Landscapes of memory: Tjapukai Dance Theatre and Laura Festival

It is in the very act of remembering and in our deeply intertwined spatial practices of memory that we conceptualise and thus create our cultural landscapes. One of the means by which we do this is through expressive cultural performances. Performers and audiences together create lived socio-political landscapes. Two examples are presented here: the history of the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Centre, which is intimately tied to the small township of Kuranda, also known as ‘the village in the rainforest’, and the history of the Laura Aboriginal Dance and Cultural Festival in Cape York

Skyrail Cairns

Brief account of social conflict over the construction of the Cairns-Kuranda Skyrail

Indigenous knowledge in the time of climate change (with reference to Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia)

[Extract:] In order to understand how social resilience might be achieved in the face of climate change,it is crucial to consider how people employ everyday ‘local’ and ‘indigenous knowledge’ to deal in practice with uncertainty and risk in their lives. Focusing on responses to climate change discourse in the Pacific , with particular attention to Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), we call for more fine- grained ethnographic studies on how the global discourse of climate change transforms knowledge and practice at the local level

"A tulip in lotus land" : the rise and decline of dutch burgher ethnicity in Sri Lanka

This study on the Burghers of Sri Lanka addresses itself to the problem of social identity, the idea of race, and the concept of ethnicity. In particular the thesis focuses on the institutionalisation in 1908, of Dutch Burgher identity, as opposed to Portuguese or other 'non-Dutch' Burgher, in the form of the Dutch Burgher Union of Ceylon (DBU). Although the thesis is based mainly on a literature study, my argument does not depend on an exhaustive catalogue of texts dealing with Sri Lanka and the Burghers Rather, the focus is on one particular text - the Journal of the Dutch Burgher Union - in order to analyse how a group has semantically constructed a distinctive identity category for itself, as well as to delineate structural conditions that have led to that construction in the first place. This leads to considerations about the large body of literature on ethnicity published in recent years, especially the primordialist/ circumstantialist debate, and the reaction by some writers against this type of study due to the weak status of ethnicity as a social scientific concept. De Lepervanche (1980:25) for example has suggested that, as used in social scientific research and in government policy, ethnicity is an ideological concept which reproduces hegemony by denying the structural inequalities of class. Nagata (1981), in an excellent summary, broadly outlined two main approaches to ethnicity taken by various social scientists. The circumstantialist approach ’regards ethnicity as a dependent variable, created and controlled by a broad combination of external interests and strategies, which invest it with potential for action and mobilization1, and the primordialist approach ’sees ethnicity emanating out of a corpus of basic, elemental, and irreducible (’primordial1) loyalties, with a power and determinism uniquely of their own’ (Nagata, 1981:89). A number of writers(e.g. Epstein, 1978, Ballard, 1976, Keyes, 1981) and Nagata herself have taken the middle ground in the debate, arguing that the primordialist and circumstantialist approaches are not mutually exclusive, but that an adequate theory of ethnicity must include elements of both. I see the primordialist/circumstantialist debate in ethnic studies as merely a manifestation of a more general argument on the relative weight to be assigned to cultural and structural factors in the study of human social formations. However, I believe that this is only an argument in ethnic studies because most writers focus on the ethnic group as a real entity rather than as a symbolic construction. My argument in this thesis is based on the idea that ethnicity is a discourse which ’primordializes’ culture. However, as a discourse, it is part of the structure of social relations and operates within the context of social reality. Thus, I see Dutch Burgher ethnicity as a discourse which developed within the context of historical and socio-economic relations in Colonial Ceylon

Efficiency of commercial banks in Malaysia using vaic method / Rosita Haji Suhaimi and Emerline Carol Henry

ICT has not been much considered as an important variable for intellectual capital measurement in previous studies. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (1996), ICT is best regarded asthe facilitator of knowledge creation in innovative societies. In the knowledge based economy, ICT is not only considered as a driver for change but as a tool for releasing the creative potential and knowledge embodied in people. A study of banks in UK found that Information Technology (IT) has a significant impact on intellectual capital performance (VAIC) (El-Bannany, 2008). Prior to the globalization and liberalization era, the commercial banks in Malaysia were facing stiff competition in terms of providing a variety of products and services, especially when Bank Negara opened up the financial sector to qualified foreign banks in its effort to drive domestic banks to better performance, efficiency, and innovation. Besides that, banks have been able to better serve their customers with the advance of ICT, by the usage of smart cards, ATMs, mobile banking, electronic banking, telephone banking, twenty four hour service, the overall quality of services, expanded portfolios of products and services, and better customer relationship management with the use of advanced tools and variety of products. Therefore, ICT has not only provided infinite banking opportunities to expand product and services beyond reach, but also heightens the competitions and risks faced by banks in the financial system (Voon-Chong et al, 2010). This study basically seeks to investigate to what extent the commercial banks are efficient in terms of value creation efficiency and to see whether there is a relationship between the Value Added Intellectual Coefficient(VAIC) and financial performance. Hence, this study will include ICT efficiency as another component in the VAIC method

Dancing with the Flow: Political Undercurrents at the 9th Festival of Pacific Arts

In 2004, the Festival of Pacific Arts, held every four years since 1972, was hosted by the Republic of Palau in Micronesia with its 16 states and population of less than 20,000. An unique system of community organisation, based on Palauan concepts of traditional leadership and hospitality, placed each of the 28 country delegations from all over the Pacific into the care of a Palauan «sister state» and volunteer committees set up according to topic (dance, theatre, music, healing workshops, and so on). The heavy cost of this festival, held 22-31 July, and the incredible local commitment to this event, seemed like a modern potlatch, challenging not so much the indigenous guests but the diverse powers competing in the Pacific (USA, Japan, France, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, New Zealand, and Australia).En 2004, le Festival des Arts du Pacifique, organisé tous les quatre ans depuis 1972, fut accueilli par la République de Palau en Micronésie qui comprend seize États pour une population de moins de 20 000 habitants. Un système original d’organisation communautaire, fondé sur des concepts palauans de leadership et d’hospitalité traditionnels, plaça chacune des vingt-huit délégations de divers pays du Pacifique sous la responsabilité d’un « État sœur » de Palau et de comités de bénévoles mis en place autour de différents thèmes (danse, théatre, musique, ateliers de soins, etc.). Le coût élevé de ce festival qui dura du 22 au 31 juillet et l’incroyable engagement de cet événement semblaient un potlatch moderne, défiant moins les invités autochtones que les divers pouvoirs qui sont en compétition dans le Pacifique (USA, Japon, France, Chine, Taiwan, Indonésie, Nouvelle-Zélande et Australie)

Weedy Life: Coloniality, Decoloniality, and Tropicality

Respect for any form of life entails nurturing all the potentialities proper to it, including those that might be unproductive from the human point of view. Are there lessons to be learnt about decolonisation of the tropics from a focus on ‘weeds’? The contributors to this photo-essay collectively consider here the lessons that can be learnt about the relationship between colonisation and decolonisation through a visual focus on life forms that have been defined as weeds and, consequently, subject to a contradictory politics of care, removal, and control – of germinating, blooming, and cutting. The essay demonstrates the continuing colonial tensions between aesthetic and practical evaluations of many plants and other lifeforms regarded as ‘invasive’ or ‘out of place’. It suggests a decolonial overcoming of oppositions. By celebrating alliances of endemics and ‘weeds’ regeneratively living together in patterns of complex diversity, we seek to transcend policies of differentiation, exclusion and even eradication rooted in colonial ontology

Estrategias Metodológicas para Fomentar el Trabajo en Equipo

Education has always experienced changes that are observed in the way the teaching and learning process is developed. With the arrival of new technologies, the pandemic context that changed educational dynamics, and other social factors, the educational system has a set of strategies to guarantee meaningful learning for students. Teamwork represents a teaching modality that does not always achieve the proposed objectives, since it contemplates the interaction of several team members who have different work – and learning – criteria and methods. Taking the above into account, this research article analyzes the strategies that promote teamwork in the educational field, specifically, at the university level. Therefore, descriptive research is used to expose the phenomenon under study, and thus know the relevant characteristics and features. Likewise, it responds to a documentary nature, which is why the bibliographic review and analysis of the information collected in the investigative process is carried out. As a result of the research, it stands out that collaborative learning and the use of ICT promote the active participation of students, since by collaborating with their ideas, knowledge is built and the objective that teamwork pursues is achieved.La educación siempre ha experimentado cambios que se observan en el modo de desarrollar el proceso de enseñanza y aprendizaje. Con la llegada de las nuevas tecnologías, el contexto pandémico que cambio la dinámica educativa, y demás factores sociales, el sistema educativo cuenta con un cumulo de estrategias para garantizar el aprendizaje significativo de los estudiantes. El trabajo en equipo representa una modalidad de enseñanza que no siempre alcanza los objetivos propuestos, ya que contempla la interacción de varios miembros del equipo que poseen criterios y métodos de trabajo – y aprendizaje – diferente. Teniendo en cuenta lo anterior, en el presente artículo de investigación se analizan las estrategias que fomentan el trabajo en equipo en el ámbito educativo, específicamente, a nivel universitario. Por lo tanto, se recurre a la investigación descriptiva para exponer el fenómeno de estudio, y así conocer las características y rasgos relevantes. Asimismo, responde a un carácter documental por lo que se desarrolla la revisión bibliográfica y el análisis de la información recabada en el proceso investigativo. Como resultado de la investigación, se destaca que el aprendizaje colaborativo y el uso de las TIC promueven la participación activa de los estudiantes, ya que al colaborar con sus ideas, se construyen los conocimientos y logra el objetivo que el trabajo en equipo persigue

Dolutegravir twice-daily dosing in children with HIV-associated tuberculosis: a pharmacokinetic and safety study within the open-label, multicentre, randomised, non-inferiority ODYSSEY trial

Background: Children with HIV-associated tuberculosis (TB) have few antiretroviral therapy (ART) options. We aimed to evaluate the safety and pharmacokinetics of dolutegravir twice-daily dosing in children receiving rifampicin for HIV-associated TB. Methods: We nested a two-period, fixed-order pharmacokinetic substudy within the open-label, multicentre, randomised, controlled, non-inferiority ODYSSEY trial at research centres in South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Children (aged 4 weeks to <18 years) with HIV-associated TB who were receiving rifampicin and twice-daily dolutegravir were eligible for inclusion. We did a 12-h pharmacokinetic profile on rifampicin and twice-daily dolutegravir and a 24-h profile on once-daily dolutegravir. Geometric mean ratios for trough plasma concentration (Ctrough), area under the plasma concentration time curve from 0 h to 24 h after dosing (AUC0–24 h), and maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) were used to compare dolutegravir concentrations between substudy days. We assessed rifampicin Cmax on the first substudy day. All children within ODYSSEY with HIV-associated TB who received rifampicin and twice-daily dolutegravir were included in the safety analysis. We described adverse events reported from starting twice-daily dolutegravir to 30 days after returning to once-daily dolutegravir. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02259127), EudraCT (2014–002632-14), and the ISRCTN registry (ISRCTN91737921). Findings: Between Sept 20, 2016, and June 28, 2021, 37 children with HIV-associated TB (median age 11·9 years [range 0·4–17·6], 19 [51%] were female and 18 [49%] were male, 36 [97%] in Africa and one [3%] in Thailand) received rifampicin with twice-daily dolutegravir and were included in the safety analysis. 20 (54%) of 37 children enrolled in the pharmacokinetic substudy, 14 of whom contributed at least one evaluable pharmacokinetic curve for dolutegravir, including 12 who had within-participant comparisons. Geometric mean ratios for rifampicin and twice-daily dolutegravir versus once-daily dolutegravir were 1·51 (90% CI 1·08–2·11) for Ctrough, 1·23 (0·99–1·53) for AUC0–24 h, and 0·94 (0·76–1·16) for Cmax. Individual dolutegravir Ctrough concentrations were higher than the 90% effective concentration (ie, 0·32 mg/L) in all children receiving rifampicin and twice-daily dolutegravir. Of 18 children with evaluable rifampicin concentrations, 15 (83%) had a Cmax of less than the optimal target concentration of 8 mg/L. Rifampicin geometric mean Cmax was 5·1 mg/L (coefficient of variation 71%). During a median follow-up of 31 weeks (IQR 30–40), 15 grade 3 or higher adverse events occurred among 11 (30%) of 37 children, ten serious adverse events occurred among eight (22%) children, including two deaths (one tuberculosis-related death, one death due to traumatic injury); no adverse events, including deaths, were considered related to dolutegravir. Interpretation: Twice-daily dolutegravir was shown to be safe and sufficient to overcome the rifampicin enzyme-inducing effect in children, and could provide a practical ART option for children with HIV-associated TB

Neuropsychiatric manifestations and sleep disturbances with dolutegravir-based antiretroviral therapy versus standard of care in children and adolescents: a secondary analysis of the ODYSSEY trial

BACKGROUND: Cohort studies in adults with HIV showed that dolutegravir was associated with neuropsychiatric adverse events and sleep problems, yet data are scarce in children and adolescents. We aimed to evaluate neuropsychiatric manifestations in children and adolescents treated with dolutegravir-based treatment versus alternative antiretroviral therapy. METHODS: This is a secondary analysis of ODYSSEY, an open-label, multicentre, randomised, non-inferiority trial, in which adolescents and children initiating first-line or second-line antiretroviral therapy were randomly assigned 1:1 to dolutegravir-based treatment or standard-of-care treatment. We assessed neuropsychiatric adverse events (reported by clinicians) and responses to the mood and sleep questionnaires (reported by the participant or their carer) in both groups. We compared the proportions of patients with neuropsychiatric adverse events (neurological, psychiatric, and total), time to first neuropsychiatric adverse event, and participant-reported responses to questionnaires capturing issues with mood, suicidal thoughts, and sleep problems. FINDINGS: Between Sept 20, 2016, and June 22, 2018, 707 participants were enrolled, of whom 345 (49%) were female and 362 (51%) were male, and 623 (88%) were Black-African. Of 707 participants, 350 (50%) were randomly assigned to dolutegravir-based antiretroviral therapy and 357 (50%) to non-dolutegravir-based standard-of-care. 311 (44%) of 707 participants started first-line antiretroviral therapy (ODYSSEY-A; 145 [92%] of 157 participants had efavirenz-based therapy in the standard-of-care group), and 396 (56%) of 707 started second-line therapy (ODYSSEY-B; 195 [98%] of 200 had protease inhibitor-based therapy in the standard-of-care group). During follow-up (median 142 weeks, IQR 124–159), 23 participants had 31 neuropsychiatric adverse events (15 in the dolutegravir group and eight in the standard-of-care group; difference in proportion of participants with ≥1 event p=0·13). 11 participants had one or more neurological events (six and five; p=0·74) and 14 participants had one or more psychiatric events (ten and four; p=0·097). Among 14 participants with psychiatric events, eight participants in the dolutegravir group and four in standard-of-care group had suicidal ideation or behaviour. More participants in the dolutegravir group than the standard-of-care group reported symptoms of self-harm (eight vs one; p=0·025), life not worth living (17 vs five; p=0·0091), or suicidal thoughts (13 vs none; p=0·0006) at one or more follow-up visits. Most reports were transient. There were no differences by treatment group in low mood or feeling sad, problems concentrating, feeling worried or feeling angry or aggressive, sleep problems, or sleep quality. INTERPRETATION: The numbers of neuropsychiatric adverse events and reported neuropsychiatric symptoms were low. However, numerically more participants had psychiatric events and reported suicidality ideation in the dolutegravir group than the standard-of-care group. These differences should be interpreted with caution in an open-label trial. Clinicians and policy makers should consider including suicidality screening of children or adolescents receiving dolutegravir