Docile Bodies: Transnational Research Ethics as Biopolitics

This essay explores the claim that bioethics has become a mode of biopolitics. It seeks to illuminate one of the myriad of ways that bioethics joins other institutionalized discursive practices in the task of producing, organizing, and managing the bodies—of policing and controlling populations—in order to empower larger institutional agents. The focus of this analysis is the contemporary practice of transnational biomedical research. The analysis is catalyzed by the enormous transformation in the political economy of transnational research that has occurred over the past three decades and the accompanying increase in the numbers of human bodies now subjected to research. This essay uses the work of Michel Foucault, particularly his notion of docile bodies, to analyze these changes. Two loci from the bioethics literature are explored—one treating research in the United States and one treating research in developing countries. In the latter, we see a novel dynamic of the new biopolitics: the ways in which bioethics helps to create docile political bodies that will police themselves and who will, in turn, facilitate the production of docile human bodies for research

What motivates men to donate blood? A systematic review of the evidence

Background and Objectives: Effective recruitment and retention of male donors are vital for the ongoing provision of blood products. Compared with females, male donors are less likely to be medically deferred or experience vasovagal reactions and are typically preferred for plasmapheresis donation in voluntary non‐remunerated settings. However, females outnumber males among donors aged under 40 years. This systematic review aimed to synthesize evidence and identify key motivators for blood donation among males to inform targeted recruitment/retention campaigns. Materials and Methods: Databases (e.g. EBSCOhost, Web of Science) were searched using terms (dona* OR dono*) AND (blood OR aphaeresis OR apheresis OR plasma* OR platelet* OR platlet*) in title AND (male OR gender OR sex OR female) AND (motivat* OR intention OR attitude OR behavi* OR predictor OR barrier OR deter*) NOT (organ OR sperm OR tissue OR autologous OR oocyte) in text. Two researchers independently systematically scanned quantitative, full‐text, English language, peer‐reviewed publications from 1990 to 2015 that examined males/females separately with outcomes of blood donation or self‐reported intention. Two additional researchers resolved discrepancies. Results: Among 28 identified articles, the most frequently cited motivators for male blood product donation were as follows: altruism; positive attitude towards incentives; health check(s); subjective norms. Altruism was less pronounced among males compared with females and was combined with ‘warm glow’ in novice males (impure altruism). Perceived health benefits and incentives (e.g. coffee mugs) were stronger motivators of males than females. Conclusion: Marketing campaigns for recruitment/retention of male donors should focus on identified motivators rather than take a ‘one‐size‐fits‐all’ approach

Overview and Analysis of Practices with Open Educational Resources in Adult Education in Europe

OER4Adults aimed to provide an overview of Open Educational Practices in adult learning in Europe, identifying enablers and barriers to successful implementation of practices with OER. The project was conducted in 2012-2013 by a team from the Caledonian Academy, Glasgow Caledonian University, funded by The Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS). The project drew on data from four main sources: • OER4Adults inventory of over 150 OER initiatives relevant to adult learning in Europe • Responses from the leaders of 36 OER initiatives to a detailed SWOT survey • Responses from 89 lifelong learners and adult educators to a short poll • The Vision Papers on Open Education 2030: Lifelong Learning published by IPTS Interpretation was informed by interviews with OER and adult education experts, discussion at the IPTS Foresight Workshop on Open Education and Lifelong Learning 2030, and evaluation of the UKOER programme. Analysis revealed 6 tensions that drive developing practices around OER in adult learning as well 6 summary recommendations for the further development of such practices

Mapping the information-coping trajectory of young people coping with long term illness: An evidence based approach

Purpose - Purpose: We explore the relationship between information and coping information from the experiences of young people coping with long term illness. Design/methodology/approach - Methodology: Situational Analysis was used as a methodological approach. It has roots in the Chicago Symbolic Interactionism School. Cartographic approaches enabled the analysis, mapping the complexities emerging from the data. Findings - Findings: As the young people became more informed about their health conditions, and gained knowledge and understanding both about their illnesses, their own bodies and boundaries, their confidence and capacity to cope increased. Gaining confidence, the young people often wanted to share their knowledge becoming information providers themselves. From the data we identified five positions on an information-coping trajectory (1) Information deficiency (2) Feeling ill-informed (3) Needing an injection of information (4) Having information health and (5) Becoming an information donor. Research limitations/implications - Research limitations/implications: The research was limited to an analysis of thirty narratives. The research contributes to information theory by mapping clearly the relationship between information and coping. Originality/value - Originality/value: The information theories in this study have originality and multi-disciplinary value in the management of health and illness, and information studies

The Role Of The Nurse Practitioner In Providing Supportive Care To Patients With Migraine Headaches

Migraine is a debilitating disorder that is now recognized as a chronic illness, not simply a headache. The condition is associated with a great deal of pain and suffering as well as considerable economic consequences both to the patient and society in terms of healthcare costs and lost productivity. Migraines increase morbidity, limit daily activities, and affect the sufferer’s well-being. Migraine headaches affect approximately 30 million people in the United States, and 75% of migraine sufferers are women. Migraines may occur at any age, but they usually begin between the ages of 10 and 40 and diminish after age 50. Some people experience several migraines a month while others have only a few migraines in their lifetime. Headache is the most common pain complaint of human kind. It may represent a distinct syndrome without identified underlying pathology, known as a primary or benign headache, or it can be a symptom of an underlying disease, known as a secondary or organic headache. The number of different types of headaches and their associated causes, signs, and symptoms often make headaches difficult to treat. Most headaches can be treated effectively; however, despite its prevalence and availability of effective treatment, migraine headaches are still underdiagnosed, misdiagnosed, and even when identified, undertreated. The purpose of this research project was to explore the amount of supportive care provided to patients with migraine headaches. The theoretical framework used to guide this project was Jean Watson’s Caring Theory. Recommendations from this integrated literature review include the need for further research regarding the role of the Nurse Practitioner in providing supportive care to patients with migraine headaches. Conclusions are drawn and recommendations are made for Nurse Practitioners in the areas of nursing research, nursing theory, advanced practice nursing, nurse practitioner education, and health policy

ACCESS: An Inception Report

Imagine a world in which all groups of citizens coming together to realize some public benefit measure and communicate the character and consequences of their work. Imagine further that all those groups have adopted a common reporting system that enables their individual reports to be compared, thus creating powerful descriptions of the relative and collective performance of citizen association for public benefit. Imagine, too, that this common measuring and reporting carries across to all forms of public-private partnership and corporate social responsibility. This is the world envisioned by ACCESS.For the past 18 months a growing number of concerned actors have been meeting, studying, and testing opinion around one of the great structural weaknesses in the world's institutional infrastructure -- inefficient and weak social investment markets. This inception report sets out the results of this enquiry in the form of a proposal to establish a reporting standard for nonprofit organizations seeking to produce social, environmental and, increasingly, financial returns. The ACCESS Reporting standard is one important contribution to redressing a major global system weakness, but it is certainly not the only one. Nor is it one that can operate in isolation from other initiatives. Accordingly, the ACCESS proposed plan of work involves convening a global dialogue on NGO transparency, accountability and performance with the objective of promoting ACCESS and other practical solutions to the challenges of social investment and civil society accountability.This report sets out the background and rationale for these proposals. You will meet the ACCESS sponsors and pilot project partners. Parts of the report are descriptive and analytical but other parts are necessarily theoretical and technical in nature. We make no apology for this. Part of the reason that in 2003 the world does not yet have a reporting standard for social actors is that the theory and technique have not been mastered. For those with a strong orientation toward strategy and action, however, these aspects are presented as well

Five-country Study on Service and Volunteering in Southern Africa: South Africa Country Report

The aim of the study was to document and analyse civic service and volunteering in South Africa

From manual to makeshift: the practice of community health work in Wallacedene and Bloekombos informal settlements

Includes bibliographical references.This thesis investigates community health workers' negotiation between the prescribed 'manual' for care and the lived realities of their field, exploring how prescriptions of public health are reappropriated through the micro-politics of everyday practice. What inventiveness, agency and tactical manoeuvres are woven between abstract ideals and situational demands? And how are these shaping the content of care? Community health work has been established as the model for health service delivery in resource-poor settings, particularly those hard-hit by AIDS. While its outcomes are widely celebrated, what this success looks like in practice remains under-explored. This dissertation investigates the messy application of this abstract model of care within a specific social context, exploring the place of care in the lives of carers, and how circumstantial pressures shape care delivery in unintended ways

Building Healthcare Leadership in Africa: A Call to Action

Based on an April 2009 conference, outlines Africa's healthcare needs, including workers, infrastructure, and technology. Offers a framework for building capacity and sustainability through individual, institutional, and network leadership development