The City of Sydney 's Approach to the Supply of Affordable Housing

The study examines the endeavours by the City of Sydney to increase the supply of affordable housin

Group Formation Using Shortest Path Approach

Group work is becoming more important in education. Working in groups give students the ability to share ideas, to enhance problem solving skills and to improve communication skills. Thus, group formation becomes a crucial issue in order to increase group capability. However in UUM, several colleges are located remotely and majority of the students do not own personal transport. These create constraints for group meetings and it will effect the group performance. Therefore, this paper proposes method for identifying groups using shortest path approach and we hope this approach is useful for lecturers who have a large class. We also believe that the approach can be integrated with other existing methods in group formation

Protocol for a systematic review of the use of qualitative comparative analysis for evaluative questions in public health research

Background: There is an increasing recognition that health intervention research requires methods and approaches that can engage with the complexity of systems, interventions, and the relations between systems and interventions. One approach which shows promise to this end is qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), which examines casual complexity across a medium to large number of cases (between 10 and 60+), whilst also being able to generalise across those cases. Increasingly, QCA is being adopted in public health intervention research. However, there is a limited understanding of how it is being adopted. This systematic review will address this gap, examining how it is being used to understand complex causation; for what settings, populations and interventions; and with which datasets to describe cases. Methods: We will include published and peer-reviewed studies of any public health intervention where the effects on population health, health equity, or intervention uptake are being evaluated. Electronic searches of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science (incorporating Social Sciences Citation Index and Arts & Humanities Citation Index), Microsoft Academic, and Google Scholar will be performed. This will be supplemented with reference citation tracking and personal contact with experts to identify any additional published studies. Search results will be single screened, with machine learning used to check these results, acting as a ‘second screener’. Any disagreement will be resolved through discussion. Data will be extracted from full texts of eligible studies, which will be assessed against inclusion criteria, and synthesised narratively, using thematic synthesis methods. Discussion: This systematic review will provide an important map of the increasing use of QCA in public health intervention literature. This review will identify the current scope of research in this area, as well as assessing claims about the utility of the method for addressing complex causation in public health research. We will identify implications for better reporting of QCA methods in public health research and for reporting of case studies such that they can be used in future QCA studies. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO, CRD4201913191

"Hey, i'm having these experiences": Tumblr use and young people's queer (dis)connections

© 2019 Paul Byron, Brady Robards, Benjamin Hanckel, Son Vivienne, and Brendan Churchill. This article explores LGBTIQ+ young people's use of Tumblr-a social media platform often associated with queer youth cultures. Drawing on data from surveys (N = 1,304) and interviews (N = 23) with LGBTIQ+ young people in Australia, we argue that existing notions of "queer community" through digital media participation do not neatly align with young people's Tumblr practices. Our participants use Tumblr for connecting with others, yet these connections can be indirect, short term, and anonymous. Connections are often felt and practiced without directly communicating with other users, and many participants described their connections to the Tumblr platform itself as intense, pivotal to learning about genders and sexualities, and sometimes "toxic." We suggest that Tumblr use intensities reflect many young people's (dis)connections to queer life. Participant accounts of Tumblr use for identity, well-being, and (dis)connection practices can usefully inform health, education, and community workers engaging with LGBTIQ+ young people

‘I always have trouble with forms’: homeless people on how poor literacy affects them – and what would help

https://theconversation.com/i-always-have-trouble-with-forms-homeless-people-on-how-poor-literacy-affects-them-and-what-would-help-18078

The use of Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to address causality in complex systems: a systematic review of research on public health interventions

This is the final version. Available on open access from BMC via the DOI in this recordAvailability of data and materials: Full search strategies and extraction forms are available by request from the first author.Background Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) is a method for identifying the configurations of conditions that lead to specific outcomes. Given its potential for providing evidence of causality in complex systems, QCA is increasingly used in evaluative research to examine the uptake or impacts of public health interventions. We map this emerging field, assessing the strengths and weaknesses of QCA approaches identified in published studies, and identify implications for future research and reporting. Methods PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science were systematically searched for peer-reviewed studies published in English up to December 2019 that had used QCA methods to identify the conditions associated with the uptake and/or effectiveness of interventions for public health. Data relating to the interventions studied (settings/level of intervention/populations), methods (type of QCA, case level, source of data, other methods used) and reported strengths and weaknesses of QCA were extracted and synthesised narratively. Results The search identified 1384 papers, of which 27 (describing 26 studies) met the inclusion criteria. Interventions evaluated ranged across: nutrition/obesity (n = 8); physical activity (n = 4); health inequalities (n = 3); mental health (n = 2); community engagement (n = 3); chronic condition management (n = 3); vaccine adoption or implementation (n = 2); programme implementation (n = 3); breastfeeding (n = 2), and general population health (n = 1). The majority of studies (n = 24) were of interventions solely or predominantly in high income countries. Key strengths reported were that QCA provides a method for addressing causal complexity; and that it provides a systematic approach for understanding the mechanisms at work in implementation across contexts. Weaknesses reported related to data availability limitations, especially on ineffective interventions. The majority of papers demonstrated good knowledge of cases, and justification of case selection, but other criteria of methodological quality were less comprehensively met. Conclusion QCA is a promising approach for addressing the role of context in complex interventions, and for identifying causal configurations of conditions that predict implementation and/or outcomes when there is sufficiently detailed understanding of a series of comparable cases. As the use of QCA in evaluative health research increases, there may be a need to develop advice for public health researchers and journals on minimum criteria for quality and reporting.Medical Research Council (MRC)Wellcome Trus

Mitigating risk and facilitating access to capabilities: The role of affect in the design of an ICT-tool for queer youth in Asia

Queer youth face discourses that position their experiences as ‘wrong’ or ‘negative,’ which creates barriers to information and support. Whilst new information and communication technologies (ICTs) present opportunities to circumvent and challenge these barriers (Hillier et al 2010; Hanckel and Morris, 2014) less is known about how risk is conceptualised and mitigated within the design of ICTs. This paper analyses one ICT-tool targeting queer youth across 10 cities in Asia. The study draws on ethnographic field notes, program documentation, and interviews with developers to explore the construction of this ICT-tool. Using Sen's (1999) Capability Approach and Ash's (2014) object centred account of affect, I examine how the technological artefact is engineered to produce an affective experience of safety that responds to structural inequalities. The findings indicate that designing a space of ‘trust’ permeates the narratives of the development of the artefact and impacts on the coding and infrastructure, as well as the development of content and policies supporting its implementation. Using affective markers the artefact aims to circumvent the geographically defined risks associated with collecting Internet data, whilst also enhancing the capabilities of marginalized youth. These findings have implications for how we conceptualise the role of affect in ICT-based programs

Risk ambassadors and saviours: Children and futuring public health interventions

This is the final version. Available from Wiley via the DOI in this record. DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT: The participants of this study did not give written consent for their data to be shared publicly, so due to the sensitive nature of the research, supporting data is not available.Schools are increasingly positioned as sites for intervening on the bodies and minds of children in the here and now in order to bring about health gain for the future. Public health interventions for schools bring together coalitions of commercial, statutory and philanthropic actors with children and their teachers and carers. Drawing on ethnographic case studies in London, UK, this paper explores two such interventions: one aiming to increase levels of physical activity and one to reduce exposure to air pollution. Both interventions not only evoke care for children’s own current and future wellbeing but also fold in imaginaries of collective health futures, which orient and legitimise particular intervention logics and actions. As interventions unfold, children are recruited as monitors of health risks in the present. They are also positioned as risk ambassadors, who will leverage care about unhealthy environments and lifestyles across space, to risky domestic environments, and into imagined health futures. These ‘futuring’ school-based interventions open up small alternative spaces in which imaginaries of collective and resistant public health practices emerge. However, in the here and now, children appear to be bearing a disproportionate burden of responsibility, as ambassadors for, and imagined saviours of, public and environmental health.Medical Research CouncilEconomic and Social Research Council (ESRC)Wellcome Trus