‘MSM’ as a ‘doing thing’

Drawing upon long-term ethnographic research in Namibia, I examine the label ‘MSM’ through a materialist interpretation of affect, viewing ‘MSM’ as a ‘doing thing’ that unsettles the boundaries between subjects and objects. From this analytic perspective, I reconsider the ‘MSM’ label as an inadequate signifier that overlooks, conceals, or erases social complexity. Instead, this perspective reveals what happens when the MSM label travels, thereby better accounting for the socialities it is instrumental in making up. Its very design and appearance – which portray bodies and behaviours in universalistic ways – allow this ‘doing thing’ to gain entry to diverse spaces where it comes to exist alongside some contentious postcolonial political formations, such as those surrounding LGBT rights. I argue that although the label is designed to be insulated from politics, as a ‘neutral’ behavioural category, when ‘MSM’ travels it is still highly relational, continually entangling itself in contexts, stirring up postcolonial anxieties, and reinforcing global inequalities, while also setting the stage for global health worlds coming into being

A portfolio of fixed electroacoustic and live laptop works

This PhD thesis includes a portfolio of electroacoustic and live electroacoustic compositions carried out at the electroacoustic music studios at the University of Birmingham. The portfolio consists of fixed multichannel and stereo works as well as a piece for solo live laptop performance written using max/msp and the supercollider programming language. I will also discuss my work with laptop performance and its influence on my compositional output during this Ph.D

Making up MSM

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Free as in BEER: Some Explorations into Structured Improvisation Using Networked Live-Coding Systems

Much improvised music that has developed since the advent of free jazz has been concerned with the imposition of structure, often through systems of directed improvisation, or through the use of rule-based approaches (e.g., game pieces). In this article, we explore the possibility of a networked live-coding system as a structural intervention mechanism par excellence, through the discussion of two pieces from the repertoire of the Birmingham Ensemble for Electroacoustic Researc

Autopia: An AI collaborator for live networked computer music performance

This paper describes an AI system, Autopia, designed to participate in collaborative live coding music performances using the Utopia software tool for SuperCollider. This form of human-AI collaboration allows us to explore the implications of mixed-initiative computational creativity from the perspective of live coding. As well as collaboration with human performers, one of our motivations with Autopia is to explore audience collaboration through a gamified mode of interaction, namely voting through a web-based interface accessed by the audience on their smartphones. The results of this are often emergent, chaotic, and surprising to performers and audience alike

Views and Experiences of Mucosal Sampling in HIV Clinical Research among Kenyan Volunteers

HIV transmission predominantly occurs across mucosal surfaces. Efforts to find an effective and efficacious HIV vaccine, requires understanding the various mechanisms of sexual HIV transmission including immune responses to various HIV vaccine candidates along the mucosal pathways.  In this paper, we describe the experiences of health volunteers in three Phase 1 HIV vaccines trials and an observation study that comprised of high- risk and low risk healthy participants with regard to the collection of rectal, cervical and seminal mucosal samples. The paper emanates from a study that examined the views and experiences of volunteers in participating in HIV clinical research, at the KAVI-Institute of Clinical Research, Nairobi, Kenya. The study followed a mixed methods phenomenological research approach with a dominant qualitative strand. In the first phase, quantitative data was collected via a survey questionnaire involving 116 volunteers that helped identify 28 volunteers for the qualitative phase.  Quantitative data were analyzed using SPPS while qualitative data was transcribed verbatim, thematic themes identified for coding and entered into Atlas ti for analysis. Participants had a mean age of 28.5 ± 5.7 years (range 20–51 years). There were more males (n =85) than females (n= 31). In general, volunteers expressed mixed reactions towards the collection and use of mucosal samples. Both none-consenting and consenting volunteers cited invasiveness of their privacy.Also reported were experiences of physical and psychological discomforts, with men terming the collection of semen via masturbation as unnatural and contravening individuals’ religious and cultural beliefs. The findings reveal a knowledge gap among community members with use of mucosal samples and modes of collection

Autopia: An AI Collaborator for Live Coding Music Performances

Live coding is “the activity of writing (parts of) a program while it runs” (Ward et al., 2004). One significant application of live coding is in algorithmic music, where the performer modifies the code generating the music in a live context. Utopia is a software tool for collaborative live coding performances, allowing several performers (each with their own laptop producing its own sound) to communicate and share code during a performance. We have made an AI bot, Autopia, which can participate in such performances, communicating with human performers through Utopia. This form of human-AI collaboration allows us to explore the implications of computational creativity from the perspective of live coding

Empty rituals? A qualitative study of users’ experience of monitoring & evaluation systems in HIV interventions in western India

In global health initiatives, particularly in the context of private philanthropy and its ‘business minded’ approach, detailed programme data plays an increasing role in informing assessments, improvements, evaluations, and ultimately continuation or discontinuation of funds for individual programmes. The HIV/AIDS literature predominantly treats monitoring as unproblematic. However, the social science of audit and indicators emphasises the constitutive power of indicators, noting that their effects at a grassroots level are often at odds with the goals specified in policy. This paper investigates users' experiences of Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) systems in the context of HIV interventions in western India. Six focus groups (totalling 51 participants) were held with employees of 6 different NGOs working for government or philanthropy-funded HIV interventions for sex workers in western India. Ten donor employees were interviewed. Thematic analysis was conducted. NGO employees described a major gap between what they considered their “real work” and the indicators used to monitor it. They could explain the official purposes of M&E systems in terms of programme improvement and financial accountability. More cynically, they valued M&E experience on their CVs and the rhetorical role of data in demonstrating their achievements. They believed that inappropriate and unethical means were being used to meet targets, including incentives and coercion, and criticised indicators for being misleading and inflexible. Donor employees valued the role of M&E in programme improvement, financial accountability, and professionalising NGO-donor relationships. However, they were suspicious that NGOs might be falsifying data, criticised the insensitivity of indicators, and complained that data were under-used. For its users, M& E appears an ‘empty ritual’, enacted because donors require it, but not put to local use. In this context, monitoring is constituted as an instrument of performance management rather than as a means of rational programme improvement

Awareness and utilization of HIV testing and prevention services among female sex workers in Dnipro, Ukraine: implications for prevention program strengthening from the dynamics study

INTRODUCTION: Approximately 240,000 people live with HIV in Ukraine, concentrated among key populations, including sex workers. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play an important role in the funding and delivery of HIV testing and prevention services in Ukraine. These services are set within the context of national healthcare reforms as well as ongoing armed conflict. This study seeks to describe and understand the usage of HIV testing and prevention services among sex workers in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro. METHODS: A cross-sectional bio-behavioral survey was administered in September 2017-March 2018 among 560 sex workers working in Dnipro. Descriptive analyses of survey data are presented alongside multivariable logistic regression models identifying factors associated with NGO awareness and HIV testing in the past 12 months; adjusted odds ratios (AOR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) are reported. RESULTS: Sixty-two percent of respondents were aware of NGOs offering HIV services. Sixty-eight percent had tested for HIV in the past 12 months, and 51% of those who reported the location of their most recent test were tested at an NGO. Those with 5-9 years in sex work had greater odds of being aware of NGOs (AOR = 5.5, 95%CI: 3.2-9.7) and testing for HIV (AOR = 3.4, 95%CI: 2.0-6.0) compared to those new to the profession. Contact with outreach workers was strongly associated with increased odds of testing (AOR = 13.0, 95%CI: 7.0-24.0). Sex workers in "offices" (brothel-like venues) reported higher odds of testing than all other workplaces, while those in entertainment venues (AOR = 0.3, 95%CI: 0.2-0.5) and public places (AOR = 0.2, 95%CI: 0.1-0.3) reported lower rates. Receiving prevention services, such as free condoms, was associated with increased testing (AOR = 16.9, 95%CI: 9.7-29.3). DISCUSSION: NGOs in Dnipro, Ukraine play an important role in HIV testing and prevention for women involved in sex work. However, focused efforts should be placed on supporting access to these services for women that are newer to sex work, and those working in entertainment venues or public places. Outreach workers appear to support access to HIV prevention information and supplies and facilitate linkages to HIV testing for sex workers

Factors Associated with Sexual Violence against Men Who Have Sex with Men and Transgendered Individuals in Karnataka, India

There is a lack of information on sexual violence (SV) among men who have sex with men and transgendered individuals (MSM-T) in southern India. As SV has been associated with HIV vulnerability, this study examined health related behaviours and practices associated with SV among MSM-T.Data were from cross-sectional surveys from four districts in Karnataka, India.Multivariable logistic regression models were constructed to examine factors related to SV. Multivariable negative binomial regression models examined the association between physician visits and SV.A total of 543 MSM-T were included in the study. Prevalence of SV was 18% in the past year. HIV prevalence among those reporting SV was 20%, compared to 12% among those not reporting SV (p = .104). In multivariable models, and among sex workers, those reporting SV were more likely to report anal sex with 5+ casual sex partners in the past week (AOR: 4.1; 95%CI: 1.2-14.3, p = .029). Increased physician visits among those reporting SV was reported only for those involved in sex work (ARR: 1.7; 95%CI: 1.1-2.7, p = .012).These results demonstrate high levels of SV among MSM-T populations, highlighting the importance of integrating interventions to reduce violence as part of HIV prevention programs and health services