Online outsiders within\ud

Heightened attention to technological diffusion and informational inequalities is of\ud particular societal concern, given the increasing mediation of everyday life whereby\ud web-based initiatives abound and an increasing amount of information on critical\ud human services including education and healthcare are online or only available online.\ud As Cheong and Martin (2009) note, the digital divide is a significant, multi-layered access\ud challenge for institutions of higher education worldwide as they embark on e or distance\ud learning programs, including the incorporation of virtual course management systems.\ud Kreps (2006) also notes that the digital divide is an important health communication\ud problem as new technologies can help underserved populations retrieve relevant health\ud information, yet exacerbate disparities by reducing access to those most at risk for poor\ud health outcomes

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London

Surgical site infection after gastrointestinal surgery in high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries: a prospective, international, multicentre cohort study

Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most common infections associated with health care, but its importance as a global health priority is not fully understood. We quantified the burden of SSI after gastrointestinal surgery in countries in all parts of the world. Methods: This international, prospective, multicentre cohort study included consecutive patients undergoing elective or emergency gastrointestinal resection within 2-week time periods at any health-care facility in any country. Countries with participating centres were stratified into high-income, middle-income, and low-income groups according to the UN's Human Development Index (HDI). Data variables from the GlobalSurg 1 study and other studies that have been found to affect the likelihood of SSI were entered into risk adjustment models. The primary outcome measure was the 30-day SSI incidence (defined by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for superficial and deep incisional SSI). Relationships with explanatory variables were examined using Bayesian multilevel logistic regression models. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02662231. Findings: Between Jan 4, 2016, and July 31, 2016, 13 265 records were submitted for analysis. 12 539 patients from 343 hospitals in 66 countries were included. 7339 (58·5%) patient were from high-HDI countries (193 hospitals in 30 countries), 3918 (31·2%) patients were from middle-HDI countries (82 hospitals in 18 countries), and 1282 (10·2%) patients were from low-HDI countries (68 hospitals in 18 countries). In total, 1538 (12·3%) patients had SSI within 30 days of surgery. The incidence of SSI varied between countries with high (691 [9·4%] of 7339 patients), middle (549 [14·0%] of 3918 patients), and low (298 [23·2%] of 1282) HDI (p < 0·001). The highest SSI incidence in each HDI group was after dirty surgery (102 [17·8%] of 574 patients in high-HDI countries; 74 [31·4%] of 236 patients in middle-HDI countries; 72 [39·8%] of 181 patients in low-HDI countries). Following risk factor adjustment, patients in low-HDI countries were at greatest risk of SSI (adjusted odds ratio 1·60, 95% credible interval 1·05–2·37; p=0·030). 132 (21·6%) of 610 patients with an SSI and a microbiology culture result had an infection that was resistant to the prophylactic antibiotic used. Resistant infections were detected in 49 (16·6%) of 295 patients in high-HDI countries, in 37 (19·8%) of 187 patients in middle-HDI countries, and in 46 (35·9%) of 128 patients in low-HDI countries (p < 0·001). Interpretation: Countries with a low HDI carry a disproportionately greater burden of SSI than countries with a middle or high HDI and might have higher rates of antibiotic resistance. In view of WHO recommendations on SSI prevention that highlight the absence of high-quality interventional research, urgent, pragmatic, randomised trials based in LMICs are needed to assess measures aiming to reduce this preventable complication

Religion, Robots and Rectitude: Communicative Affordances for Spiritual Knowledge and Community

In light of growing concerns on AI growth and gloomy projections of attendant risks to human well-being and expertise, recent development of robotics designed to fulfill spiritual goals can help provide an alternative, possibly uplifting vision of global futures. To further understanding of the potential of robots as embodied communicators for virtuous knowledge and community, this paper discusses the affordances or possibilities of action of robots for spiritual communication by drawing upon the recent highly publicized case of Xian’Er the robot monk (XE). By discussing XE’s communicative affordances including its searchability, multimediality, liveliness and extendibility, findings illustrate how robots can facilitate religious education, augment priestly authority and cultivate spiritual community. Contrary to abstract and dystopic visions of AI, findings here temper extreme pronouncements of societal disorder and points to prospects for pious and positive interplays between AI technology and society while also identifying various limitations for spiritual communication. In doing so, this paper unpacks the profound relations between religion, robots and rectitude, contributing interdisciplinary insights into an understudied area of AI development as faith leaders and adherents interact with new technological features and applications in their desire for transcendence

Prosumption, Transmediation, and Resistance: Terrorism and Man-Hunting in Southeast Asia

Abstract Terrorism is a mounting global threat for national security, yet the rise of social media facilitates prosumption and the spread of alternative grassroots stories in response to civic militarization and state propaganda. This article discusses the structural and cultural conditions underlying the production and spread of online user-generated content as radical media tactics. By presenting a case study on the escape and man-hunting of a key terrorist in Southeast Asia, the article examines prosumption and transmediation practices whereby official stories of the terrorist escape are appropriated, remediated, and virally disseminated across different social media-blogs, vlogs, and digital games-to help clarify how new media supports critical citizen engagement. The identification of online activities exhibiting middle-ground resistance, including rumors, political parodies, and infotaining play, illustrates counter narrative responses to mainstream media representations. Findings have implications for the management of tensions in wired global insurgency and strategic communication performances

Leaving Church: Resisting Mormon authority and community in online-offline dimensions

Membership in religious organizations often entails dedicated attention to its dogma, moral vision, sacred leadership and community, yet some members ultimately choose to leave. In light of the recent rising and unprecedented number of Mormon church resignations, this paper examines the motivations and experiences of those who choose to leave the church, including the underexamined role of digital and social media in the disaffiliation process. Drawing from turning point analysis, which utilizes the retrospective technique to collect 40 in-depth interviews of ex-Mormons, results will discuss their exit tactics of resistance as well as the extent and ways in which they (re)appropriate traditional and new religious texts, and connect to new networks in their transition

Thinking tools for AI, Religion & Culture

eBook on AI & Religion“Thinking Tools for AI, Religion and Culture” seeks to raise key ethical questions and issue culturally informed provocations that are currently missing in most current popular media discussions about humanity and artificial intelligence. This edited collection brings together a diverse group of female scholars from a variety of academic disciplines, religious contexts and seven different countries who offer series of thought-provoking, religiously- informed, and ethical reflections on current debates around AI. Our aim is to create a curated and enlightened conversation, which moves beyond the extremes of fear or mere acceptance of our future with AI, and in doing so illuminate new and missing perspectives that broaden the current public discourse around ethics and AI.Network for New Media, Religion & Digital Culture Studie

An Ecology of Constraints on e-Learning in Higher Education: The Case of a Virtual Learning Environment

The implications of e-learning in higher education have been limited by an array of technical, institutional, social and economic constraints on innovation. This paper describes a case study of the introduction into a university of a widely diffused e-learning platform: an enterprise-wide virtual learning environment. The study suggests a variety of patterns and themes tied to the social dynamics of this innovation. These highlight variations across instructors in how the technology was employed, which illuminate the complex ecology surrounding its implementation and use. This offers insights into the faltering development of e-learning in higher education, and learning more generally.course management system, ecology of games, e-learning, information and communication technologies, institutional change, virtual learning environment,

Rhetorical Charms: The Promise and Pitfalls of Humor and Ridicule as Strategies to Counter Extremist Narratives

In this article we provide a brief account of the uses of humor, in particular satire and ridicule, to counter extremist narratives and heroes.&nbsp; We frame the appeals of humor as &ldquo;rhetorical charms,&rdquo; or stylistic seductions based on surprising uses of language and/or images designed to provoke laughter, disrupt ordinary arguments, and counter taken-for-granted truths, that contribute to new sources of influence to the globally wired world of terrorism.&nbsp; We offer two recent examples of how the Internet in particular changed the narrative landscape in ways that offer potent evidence of uses of humor to remake extremist heroes into objects of derision.&nbsp; We also caution those who would make use of humor as a strategic communication device to take into account the negative side effects and unexpected consequences that can accompany such uses.&nbsp;</p

Transnational immanence: the autopoietic co-constitution of a Chinese spiritual organization through mediated communication

Information and communication technologies are often cited as one major source, if not the causal vector, for the rising intensity of transnational practices. Yet, extant literature has not examined critically how digital media appropriation affects the constitution of transnational organizations, particularly Chinese spiritual ones. To address the lack of theoretically grounded, empirical research on this question, this study investigates how the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation (Tzu Chi), one of the largest Taiwan-based civil and spiritual nonprofit organizations among the Chinese diaspora, is co-constituted by various social actors as an operationally closed system through their mediated communication. Based on an innovative theoretical framework that combines Maturana and Varela&apos;s notion of &apos;autopoiesis&apos; with Cooren&apos;s ideas of &apos;incarnation&apos; and &apos;presentification&apos;, we provide a rich analysis of Tzu Chi&apos;s co-constitution through organizational leaders&apos; appropriation of digital and social media, as well as through mediated interactions between Tzu Chi&apos;s internal and external stakeholders. In so doing, our research expands upon the catalogue of common economic and relational behaviors by overseas Chinese, advances our understanding of Chinese spiritual organizing, and reveals the contingent role of digital and social media in engendering transnational spiritual ties to accomplish global humanitarian work. Keywords: information and communication technologies; social media; autopoiesis; transnationalism; communicative constitution of organizations; nonprofit; authority; Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation; Taiwan; Asia This article aims to address several prominent gaps in the literature on transnationalism and, in particular, Chinese spiritual transnationalism, by examining the mediated co-constitution of the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation (Tzu Chi), one of the largest Taiwan-based spiritual nonprofit organizations among the Chinese diaspora. With the quickening cadence of globalization, transnational spiritual organizations are growing in significance as they shape the identities and daily practices of migrants around the world. Concomitantly, information and communication technologies (ICTs) play a cardinal role in creating and sustaining the networks of interconnected communities of practice that co-constitute these organization