Exploring partnership: Reflections on an international collaboration.

yesThis article explores some of the challenges involved in a collaborative mental health partnership, drawing on the reflections of two project members from the Chainama College of Health Sciences in Zambia and the Leeds Metropolitan University in England. The aim of the project was to support the education and training of the mental health workforce in Zambia as services shift from institutional to community-based care. The discussion is located within Gray’s ‘three-pronged dilemma’ and debates concerning the internationalisation agenda in social work and higher education. The conclusion emphasises the benefits and tensions of partnership working between ‘developed’ and ‘developing’ countries

Beliefs, stigma and discrimination associated with mental health problems in Uganda : implications for theory and practice

There are major gaps in knowledge about beliefs, stigma and discrimination in Uganda, including the relationship between different cultural beliefs and stigmatising responses, how stigma and beliefs result in discrimination and the impact of social factors such as gender, poverty and ethnic conflict. This exploratory study aims to understand beliefs, stigma and discrimination associated with mental health in Uganda in more depth from the perspectives of different stakeholders. Focus groups and interviews were undertaken with mental health activists, policymakers, practitioners, nongovernmental and human rights organisations, journalists and academics. Stigma was reported by individuals, families, communities and institutions, including health services. The study also found stigmatising beliefs linked to traditional, religious and medical explanatory frameworks, high levels of ‘associated stigma’, common mental health problems rarely medicalised and discrimination linked to poverty, gender and conflict. The findings suggest the need to address stigma in their cultural and social context, alongside other human rights initiatives

Assault on poverty : basic human needs, science, and technology

Co-published by United Nations Conference on Trade and DevelopmentFrench version available in IDRC Digital Library: Echec à la pauvreté : les besoins humains, la science et la technologi

Poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone)-stabilized palladium–platinum nanoparticles-catalyzed hydrolysis of ammonia borane for hydrogen generation

The catalytic use of highly efficient poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone)-stabilized palladium platinum nanoparticles (4.2 +/- 1.9 nm) in the hydrolysis of ammonia-borane is reported. The catalyst is prepared by co-reduction of two metal ions in ethanol/water mixture by an alcohol reduction method and characterized by transmission electron microscopy,.X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and UV-Vis spectroscopy. They are recyclable and highly active for hydrogen generation from the hydrolysis of ammonia-borane even at very low concentrations and temperature, providing a record numbers of average turnover frequency value (125 mol H-2/mol cat.min(-1)) and maximum hydrogen generation rate (3468 L H-2 min(-1) (mol cat)(-1)). They also provide activation energy of 51.7 +/- 2 kJ/mol for the hydrolysis of ammonia borane. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Electrospun nanofibers: Solving global issues

10.1016/S1369-7021(06)71389-XMaterials Today9340-5