Search

Background: Great variation has been observed in the composition of the normal microbiota of the ocular surface, and therefore, in addition to differences in detection techniques, the method of collecting ocular surface specimens has a significant impact on the test results.The goal of this study is to ascertain whether the eye surface microbial communities detected by two different sampling methods are consistent and hence explore the feasibility of using tear test paper instead of conjunctival swabs to collect eye surface samples for microbial investigation. Materials and methods: From July 15, 2021, to July 30, 2021, nonirritating tear test strips and conjunctival swabs of both eyes were used in 158 elderly people (> 60 years old) (79 diabetic and 79 nondiabetic adults) in Xinjing Community for high-throughput sequencing of the V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene. The composition of the microbial communities in tear test paper and conjunctival swab samples was analyzed. Results: There was no statistically significant difference in Alpha diversity of ocular surface microorganisms represented by tear strip and conjunctival swab in diabetic group (P > 0.05), but there was statistically significant difference in Alpha diversity of ocular surface microorganisms detected by tear strip and conjunctival swab in nondiabetic group (P < 0.05). There were statistically significant differences in Beta diversity of ocular surface microorganisms detected by two sampling methods between diabetic group and nondiabetic group (P < 0.05). There were statistically significant differences in ocular surface microorganisms detected by tear strip method between diabetic group and nondiabetic group (P < 0.05), but there was no statistically significant difference in conjunctival swab method (P > 0.05). Conclusions: Tear test paper and conjunctival swabs detect different compositions of microbes through two different techniques of eye surface microbe sampling. Tear test paper cannot completely replace conjunctival swab specimens for the study of microbes related to eye surface diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous prior studies claimed that social enterprises had a beneficial effect (social impact) on addressing society's social problems. However, there is little evidence to support that statement. How well is this enterprise able to give an impact on solving social problems? Does it have any indicators that can prove the validity of its social impact? Therefore, this study aims to explore the literature review on social enterprise and their social impact, as well as to identify a few measurements to assess the social impact. Hence, the writing of this article was conducted based on reviewing the published literature including articles and journals which are relevant to the topic that can be accessed through online databases. Scopus, Science Direct and Google Scholar have been used for searching the articles needed. The search terms include "social enterprise" OR "social business" OR "social entrepreneurship" AND "Social impact" OR "measuring impact" OR "social impact measurement". This conceptual paper was motivated to get a deeper understanding of the social impact measurement employed by social enterprises. From the discussion, we have clearly defined the definition of social impact from different perspectives, including the importance of measuring the social impact among social enterprises has also been discussed briefly. Reviewed articles revealed that there is a wide range of methods for measuring social impact but in this article, we are focusing on three approaches only there are: balanced scorecard (BSC), social return on investment (SROI), and cost-benefit analysis (CBA) in this paper. This study summarises that measuring the social impact is becoming an essential determination for social enterprises as the key indicators of their performance to the communities or to the potential investors or funders. The study also suggests recommending further study of the social impact measurements that need to be discussed in depth and detail. This study's hope can attract more academicians to stimulate more research on this topic, specifically in measuring methods from Malaysia's perspective. The implication of this study forms a clear understanding of the social impact and a few of the measurements that can be used in measuring the impact of social enterprise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neutrinos are one of the most promising messengers for signals of new physics Beyond the Standard Model (BSM). On the theoretical side, their elusive nature, combined with their unknown mass mechanism, seems to indicate that the neutrino sector is indeed opening a window to new physics. On the experimental side, several long-standing anomalies have been reported in the past decades, providing a strong motivation to thoroughly test the standard three-neutrino oscillation paradigm. In this Snowmass21 white paper, we explore the potential of current and future neutrino experiments to explore BSM effects on neutrino flavor during the next decade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since April 2022, a large number of monkeypox (MPX) cases have emerged across the globe in regions that are known to be totally free of zoonotic reservoir. The High Council for Public Health is a national institute commissioned to provide guidelines to the French Ministry of Health. The objective of these guidelines and recommendations is to inform the public, people at risk of severe MPX infection, infected patients and their families and contacts and healthcare workers in charge of infected patients. A review of the literature from the MEDLINE database was carried out using the single keyword 'monkeypox', including recent and older articles from January 2000 to June 2022. There was no filter for the type of study, except English language. The titles and summaries of all the articles were read by the experts to select articles of interest. The High Council for Public Health brought together specialists with expertise in the field to analyse the scientific literature and international recommendations. Recommendations were classified with clinical practice methodology using four levels (strong recommendation, recommendation, optional recommendation and no recommendation) without grading the level of evidence. To develop and methodologically validate the recommendations, the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation Instrument (AGREE-II)chart was partially used. (a) What are the therapeutic management measures for hospitalized patients with severe forms of MPX infection, and what are the preventive measures to protect healthcare professionals? (b) What are the isolation and prevention measures in the community for patients with mild or moderate severity MPX infection? (c) what are the preventive measures for contacts of an MPX-infected person? (d) Who should be vaccinated? (e) What are the specific prevention measures for children and schools? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTIMATE GEOPOLITICS: Love, Territory, and the Future on India's Northern Threshold: By SARA SMITH. In a vivid ethnographic study of the Ladakh region in northern India, Smith provides an intricate examination of how community tensions are shaped by ethnic identities, family planning, and majoritarian politics - and one incendiary moment on a public street. Though I Intimate Geopolitics i is overtly a study of Ladakhi territorial politics as related to family dynamics, the commentary on sectarianism is relevant beyond the confines of the distant province. [Extracted from the article]

The article focuses on advocacy, inspired by an interview with Dr. Raj Rasasingham, Vice President of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists. Topics include the expansion of the revised ALAN column to include community-focused topics like advocacy, the concept of advocacy according to the Mind group, and the paper series "Supporting Young Children of Immigrants in PreK-3" which highlights the importance of a systemic approach to advocacy for young immigrant children.

Some nomads have their own websites and are on Facebook, which might be worth exploring. There is no typology of these nomads; some have regularity, some on highly ad hoc (just hitting the road) ventures, and some using websites, Facebook, and Internet gatherings to construct a community. Bruder mentions the I RV Daily Report i , the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous, roving GTG (get togethers), FreeCampsites.net, Kampgrounds of America, Amazon's CamperForce, and Craigslist (for job opportunities). [Extracted from the article]

The project "Kompetenznetzwerk Digital Edition" (KONDE) is funded by the Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy and has been operational since spring 2017. It is committed to the premises of the Open Science Community and aims to create conditions for the establishment of a sustainable publication platform for digital editions (DE). Contributors from the Universities Graz, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Salzburg and Vienna, the Graz University of Technology and the University of Arts Graz together with colleagues from the Austrian National Library, the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Adalbert Stifter Institute of the Province of Upper Austria, have set themselves the goal of establishing a research infrastructure for digital editions and pooling their expertise in this field throughout Austria. This infrastructure should by no means be understood merely as ahardware solution or a collection of technical solutions. It will also approach the topic of DE from a methodological-theoretical point of view and make the work and discussion results available to the scientific community in an interactive white paper on digital editing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Tobacco use is the major preventable cause of premature death worldwide, responsible for about 8 million deaths per year, mostly in low- and middle-income countries, such as Morocco. Adolescents' tobacco use is a matter of concern, because early initiation increases the risk of becoming a lifelong user. There exists a notable gap in the synthesis of evidence concerning tobacco use among Moroccan adolescents. Thus, the purpose of this study was to provide a comprehensive view of the prevalence of tobacco products' use and associated factors among adolescents in Morocco. Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and ScienceDirect for relevant studies reporting prevalence rates of tobacco products' use among Moroccan adolescents, published until June 2024, using inclusion and exclusion criteria in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Additional searches were completed on other sources to reach unpublished reports. The Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist was used to assess the quality of included studies. Results: After the final screening, 22 papers met the inclusion criteria. Life-time prevalence of tobacco use ranged from 7.8% to 20.4% for cigarettes smoking, from 10.6% to 21.9% for waterpipe, from 7.9% to 9.1% for chewing tobacco and from 9.2% to 12.4% for snuff. The last 12-month prevalence of cigarette smoking was comprised between 6.9% and 10.8%. As for the prevalence of current use, ranges of (1.8%-16.4%) and (4.9%-8.4%) were noted for cigarettes and waterpipe, respectively. The most commonly highlighted risk factors for tobacco use included male sex, older age, having friends or family members who use tobacco and low perception of risk associated with tobacco use. Conclusion: Our findings reveal an alarming situation of tobacco use among Moroccan adolescents. Therefore, it is crucial that all stakeholders engage in concerted efforts to develop and implement evidence-based preventive interventions among early adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Addressing wellbeing at the community level, using a public health approach may build wellbeing and protective factors for all. A collaborative, community-owned approach can bring together experience, networks, local knowledge, and other resources to form a locally-driven, place-based initiative that can address complex issues effectively. Research on community empowerment, coalition functioning, health interventions and the use of local data provide evidence about what can be achieved in communities. There is less understanding about how communities can collaborate to bring about change, especially for mental health and wellbeing. Method: A comprehensive literature search was undertaken to identify community wellbeing initiatives that address mental health. After screening 8,972 titles, 745 abstracts and 188 full-texts, 12 exemplar initiatives were identified (39 related papers). Results: Eight key principles allowed these initiatives to become established and operate successfully. These principles related to implementation and outcome lessons that allowed these initiatives to contribute to the goal of increasing community mental health and wellbeing. A framework for community wellbeing initiatives addressing principles, development, implementation and sustainability was derived from this analysis, with processes mapped therein. Conclusion: This framework provides evidence for communities seeking to address community wellbeing and avoid the pitfalls experienced by many well-meaning but short-lived initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Working together and co‐production with public advisors have become popular among health researchers. This practice extends to doctoral researchers who involve public advisors at different stages of their research or throughout their doctoral journey. Objective: A doctoral researcher and two public advisors jointly evaluated public involvement in doctoral research. Methods: Using the established public involvement evaluation framework by Gibson and colleagues, public advisors and a doctoral researcher mapped and evaluated their experiences of public involvement in doctoral research. The four‐dimensional framework allowed the authors to reflect on (1) the strength of the public voice, (2) the number of ways in which public advisors had an opportunity to get involved, (3) whether the discussion was about the public or organisation's (doctoral researcher, university or funder) concerns and (4) if the organisation changed or resisted feedback. Results are presented in a diagrammatic and narrative way. Results: Public advisors saw themselves as having a stronger voice in doctoral research than the doctoral researcher perceived. All agreed that there existed multiple ways for public advisors to be involved. Public advisors' feedback was taken on board, but it was also limited due to restrictions of what the doctoral programme allowed. Conclusion: Public advisors ensured that the doctoral research was more relevant to the public. The ongoing involvement also shaped the doctoral researcher's thinking and views. Patient and Public Involvement: Two public advisors were involved throughout the 3 years of this doctoral research. They co‐evaluated this involvement and are co‐authors of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although researchers have worked in collaboration since the origins of modern science and the publication of the first scientific journals in the eighteenth century, this phenomenon has acquired exceptional importance in the last several decades. Since the mid-twentieth century, new knowledge has been generated from within an ever-growing network of investigators, working cooperatively in research groups across countries and institutions. Cooperation is a crucial determinant of academic success. Objective: The aim of the present paper is to analyze the evolution of scientific collaboration at the micro level, with regard to the scientific production generated on psoriasis research. Methods: A bibliographic search in the Medline database containing the MeSH terms “psoriasis” or “psoriatic arthritis” was carried out. The search results were limited to articles, reviews and letters. After identifying the co-authorships of documents on psoriasis indexed in the Medline database (1942–2013), various bibliometric indicators were obtained, including the average number of authors per document and degree of multi-authorship over time. In addition, we performed a network analysis to study the evolution of certain features of the co-authorship network as a whole: average degree, size of the largest component, clustering coefficient, density and average distance. We also analyzed the evolution of the giant component to characterize the changing research patterns in the field, and we calculated social network indicators for the nodes, namely betweenness and closeness. Results: The main active research clusters in the area were identified, along with their authors of reference. Our analysis of 28,670 documents sheds light on different aspects related to the evolution of scientific collaboration in the field, including the progressive increase in the mean number of co-authors (which stood at 5.17 in the 2004–2013 decade), and the rise in multi-authored papers signed by many different authors (in the same decade, 25.77% of the documents had between 6 and 9 co-authors, and 10.28% had 10 or more). With regard to the network indicators, the average degree gradually increased up to 10.97 in the study period. The percentage of authors pertaining to the largest component also rose to 73.02% of the authors. The clustering coefficient, on the other hand, remained stable throughout the entire 70-year period, with values hovering around 0.9. Finally, the average distance peaked in the decades 1974–1983 (8.29) and 1984–2003 (8.12) then fell over the next two decades, down to 5.25 in 2004–2013. The construction of the co-authorship network (threshold of collaboration ≥ 10 co-authored works) revealed a giant component of 161 researchers, containing 6 highly cohesive sub-components. Conclusions: Our study reveals the existence of a growing research community in which collaboration is increasingly important. We can highlight an essential feature associated with scientific collaboration: multi-authored papers, with growing numbers of collaborators contributing to them, are becoming more and more common, therefore the formation of research groups of increasing depth (specialization) and breadth (multidisciplinarity) is now a cornerstone of research success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Living labs are interdisciplinary and participatory initiatives aimed at bringing research closer to practice by involving stakeholders in all stages of research. Living labs align with the principles of participatory research methods as well as recent insights about how participatory ways of generating knowledge help to change practices in concrete settings with respect to specific problems. The participatory, open, and discussion‐oriented nature of living labs could be ideally suited to accompany ethical reflection and changes ensuing from reflection. To our knowledge, living labs have not been explicitly trialed and reported in ethics literature. In this discussion paper, we report and discuss four initial issues that marked the process of setting up a living lab in ethics: (1) determining the goals and expected outcomes of an ethics living lab; (2) establishing operational procedures; (3) selecting communities and defining pilot projects; and (4) adopting a lens to tackle emerging questions and challenges. We explain these four issues and present the paths taken based on the novel and specific orientation, that is, living ethics, at the basis of this project. In alignment with living ethics and É‐LABO, we approach challenges as learning opportunities to ask not only "how" questions but also "why" questions. We hope that this discussion paper informed by our experience helps to clarify the theoretical, methodological, and practical approaches necessary to successfully adopt and employ living labs in ethics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Despite the advancements in Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE), the voices of traditionally underserved groups are still poorly reflected in dementia research. This study aimed to report on a PPIE partnership between academics and members of the public from underserved communities to co‐design Forward with Dementia—Social Care, a resource and information website supporting people receiving a dementia diagnosis. Methods: The PPIE partnership was set up in four stages: 1–identifying communities that have been under‐represented from PPIE in dementia research; 2—recruiting PPIE partners from these communities; 3—supporting PPIE partners to become confident to undertake their research roles and 4—undertaking research co‐design activities in an equitable fashion. Results: To address under‐representation from PPIE in dementia research we recruited seven PPIE partners from Black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer+ communities; remote/rural area; religious minorities and partners living with rare forms of dementia. The partners met regularly throughout the project to oversee new sections for the study website, refine existing content and promote the website within their communities. Conclusion: Strategies can be used to successfully recruit and involve PPIE partners from underserved communities in co‐design activities. These include networking with community leaders, developing terms of reference, setting out 'rules of engagement', and investing adequate resources and time for accessible and equitable involvement. These efforts facilitate the co‐design of research outputs that reflect the diversity and complexity of UK contemporary society. Patient or Public Contribution: This study received support from seven members of the public with lived experience of dementia from communities that have been traditionally underserved in dementia research. These seven members of the public undertook the role of partners in the study. They all equally contributed to the study design, recruitment of participants, development and revision of topic guides for the interviews and development of the website. Three of these partners were also co‐authors of this paper. On top of the activities shared with the other partners, they contributed to write independently of the academic team the section in this paper titled 'Partners' experiences, benefits and challenges of the partnership'. Further, they provided input in other sections of the paper on a par with the other (academic) co‐authors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite widespread acknowledgement that trust is important in a pandemic, few concrete proposals exist on how to incorporate trust into preparing for the next health crisis. One reason is that building trust is rightly perceived as slow and challenging. Although trust in public institutions and one another is essential in preparing for a pandemic, countries should plan for the possibility that efforts to instil or restore trust may fail. Incorporating trust into pandemic preparedness means acknowledging that polarization, partisanship and misinformation may persist and engaging with communities as they currently are, not as we would wish them to be. This paper presents a practical policy agenda for incorporating mistrust as a risk factor in pandemic preparedness and response planning. We propose two sets of evidence-based strategies: (i) strategies for ensuring the trust that already exists in a community is sustained during a crisis, such as mitigating pandemic fatigue by health interventions and honest and transparent sense-making communication; and (ii) strategies for promoting cooperation in communities where people mistrust their governments and neighbours, sometimes for legitimate, historical reasons. Where there is mistrust, pandemic preparedness and responses must rely less on coercion and more on tailoring local policies and building partnerships with community institutions and leaders to help people overcome difficulties they encounter in cooperating with public health guidance. The regular monitoring of interpersonal and government trust at national and local levels is a way of enabling this context-specific pandemic preparedness and response planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. This study aims to elucidate the gender gaps in the strategies for maintaining the social participation and interaction of older adults with people in a local community. Methods. The subjects were 130 older adults aged 65 years or older and independently living in their homes in Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. The authors conducted an anonymous questionnaire survey on paper and performed multiple regression analysis for men and women separately using the Lubben Social Network Scale-6 (LSNS-6) as the dependent variable. Results. Among the independent variables used for the analysis, those that significantly influenced LSNS-6 in men were social activities related to the daily life satisfaction of the elderly (SARDS). The independent variables that significantly influenced LSNS-6 in women were SARDS, sense of coherence-13 (SOC-13), and the number of family members living with the subjects. Discussion. Health promotion is not associated with interaction with people in men compared with women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is becoming a defining factor for communities in South Asia. Forming one-fifth of the world population, the region increasingly faces climate-induced disasters such as floods, droughts, heatwaves, cyclones etc. This region also has one of the world's poorest people who struggle to cope with the rapidly changing climatic conditions. Agriculture still employs many people in the region, one of the worst-hit sectors. Agriculture will become untenable in some parts of the region due to climate change. Monsoon patterns have changed, and agriculture does not guarantee sustainable income for the vast majority. Many climate change adaptations have been initiated in the region in response to the threat of climate change. Scholars and practitioners feel that these adaptations must be transformative to be effective. In this paper, we examine eight such adaptations from three South Asian Countries – Bangladesh, India, and Nepal, from the lens of transformative adaptation. We found that no single adaptation initiative meets all the criteria for sustainable socio-ecological transformations. However, there is a significant overlap between different typologies of transformation as envisaged in the paper and literature. We conclude that the concept of socio-ecological transformation is new for South Asia, so integrating it into the programmes and policies is the need of the hour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New satellite-based techniques open up new horizons to researchers and local communities. Concurrently, however, requirements and expectations with regard to satel-lite-based remote sensing products are increasingly higher. By relying on satellite-derived information, environmental observations can cover areas of a few to several metres resolution. Here we are dealing with free-of-charge and generally available sources of satellite-based information. The Piaśnica River mouth area was selected as an observation site representing a highly dynamic morphological transect. The paper compares products of cloud cover detection, supplied with data and available in the Copernicus database for a local area in the coastal zone of the Baltic Sea. The absolute difference did not exceed 5%, which confirms a high efficiency of the solutions offered. More than 96% of the clouded area determined for the Sentinel-2/MSI (Multispectral Instrument) was correctly identified when compared with supervised observations. The rate was lower (92%) for the Sentinel-3/OLCI (Ocean and Land Colour Instrument). It was eventually concluded that, at the local level, successful observations can be conducted using the cloud cover map supplied with the satellite data. At the same time, the analyses presented do not rule out further efforts to, e.g., increase the accuracy and speed of the analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Agri-silvicultures (ASC) are biocultural practices procuring either the maintenance of wild diversity in predominantly agricultural spaces or introducing agrobiodiversity into forests. In the Mesoamerican region, ASC contribute to food sovereignty and territorial conservation and provide strategies for dealing with global changes. Previous inventories of ASC identified gaps in information about these systems in the Mexican Arid America region. This article raises the general question: How have human interactions between cultural, wild, and domesticated biodiversity in this territory? The particular questions in this paper are: (i) How have historical processes shaped human interactions between wild and domesticated biodiversity in the region? and (ii) What types of agri-silvicultures have emerged in Mexican Arid America since these relationships? Methods: We trace a methodological border where archaeologists have identified the Mesoamerican region to define our study area as Arid America northern of this line in Mexico. We analyzed agriculturalization processes in Arid America through a historical review. Then, we carry out an inventory of Arid America ASC based on academic papers and other documented experiences. We constructed a spatial database and a typology to understand what kinds of agri-silviculture occur in the region. Results: We identified several pre-Hispanic agri-silvicultural practices in the region, like hunting, fishing, terraces, gathering, and irrigation systems. The cultivation of native species of maize, beans, and squash even was registered. The Spanish colonization forced the agriculturization in arid northern Mexico, where itinerant hunting-gathering patterns predominated. In the twentieth century, the Green Revolution adopted this area as the principal setting for industrialized agriculture. The industrialized irrigated systems expansion and other political strategies provoked the simplification of productive landscapes. The practices that integrate wild and agricultural diversity systems were marginalized and invisibilized in such a context. Our research group proposes seven types of agri-silvicultural systems (natives agrisilvicultures, the oases agroforestry, Mesquite and Huisache ASC, homegardens and other traditional forms of agroforestry or agri-silvicultures). These agri-silvicultures provide food, medicine, fodder, and other contributions, as income to the families that practice them and protect native and exotic species. Discussion and conclusion: The agriculturization of the arid environments initiated during Spanish colonization and the subsequent modernizing projects shaped dominant actors and ideologies in the arid north of Mexico. However, aridity has favored ancestral and agroecological relationships between cultures and biodiversity, emerging and subsisting Arid American agri-silvicultures. These agri-silvicultures deserve to be understood, adopted, and adapted to new contexts. They could be essential alternatives in the context of environmental changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The paper aims to relook at the notion of competitiveness in the challenging times of pandemic. The failure of global value chains caused many nations despite their state of economic development to struggle for necessary items. The goal of achieving profitability abated by having self-sufficiency, specifically in the manufacturing sector where unlike services, the production processes jolted. Under this backdrop, the paper attempts to project local industry clusters as a panacea for achieving resilient competitiveness. Design/methodology/approach: To explore the credibility of clusters as an important tool to prepare nations towards a resilient future, a correlation between the state of cluster development in a country and its national competitiveness has been tested. Besides, any difference in the notion of state of cluster development between least developing countries, developing countries and developed countries has also been tested. The paper uses the data from World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report. Findings: Strong support for the research hypothesis has been found. High positive correlation exists between the state of cluster development and national competitiveness. The state of cluster development is found to be significantly different among three categories of countries. Originality/value: Clusters have been promoted in academic literature, policy circles and the business community for many advantages. This paper is a novice attempt to showcase these can serve as an instrument to prepare economies for self-sufficiency and a resilient future by performing an objective evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To enhance malaria elimination, Vietnam adopted a Reactive Surveillance and Response (RASR) Strategy in which malaria case notification and investigation must be completed within 2 days followed by a focus investigation within 7 days. The nationwide performance of Vietnam's RASR strategy has yet to be evaluated. This study aims to evaluate the performance and feasibility of RASR in Vietnam, thereby providing recommendations for improved RASR. Methods: To assess malaria RASR in Vietnam, a mixed-methods study of (1) secondary data analysis of nationwide malaria case-based dataset from 2017 to 2021; (2) a quantitative survey, and (3) qualitative in-depth interviews and focus group discussions administered to central, provincial and district level stakeholders/staff and to the commune and community level front line health services providers was conducted. Results: In Vietnam, there are guidelines and procedures for implementation of each step of RASR. The completeness of case notification on the reported monthly aggregated data was very high in both the paper-based (12,463/12,498, 99.7% in 2017–2020) and electronic reporting systems (467/467, 100% in 2021 when electronic reporting was introduced); however, there were delays in notification while using the paper-based system (timely notification—7,978/12,498, 63.8%). In 2021, the completeness (453/467, 97.0%) and timeliness (371/467, 79.4%) of case investigation were found to be high. Reactive case detection was the major focus investigation response, with fever screening achievement of 88.6% (11,481 / 12,965) and 88.5% (11,471 / 12,965) among index case and neighbouring household members, respectively. Conclusions: Overall, there was policy commitment for implementation of RASR in Vietnam. The completeness and timeliness of case notification and case investigation were high and improved after the introduction of the electronic reporting system. More evidence is required for reactive case detection in defining the screening area or population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The building group is the basis for the maintenance and operation of the city. The rapid recovery of community building group (CBG) can effectively reduce economic losses caused by earthquakes. There is service function interdependence among the buildings, and the impact of this interdependence on the postdisaster recovery of CBG is not clear. In order to improve the postdisaster recovery efficiency of CBG and explore the impact of service function dependence among buildings on postdisaster recovery, this paper integrates the recovery time (RT) and functionality loss (FL) of individual buildings and proposes two multi‐objective optimization recovery models suitable for CBG: the postearthquake recovery optimization model of CBG and the postearthquake recovery optimization model of CBG considering the service function interdependence among buildings. In these models, building RT, building FL, CBG resilience, and building recovery resources are considered, and the nondominated sorting genetic algorithm‐Ⅱ is used to solve the models to obtain the optimal restoration scheduling of CBG. At the same time, through a case, this paper analyzes the impact of the interdependence of service function among buildings and recovery resources on the recovery scheduling and resilience of CBG. This method can provide a basis for pre‐earthquake disaster risk reduction planning and significantly improves the postdisaster recovery efficiency of CBG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: Sepsis is a serious and life-threatening condition caused by a dysregulated immune response to an infection. Recent guidance issued in the UK gave recommendations around recognition and antibiotic treatment of sepsis, but did not consider factors relating to health inequalities. The aim of this study was to summarise the literature investigating associations between health inequalities and sepsis. Methods: Searches were conducted in Embase for peer-reviewed articles published since 2010 that included sepsis in combination with one of the following five areas: socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, community factors, medical needs and pregnancy/maternity. Results: Five searches identified 1,402 studies, with 50 unique studies included in the review after screening (13 sociodemographic, 14 race/ethnicity, 3 community, 3 care/medical needs and 20 pregnancy/maternity; 3 papers examined multiple health inequalities). Most of the studies were conducted in the USA (31/50), with only four studies using UK data (all pregnancy related). Socioeconomic factors associated with increased sepsis incidence included lower socioeconomic status, unemployment and lower education level, although findings were not consistent across studies. For ethnicity, mixed results were reported. Living in a medically underserved area or being resident in a nursing home increased risk of sepsis. Mortality rates after sepsis were found to be higher in people living in rural areas or in those discharged to skilled nursing facilities while associations with ethnicity were mixed. Complications during delivery, caesarean-section delivery, increased deprivation and black and other ethnic minority race were associated with post-partum sepsis. Conclusion: There are clear correlations between sepsis morbidity and mortality and the presence of factors associated with health inequalities. To inform local guidance and drive public health measures, there is a need for studies conducted across more diverse setting and countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This opinion piece, written by ethnobiologists from different parts of the world, emphasizes the importance of ethnobiology research in advancing contemporary biology, natural resource management, biodiversity conservation, sustainable development, and, especially, contributing to the ecological transition and more just and inclusive world. To achieve these goals, it is essential to develop research and collaborate with social groups that live in close relationship with nature in research activities, such as Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLC), as well as Afro-descendants and other Marginalized, Minority or Minoritized Communities (AMMC). Ethnobiology can identify and provide locally appropriate solutions to local problems, enabling sustainable resource management at the landscape level. The text explores important aspects that need to be considered to guide the future of ethnobiology in the next 20 years, aiming to integrate and amplify previous discussions held in the discipline and identify points that demand ongoing attention. This paper highlights reflections from diverse researchers, emphasizing how ethnobiology can embrace different perspectives and employ rigorous analysis of complex phenomena toward effective policies and practices. This approach holds the potential to address the challenges the planet is currently facing in the coming decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food labels are the first source of information customers come across when sourcing a food product. Labels provide information about the ingredients, nutritional content, allergens, as well as the origin and advice on the food’s processing and preservation conditions. This information allows the consumer to make informed food choices. Although food labels are provided to help consumers choose healthy foods, it is not established whether they know and understand the information to use to their advantage. The need to comprehend consumer knowledge, understand food labelling information, and whether it could influence consumer choices are vital to researchers, policymakers, and the food industry. The study investigated the knowledge and understanding of food labelling information among Klipgat consumers. In a cross-sectional community-based study with a structured questionnaire, 400 participants were conveniently interviewed on consumer knowledge, understanding of information, and utilization of labelling information. A chi-square for the association of variables compared differences in the districts, and p-value <0.05 was regarded as significantly different. Overall, 79.9% of the study group from all three regions knew that processed food must have a label. Most respondents in the three regions were males (64%). There was a general lack of knowledge about food labelling information (x2=10.726; p=0.03), especially with terms such as trans-fatty acids (23.1%), monounsaturated fat (5.3%), Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) (15.3%) and Genetically Modified Organism (GMO), (14.7%). Socio-demographic characteristics including gender (p=0.030), age (p=0.030), language (p=0.030) and educational level (p=0.030) were significantly associated with consumers’ knowledge and understanding of the labels. The results from this study are useful for the development of communication and awareness strategies of food labelling information, with special emphasis on the use of simpler terminologies. This paper advocates for the development of a “food labelling forum,” consisting of relevant stakeholders with a mandate to; establish, implement, and maintain food labeling strategies, community engagement and general food labeling awareness programs especially in typical communities of South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the concept of satellite settlements in relation to working environment in Steptoe City, Nevada. Characteristics of satellite settlements; Existence of neighborhoods in company towns; Role of marginal neighborhood on socioeconomic system.

The article presents titles and abstracts of papers submitted at a meeting held in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1938. The paper "The Sequent Occupance of a Boston Suburban Community," presented by Edward A. Ackerman focuses on areas surrounding the Boston metropolitan district. The proximity of a large city market, plots of level land and fertile soil determine the existence of these suburban fanning communities. The article "The Recession of Victoria Falls," by Wallace W. Atwood. The world famous falls on the Zainbesi have had a strange and remarkable history in recession. The gorge is serpentine with many curious off-shoots, and located on the floor of a broad and much older flat-bottomed valley. Today the water tumbles over a ledge, fully a mile in length, and into a very narrow chasm 350 ft. deep.

Background: This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the issue of wastewater due to oil spills and pollution in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, which has led to significant environmental and socioeconomic consequences for local communities. The study employed a secondary data collection approach, drawing on various sources, including published research articles, reports, official records, and satellite imagery. Through a systematic review and synthesis of the available literature, the paper identified key challenges, mitigation and remediation strategies, policy recommendations, and areas for future research. The findings of this study revealed that the existing regulatory framework has not been fully effective in preventing and addressing oil spills and pollution in the Niger Delta region due to factors such as weak enforcement, inadequate resources, and overlapping responsibilities among regulatory agencies. Moreover, existing measures for oil spill response, clean-up, compensation, and remediation have had limited success, leaving affected communities to continue suffering from the impacts of oil spills and pollution. Short conclusion: The paper highlights the potential of innovative approaches and technologies, such as advanced oil spill detection and monitoring technologies, bioremediation, and renewable energy, to enhance the effectiveness of mitigation and remediation efforts. Furthermore, the study emphasizes the importance of collaboration and cooperation among various stakeholders, including government agencies, oil companies, local communities, civil society organizations, and international partners, in addressing the challenges posed by oil spills and pollution in the Niger Delta region. Based on the findings, the paper presents several policy recommendations, such as strengthening the regulatory framework, enhancing transparency and accountability, promoting community participation and empowerment, and encouraging investment in sustainable development and clean technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the boosting ridge (BR) framework in the extreme learning machine (ELM) community and presents a novel model that trains the base learners as a global ensemble. In the context of Extreme Learning Machine single-hidden-layer networks, the nodes in the hidden layer are preconfigured before training, and the optimisation is performed on the weights in the output layer. The previous implementation of the BR ensemble with ELM (BRELM) as base learners fix the nodes in the hidden layer for all the ELMs. The ensemble learning method generates different output layer coefficients by reducing the residual error of the ensemble sequentially as more base learners are added to the ensemble. As in other ensemble methodologies, base learners are selected until fulfilling ensemble criteria such as size or performance. This paper proposes a global learning method in the BR framework, where base learners are not added step by step, but all are calculated in a single step looking for ensemble performance. This method considers (i) the configurations of the hidden layer are different for each base learner, (ii) the base learners are optimised all at once, not sequentially, thus avoiding saturation, and (iii) the ensemble methodology does not have the disadvantage of working with strong classifiers. Various regression and classification benchmark datasets have been selected to compare this method with the original BRELM implementation and other state-of-the-art algorithms. Particularly, 71 datasets for classification and 52 for regression, have been considered using different metrics and analysing different characteristics of the datasets, such as the size, the number of classes or the imbalanced nature of them. Statistical tests indicate the superiority of the proposed method in both regression and classification problems in all experimental scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starting with launch of Landsat 7 (L7) on 15 April 1999, the USGS Landsat Image Assessment System (IAS) has been performing calibration and characterization operations for over 20 years on the Landsat spacecrafts and their associated payloads. With the launch of Landsat 9 (L9) on 27 September 2021, that spacecraft and its payloads, the Operational Land Imager-2 (OLI-2) and Thermal Infrared Sensor-2 (TIRS-2), were added to the existing suite of missions supported by the IAS. This paper discusses the geometric characterizations, calibrations, and performance analyses conducted during the commissioning period of the L9 spacecraft and its instruments. During this time frame the following calibration refinements were performed; (1) alignment between the OLI-2 and TIRS-2 instruments and the spacecraft attitude control system, (2) within-instrument band alignment, (3) instrument-to-instrument alignment. These refinements, carried out during commissioning and discussed in this paper, were performed to provide an on-orbit update to the pre-launch calibration parameters that were determined through Ground System Element (GSE) testing and Thermal Vacuum Testing (TVAC) for the two instruments and the L9 spacecraft. The commissioning period calibration update captures the effects of launch shift and zero-G release, and typically represents the largest changes that are made to the on-orbit geometric calibration parameters during the mission. The geometric calibration parameter updates performed during commissioning were done prior to releasing any L9 products to the user community. This commissioning period also represents the time frame during which focus is more strictly placed on the spacecraft and instrument performance, ensuring that system and instrument requirements are met, as contrasted with the post commissioning time frame when a greater focus is placed on the products generated, their behavior and their impact on the user community. Along with the calibration updates discussed in this paper key geometric performance requirements with respect to geodetic accuracy, geometric accuracy, and swath width are presented, demonstrating that the geometric performance of the L9 spacecraft and its' instruments with respect to these key performance requirements are being met. Within the paper it will be shown that the absolute geodetic accuracy is met for OLI-2 and TIRS-2 with a margin of approximately 79% and 65% respectively while the geometric accuracy is met for OLI-2 and TIRS-2 with a margin of approximately 68% and 43% respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the community of Australian planning professionals is familiar with the identification, interpretation and application of heritage conservation areas, this is not a concept that is familiar to the general public. Yet, none of the official publications issued by the New South Wales state heritage authorities provide a definition of the purpose of heritage conservation areas that goes beyond the declaring them to be a spatially bounded area containing heritage items. It is left to the local planning authorities to provide their own interpretations and definitions. This paper provides a systematic review of the definitions contained in NSW local heritage studies and planning documents. It presents the first ever comprehensive definition of the purpose of heritage conservation areas as well as of the nature and characteristics of an area's constituent, contributory or detracting components. Based on this, the paper then explores the role of heritage conservation areas as part of the public heritage domain focussing on the importance of isovists and commensurate curtilages when discussing permissible alterations and new developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unless the views of parole officials are unpacked and understood with regard to rehabilitating offenders in correctional centres with limited resources in South Africa, there will be less effort devoted towards ensuring the effectiveness of the parole system. This paper captures the working experiences of the parole officials at Brits Community Corrections in South Africa with regard to the use of parole in the rehabilitation of offenders. Using a qualitative approach and an exploratory descriptive design, the study employed total population purposive sampling to ensure the inclusion of all parole officials in the study to provide their working experience. In-depth interviews that provided data saturation with four parole officials were analysed thematically, critically discussed and compared to existing literature. The major findings were that the challenges faced by parolees in the communities were the main problems preventing the successful implementation of parole services. This led to endemic frustrations among the parole officials in the execution of parole services in the Brits area. This paper recommends relevant holistic approaches as interventions to improve the parole systems in the area and improve the working experiences of parole officials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Informal recycling workers (IRWs), including waste pickers (WPs) and waste sorters, are essential constituents of sustainable ecosystems in many cities in the Global South. Despite their valuable contributions to the economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable urban waste recycling, most IRWs work in precarious conditions. This paper examines recent efforts by local municipalities in Izmir to implement co-production design as a new institutional arrangement to generate green jobs for informal workers that provide high and stable incomes, job security, and social recognition. Using qualitative analyses of recent developments in the legal framework and in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, this paper identifies the following challenges associated with the current co-production efforts as its main findings: the lack of fiscal and legislative support from the central government; failure to include all IRWs in the co-production schemes; and the potential exclusion of marginalized communities due to the arbitrary requirements of a security clearance, which limit the inclusion of IRWs in co-production efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access to water is a universal human right for every individual and a key instrument in meeting the United Nations' sustainable development goal SDG 6, namely, to ensure safe drinking water and sanitation for all by 2030. Water is also intrinsically linked to any society or country's social, economic and political development. Nevertheless, many communities and households, predominantly rural and underprivileged in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality, continue to experience persistent water shortages. This means entrenched poverty, ill health, hunger, stress, and social and economic challenges for the population. Using data collection tools inspired by traditional methods of qualitative and quantitative approaches, this paper scrutinised the social and economic factors contributing to severe inequality in water access in the municipality. Our findings established that water shortage is portrayed as a stand-alone issue without linking it to social and economic challenges. Furthermore, both government and municipalities fail to contextualise a multidimensional problem-solving approach to the water provision challenges in the municipality. This paper, therefore, recommends a multidimensional approach to tackling the problem of accessibility, taking into consideration the social and economic needs of the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research involving and impacting Indigenous Peoples is often of little or no benefit to the communities involved and, in many cases, causes harm. Ensuring that Indigenous research is not only ethical but also of benefit to the communities involved is a long-standing problem that requires fundamental changes in higher education. To address this necessity for change, the authors of this paper, with the help of graduate and Indigenous community research assistants, undertook community consultation across their university to identify the local and national ethical needs of Indigenous researchers, communities, and Elders. This paper provides an overview of the consultation process, the themes that emerged from the consultations, and a model of the Wholistic Indigenous Research Framework that emerged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nature-based tourism is a type of tourism that is primarily concerned with the direct enjoyment of relatively undisturbed natural phenomena. Today, it is among the types of tourism which are characterised by significant growth rates at the global level. It has considerable growth potential and its development can concurrently ensure tourist satisfaction with the nature experience, profit for tourism providers, funds for environmental protection and an improvement in living standards in local communities. Nevertheless, it is also important to be aware of the potential negative implications of nature-based tourism development and to continuously manage all aspects of sustainability. This paper aims to determine the main study aspects of nature-based tourism, the most common methodological approaches and the most important characteristics of its contemporary development. For this purpose, an analysis of recent empirical research on nature-based tourism was conducted, and a total of 41 original scientific papers were included in the analysis. The four study aspects derived from this analysis contribute to determining the general characteristics of nature-based tourism's contemporary development, the prerequisite factors for this development, and the effects it has on a given area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Double-blind peer review is considered a pillar of academic research because it is perceived to ensure a fair, unbiased, and fact-centered scientific discussion. Yet, experienced researchers can often correctly guess from which research group an anonymous submission originates, biasing the peer-review process. In this work, we present a transformer-based, neural-network architecture that only uses the text content and the author names in the bibliography to attribute an anonymous manuscript to an author. To train and evaluate our method, we created the largest authorship-identification dataset to date. It leverages all research papers publicly available on arXiv amounting to over 2 million manuscripts. In arXiv-subsets with up to 2,000 different authors, our method achieves an unprecedented authorship attribution accuracy, where up to 73% of papers are attributed correctly. We present a scaling analysis to highlight the applicability of the proposed method to even larger datasets when sufficient compute capabilities are more widely available to the academic community. Furthermore, we analyze the attribution accuracy in settings where the goal is to identify all authors of an anonymous manuscript. Thanks to our method, we are not only able to predict the author of an anonymous work but we also provide empirical evidence of the key aspects that make a paper attributable. We have open-sourced the necessary tools to reproduce our experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural and urban America have becoming increasingly divided, both politically and economically. Entrepreneurship can help rural communities catch back up by jumpstarting economic growth, creating jobs, and building resilience to economic shocks. However, less is known about firm creation in rural areas compared to urban areas. To that end, in this paper we ask: What factors predict firm creation in rural America? Our analysis, based on a comparative framework involving multiple machine learning modeling techniques, helps addresses three gaps in academic literature on rural firm creation. First, entrepreneurship research stretches across disciplines, often using econometric methods to identify the effect of a specific variable, rather than comparing the predictive importance of multiple variables. Second, research on firm creation centers on high-tech, urban firms. Third, modern machine learning techniques have not yet been applied in an integrated way to address rural entrepreneurship, a complex economic and policy problem that defies simple, monocausal claims. In this paper, we apply four machine learning methods (subset selection, lasso, random forest, and extreme gradient boosting) to a novel dataset to examine what social and economic factors are predictive of firm growth in rural Texas counties from 2008–2018. Our results suggest that some factors commonly discussed as promoting entrepreneurship (e.g., access to broadband and patents) may not be as predictive as socioeconomic ones (age distribution, ethnic diversity, social capital, and immigration). We also find that the strength of specific industries (oil, wind, healthcare, and elder/childcare) predicts firm growth, as does the number of local banks. Most factors predictive of firm growth in rural counties are distinct from those in urban counties, supporting the argument that rural entrepreneurship is a distinct phenomenon worthy of distinct focus. More broadly, this multi-model approach can offer initial, focusing guidance to policymakers seeking to address similarly complex policy problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to provide a new perspective on the conditions for the multiple dimensions of concerns and to understand why some wind power projects run smoothly, while others lead to unexpected outcomes due to local resistance. The paper considers three Danish wind farm developments with different planning difficulties, from "smooth" to intensified resistance and conflicts between local communities and the planning authority. To better understand the different planning pathways, we use a research framework where social acceptance is viewed from a conflict management theory perspective, with a focus on the uniqueness and different dimensions of conflicts. The paper discusses how the framing of the planning system considers specific types of tangible concerns, while more intangible concerns are neglected, and how this leads to escalating conflicts. The paper is concluded with several policy recommendations on how to avoid conflicts and how authorities and politicians should reflect on their own agency in provoking conflicts, which can be avoided by proactively involving affected communities at early stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses issues pertaining to the future of work and sustainability through the lens of a case study of ecological deterioration and how it destroys and creates green jobs in a forest village of Istanbul. As elsewhere in major urban centres of developing countries, the hyper-expansion of city regions due to authoritarian developmentalism fosters the state-led construction sector in Turkey. Growth-driven economic policies continue to have adverse effects on the environment, resulting in deforestation among an array of ecological damage. Based on a qualitative analysis of oral history interviews and observations informed by a larger interdisciplinary research project, we observe resilience in the forest village under scrutiny as certain types of work are abandoned, and new forms are created by adaptation to the ecological and social conditions. The perceptions of changing conditions by locals vary across existing ethnic, gender, and class hierarchies in the local community. Moreover, our findings indicate that the types of work available in the village prior to urban transformation were not all decent or green. In face of ongoing ecological deterioration in a (formerly) forest community, participatory micro-initiatives, and grassroots, utilizing local community projects emerge that nevertheless pursue a green and just transition. We focus on one such initiative, the Community Fungi platform, to demonstrate the possibility of working towards a collective imagination of a green future inspired by past but unforgotten sustainable communal practices, in the context of the forest village under scrutiny in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research paper elaborates on the main concepts and terminology of strategic planning in education, including all the steps of building a strategic plan with mission and vision statements. Furthermore, it analyses and compares some successful strategic planning case studies in education by identifying the strengths and some weaknesses. The final results of this inquiry serve as recommendations for positive changes and reforms in North Macedonian education. Furthermore, this research paper emphasizes the importance of the SMART strategic goals for improving education, articulated via the mission and vision statements. It is quite interesting that internationally accredited educational organizations like NOVA IS of Skopje have more successful improvement plans based on shared values and goals via their mission and vision. The implementation of their strategic plans is closely monitored and evaluated. Moreover, some successful educational reforms happened in Finland, Singapore, and Victoria, Australia, and their ministries of education are dedicated and accountable to aligning their mission and vision with all public schools in these countries. On the contrary, although the Ministry of Education of North Macedonia has clearly published the mission and vision statements, there is still a huge gap in the reality of implementation of those in all public schools, and rarely any school has a shared mission and vision on their web page. Browsing around, one primary school in North Macedonia, "Jan Amos Komenski" has recently started sharing their school's mission and vision, values, and goals with the community which is a positive change toward SMART reforms. Strategic planning affects the improvement of learning and teaching; therefore it needs to be built inclusively and wisely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Portuguese community in Toronto is the largest in North America; however, its immigrant population is now aging. This paper addresses senior immigrants who had a transnational "later life" and discusses this practice in the transatlantic context, using a lifecycle model of transnational migration. Later life is a life stage that is highly feasible for transnational migration, as seniors are mostly disentangled from various obligations, such as work, child rearing, and caregiving for parents. Transnational senior migrants in Europe and North America can be categorized into four groups: Intra‐Europe Rich, Intra‐Europe Immigrant, North American Snowbird, and Trans‐Atlantic Immigrant. Trans‐Atlantic Immigrant seniors, the target group of this paper, differ from the other groups on several points, including seasonal preference for transnational migration, motivations, and legal regulations. The paper considers the questions of why senior Portuguese immigrants choose to stay in Portugal for an extended period each year, while mainly living in Canada, and how their later life is structured between the two countries. Transnational later life is a strategic practice of senior Portuguese immigrants in Canada in the last stage of their lifecycle, allowing them to maximize government pension payments while simultaneously enjoying the highest quality of life possible in both countries. Key Messages: Immigration from Portugal to Canada accelerated in the 1960s and 1970s, and this immigrant population is now aging.The senior Trans‐Atlantic Immigrant is significantly different from other transnational senior groups in Europe and North America, in terms of seasonal preference for transnational migration, motivations, and legal regulations.Transnational later life is a strategic practice of senior Portuguese immigrants in Canada in the last stage of their lifecycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to contribute to the scientific discussion on the transmitting, coordinating role of meso level governments in regional development focusing mostly on rural areas. We can distinguish between the power position of rural local governments and communities and the strongly networked urban areas that tend to govern themselves according to different leadership models and logic. Rural, municipal governments and agents are working under assymetrical power relations and rely on the interventions of the „upper level" for assistance. The paper, besides the theoretical literature review, includes empirical elements based on empirical research conducted (first in all Hungarian counties (2018) and after focusing on Baranya county between 2020 and 2022) to illustrate how the weak legal, political and social position and administrative capacity of county self-governments hinder such a role, and why it would be necessary to strenghten the coordination and interest representation at meso-level (Pálné, 2019; NKFIH no. 132294). The county governments have a long history, depending on the centralized or decentralized model of governance in the given period. Hungarian counties have recently been tasked with the mission of regional development, especially in rural areas, but as our preliminary results indicate, rural municipalities have not benefited so much from this new role. Despite Baranya being one of the poorest Hungarian counties dominated by rural small municipalities, the empowerment and embeddedness of county governments hardly enable the enforcement of rural priorities and representing the interest of municipaliities within a dominantly centralized regional development system. The paper intends to offer a theoretical approach rather than a policy analysis, however, the concluding chapter formulates some ideas on the directions of future reforms arguing for the necessity of re-decentralization in Hungary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the author explores the prospect of, and the rationale for, the critical workplace information literacy (CWIL) construct, by situating it at the junction of critical information literacy (CIL) and workplace information literacy (WIL), the two hitherto discrete frameworks and subdomains of information literacy (IL). This preliminary attempt at the conceptualisation of a new construct was guided by the question of what role CIL can play in empowering workers to attain decent work. The author frames the conceptualisation around the 'decent work' (DW) concept, as a normative goal of the critical workplace information literacy construct, and discusses the rationale for it in the framework of the discussion on the decent work deficits in the contemporary work and information environment. Freire's critical hermeneutics and dialectics of voice and empowerment are drawn upon. The paper argues positively for the role of CIL in attaining decent work and for the need for a new construct that would help fill the knowledge and discursive gap in IL and its subdomains and overcome the current silos in the IL community. The author concludes that developing a concept requires a broad deliberative process informed by both theoretical and empirical research, and gives suggestions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to bypass assumptions that researchers in critical algorithmic studies and urban studies find it difficult to study algorithmic systems due to their black-boxed nature. In addition, it seeks to work against the assumption that advocating for transparency in algorithms is, therefore, the key for achieving an enhanced understanding of the role of algorithmic technologies on modern life. Drawing on applied assemblage thinking via the concept of the urban assemblage, I demonstrate how the notion of urban assemblage can work as an alternative way to explore the distributed and potential dimensions of what has been termed as Urban AI phenomena. Rather than seeing Urban AI phenomena as black-boxed, unknown and opaque, the notion of urban assemblage locates such entities within the wider contests of the city: urban places, communities and politics, where human-algorithmic relationships gather and disperse. In addition, this approach focuses on the potentialities of Urban AI phenomena—how algorithmic systems can operate differently through different aspects of the city—which can be seen to manifest new forms of resistance, collective actions and democracy. I use a case study of an algorithmic system designed to facilitate digital democracy—vTaiwan—to exemplify how assemblage methodology foregrounds the role of cities as spaces and places for exploring the democratic possibilities of algorithmic systems. This paper concludes with discussion of how the assemblage methodology contributes to serve as a bridge between critical algorithm studies and recent studies of platform urbanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes an improvisatory or 'no method' research approach in socio-ecological sustainability in two rural Ugandan communities. A team of multidisciplinary researchers purposed to understand how rural community members make sense of their role in, and relationship with, the environment. In addition, they sought to unsettle pre-existing assumptions, categories of knowledge, and methods of knowledge generation, through a practical and conceptual exploration of community-academy collaboration in research. The authors present an account of the research process as an experiment towards a decolonial, context-specific, and post-qualitative practice of inquiry and collaboration. The paper describes the context of the Ugandan communities involved and the socio-ecological issues that impact their lives. Related methodological practices are discussed to support the description and discussion of the improvised methods employed in this study. The methodological findings that conclude this paper have implications for global sustainability research, partnership, and action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]