobial Practices

<blockquote>Film as dream, film as music. No art passes our conscience in the way film does, and goes directly to our feelings, deep down into the dark rooms of our souls.- Ingmar Bergman (1) </blockquote>Cinema, often referred to as The Seventh Art, is one of the more recent arts in terms of emergence. That is in contrast to the large human history with the other forms of art. It has been a part of our world for some 130 years. The most progressive and leading nations in the world, the likes of France and America, have been an integral part of cinema’s invention, progression and evolution. However, each nation has contributed to cinema in a particular way. Several countries have their own distinct cinematic schools or cinematic universes which hold different values and methods in comparison to the other countries. Russia, Italy and Germany are good examples. A nation or a country can produce numerous films and still not be able to call itself “a country that has it’s own cinema”. Because for cinema to exist, it has to either become an independent industry or an independent school of cinema (like a school of thought). Only then can cinema be used as a tool to represent, display and spread a nation’s culture and identity.The leading countries of the world, recognized the importance of cinema early on. They acknowledged the fact that cinema can be a powerful tool for a nation to represent and identify it’s culture and identity. Europe is regarded as the cradle of cinema. However, The United States of America established it’s place in the cinema medium firmly by creating a whole cinematic industry in Hollywood. We have witnessed numerous historical events which were initially influenced by cinema. The French students revolution of 1968 is widely known to have been influenced by the French cinema of that period.(3) Italy, Sweden, Russia, Japan, The United Kingdom, etc.. have all been involved in contributions to cinema for more than 100 years. The impacts of cinema on each of these countries are recognized in the cultural, political and economical aspects. Naturally, none of these were achieved overnight or without a clear plan and strategy to make cinema a great soft weapon of each of the aforementioned countries.Thus far, we Kurds can not have a real claim to cinema. It is true that we do have films here and there, there have been several attempts at creating a distinct Kurdish cinema, but none have succeeded in doing so. The first Kurdish film to be made was (Zare). Directed in 1926-1927 by Hamo Bag Nazarian. The film can be summarized as such: Immediately prior to the Russian Revolution, a young shepherd Seydo and his girlfriend Zare struggle for their right to a happy love in a Yazidi Kurdish village in Russian Armenia.(2).<blockquote> But just what can be regarded as a Kurdish film? This question is a rather puzzling and multidimensional one. We can not put a finger on one aspect of a film and use it as a defining factor to answer the question.</blockquote> As we are, unlike other nations, still without a sovereign country to protect and identify our culture and identity inside it’s borders. Thus far, we merely have different attempts by different individuals with the aim to create and establish what can be called “Kurdish Cinema”. These attempts at cinema to tell Kurdish tales and represent the Kurdish cause have all been partially impactful. Yilmaz Güney is a great example. He made many films, most of which were made in the Turkish language, by Turkish filmmaking tools and a mostly-Turkish cast and crew. Yet we can not label his films as Turkish for at their core his films have a Kurdish sense and discourse.Of the main properties that can make a film ‘Kurdish’ are: A Kurdish discourse, a Kurdish narrative or an attempt at showcasing the Kurdish history and it’s identity. Apart from Güney, other directors (Bahman Ghobadi, Kazim Oz, Taha Karimi, Shewket Amin, Huner Selim) and many others have contributed to Kurdish cinema.In Southern Kurdistan’s four provinces (Erbil, Suleymaniyeh, Duhok and Halabja), the number of cinema halls are very limited. In Kurdistan, as in everywhere else, cinema now is more of a ‘home display’ medium. Individuals tend to watch films on their private electrical gadgets such as computer, TVs and mobile phones. This is one of the contributing causes that makes cinema less attainable. For without cinema halls, a cinematic culture can not be built. Without a cinematic culture, cinematic awareness can not exist and without cinematic awareness cinema itself can not be created. Although, there are other factors that contribute to the absence of cinema in Kurdistan.Another reason for Kurdish cinema’s lack of progression is the absence of cinematic academies and institutions in which filmmaking students in different aspects of filmmaking can learn. Although Kurdistan has college and university of arts, in which there is a cinema department, but these institutions have not succeeded at providing and developing cinematic movements. The art history of the different nations of the world can be regarded as a shared and universal history, this is evident that we Kurds can be beneficial of the vast and rich history of the other nations and use that to our advantage to establish our own cinema and use it as a tool to build a stronger nation. Another one of the helpful factors that can provide us with assistance in building and establishing our own cinema is the fact that we are an ever-present Mesopotamian nation and that our roots are planted deep in this whole region’s history and the history of civilization. In spite of all the historical and political events, invasions and being divided into several parts, we have managed to protect and distinguish our language and culture from the neighboring nations of the region, like Arabs, Turks and Persians. This long history of dispute and violent events has led to a vast world of interesting stories that can make for interesting cinematic ideas. Aside from this, the many uprisings, revolts and revolutions by the different political movements of the different historical periods of Kurdistan, have brought forth a universe of diverging stories.Building cinema in this technological era seems more attainable and more achievable than ever. In order to start building a Kurdish cinema we need: social cinematic awareness, cultural and intellectual foundation for cinema, educating filmmakers, importing and creating an electronic infrastructure, building an economical infrastructure, a strategy to develop cinema by governmental institutions, building cinema halls, governmental support and facilitation to filmmakers. Individual and social awareness may automatically fall behind all these simple strategies. Because previous attempts have proved to us that like any other place in the world, there is a vast and lively audience, hungry and thirsty for more Kurdish productions.

Cinema and Identity: The Case for Kurdish Cinema

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Cinema and Identity: The Case for Kurdish Cinema