Contextual Analysis of eGranary Implementation in sub Saharan countries

Users encounter information and communication systems (ICT) within situated, dynamic contexts with political, economic, infrastructural and socio-organizational elements. Demand for eGranary's offline library of digital content continues to grow in parts of the world that lack Internet access, particularly at schools and universities. But uptake is scattered and inconsistent, and the library's impact on localized communities and its wider effects, e.g. on pedagogy, are poorly understood. This study analyses interviews with eGranary intermediary agents active in four sub Saharan countries. These Mediators reveal some of what is known about the context of eGranary adoption, adaptation and the issues that stakeholders negotiate in the process. This provides background understanding for future contact with eGranary end-users. Contextual characteristics identified include: reliability of technology and power supply; power-saving trends using smaller hardware and content structure; institutional and user preference for pre-tailored and/or local content; and desire for improved collection searchability.Master of Science in Information Scienc

Informal Care in the Light of Well-Being – the Case of Finland

The societal triumph in terms of increased life expectancy has, in combination with other development, contributed to an increased need for socially and financially sustainable care forms for older adults in Finland, as in many other parts of the Western world. An example of such a solution is informal care, that is, a formalisation of informal care where a close one with the help of public support services cares for care dependents who cannot manage on their own. The promotion of well-being of older adults is an important part of Finnish social policy. Macro-level decisions and local implementations affect well-being. Support services and benefits shape the prerequisites for coping in everyday life and subsequently experiencing well-being of older adults concerned with informal care. Simultaneously, well-being is a more complex and holistic phenomenon than only the outcome of welfare. Care is a relational and dynamic process, where norms and personal life stories are examples of factors that shape the experiences of how care services—and subsequently well-being—ought to be given or received. This dissertation aims to study the informal care of older adults in light of well-being theories in a Finnish setting. In the first study, informal care recipients’ care preferences and thoughts on the future were explored from a life course perspective. In the second study, well-being was investigated by applying the capability approach to dismantle an informal care dyad’s care arrangements and consequences on well-being across time. In the third study, the caregiver stress process model was used to investigate associations between individual economic, social, and political resources and subjective caregiver burden among older spousal caregivers in the Bothnia region. The fourth study explored the feasibility of a co-designed intervention developed in line with the World Health Organization’s Healthy Ageing paradigm with the aim of training former caregivers to become expert caregivers. In studies 1 and 2, informal care recipients’ experiences were explored based on data collected from semi-structured interviews with seven informal care recipients (Study 1) and follow-up interviews with the same respondents and their informal caregivers in Study 2. The results illustrated that the development of social care for older adults contributed to the care recipients’ well-being in both direct and indirect ways. The informal care recipients appreciated living at home despite a declined functional capacity, and the offered support services promoted this ability to some extent. Simultaneously, the social care system sometimes acted as a barrier towards experiencing well-being. As an indirect effect, negative experiences and/or perceptions of formal care alternatives contributed to feelings of insecurity and uncertainty regarding future care arrangements. In Study 3, multivariate logistic regression was used on data derived from the Gerontological Regional Database (GERDA) survey 2016 to study the associations between individual social, economic, and political resources and subjective caregiver burden among older spousal caregivers in Österbotten/Pohjanmaa (Finland) and Västerbotten (Sweden). About half of the spousal caregivers reported experiencing subjective caregiver burden, and this was slightly more common among Finnish-speaking caregivers. Frequent contact with family members indicated subjective caregiver burden, potentially meaning that frequent contact with family members is an indicator for intensive informal care. High levels of financial stress indicated subjective caregiver burden, while personal income did not. Out of the control variables, being Finnish speaking, reporting low perceived self-rated health and receiving formal support for informal care indicated subjective caregiver burden. In Study 4, quantitative and qualitative methods were used to explore the feasibility of a co-designed intervention for former informal caregivers—a group that is largely overlooked in both research and policy. The participants took part in a training programme to become ‘expert caregivers’ for current caregivers. Partly due to the already existing infrastructure for social activities for informal caregivers and/or older adults in the region of Österbotten, the intervention was successfully implemented. The results showed that there was a demand for the intervention among former caregivers and a demand among current caregivers to take part in the support offered by the trained expert caregivers. The intervention created a social context for the expert caregivers, most of whom were bereaved widows/widowers. The main conclusion of the thesis is that well-being of older adults concerned with informal care is highly complex and prone to change in terms of needs and resources. Both facilitators and barriers to well-being are interwoven in the Finnish welfare context. The results in this thesis imply that an extended view of informal care and the meaning of social relationships can lead to until now unutilized resources. To ensure that resources as well as needs are considered across different phases of informal care and among different target groups, the co-operation between different welfare actors is crucial. Well-functioning co-operation and development involving multiple welfare actors and citizens themselves form a solid foundation for successful interventions that promote well-being.Den samhälleliga triumfen i form av en ökad förväntad livslängd har i kombination med annan utveckling bidragit till ett ökat behov av socialt och ekonomiskt hållbara omsorgslösningar för äldre i Finland såsom i många andra delar av västvärlden. Ett exempel på en sådan lösning är närståendevård, d.v.s. en formalisering av informell omsorg där en anhörig med hjälp av offentliga stödtjänster ger vård och omsorg åt vårdbehövande som inte klarar sig självständigt. Främjandet av välbefinnande bland äldre utgör en viktig del av Finlands socialpolitiska verksamhet. Politiska beslut på makronivå och lokala implementeringar i kommunerna påverkar välbefinnande. Stödtjänster och förmåner formar förutsättningar för att klara vardagen och därmed uppleva välbefinnande bland äldre som berörs av närståendevård. Samtidigt är välbefinnande ett mer komplext och holistiskt fenomen än enbart resultatet av välfärd. Omsorg är en relationell och dynamisk process, där normer och den personliga livshistorien är exempel på faktorer som kan forma upplevelserna av hur omsorg bör ges eller tas emot – och därmed välbefinnandet. Syftet med denna avhandling är att studera närståendevård bland äldre i ljuset av välbefinnandeteorier i en finländsk kontext. I den första delstudien undersöktes närståendevårdtagares vårdpreferenser och tankar om framtiden med hjälp av livsloppsperspektivet. I den andra delstudien användes kapabilitetsteorin för att demontera en närståendevårddyads vårdarrangemang och dess konsekvenser för välbefinnande över tid. I den tredje delstudien användes närståendevårdares stressprocessmodell för att studera sambanden mellan individuella ekonomiska, sociala och politiska resurser och subjektiv närståendevårdarbörda bland äldre makar som ger närståendevård i Botniaregionen. I den fjärde delstudien studerades genomförbarheten och effekterna av en samskapad intervention som utvecklats i enlighet med Världshälsoorganisationens Hälsosamt Åldrande paradigm med syfte att utbilda före detta närståendevårdare till att bli erfarenhetsmentorer. I studie 1 och 2 undersöktes närståendevårdmottagares erfarenheter med fokus på vårdpreferenser och vårdarrangemang baserat på data insamlat från semistrukturerade intervjuer med sju närståendevårdmottagare (delstudie 1) samt uppföljningsintervjuer med samma respondenter och deras närståendevårdare i delstudie 2. Resultaten från studie 1 och 2 illustrerade hur utvecklingen inom äldreomsorgen bidrog till närståendevårdtagares välbefinnande på både direkta och indirekta sätt. Närståendevårdtagarna värdesatte att få bo hemma trots en nedsatt funktionsförmåga och de erbjudna stödtjänsterna främjade denna möjlighet till viss del. Samtidigt fungerade social- och hälsovårdssystemet ibland som ett hinder för att uppleva välbefinnande. Som en indirekt effekt bidrog negativa erfarenheter och/eller föreställningar om formella vårdalternativ till känslor av otrygghet och osäkerhet gällande framtida vårdarrangemang. I studie 3 användes multivariat logistisk regression på data från GERDA-enkätundersökningen 2016 för att studera sambanden mellan individuella sociala, ekonomiska och politiska resurser och subjektiv närståendevårdbörda bland äldre närståendevårdmakar i Österbotten och Västerbotten. Ungefär hälften av närståendevårdarna rapporterade att de upplevde subjektiv närståendevårdbörda och detta var något mer förekommande bland finskspråkiga närståendevårdare. Frekvent kontakt med familjemedlemmar indikerade subjektiv närståendevårdbörda, vilket potentiellt kan innebära att frekvent kontakt med familjemedlemmar är en indikator för intensiv närståendevård. En hög nivå av ekonomisk stress indikerade subjektiv närståendevårdbörda, medan personlig inkomst inte gjorde det. Av kontrollvariablerna indikerade finsk språkgruppstillhörighet, låg självskattad hälsa och formellt stöd för närståendevård subjektiv närståendevårdbörda. I studie 4 användes både kvantitativa och kvalitativa metoder för att studera genomförbarheten i en samskapad intervention för före detta närståendevårdare – en grupp som till stor del är förbisedd inom både forskning och policy. Deltagarna tog del av ett utbildningsprogram för att bli ”erfarenhetsmentorer” för nuvarande närståendevårdare. Delvis på grund av den redan existerande infrastrukturen för sociala aktiviteter för närståendevårdare och/eller äldre individer i regionen Österbotten, kunde interventionen framgångsrikt implementeras. Resultaten visade att det fanns efterfrågan på interventionen bland de utbildade erfarenhetsmentorerna och en efterfrågan bland nuvarande närståendevårdare att ta del av erfarenhetsmentorernas stöd. Interventionen skapade en social kontext för erfarenhetsmentorerna varav de flesta var änkor/änklingar. Avhandlingens huvudsakliga slutsats är att villkoren för att uppleva välbefinnande bland äldre berörda av närståendevård är mycket komplexa och föränderliga i termer av behov och resurser. Både möjliggörande och hindrande faktorer för välbefinnande är inbäddade i den finländska välfärdskontexten. Resultaten i avhandlingen tyder på att en vidgad syn på närståendevård och sociala relationers betydelse kan leda till hittills outnyttjade resurser. För att säkerställa att såväl resurser som behov tas i beaktande under närståendevårdens gång och bland olika målgrupper som berörs av närståendevård, bör samarbetet mellan olika aktörer inom välfärden fungera. Ett välfungerande samarbete och utvecklingsarbete som involverar olika välfärdsaktörer och medborgare själva skapar en god grund för framgångsrik verksamhet som stöder välbefinnande

Type 2 diabetes prevention in high-risk individuals :how might effective, equitable and sustainable service provison be achieved?

PhD ThesisBackground: Prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is rapidly increasing worldwide, linked to the obesity epidemic. There is substantial research evidence for T2D prevention by lifestyle interventions in high-risk individuals. The span of this research provides a unique case study with which to critically examine general guidance for development and evaluation of interventions to improve health. My research question is how might can effective, equitable and sustainable service provision for T2D prevention in high-risk individuals be achieved? Methods: Five papers reporting my empirical T2D prevention research form the core of my thesis. This research extends from the European Diabetes Prevention Study (EDIPS) RCT to the ‘New life, New you’ (NLNY) feasibility study. NLNY is a community based lifestyle intervention to reduce T2D incidence that is delivered by fitness trainers in North East England. To inform my research question I have reviewed intervention guidance history. I have then used T2D prevention as a case study, supported by my empirical research experience, to analyse this guidance Findings: Development of the NLNY intervention built on the EDIPS RCT evidence and experience. Pilot evaluation of NLNY suggests a feasible and acceptable intervention that is likely to be effective in preventing T2D. Prevention of T2D provided a useful exemplar for analysis of intervention guidance and highlighted strengths and limitations of existing guidance models. This analysis led to a proposed new guidance framework. Conclusions: The NLNY intervention provides a potential service provision model for T2D prevention in high-risk individuals. Well planned effectiveness and cost-effectiveness evaluation of the NLNY intervention is now needed. The analysis of intervention guidance and the proposed new framework will contribute to developing a robust study design. If effectiveness of the NLNY intervention is demonstrated there is potential for this community based intervention model to be further developed and adapted

Semantic discovery and reuse of business process patterns

Patterns currently play an important role in modern information systems (IS) development and their use has mainly been restricted to the design and implementation phases of the development lifecycle. Given the increasing significance of business modelling in IS development, patterns have the potential of providing a viable solution for promoting reusability of recurrent generalized models in the very early stages of development. As a statement of research-in-progress this paper focuses on business process patterns and proposes an initial methodological framework for the discovery and reuse of business process patterns within the IS development lifecycle. The framework borrows ideas from the domain engineering literature and proposes the use of semantics to drive both the discovery of patterns as well as their reuse

On Experimental Quantum Communication and Cryptography

One of the most fascinating recent developments in research has been how different disciplines have become more and more interconnected. So much so that fields as disparate as information theory and fundamental physics have combined to produce ideas for the next generation of computing and secure information technologies, both of which have far reaching consequences. For more than fifty years Moore's law, which describes the trend of the transistor's size shrinking by half every two years, has proven to be uncannily accurate. However, the computing industry is now approaching a fundamental barrier as the size of a transistor approaches that of an individual atom and the laws of physics and quantum mechanics take over. Rather then look at this as the end, quantum information science has emerged to ask the question of what additional power and functionality might be realized by harnessing some of these quantum effects. This thesis presents work on the sub-field of quantum cryptography which seeks to use quantum means in order to assure the security of ones communications. The beauty of quantum cryptographic methods are that they can be proven secure, now and indefinitely into the future, relying solely on the validity of the laws of physics for their proofs of security. This is something which is impossible for nearly all current classical cryptographic methods to claim. The thesis begins by examining the first implementation of an entangled quantum key distribution system over two free-space optical links. This system represents the first test-bed of its kind in the world and while its practical importance in terrestrial applications is limited to a smaller university or corporate campus, the system mimics the setup for an entangled satellite system aiding in the study of distributing entangled photons from an orbiting satellite to two earthbound receivers. Having completed the construction of a second free-space link and the automation of the alignment system, I securely distribute keys to Alice and Bob in two distant locations separated by 1,575 m with no direct line-of-sight between them. I examine all of the assumptions necessary for my claims of security, something which is particularly important for moving these systems out of the lab and into commercial industry. I then go on to describe the free-space channel over which the photons are sent and the implementation of each of the major system components. I close with a discussion of the experiment which saw raw detected entangled photon rates of 565 s^{-1} and a quantum bit error rate (QBER) of 4.92% resulting in a final secure key rate of 85 bits/s. Over the six hour night time experiment I was able to generate 1,612,239 bits of secure key. With a successful QKD experiment completed, this thesis then turns to the problem of improving the technology to make it more practical by increasing the key rate of the system and thus the speed at which it can securely encrypt information. It does so in three different ways, involving each of the major disciplines comprising the system: measurement hardware, source technology, and software post-processing. First, I experimentally investigate a theoretical proposal for biasing the measurement bases in the QKD system showing a 79% improvement in the secret key generated from the same raw key rates. Next, I construct a second generation entangled photon source with rates two orders of magnitude higher than the previous source using the idea of a Sagnac interferometer. More importantly, the new source has a QBER as low as 0.93% which is not only important for the security of the QKD system but will be required for the implementation of a new cryptographic primitive later. Lastly, I study the free-space link transmission statistics and the use of a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) filter to improve the key rate by 25.2% from the same amount of raw key. The link statistics have particular relevance for a current project with the Canadian Space Agency to exchange a quantum key with an orbiting satellite - a project which I have participated in two feasibility studies for. Wanting to study the usefulness of more recent ideas in quantum cryptography this thesis then looks at the first experimental implementation of a new cryptographic primitive called oblivious transfer (OT) in the noisy storage model. This primitive has obvious important applications as it can be used to implement a secure identification scheme provably secure in a quantum scenario. Such a scheme could one day be used, for example, to authenticate a user over short distances, such as at ATM machines, which have proven to be particularly vulnerable to hacking and fraud. Over a four hour experiment, Alice and Bob measure 405,642,088 entangled photon pairs with an average QBER of 0.93% allowing them to create a secure OT key of 8,939,150 bits. As a first implementer, I examine many of the pressing issues currently preventing the scheme from being more widely adopted such as the need to relax the dependance of the OT rate on the loss of the system and the need to extend the security proof to cover a wider range of quantum communication channels and memories. It is important to note that OT is fundamentally different than QKD for security as the information is never physically exchanged over the communication line but rather the joint equality function f(x) = f(y) is evaluated. Thus, security in QKD does not imply security for OT. Finally, this thesis concludes with the construction and initial alignment of a second generation free-space quantum receiver, useful for increasing the QKD key rates, but designed for a fundamental test of quantum theory namely a Svetlichny inequality violation. Svetlichny's inequality is a generalization of Bell's inequality to three particles where any two of the three particles maybe be non-locally correlated. Even so, a violation of Svetlichny's inequality shows that certain quantum mechanical states are incompatible with this restricted class of non-local yet realistic theories. Svetlichny's inequality is particularly important because while there has been an overwhelming number of Bell experiments performed testing two-body correlations, experiments on many-body systems have been few and far between. Experiments of this type are particularly valuable to explore since we live in a many-body world. The new receiver incorporates an active polarization analyzer capable of switching between measurement bases on a microsecond time-scale through the use of a Pockels cell while maintaining measurements of a high fidelity. Some of the initial alignment and analysis results are detailed including the final measured contrasts of 1:25.2 and 1:22.6 in the rectilinear and diagonal bases respectively