Globalising assessment: an ethnography of literacy assessment, camels and fast food in the Mongolian Gobi

What happens when standardised literacy assessments travel globally? The paper presents an ethnographic account of adult literacy assessment events in rural Mongolia. It examines the dynamics of literacy assessment in terms of the movement and re-contextualisation of test items as they travel globally and are received locally by Mongolian respondents. The analysis of literacy assessment events is informed by Goodwin’s ‘participation framework’ on language as embodied and situated interactive phenomena and by Actor Network Theory. Actor Network Theory (ANT) is applied to examine literacy assessment events as processes of translation shaped by an ‘assemblage’ of human and non-human actors (including the assessment texts)

Bacterial vaginosis in female facility workers in north-western Tanzania: prevalence and risk factors

OBJECTIVES: To determine prevalence of, and risk factors for, bacterial vaginosis (BV) among herpes simplex virus (HSV) 2 seropositive Tanzanian women at enrollment into a randomised, placebo-controlled trial of HSV suppressive treatment. METHODS: 1305 HSV-2 seropositive women aged 16-35 years working in bars, guesthouses and similar facilities were interviewed, examined and tested for HIV, syphilis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, BV, candidiasis and trichomoniasis. Factors associated with BV were analysed using logistic regression to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: BV prevalence was 62.9%; prevalence of Nugent score 9-10 was 16.1%. Independent risk factors for BV were work facility type, fewer dependents, increasing alcohol consumption, sex in the last week (adjusted OR 2.03; 95% CI 1.57 to 2.62), using cloths or cotton wool for menstrual hygiene, HIV (adjusted OR 1.41; 95% CI 1.09 to 1.83) and Trichomonas vaginalis infection. There was no association between BV and the frequency or method of vaginal cleansing. However, BV was less prevalent among women who reported inserting substances to dry the vagina for sex (adjusted OR 0.44; 95% CI 0.25 to 0.75). CONCLUSION: BV was extremely prevalent among our study population of HSV-2 positive female facility workers in North-western Tanzania. Although recent sex was associated with increased BV prevalence, vaginal drying was associated with lower BV prevalence. Further studies of the effects of specific practices on vaginal flora are warranted

Cohort profile: The Cohorts Consortium of Latin America and the Caribbean (CC-LAC)

Why was the cohort set up? Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) are characterized by much diversity in terms of socio-economic status, ecology, environment, access to health care,1,2 as well as the frequency of risk factors for and prevalence or incidence of non-communicable diseases;3–7 importantly, these differences are observed both between and within countries in LAC.8,9 LAC countries share a large burden of non-communicable (e.g. diabetes and hypertension) and cardiovascular (e.g. ischaemic heart disease) diseases, with these conditions standing as the leading causes of morbidity, disability and mortality in most of LAC.10–12 These epidemiological estimates—e.g. morbidity—cannot inform about risk factors or risk prediction, which are relevant to identify prevention avenues. Cohort studies, on the other hand, could provide this evidence. Pooled analysis, using data from multiple cohort studies, have additional strengths such as increased statistical power and decreased statistical uncertainty.13 LAC cohort studies have been under-represented,14 or not included at all,15–17 in international efforts aimed at pooling data from multiple cohort studies. We therefore set out to pool data from LAC cohorts to address research questions that individual cohort studies would not be able to answer. Drawing from previous successful regional enterprises (e.g. Asia Pacific Cohort Studies Collaboration),18,19 we established the Cohorts Consortium of Latin America and the Caribbean (CC-LAC). The main aim of the CC-LAC is to start a collaborative cohort data pooling in LAC to examine the association between cardio-metabolic risk factors (e.g. blood pressure, glucose and lipids) and non-fatal and fatal cardiovascular outcomes (e.g. stroke or myocardial infarction). In so doing, we aim to provide regional risk estimates to inform disease burden metrics, as well as other ambitious projects including a cardiovascular risk score to strengthen cardiovascular prevention in LAC. Initial funding has been provided by a fellowship from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Global Health Research at Imperial College London (Strategic Award, Wellcome Trust–Imperial College Centre for Global Health Research, 100693/Z/12/Z). Additional funding is being provided by an International Training Fellowship from the Wellcome Trust (214185/Z/18/Z). At the time of writing, the daily operations and pooled database are hosted at Imperial College London, though a mid-term goal is to transfer this expertise and operations to LAC. The collaboration relies fundamentally on a strong regional network of health researchers and practitioner

Institutions, complementarity, human resource management and performance in a South-East Asian Petrostate: the case of Brunei

This is a study on the incidence and impact of specific sets of HR practices on organisational performance (OP) across different types of firm, within an emerging market setting, where institutional arrangements are fluid and developing. The literature on comparative capitalism suggests that, within advanced societies, formal and informal regulations are mutually supportive, and will be sustained by associated HR systems, optimising OP. In contrast, in settings where institutional arrangements are weaker, there will not be the same incentives for disseminating mutually supportive HR bundles, and when these do exist, they are unlikely to yield any better outcomes. We found that this was indeed the case in the petrostate of Brunei as the usage of integrated HR models did not work better than individual interventions. Whilst it is often assumed that, in petrostates, the primary focus of institution-building is to service the needs of the oil-and-gas industry, we found no evidence to suggest that integrated HR systems were any more effective there; this may reflect the extent to which the industry’s HR needs may be simply resolved through turning to overseas labour markets – both for skilled and unskilled labour. At the same time, we found that the efficacy of HR practices varied according to firm characteristics: even in challenging contexts, firms may devise their own solutions according to their capabilities and endowments

Kepler eclipsing binary stars. VII. the catalogue of eclipsing binaries found in the entire Kepler data set

The primary Kepler Mission provided nearly continuous monitoring of ~200,000 objects with unprecedented photometric precision. We present the final catalog of eclipsing binary systems within the 105 deg2 Kepler field of view. This release incorporates the full extent of the data from the primary mission (Q0-Q17 Data Release). As a result, new systems have been added, additional false positives have been removed, ephemerides and principal parameters have been recomputed, classifications have been revised to rely on analytical models, and eclipse timing variations have been computed for each system. We identify several classes of systems including those that exhibit tertiary eclipse events, systems that show clear evidence of additional bodies, heartbeat systems, systems with changing eclipse depths, and systems exhibiting only one eclipse event over the duration of the mission. We have updated the period and galactic latitude distribution diagrams and included a catalog completeness evaluation. The total number of identified eclipsing and ellipsoidal binary systems in the Kepler field of view has increased to 2878, 1.3% of all observed Kepler targets

Assessing the impact of area-based initiatives in deprived neighborhoods: The example of S. João de Deus in Porto, Portugal

Though there have been many area-based initiatives to regenerate rundown areas in numerous cities around the world, many of them involving the demolition of stigmatized housing estates, far fewer attempts have been made to assess the effects of these initiatives upon the fortunes of displaced households and those who remain in these areas. By presenting the results of an empirical in-depth case study on the effects of an area-based initiative targeted at one of the most deprived neighborhoods in Porto, this article raises several epistemological concerns related to the goals, ideological assumptions, and social and spatial effects of these initiatives. Among other interrelated issues, the article discusses the impact of conflicting ideologies upon processes of radical strategy shift and of social and territorial marginalization and appeals to the need for more pluralistic approaches to evaluation.I gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Portuguese Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia for research grant SFRH/BPD/75863/2011, POPH/FSE

Following the signs: applying urban regime analysis to a UK case study

As the debate continues regarding the applicability of urban regime analysis in a UK context, three aspects stand out as highly significant: the target for analysis, the mode of scrutiny, and the context of local governing arrangements with its implications for interdependence as an impetus for co-operation. This article will examine urban regime analysis and the move from government to governance in order to answer why and how the private, voluntary and public sectors might be inclined to collaborate in regimes. In addition, the regime analysis will provide the parameters for examination whilst the issue of governance will afford context for local governing arrangements. Although some issues require slight reframing to reflect the UK context, the article will follow a rigorous framework for examination utilizing the full weight of regime analysis as articulated by Stone such that it could not be accused of “concept stretching.” Far from it: Through the examination of an informal partnership, a coalition of actors from the public, private, and voluntary sectors that has been in existence for more than 13 years, the article focuses, specifically, on the long-term, less visible aspects of local governance. As such, it is able to demonstrate how economic and political change can have a tangible effect on the manifestation of interdependence as an impetus for co-operation, not only for this specific locale but also for other cities facing similar challenges

A Framework for city leadership in multilevel governance settings: the comparative contexts of Italy and the UK

This paper discusses the role of city leadership in the current multilevel governance settings and provides a conceptual framework for understanding the main elements of city leadership. Forms of political, managerial and civic leadership have been distinguished within city leadership and the main actors, structures, processes and followership patterns are examined using Italy and the UK as starting points of comparison. This comparative framework sheds a light on some common and different features in the city leadership patterns in Italy and the UK, such as the cross-cutting and multilayered administrative context for public service delivery; the common trend towards strengthening the executive side of political leadership rather than the representative one; the growing relevance of forms of civic leadership as a trigger for creating public and social value and for enhancing the resilience of the territories. Main differences deal instead with the role of central government in defining the role of city leaders, where Italy seems to experience a return towards greater centralization and controls, and the UK is experiencing an opposite trend towards the empowerment of local communities. Finally, the paper sets out some future directions for the research agenda on city leadership we are seeking to pursue

Impact of common cardio-metabolic risk factors on fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular disease in Latin America and the Caribbean: an individual-level pooled analysis of 31 cohort studies

Background: Estimates of the burden of cardio-metabolic risk factors in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) rely on relative risks (RRs) from non-LAC countries. Whether these RRs apply to LAC remains un- known. Methods: We pooled LAC cohorts. We estimated RRs per unit of exposure to body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure (SBP), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), total cholesterol (TC) and non-HDL cholesterol on fatal (31 cohorts, n = 168,287) and non-fatal (13 cohorts, n = 27,554) cardiovascular diseases, adjusting for regression dilution bias. We used these RRs and national data on mean risk factor levels to estimate the number of cardiovascular deaths attributable to non-optimal levels of each risk factor. Results: Our RRs for SBP, FPG and TC were like those observed in cohorts conducted in high-income countries; however, for BMI, our RRs were consistently smaller in people below 75 years of age. Across risk factors, we observed smaller RRs among older ages. Non-optimal SBP was responsible for the largest number of attributable cardiovascular deaths ranging from 38 per 10 0,0 0 0 women and 54 men in Peru, to 261 (Dominica, women) and 282 (Guyana, men). For non-HDL cholesterol, the lowest attributable rate was for women in Peru (21) and men in Guatemala (25), and the largest in men (158) and women (142) from Guyana. Interpretation: RRs for BMI from studies conducted in high-income countries may overestimate disease burden metrics in LAC; conversely, RRs for SBP, FPG and TC from LAC cohorts are similar to those esti- mated from cohorts in high-income countries