331 research outputs found
Engaging evaluation research: Reflecting on the process of sexual assault/domestic violence protocol evaluation research
In keeping within the theme of CU Expo 2013, ‘Engaging Shared Worlds’, this case study examines and reflects on a complex community-university partnership which developed to conceptualise, design, conduct and communicate evaluation research on one community’s sexual assault and domestic violence protocol. As community-university partners coming together for the first time, we reflect on the purpose of our engagement, the characteristics and principles which define our partnership and our potential to teach graduate students how to undertake community-engaged scholarship.Keywords: Community-engaged research, evaluation research, complex community-university partnerships, scholarship of engagement, practice researc
Hanging Out in the Past: Looking for Trouble or Romance? An Exploration of the Practice and Meaning of Hanging Out for Young Dutch People in 1930–60
Young people’s ‘hanging out’ has had different meanings in the recent and distant past in various countries and cultures, including delinquency or a common social phenomenon. Although there is evidence for hanging out as social behaviour in various countries, Dutch research on hanging out as a common social phenomenon is scarce. This article retrospectively explores the practice and meaning of hanging out for young people in the Netherlands between 1930 and 1960. Semi-structured qualitative interviews (n = 60) were analysed using the Constant Comparative Method, resulting in three key themes: familiarity, features and the meanings assigned to hanging out. Results indicate that hanging out was practised and known by most respondents, and included particular features (time, location, gender and routines). Meet, flirt with and date other young people was the most frequently mentioned meaning associated with hanging out. Accordingly, hanging out can indeed be considered to have been a common social phenomenon
Prevention of reading difficulties in children with and without familial risk:Short- and long-term effects of an early intervention
In a randomized-controlled trial we tested a computer-assisted intervention for the prevention of reading difficulties, delivered by nonprofessional tutors, running from kindergarten to halfway Grade 2. The full sample included 123 prereaders (M = 5; 6 years; 56 intervention; 67 controls) with low preliteracy skills. Parents were sent a questionnaire to assess family risk (FR) for reading difficulties. There was no intervention effect in the full sample, but, unexpectedly, the effect differed between subsamples that did and did not return the questionnaire. The intervention did not affect reading acquisition in the subsample (N = 49) without FR-data, mostly children from immigrant, non-Dutch speaking, low-socioeconomic status (SES) families, but had large effects in the subsample of Dutch-speaking, middle and high SES-parents with FR-data (N = 74). The latter subsample was followed until Grade 6, 4 years after the intervention, and included 36 intervention children and 38 controls. Long-lasting improvements were found in word-reading fluency, which transferred to reading fluency for pseudowords, English words: and texts, and to spelling. The intervention substantially reduced the need for remedial teaching and grade retention. On all measures, children with FR performed worse than children without FR. The intervention had similar effects on the progress of both groups, but the FR children needed more sessions. This study shows that a 2-year cost-effective early intervention can reduce the incidence of reading difficulties. However, it remains a challenge to make the intervention suited for children in which a lack of preliteracy skills merely seems to reflect a lack of learning opportunities
Effects of ceftiofur treatment on the susceptibility of commensal porcine E.coli – comparison between treated and untreated animals housed in the same stable
Background Healthy farm animals have been found to act as a reservoir of
extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli (E. coli).
Therefore, the objective of the study was to determine the input of
antimicrobial active ceftiofur metabolites in the stable via faeces and urine
after intramuscular administration of the drug to pigs and the elucidation of
the Escherichia coli ESBL resistance pattern of treated and untreated pigs
housed in the same barn during therapy. Methods For determination of the
minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) the method of microdilutionaccording to
the recommended procedure of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute
was used. Inaddition to that, a qualitative determination was performed by
agar dilution. Unsusceptible E. coli speciesselected via agar dilution with
cefotaxime were confirmed by MALDI-TOF and ESBL encoding genes wereidentified
by PCR. The amounts of ceftiofur measured as desfuroylceftiofur (DFC) in the
different probes (plasma, urine, faeces and dust) were analysed by UPLC-MS/MS.
Results In a first experiment two groups of pigs (6 animals per group) were
housed in the same barn in two separated boxes. One group (group B) were
treated with ceftiofur according to the licence (3 mg/kg administered
intramuscularly (i.m.) on three consecutive days, day 1–3). During a second
treatment period (day 29–31) an increased rate of ESBL resistant E. coli was
detectable in these treated pigs and in the air of the stable. Moreover, the
second group of animals (group A) formerly untreated but housed for the whole
period in the same stable as the treated animals revealed increased resistance
rates during their first treatment (day 45–47) with ceftiofur. In order to
investigate the environmental input of ceftiofur during therapy and to
simulate oral uptake of ceftiofur residues from the air of the stable a second
set of experiments were performed. Pigs (6 animals) were treated with an
interval of 2 weeks for 3 days with different doses of ceftiofur (3 mg/kg, 1
mg/kg and 0.3 mg/kg i.m.) as well as with 3 mg/kg per os) and the renal and
biliary excretion of ceftiofur as its active metabolite were measured in
comparison to the plasma levels. In addition to that, probes of the
sedimentation dust and the air of the stable were analysed for drug residues.
Conclusion The present study shows that treatment of several animals in a
stable with ceftiofur influences the resistance pattern of intestinal
Escherichia coli of the treated as well as untreated animals housed in the
same stable. During therapy with the drug which was administered by injection
according to the licence we detected nameable amounts of ceftiofur and its
active metabolites in the dust and air of the stable
State of inequality in diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis immunisation coverage in low-income and middle-income countries: a multicountry study of household health surveys
Background Immunisation programmes have made substantial contributions to lowering the burden of disease in
children, but there is a growing need to ensure that programmes are equity-oriented. We aimed to provide a detailed
update about the state of between-country inequality and within-country economic-related inequality in the delivery
of three doses of the combined diphtheria, tetanus toxoid, and pertussis-containing vaccine (DTP3), with a special
focus on inequalities in high-priority countries.
Methods We used data from the latest available Demographic and Health Surveys and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys
done in 51 low-income and middle-income countries. Data for DTP3 coverage were disaggregated by wealth quintile, and
inequality was calculated as diff erence and ratio measures based on coverage in richest (quintile 5) and poorest (quintile 1)
household wealth quintiles. Excess change was calculated for 21 countries with data available at two timepoints spanning
a 10 year period. Further analyses were done for six high-priority countries—ie, those with low national immunisation
coverage and/or high absolute numbers of unvaccinated children. Signifi cance was determined using 95% CIs.
Findings National DTP3 immunisation coverage across the 51 study countries ranged from 32% in Central African
Republic to 98% in Jordan. Within countries, the gap in DTP3 immunisation coverage suggested pro-rich inequality,
with a diff erence of 20 percentage points or more between quintiles 1 and 5 for 20 of 51 countries. In Nigeria, Pakistan,
Laos, Cameroon, and Central African Republic, the diff erence between quintiles 1 and 5 exceeded 40 percentage
points. In 15 of 21 study countries, an increase over time in national coverage of DTP3 immunisation was realised
alongside faster improvements in the poorest quintile than the richest. For example, in Burkina Faso, Cambodia,
Gabon, Mali, and Nepal, the absolute increase in coverage was at least 2·0 percentage points per year, with faster
improvement in the poorest quintile. Substantial economic-related inequality in DTP3 immunisation coverage was
reported in fi ve high-priority study countries (DR Congo, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Pakistan), but not Uganda.
Interpretation Overall, within-country inequalities in DTP3 immunisation persist, but seem to have narrowed over
the past 10 years. Monitoring economic-related inequalities in immunisation coverage is warranted to reveal where
gaps exist and inform appropriate approaches to reach disadvantaged populations
Digital contact tracing and exposure notification: ethical guidance for trustworthy pandemic management
10.1007/s10676-020-09566-8Ethics and Information Technology233285-29
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