Acceptability of HIV self-sampling kits (TINY vial) among people of black African ethnicity in the UK: a qualitative study

Background: Increasing routine HIV testing among key populations is a public health imperative, so improving access to acceptable testing options for those in need is a priority. Despite increasing targeted distribution and uptake of HIV self-sampling kits (SSKs) among men who have sex with men in the UK, little is known about why targeted SSK interventions for black African users are not as wide-spread or well-used. This paper addresses this key gap, offering insight into why some groups may be less likely than others to adopt certain types of SSK interventions in particular contexts. These data were collected during the development phase of a larger study to explore the feasibility and acceptability of targeted distribution of SSKs to black African people. Methods: We undertook 6 focus groups with members of the public who self-identified as black African (n = 48), 6 groups with specialists providing HIV and social services to black African people (n = 53), and interviews with HIV specialist consultants and policy-makers (n = 9). Framework analysis was undertaken, using inductive and deductive analysis to develop and check themes. Results: We found three valuable components of targeted SSK interventions for this population: the use of settings and technologies that increase choice and autonomy; targeted offers of HIV testing that preserve privacy and do not exacerbate HIV stigma; and ensuring that the specific kit being used (in this case, the TINY vial) is perceived as simple and reliable. Conclusions: This unique and rigorous research offers insights into participants’ views on SSK interventions, offering key considerations when targeting this population.. Given the plethora of HIV testing options, our work demonstrates that those commissioning and delivering SSK interventions will need to clarify (for users and providers) how each kit type and intervention design adds value. Most significantly, these findings demonstrate that without a strong locus of control over their own circumstances and personal information, black African people are less likely to feel that they can pursue an HIV test that is safe and secure. Thus, where profound social inequalities persist, so will inequalities in HIV testing uptake – by any means

Taking Teams Seriosly in the Co-creation of Firms and Economic Agency

This paper suggests that it is time to take the agency of teams seriously. Whereas the debate has previously focused on how firms may function more effectively by using team-based work-organization, our aim is to discuss and understand how teams effect the evolutionary dynamic of companies. Fieldwork in four Danish manufacturing companies helped us discover that firms as “communities of teams” are highly dynamic entities with complex layers of different team forms that operate, innovate and improve by constantly recombining work, collaborating across organizational divisions and redistributing authority, thereby challenging some of the existing “idioms” of team research and theories of the firm. The paper builds on these findings as we attempt to rethink research on teams by re-describing the evolutionary dynamics of firms and suggesting some themes that call for comparative research

Philosophy and the Apparatus of Disability

Abstract and Keywords Mainstream philosophers take for granted that disability is a prediscursive, transcultural, and transhistorical disadvantage, an objective human defect or characteristic that ought to be prevented, corrected, eliminated, or cured. That these assumptions are contestable, that it might be the case that disability is a historically and culturally specific, contingent social phenomenon, a complex apparatus of power, rather than a natural attribute or property that certain people possess, is not considered, let alone seriously entertained. This chapter draws on the insights of Michel Foucault to advance a historicist and relativist conception of disability as an apparatus (dispositif) of power and identify mechanisms of power within philosophy that produce the underrepresentation of disabled philosophers in the profession and the marginalization of philosophy of disability in the discipline. Keywords: disability, Michel Foucault, apparatus, historicist, relativist, underrepresentation of disabled philosopher

Education decentralization and accountability relationships in Latin America

The author analyzes decentralization reforms in the education sector in Latin America (their status, impact, and ongoing challenges) by making use of the accountability framework developed by the World Development Report 2004: Making Services Work for Poor People. She starts by identifying three main groups of models according to the subnational actors involved, the pattern adopted in the distribution of functions across subnational actors, and the accountability system central to the model. She then reviews the impact of these models according to the available empirical evidence, and explores determinants of this impact, extracting lessons useful to the design of future reforms. The author concludes that the single most important factor in ensuring the success or failure of a reform is the way the accountability relationships are set to work within each of the models and provides some lessons on how to get these relationships to work effectively. She also provides three main general lessons for selecting"successful"models: (1) avoid complicated models; (2) increase school autonomy and the scope for"client power,"maintaining a clear role for the other accountability relationships; and (3) place more emphasis on the"management"accountability relationship and the sustainability of the models.Teaching and Learning,Decentralization,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Primary Education,Public Health Promotion,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Primary Education,Banks&Banking Reform,Teaching and Learning,National Governance

The evolution of democratic politics and current security challenges in Nigeria: retrospect and prospect

This paper analyzes the evolution of democratic politics and continuing lack of success in entrenching liberal democracy in Nigeria. By examining the underlying causes of Nigeria’s purported slowness or imperviousness to the revival of effective democracy, the paper hopes to identify pertinent security challenges that have coalesced to impede her path to political stability and development.Copyright Information: http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/issn/1741-9166/"author can archive pre-print [and] can archive post-print[after] 18 month embargo for SSH journalsonInstitutional or Subject RepositoryPublisher's version/PDF cann

CHORUS Deliverable 2.2: Second report - identification of multi-disciplinary key issues for gap analysis toward EU multimedia search engines roadmap

After addressing the state-of-the-art during the first year of Chorus and establishing the existing landscape in multimedia search engines, we have identified and analyzed gaps within European research effort during our second year. In this period we focused on three directions, notably technological issues, user-centred issues and use-cases and socio- economic and legal aspects. These were assessed by two central studies: firstly, a concerted vision of functional breakdown of generic multimedia search engine, and secondly, a representative use-cases descriptions with the related discussion on requirement for technological challenges. Both studies have been carried out in cooperation and consultation with the community at large through EC concertation meetings (multimedia search engines cluster), several meetings with our Think-Tank, presentations in international conferences, and surveys addressed to EU projects coordinators as well as National initiatives coordinators. Based on the obtained feedback we identified two types of gaps, namely core technological gaps that involve research challenges, and “enablers”, which are not necessarily technical research challenges, but have impact on innovation progress. New socio-economic trends are presented as well as emerging legal challenges

MMultilevel Government in Three East Central European Candidate Countries and Its Reforms after 1989

multilevel governance; enlargement; Hungary; Poland

Building Capacity for Triangulated Assessment

Over the last number of years, increased accountability in the teaching profession, coupled with the implementation of standards-based curricula, have resulted in traditional measuring tools such as tests, quizzes, or a performance task dominating classroom assessment practices (DeLuca, King, Sun, & Klinger, 2012). Ontario’s assessment and evaluation policy, Growing Success (2010), and Campbell et al.’s (2018) review of assessment in Ontario both support strengthening the use of qualitative feedback. However, current practices focusing on grade-oriented, surface level approaches characterized by memorization, recall, reduced thinking, preference for easier tasks, reluctance to take intellectual risks, and a diminished interest in learning continues (Kohn, 2011; Tippin, Lafreniere, & Page, 2012). A problem of practice is a situation in one’s place of work where goals and/or values might not be entirely met that is characteristic of a group of people or population (Pollock, 2014). Using Nadler and Tushman’s (1982) Congruence Model of Organizational Behaviour and Cawsey, Deszca and Ingols’ (2016) Change Path Model, this Organization Improvement Plan will contextualize a problem of practice, analyze the organization in preparation for change, and propose a change implementation plan aimed at building capacity for leaders and teachers to broaden the use of triangulated methods, the use of multiple sources over time to gather data (Herbst, 2015), in student assessment

Unattended network operations technology assessment study. Technical support for defining advanced satellite systems concepts

The results are summarized of an unattended network operations technology assessment study for the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI). The scope of the work included: (1) identified possible enhancements due to the proposed Mars communications network; (2) identified network operations on Mars; (3) performed a technology assessment of possible supporting technologies based on current and future approaches to network operations; and (4) developed a plan for the testing and development of these technologies. The most important results obtained are as follows: (1) addition of a third Mars Relay Satellite (MRS) and MRS cross link capabilities will enhance the network's fault tolerance capabilities through improved connectivity; (2) network functions can be divided into the six basic ISO network functional groups; (3) distributed artificial intelligence technologies will augment more traditional network management technologies to form the technological infrastructure of a virtually unattended network; and (4) a great effort is required to bring the current network technology levels for manned space communications up to the level needed for an automated fault tolerance Mars communications network