Should social enterprises complement or supplement public health provision?

Purpose This paper explores how stable employment, company culture, and tailored health, digital, and core skills training provided by a social enterprise (SE) in the Philippines affect survivors of exploitation. Research shows survivors experience adverse social conditions and physical and mental health outcomes caused by their exploitative experience. Stable, decent employment has been identified as critical to their recovery and reintegration. This paper discusses the SE’s impact on the employees’ physical, mental, and social health and behaviour. Based on our findings, we discuss the contribution of SE in improving health outcomes and providing health services, and conclude that SEs should not replace but complement public health government programmes. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses mixed methods, presenting data from a longitudinal survey (household income, mental health, and social wellbeing, among others), and a follow-up qualitative study, which uses in-depth interviews and participatory videos to explore survey findings. Findings The quantitative analysis demonstrates positive, but gradual, changes in sexual and reproductive health behaviour; personal empowerment; and trauma, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. The qualitative findings show how improvements in executive functioning, self-regulation, and self-esteem occur incrementally over time. As their self-efficacy improves, employees need to avoid being overly dependent on the SE, to support their autonomy, therefore access to complementary public health services is fundamental. Originality/value This paper focuses, to our knowledge, on a unique SE, which hires survivors of exploitation, without losing their competitiveness in the market

The Tumorigenicity of Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells and In Vitro Differentiated Neuronal Cells Is Controlled by the Recipients' Immune Response

Embryonic stem (ES) cells have the potential to differentiate into all cell types and are considered as a valuable source of cells for transplantation therapies. A critical issue, however, is the risk of teratoma formation after transplantation. The effect of the immune response on the tumorigenicity of transplanted cells is poorly understood. We have systematically compared the tumorigenicity of mouse ES cells and in vitro differentiated neuronal cells in various recipients. Subcutaneous injection of 1×106 ES or differentiated cells into syngeneic or allogeneic immunodeficient mice resulted in teratomas in about 95% of the recipients. Both cell types did not give rise to tumors in immunocompetent allogeneic mice or xenogeneic rats. However, in 61% of cyclosporine A-treated rats teratomas developed after injection of differentiated cells. Undifferentiated ES cells did not give rise to tumors in these rats. ES cells turned out to be highly susceptible to killing by rat natural killer (NK) cells due to the expression of ligands of the activating NK receptor NKG2D on ES cells. These ligands were down-regulated on differentiated cells. The activity of NK cells which is not suppressed by cyclosporine A might contribute to the prevention of teratomas after injection of ES cells but not after inoculation of differentiated cells. These findings clearly point to the importance of the immune response in this process. Interestingly, the differentiated cells must contain a tumorigenic cell population that is not present among ES cells and which might be resistant to NK cell-mediated killing

Effects of histocompatibility and host immune responses on the tumorigenicity of pluripotent stem cells

Pluripotent stem cells hold great promises for regenerative medicine. They might become useful as a universal source for a battery of new cell replacement therapies. Among the major concerns for the clinical application of stem cell-derived grafts are the risks of immune rejection and tumor formation. Pluripotency and tumorigenicity are closely linked features of pluripotent stem cells. However, the capacity to form teratomas or other tumors is not sufficiently described by inherited features of a stem cell line or a stem cell-derived graft. The tumorigenicity always depends on the inability of the recipient to reject the tumorigenic cells. This review summarizes recent data on the tumorigenicity of pluripotent stem cells in immunodeficient, syngeneic, allogeneic, and xenogeneic hosts. The effects of immunosuppressive treatment and cell differentiation are discussed. Different immune effector mechanisms appear to be involved in the rejection of undifferentiated and differentiated cell populations. Elements of the innate immune system, such as natural killer cells and the complement system, which are active also in syngeneic recipients, appear to preferentially reject undifferentiated cells. This effect could reduce the risk of tumor formation in immunocompetent recipients. Cell differentiation apparently increases susceptibility to rejection by the adaptive immune system in allogeneic hosts. The current data suggest that the immune system of the recipient has a major impact on the outcome of pluripotent stem cell transplantation, whether it is rejection, engraftment, or tumor development. This has to be considered when the results of experimental transplantation models are interpreted and even more when translation into clinics is planned

From voiceless to voicing: the communication empowerment of sex-trafficking survivors by using participatory video

This paper examined the impacts of participatory video used in digital training on the empowerment of sex-trafficking survivors in the Philippines. For survivors of online sexual exploitation involved in this study, technology played a critical role in their abuse, making it necessary to understand how technology-supported communication can also play in their recovery and personal development. Drawing upon the thematic analysis of data collected from debriefing, interviews, and participants-generated videos, the findings have shown that the participatory video as a tool to support communication, as a mirror for reflexivity and voicing, and as a mediated space to connect and gain support, affords a communicative platform for survivors to participate, to interact, and to take control of the technology. We argue that the use of Information and Communication Technology for empowerment is subject to the personalized needs, autonomy and participation of the users

Using mobile phones for rapid reporting of zoonotic diseases in rural South Africa

Human health is inextricably linked to animal health and production, particularly in developing regions of the world where animals play an important role in communities by providing transportation and food. Many deaths occur each year from a number of well-known and preventable animal diseases that are transmitted to humans, especially in developing countries, due to a lack of early detection and preventative measures. Despite the link between human health and animal health, veterinary telehealth has not attracted much attention from researchers in the medical health community. This paper describes a case study exploring the use of mobile phones for rapid reporting of zoonotic diseases in South Africa. It outlines an SMS-based mobile service to enable community members to report suspected cases of diseases. This service aims to increase the number and density of traditional reporting sources to facilitate near real-time reporting and consequently more rapid response to zoonoses outbreaks. The initial phases of this system design are described in addition to future directions. © 2010 The authors and IOS Press. All rights reserved

The deployment of an e-commerce platform and related projects in a rural area in South Africa

In our paper we describe the development and deployment of an ecommerce platform in Dwesa, a rural area in the former homeland of Transkei in South Africa. The system is designed to promote tourism and advertise local arts, crafts and music, and it entails a number of re-lated projects. Deployment of infrastructure, technical support, promo-tion of the initiative and teaching of computer literacy take place during monthly visits of approximately one week, and involve young research-ers from two universities (one previously disadvantaged; the other his-torically privileged). This ensures a synergy between technical exper-tise and understanding of the local context. Findings so far emphasise the importance of contextualising the intervention to suit local needs and adjust to the local context. The platform is currently being extended to include e-government, e-learning and e-health capabilities. If proven successful, this model can be exported to similar areas in South africa and in the rest of Africa. This could open up potential opportunities for the still unexplored market for ICT in rural Africa

Identifying stakeholder perspectives in a large collaborative project: An ICT4D case study

This paper explores some of the benefits of formally capturing stakeholder perspectives through conducting stakeholder interviews in a large, collaborative project. The case study discussed is an Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D) venture between two universities, industry, government and communities based in the former homeland of Transkei in rural South Africa. Benefits of conducting stakeholder interviews are discussed through the early analysis of two areas: stakeholder agendas and success criteria identified by stakeholders. The stakeholder interviews highlight the variety and range of agendas in projects involving multiple organisations, as well as the need and respective challenges of capturing community perspectives in this project. It also provides support for the need to conduct evaluations, as well as guidance for what the evaluation should include. © 2011 ACM

Community-Based Technology Co-Design: Insights on Participation, and the Value of the “Co”

Evidence and analysis of Community-Based Participatory Design (PD) and Co-Design programs are not abundant. Filling this gap allows for better understanding of (1) the value programs offer from a quantitative standpoint, and (2) how to formalize participation within PD. In this paper, we present evidence from a series of International Development Design Summits (IDDS), a PD-oriented program focused on low-cost technology co-design and co-production, in collaboration with local communities. The purpose is to provide opportunities for learning and practicing community-based PD in an intercultural setting. We examine data from five summits in Colombia between 2015-2018.We discuss the value of this approach across multiple groups, and how it can be understood as a measure of participation. We present evidence of participant benefits, including an exploratory analysis of self-perception using sentiment analysis. Finally, we discuss the challenges and potential directions for this work. This paper contributes to further understand the value of participation (the “co”) in the context of community-based PD