European Scientific Journal, ESJ

Clinical Treatment Prescription in Physiotherapy: A Scoping Review of Conceptual and Operational Parameters

2026-03-20T16:37:11+00:00

Background: Treatment prescription constitutes a fundamental component of physiotherapy practice because it guides the planning and implementation of therapeutic strategies aimed at maintaining, improving, or restoring human movement and function. Despite its frequent use in clinical and academic contexts, the conceptual and methodological elements that define treatment prescription in physiotherapy remain inconsistently described in the literature. Purpose: This scoping review aimed to map and analyse the available scientific literature addressing the notion of clinical treatment prescription in physiotherapy, with particular attention to how prescriptions are defined and whether operational parameters required for reproducible implementation are reported. Methods: The review followed the reporting framework of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). A comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, PEDro, OTSeeker, and Google Scholar, complemented by additional searches in books, book chapters, and institutional policy documents. Sources were eligible if they explicitly addressed the concept or definition of treatment prescription in physiotherapy. Results: A total of thirty-seven (n=37) records were identified. After the screening process, only one source met the predefined eligibility criteria. This document provided a conceptual definition of prescribing in physiotherapy practice but did not describe detailed operational parameters for implementing clinical prescriptions. Conclusions: The findings indicate that explicit and operational definitions of treatment prescriptions are rarely reported in physiotherapy literature. Greater conceptual clarity and clearer reporting standards are necessary to support the reproducibility of interventions and strengthen evidence-based physiotherapy practice.

The End of Multilateralism? Rising Regional Trade Agreements, Trade Wars, and The Future of the International Trading System

2026-03-20T13:10:14+00:00

The multilateral trading system, consolidated through the World Trade Organization (WTO), faces an existential crisis driven by three mutually reinforcing dynamics: the structural failings and deliberate paralysis of the WTO, most acutely manifested in the Appellate Body’s incapacitation since December 2019; the exponential proliferation of regional trade agreements (RTAs); and two waves of unprecedented trade wars under the Trump administration in 2018–2020 and 2025–2026 that have systematically eroded the rules-based trading order. The COVID-19 pandemic deepened these fractures by exposing supply-chain vulnerabilities and legitimising economic nationalism. While a substantial body of scholarship addresses each of these phenomena in isolation, no existing study integrates all three within a single comparative analytical framework that also encompasses the 2025–2026 second Trump trade war — the most disruptive tariff episode since the Smoot-Hawley era, culminating in a landmark Supreme Court ruling that struck down the legal basis of the tariffs themselves. This study fills that gap by developing an integrated framework that analyses the three phenomena as a self-reinforcing cycle of institutional erosion, drawing on terms-of-trade theory, the deep-agreements literature, and the welfare economics of trade wars. The study reaches four principal conclusions. First, the WTO’s crisis is structural, not cyclical, and cannot self-correct without deliberate institutional reform, most urgently the restoration of appellate dispute settlement. Second, RTAs are not inherently stumbling blocks or building blocks: their welfare and systemic effects depend critically on their depth — shallow and asymmetric agreements impose costs on weaker parties and undermine multilateral norms, while deep agreements that govern investment, regulation, and services can complement them. Third, the future trading system is most plausibly a tiered architecture in which deep regional agreements govern commercially significant trade, a residual WTO framework provides a normative baseline, and bilateral managed trade fills governance gaps — an architecture that is already visible but fragile. Fourth, technology export controls and critical mineral restrictions represent a new and ungoverned category of trade barrier for which neither existing WTO rules nor current RTAs provide effective discipline, constituting the most significant emerging threat to any future trading framework.

Pluralisme syndical en République Démocratique du Congo et son impact sur la qualité de vie des travailleurs de la société nationale de l’électricité (snel) Kinshasa RDC

2026-03-20T13:08:17+00:00

Cette étude analyse la perception de la prolifération syndicale et son impact sur la qualité de vie au travail des agents de la Société Nationale d’Électricité (SNEL). Dans un contexte marqué par la multiplication des organisations syndicales au sein des entreprises publiques congolaises, la recherche vise à déterminer si le pluralisme syndical influence significativement les conditions de travail. Une approche méthodologique mixte a été adoptée, combinant enquête quantitative par questionnaire et analyse qualitative des réponses ouvertes. Les données ont été traitées à l’aide de statistiques descriptives et inférentielles, notamment la corrélation de Pearson et la régression linéaire multiple. Les résultats révèlent l’existence d’une relation significative entre la perception de la prolifération syndicale et la qualité de vie au travail. Le phénomène apparaît ambivalent : il favorise l’expression démocratique et la représentation des revendications, tout en pouvant générer fragmentation et conflits intersyndicaux. Les variables telles que le niveau d’instruction et le grade hiérarchique influencent modérément les perceptions. L’étude conclut que l’impact du pluralisme syndical dépend largement de la qualité du dialogue social et du cadre institutionnel mis en place.

This study examines the perception of trade union proliferation and its impact on quality of work life among employees of the Société Nationale d’Électricité (SNEL). In a context characterized by the multiplication of trade unions within Congolese public enterprises, the research seeks to determine whether union pluralism significantly influences working conditions. A mixed-method approach was adopted, combining a quantitative survey with qualitative analysis of open-ended responses. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, including Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression.The findings indicate a significant relationship between trade union proliferation and quality of work life. The phenomenon is ambivalent: while it strengthens democratic representation and employees’ voice, it may also lead to fragmentation and inter-union conflicts. Education level and hierarchical position moderately influence perceptions. The study concludes that the impact of union pluralism largely depends on institutional regulation and the effectiveness of social dialogue.