Access to Medicines: the Role of Intellectual property Law and Policy

Intellectual property (IP) policy is an important structural determinant of health. Patent policy influences the rate and direction of innovation for health, playing a positive or negative role depending on how it is shaped and implemented. Patent policy also has critical implications for access to existing medicines and medical technologies. This has been illustrated most dramatically in the context of the global Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)/ Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) pandemic. Prices for a three-drug combination of anti-retroviral (ARV) HIV therapy in 2000 from patent-holding companies exceeded USD $10,000 per person per year, ensuring that treatment could not be extended to the vast majority of those living with HIV around the world. Generic competition led to precipitous price reductions, so that today treatment can be provided for less than USD$75 per person per year. This history has contributed to the growing recognition that strong patent law applied to pharmaceuticals in developing countries undermines access to medicines and compromises the human right to health. While the relationship between IP and innovation is covered in a separate paper, it is worth noting here that there is little reason to expect that stronger patent rights in developing countries will lead to any substantial offsetting gains in innovation for the affected countries. Developing countries represent a very small share of the world’s pharmaceutical market, meaning that the marginal added value of stronger patent protection will be small, and is unlikely to outweigh the costs to access

Participatory Augering: A methodology for challenging perceptions of archaeology and landscape change

Public engagement is a significant feature of twenty-first-century archaeological practice. While more diverse audiences are connecting with the discipline in a multitude of ways, public perceptions of archaeology are still marred by stereotypes. Community excavations of ‘sites’ to discover ‘treasures’ which tell us about the ‘past’ overshadow other forms of public research output and hinder the potential of the discipline to contribute to contemporary society more widely. This paper proposes participatory augering as an active public engagement method that challenges assumptions about the nature of archaeological practice by focusing on interpretation at a landscape-scale. Through exploration of recent participatory augering research by the REFIT Project and Environmental Archaeologist Mike Allen, this paper demonstrates how the public can contribute to active archaeological research by exploring narratives of landscape change. Evaluation of the existing case studies reflects the potential of the approach to engage audiences with new archaeological methods and narratives which have the potential to transform perceptions of the discipline and, through knowledge exchange, drive community-led contributions to contemporary landscape management

State-of-the-art on evolution and reactivity

This report starts by, in Chapter 1, outlining aspects of querying and updating resources on the Web and on the Semantic Web, including the development of query and update languages to be carried out within the Rewerse project. From this outline, it becomes clear that several existing research areas and topics are of interest for this work in Rewerse. In the remainder of this report we further present state of the art surveys in a selection of such areas and topics. More precisely: in Chapter 2 we give an overview of logics for reasoning about state change and updates; Chapter 3 is devoted to briefly describing existing update languages for the Web, and also for updating logic programs; in Chapter 4 event-condition-action rules, both in the context of active database systems and in the context of semistructured data, are surveyed; in Chapter 5 we give an overview of some relevant rule-based agents frameworks

Exploring Digitalization within the Tourism Supply Chain Network

Purpose: Digitalisation among SMMEs has been slow due to the constraints such as a lack of infrastructure, networks, technologies, and related skills to fast-track digital transition. These binding constraints make it harder for Small Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) in developing countries to undertake this digital transition. The purpose of this study is to explore the state of digitalisation within the Tourism Supply Chain Network (TSCN) among SMMEs in Gauteng. Design/ Methodology/ Approach:  An ethnographic qualitative methodology was adopted to have a better understanding of the complexity and idiosyncrasies of digitalisation within the TSCN among the SMMEs in Gauteng where interviews were conducted from twelve participants until saturation. Findings: The results revealed that apart from the lack of digital skills (data analytics software and video editing technology) and limited understanding of knowledge management especially for the legal systems within the supply network among the selected SMMEs remains a challenge. Practical Implication: Formulating integrated business ventures and approaching big projects as consortiums not as individual small micro entities is critical for more purpose-driven tourism networks, especially for emerging businesses. SMMEs hardly work with other businesses in the area to develop sustainable networks; hence, there is a need for an effective travel and tourism data Management Company connecting both international and domestic suppliers for effective and efficient service to the businesses and the customers. Paper type: Research pape

"This does my head in". Ethnographic study of self-management by people with diabetes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Self-management is rarely studied 'in the wild'. We sought to produce a richer understanding of how people live with diabetes and why self-management is challenging for some.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>Ethnographic study supplemented with background documents on social context. We studied a socio-economically and ethnically diverse UK population. We sampled 30 people with diabetes (15 type 1, 15 type 2) by snowballing from patient groups, community contacts and NHS clinics. Participants (aged 5-88, from a range of ethnic and socio-economic groups) were shadowed at home and in the community for 2-4 periods of several hours (total 88 visits, 230 hours); interviewed (sometimes with a family member or carer) about their self-management efforts and support needs; and taken out for a meal. Detailed field notes were made and annotated. Data analysis was informed by structuration theory, which assumes that individuals' actions and choices depend on their dispositions and capabilities, which in turn are shaped and constrained (though not entirely determined) by wider social structures.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Self-management comprised both practical and cognitive tasks (e.g. self-monitoring, menu planning, medication adjustment) and socio-emotional ones (e.g. coping with illness, managing relatives' input, negotiating access to services or resources). Self-management was hard work, and was enabled or constrained by economic, material and socio-cultural conditions within the family, workplace and community. Some people managed their diabetes skilfully and flexibly, drawing on personal capabilities, family and social networks and the healthcare system. For others, capacity to self-manage (including overcoming economic and socio-cultural constraints) was limited by co-morbidity, cognitive ability, psychological factors (e.g. under-confidence, denial) and social capital. The consequences of self-management efforts strongly influenced people's capacity and motivation to continue them.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Self-management of diabetes is physically, intellectually, emotionally and socially demanding. Non-engagement with self-management may make sense in the context of low personal resources (e.g. health literacy, resilience) and overwhelming personal, family and social circumstances. Success of self-management as a policy solution will be affected by interacting influences at three levels: [a] at micro level by individuals' dispositions and capabilities; [b] at meso level by roles, relationships and material conditions within the family and in the workplace, school and healthcare organisation; and [c] at macro level by prevailing economic conditions, cultural norms and expectations, and the underpinning logic of the healthcare system. We propose that the research agenda on living with diabetes be extended and the political economy of self-management systematically studied.</p

ENERGY CONSULTATIONS ON TREATY 8 LANDS: THE EFFECTS OF OIL EXTRACTION ON PEERLESS TROUT FIRST NATION

For 14 weeks, from May 8th to August 15th of 2015, I lived and conducted research in Peerless Trout First Nation (PTFN). I use ethnographic research methods and a political ecological framework to study how Indigenous culture and traditional use of the land is affected by resource development in northern Alberta. This research contributes to the discipline of anthropology in several ways. First, it demonstrates how ethnography is an important research tool for collecting scientific data. There are several vignettes, stories, and interview excerpts that, through coding methods, inform the themes and conclusions in this thesis. This thesis is a successful demonstration of graduate work in anthropology and can inform, and hopefully inspire other students to pursue this type of education and work. Second, this thesis contributes to the literature on the anthropology of oil. I review many anthropologists, scholars, and authors who speak to development and the economy; specifically in employment concerns for Indigenous groups living near extraction zones which continues to be a key issue in oil discourse. More generally, this thesis contributes to the larger discipline of environmental anthropologists studying oil and gas in that it supports those who also argue that Indigenous worldview, perspectives, and knowledge must be considered in the making, or perhaps, re-making of consultation, and other laws and policies related to extraction and Indigenous groups. Third, this thesis shares key findings that are useful to PTFN and can inform consultation practice and policy in meaningful ways. My key findings indicate that PTFN remains committed to engaging in industry related projects while highly attuned to the negative social and environmental impacts resource extraction creates. Consultation efforts in PTFN are hampered by several factors including problematic consultation policy and practices, Consultation Staff have limited knowledge of the technical and bureaucratic language used in office and administrative work, and there is limited information sharing between Consultation Staff and inadequate transparency from the Consultation Office to the community about projects. A critical review of these processes is necessary for PTFN to move forward in their efforts to effectively participate in the energy sector in Alberta. I offer tangible suggestions to address these critiques

Cognitive and Institutional Barriers to New Forms of Cooperation on Environmental Protection: Insights from Project Xl and Habitat Conservation Plans

Many perceive the predominantly command-and-control structure of regulatory policy to be overly restrictive and inefficient in achieving our emerging environmental goals. In response, the U.S. government has introduced several voluntary programs to develop innovative, beyond-compliance environmental management solutions through the collaboration between government agencies and regulated entities. Yet, these programs have not gained widespread acceptance. This paper analyzes the cognitive and institutional barriers to that acceptance by looking specifically at two programs ‑ Project XL and Habitat Conservation Plans. These barriers act out of force of habit, creating a resistance to change and a rejection of new forms of regulatory policy. We argue that to create policy change, we must change how individuals think and how institutions guide that thinkinghttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136207/1/1356_Hoffman.pd

The Influence of Social Capital on College Persistence and Completion for African American Males

ABSTRACT Alarming national statistics reveal the scope and trajectory of inequality that exists for African American men completing bachelor’s degrees. Public institutions confer bachelor’s degrees to Black males at a rate of just under 35% within the six-year benchmark, the lowest completion rate among all racial groups and for male and female students. Of interest to this work is whether social capital – in the form of informal faculty mentoring and peer network support – has a significant impact on college persistence for African American men who successfully attain bachelor’s degrees. The study investigates the influence of social class, pre-college attributes, such as educational attainment aspirations, and propensity to seek social support, as contributors to college completion. The theoretical framework informing this study draws from social capital theory, Tinto’s retention theory, Harper’s anti-deficit achievement framework, intersectionality theory, and the academic resilience perspective. This study takes a mixed-methods approach using nationally representative data from the 2004/09 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:04/09). It also uses qualitative data from interviews with African American men who attempted bachelor’s degrees at colleges and universities in the state of Georgia – 20 who successfully completed the degree programs they started, and 5 who did not finish the programs they started (although 1 of these 5 went on to complete his degree at a different, out-of-state university). Findings contribute to the limited sociology of education literature on African American male students’ college experiences, and inform higher education administrators’ efforts to implement or improve policies that promote increasing Black men’s retention and completion rates. Further, what is learned from this research will help administrators to address strengthening the graduate school pipeline for Black men. These objectives are important for bridging postsecondary education attainment disparities

The role of verification in international relations: 1945-1993

The role of verification in international relations is liked with the urge to verify which is evident throughout human history. This study focused on the evolution of this role in light of political circumstances and technological progress. Several different approaches to verification can be identified – bilateral, regional cooperation, global arrangements, and individual national efforts. Moreover, several themes characterize the existing verification regimes. These issues – namely the sharing of intelligence, managing compliance questions, and the integration of different regimes – present themselves as the negotiating ground for future years. One of the important result of the paper is that it demonstrates how the concept of verification, once a contentious political instrument, is encompassing anew actors, new frameworks, new technologies, and new fields