Managing authenticity and performance in Gulag tourism, Kazakhstan

To date, there has been limited research concerning the methodology and approach to Gulag heritage and how it has been memorialised and commodified for tourism purposes. The recent cultural commodification of the Soviet past and the development of participatory visitor experiences at Gulag museums in Kazakhstan necessitate to advance understandings of the roles authenticity and performance play in the management of Gulag museum practices in the country. Using a qualitative case study research approach based on a combination of semi-structured interviews with stakeholders involved in the development of Gulag tourism including senior management of museums, museum guides, policy-makers, tourism operators, local NGOs and experts in Soviet Gulag heritage, direct observations and qualitative document analysis of two Gulag museums and sites in Kazakhstan, the commodification and management of Soviet Gulag heritage is explored. Results reveal that beyond objects on display and images regarded as interpretive illustrations that allow visitors to connect with the past and verify history, dioramas and staged performances re-enacting various elements of the Gulag life are used as immersive and emotional tools to accentuate the ‘dark’ atmosphere of the epoch and induce a more impactful and participatory visitor experience. The findings contribute to literature on authenticity and performance in Gulag tourism by examining the delicate question of the extent to which stakeholders involved in the management of the Gulag tragedy can offer meaningful visitor experiences that are historically accurate and protect the dignity of the victims while adapting to the dynamic roles of museums as heritage and education sites

Comparison of the Hemostatic Efficacy of Pathogen-Reduced Platelets vs Untreated Platelets in Patients With Thrombocytopenia and Malignant Hematologic Diseases: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Importance: Pathogen reduction of platelet concentrates may reduce transfusion-transmitted infections but is associated with qualitative impairment, which could have clinical significance with regard to platelet hemostatic capacity. Objective: To compare the effectiveness of platelets in additive solution treated with amotosalen-UV-A vs untreated platelets in plasma or in additive solution in patients with thrombocytopenia and hematologic malignancies. Design, Setting, and Participants: The Evaluation of the Efficacy of Platelets Treated With Pathogen Reduction Process (EFFIPAP) study was a randomized, noninferiority, 3-arm clinical trial performed from May 16, 2013, through January 21, 2016, at 13 French tertiary university hospitals. Clinical signs of bleeding were assessed daily until the end of aplasia, transfer to another department, need for a specific platelet product, or 30 days after enrollment. Consecutive adult patients with bone marrow aplasia, expected hospital stay of more than 10 days, and expected need of platelet transfusions were included. Interventions: At least 1 transfusion of platelets in additive solution with amotosalen-UV-A treatment, in plasma, or in additive solution. Main Outcomes and Measures: The proportion of patients with grade 2 or higher bleeding as defined by World Health Organization criteria. Results: Among 790 evaluable patients (mean [SD] age, 55 [13.4] years; 458 men [58.0%]), the primary end point was observed in 126 receiving pathogen-reduced platelets in additive solution (47.9%; 95% CI, 41.9%-54.0%), 114 receiving platelets in plasma (43.5%; 95% CI, 37.5%-49.5%), and 120 receiving platelets in additive solution (45.3%; 95% CI, 39.3%-51.3%). With a per-protocol population with a prespecified margin of 12.5%, noninferiority was not achieved when pathogen-reduced platelets in additive solution were compared with platelets in plasma (4.4%; 95% CI, -4.1% to 12.9%) but was achieved when the pathogen-reduced platelets were compared with platelets in additive solution (2.6%; 95% CI, -5.9% to 11.1%). The proportion of patients with grade 3 or 4 bleeding was not different among treatment arms. Conclusions and Relevance: Although the hemostatic efficacy of pathogen-reduced platelets in thrombopenic patients with hematologic malignancies was noninferior to platelets in additive solution, such noninferiority was not achieved when comparing pathogen-reduced platelets with platelets in plasma. Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01789762

Kazakhstan Gulag heritage: dark tourism and selective interpretation

Kazakhstan holds some of the most significant Gulag heritage sites; however, tourism research remains limited. This article introduces analysis of contrasting sites and considers how some have been developed and others ignored. Selectivity in interpretation is linked to societal amnesia and the collective trauma experienced by the population of Kazakhstan. The article reaffirms the politicization of heritage in this emergent nation

Oppilaitten eettinen toimijuus videotutkimuksessa

The rapid development of various recording technologies in recent years has created appealing opportunities for researchers to document and study science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning in ways which previously were either impossible, high-priced, or impractical. The potential access that low-cost and ever-smaller recorders provide us has been wisely tempered with cautions that researchers critically reflect on whether the benefits of the research outweigh the invasion of participants’ privacy, especially in research with children. These cautions rightfully place the burden of ethical deliberation on the researcher. However, by so doing they also direct attention away from the ethical work done by study participants and overshadow their agency in relation to the research. In effect, the cautions join and reinforce dominant narratives of participant, especially children’s, vulnerability in research and the researcher as the main ethical actor during the research process. This study seeks to balance such narratives by drawing attention to how children demonstrate their awareness of the audience of nearby recorders to each other and, through such actions, also create spaces for private, out-of-view interaction they do not wish to be recorded. With demonstrative vignettes from a yearlong ethnographic study of children’s learning in an alternative STEM learning infrastructure, the study argues that such moments highlight children’s ethical agency in research.The rapid development of various recording technologies in recent years has created appealing opportunities for researchers to document and study science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning in ways which previously were either impossible, high-priced, or impractical. The potential access that low-cost and ever-smaller recorders provide us has been wisely tempered with cautions that researchers critically reflect on whether the benefits of the research outweigh the invasion of participants’ privacy, especially in research with children. These cautions rightfully place the burden of ethical deliberation on the researcher. However, by so doing they also direct attention away from the ethical work done by study participants and overshadow their agency in relation to the research. In effect, the cautions join and reinforce dominant narratives of participants’, especially children’s, vulnerability in research and the researcher as the main ethical actor during the research process. This study seeks to balance such narratives by drawing attention to how children demonstrate their awareness of the audience of nearby recorders to each other and, through such actions, also create spaces for private, out-of-view interaction they do not wish to be recorded. With demonstrative vignettes from a yearlong ethnographic study of children’s learning in an alternative STEM learning infrastructure, the study argues that such moments highlight children’s ethical agency in research.Peer reviewe