Deepening Democracy Through a Social Movement: Networks, Information Rights, and Online and Offline Activism

This research studied the dynamics of online and offline activism among networks of organizations and social activists across India involved in the globally recognized Right to Information movement. Our overarching research question examined how a network of organizations and activists grew global, national, and local collective action strength, outreach capacity, and recognition for their grassroots innovations online and offline in a landscape of digital inequality. This qualitative study, which used a purposive sample of activists and organization representatives (N = 72) and supplementary data, found that online activism increased in recent years; yet, the movement conducted most of its campaigns offline, with social media used to exercise geographic reach, amplify messaging, and pressure government and corporate interests. The movement built collective strength online and offline through unifying cross-cutting campaigns, innovations, and cross-network alliances with diverse constituents. It also sustained initiatives that built broad-based inclusive relationships across Indian society that became known around the world. © 2020 (Jeannine E. Relly and Rajdeep Pakanati). Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives (by-nc-nd). All Rights Reserved.Open access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Is the Public Motivated to Engage in Open Data Innovation?

Part 3: Policy and StakeholdersInternational audienceGovernments aim to increase democracy by engaging the public in using open data to develop mobile apps and citizen services. They make information available (open data) and organize innovation contests to stimulate innovation with the goal to make new services available for the public to use. But will the public take on the challenge to both develop and provide services to each other? In this paper we use a case study from public transportation to investigate the motivation for individuals and teams to participate in innovation contests. The results show that the motivation for participating is primarily related to fun and enjoyment. We argue that in order to better meet the goals of open data innovation, governments need to follow through the full service innovation cycle and also care for making citizen coproduction in the execution and monitoring phases fun and enjoyable. Currently there is little chance for participants to make profit on a competitive market so governments need to provide other mechanisms to ensure service provisioning. For future research it is suggested to investigate how the later stages of open data innovation can be supported in order to meet the overall goals of open data innovation

Political will and strategic use of YouTube to advancing government transparency: An analysis of Jakarta government-generated YouTube videos

Government transparency is critical to cut government bureaucracy and corruption, which diminish political accountability and legitimacy, erode trust in government, and hinder citizen engagement and government performance. Previously, Jakarta\u27s local governments lacked government transparency, holding high-level meetings under a close-door policy, sustaining a critical and fundamental flaw in policy-making and fueling government inefficiency and corruption. Social media radically increased the speed, reach and transparency of information. Yet, social media-enabled government transparency has not been sufficiently investigated. This research presents strategic use of YouTube by Jakarta\u27s new local government to open doors to high-level political meetings and other reform-oriented government activities for greater local government transparency. We conducted an analysis of 250 government-generated videos on YouTube viewed and liked by Jakarta\u27s 7.8-million net-savvy citizens. We conclude transformational leadership\u27s political will and strategic use of YouTube are the keys to advancing local government transparency and facilitating citizen engagement with government\u27s reform initiatives

Guideline adherence in febrile children below 3 months visiting European Emergency Departments: an observational multicenter study

Febrile children below 3 months have a higher risk of serious bacterial infections, which often leads to extensive diagnostics and treatment. There is practice variation in management due to differences in guidelines and their usage and adherence. We aimed to assess whether management in febrile children below 3 months attending European Emergency Departments (EDs) was according to the guidelines for fever. This study is part of the MOFICHE study, which is an observational multicenter study including routine data of febrile children (0–18 years) attending twelve EDs in eight European countries. In febrile children below 3 months (excluding bronchiolitis), we analyzed actual management compared to the guidelines for fever. Ten EDs applied the (adapted) NICE guideline, and two EDs applied local guidelines. Management included diagnostic tests, antibiotic treatment, and admission. We included 913 children with a median age of 1.7 months (IQR 1.0–2.3). Management per ED varied as follows: use of diagnostic tests 14–83%, antibiotic treatment 23–54%, admission 34–86%. Adherence to the guideline was 43% (374/868) for blood cultures, 29% (144/491) for lumbar punctures, 55% (270/492) for antibiotic prescriptions, and 67% (573/859) for admission. Full adherence to these four management components occurred in 15% (132/868, range 0–38%), partial adherence occurred in 56% (484/868, range 35–77%). Conclusion: There is large practice variation in management. The guideline adherence was limited, but highest for admission which implies a cautious approach. Future studies should focus on guideline revision including new biomarkers in order to optimize management in young febrile children.What is Known:• Febrile children below 3 months have a higher risk of serious bacterial infections, which often leads to extensive diagnostics and treatment.• There is practice variation in management of young febrile children due to differences in guidelines and their usage and adherence.What is New:• Full guideline adherence is limited, whereas partial guideline adherence is moderate in febrile children below 3 months across Europe.• Guideline revision including new biomarkers is needed to improve management in young febrile children. © 2022, The Author(s)

Genomic investigations of unexplained acute hepatitis in children

Since its first identification in Scotland, over 1,000 cases of unexplained paediatric hepatitis in children have been reported worldwide, including 278 cases in the UK1. Here we report an investigation of 38 cases, 66 age-matched immunocompetent controls and 21 immunocompromised comparator participants, using a combination of genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and immunohistochemical methods. We detected high levels of adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2) DNA in the liver, blood, plasma or stool from 27 of 28 cases. We found low levels of adenovirus (HAdV) and human herpesvirus 6B (HHV-6B) in 23 of 31 and 16 of 23, respectively, of the cases tested. By contrast, AAV2 was infrequently detected and at low titre in the blood or the liver from control children with HAdV, even when profoundly immunosuppressed. AAV2, HAdV and HHV-6 phylogeny excluded the emergence of novel strains in cases. Histological analyses of explanted livers showed enrichment for T cells and B lineage cells. Proteomic comparison of liver tissue from cases and healthy controls identified increased expression of HLA class 2, immunoglobulin variable regions and complement proteins. HAdV and AAV2 proteins were not detected in the livers. Instead, we identified AAV2 DNA complexes reflecting both HAdV-mediated and HHV-6B-mediated replication. We hypothesize that high levels of abnormal AAV2 replication products aided by HAdV and, in severe cases, HHV-6B may have triggered immune-mediated hepatic disease in genetically and immunologically predisposed children. © 2023, The Author(s)