Public occupations : art theory, cultural methodology, and social change

Various combinations of the terms "public" and "art" circulate in news sources, gallery publications, art magazines, and theoretical texts. Within this area of art theory, criticism, and discussion, the designation public functions as a "discursive operator" (J. M. Berthelot) because similar assumptions about identity and belonging (particularly gender and sexuality) are central to, yet evaded within, its multiple uses. To address patterns of arguments as well as particular examples, I analyse discourses around the topics of public art, public-site art practice, public(s) for galleries or art projects, and public funding of the arts. My focus is on Canadian art events in relation to primarily Canadian and American art theory, criticism, and newspaper content. I draw on a variety of feminist, cultural, and political theories in order to analyse art theory in relation to art projects and in relation to other cultural forms. My approach and discussion has two significant levels: one, the dissertation produces a complex analysis of the imbrication of cultural identity and notions of public within representations and discourses that combine public and art; and two, my research process works with the notion of the archive (M. Foucault) and creates a methodology for the analysis of contemporary cultural events which cut across disciplinary and media boundaries

Life expectancy of persons receiving combination antiretroviral therapy in low-income countries: a cohort analysis from Uganda

Little is known about the effect of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) on life expectancy in sub-Saharan Africa

11 years of tracking aid to reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health: estimates and analysis for 2003–13 from the Countdown to 2015

Background Tracking aid fl ows helps to hold donors accountable and to compare the allocation of resources in relation to health need. With the use of data reported by donors in 2015, we provided estimates of offi cial development assistance and grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (collectively termed ODA+) to reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health for 2013 and complete trends in reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health support for the period 2003–13. Methods We coded and analysed fi nancial disbursements to reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health to all recipient countries from all donors reporting to the creditor reporting system database for the year 2013. We also revisited disbursement records for the years 2003–08 and coded disbursements relating to reproductive and sexual health activities resulting in the Countdown dataset for 2003–13. We matched this dataset to the 2015 creditor reporting system dataset and coded any unmatched creditor reporting system records. We analysed trends in ODA+ to reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health for the period 2003–13, trends in donor contributions, disbursements to recipient countries, and targeting to need. Findings Total ODA+ to reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health reached nearly US$14 billion in 2013, of which 48$6·8 billion), 34% supported reproductive and sexual health ($4·7 billion), and 18$2·5 billion). ODA+ to reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health increased by 225% in real terms over the period 2003–13. Child health received the most substantial increase in funding since 2003 (286%), followed by reproductive and sexual health (194%), and maternal and newborn health (164%). In 2013, bilateral donors disbursed 59% of all ODA+ to reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health, followed by global health initiatives (23%), and multilateral agencies (13%). Targeting of ODA+ to reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health to countries with the greatest health need seems to have improved over time. Interpretation The increase in reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health funding over the period 2003–13 is encouraging. Further increases in funding will be needed to accelerate maternal mortality reduction while keeping a high level of investment in sexual and reproductive health and in child health

Mootookakio'ssin: Creating in Space Time

This exhibition explores creating in relationship to historical cultural material that is housed in British museums and features physical and digital artwork by uLethbridge students as well as artists living in the UK and in Ghana. Expanding from the Mootookakio’ssin research project, the exhibition spans the gap in space and time between contemporary artists and historical cultural material that is separated from homelands. Mootookakio’ssin: Creating in Spacetime bridges temporal gaps between historical cultural material housed in museums and living contemporary artists. For the past few years, Blackfoot Elders, artists, scholars, and museum professionals living on Blackfoot Territory and in Britain have been working together, talking, and thinking about material culture, cultural capital, power, and estrangement. We’ve visited with historical cultural material in museum collections, survived the pandemic, jumped time zones, and calibrated calendars to make connections. Always guided by the Blackfoot principle that we have a responsibility to share and to care for knowledge, teaching and learning is at the core of our work. Mootookakio’ssin: Creating in Spacetime is an exhibition as process, an exhibition that experiments with what an art gallery can be, and whom it serves. Students enrolled in Indigenous Art Studio (Fall 2024) at ULethbridge created their works in the gallery space, transforming the gallery into a Collective Studio. Over several weeks of discussion, self-reflection, study, and consultation, Indigenous Art Studio students chose projects that were personally meaningful to them. Critique of museum practices, healing from generational trauma, reimagining of culturally important stories and materials, the search for comfort and interactivity in the art gallery: these among others are topics which the Indigenous Art Studio classroom has taken on in this exhibition. While these themes are not always easy to engage with, it is the hope that by creating in spacetime around these stories, we can bring knowledge and healing to our many communities. Students expanded their project ideas from this with the support of the ULethbridge Art Gallery staff and visiting artist Louisa Minkin. We were open to the public as we created the exhibition and people were invited to drop by and visit with the artists. This is an exhibition as conversation. Minkin brought artworks from students at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts, London who have been working together on the Prisoners of Love project. Prisoners of Love: Affect, containment and alternative futures aims to connect UK museum collection items with their trans-national home peoples and bring emerging artists from diasporic communities in the UK, curators and researchers into conversation, to work responsively with complex histories and material practices. We have been working with the Economic Botany Collection and the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew, Horniman Museum and Gardens and Compound 13 Lab in Mumbai, India; Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford and the Department of Archaeology at the University of Ghana in Accra; Hastings Museum and Art Gallery and the Mootookakio’ssin project based on Blackfoot homelands at the University of Lethbridge. The travelling works shown here were put together during OST, our project residency in a derelict bank in the heart of the City of London this September. Please be advised that the works in this exhibit touch upon subjects which visitors may find upsetting, and may bring up unexpected feelings, memories, and responses. While the works are intended to encourage reflection and conversation, it is important for visitors to be mindful of their own preparation to engage with topics having to do with the lasting effects of colonialism on Indigenous communities around the world, past and present

11 years of tracking aid to reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health: estimates and analysis for 2003-13 from the Countdown to 2015.

BACKGROUND: Tracking aid flows helps to hold donors accountable and to compare the allocation of resources in relation to health need. With the use of data reported by donors in 2015, we provided estimates of official development assistance and grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (collectively termed ODA+) to reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health for 2013 and complete trends in reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health support for the period 2003-13. METHODS: We coded and analysed financial disbursements to reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health to all recipient countries from all donors reporting to the creditor reporting system database for the year 2013. We also revisited disbursement records for the years 2003-08 and coded disbursements relating to reproductive and sexual health activities resulting in the Countdown dataset for 2003-13. We matched this dataset to the 2015 creditor reporting system dataset and coded any unmatched creditor reporting system records. We analysed trends in ODA+ to reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health for the period 2003-13, trends in donor contributions, disbursements to recipient countries, and targeting to need. FINDINGS: Total ODA+ to reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health reached nearly US$14 billion in 2013, of which 48$6·8 billion), 34% supported reproductive and sexual health ($4·7 billion), and 18$2·5 billion). ODA+ to reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health increased by 225% in real terms over the period 2003-13. Child health received the most substantial increase in funding since 2003 (286%), followed by reproductive and sexual health (194%), and maternal and newborn health (164%). In 2013, bilateral donors disbursed 59% of all ODA+ to reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health, followed by global health initiatives (23%), and multilateral agencies (13%). Targeting of ODA+ to reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health to countries with the greatest health need seems to have improved over time. INTERPRETATION: The increase in reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health funding over the period 2003-13 is encouraging. Further increases in funding will be needed to accelerate maternal mortality reduction while keeping a high level of investment in sexual and reproductive health and in child health. FUNDING: Subgrant OPP1058954 from the US Fund for UNICEF under their Countdown to 2015 for Maternal, Newborn and Child Survival Grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Countdown to 2015: changes in offi cial development assistance to reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health, and assessment of progress between 2003 and 2012

Background Tracking of aid resources to reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (RMNCH) provides timely and crucial information to hold donors accountable. For the fi rst time, we examine fl ows in offi cial development assistance (ODA) and grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (collectively termed ODA+) in relation to the continuum of care for RMNCH and assess progress since 2003. Methods We coded and analysed fi nancial disbursements for maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) and for reproductive health (R*) to all recipient countries worldwide from all donors reporting to the creditor reporting system database for the years 2011–12. We also included grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. We analysed trends for MNCH for the period 2003–12 and for R* for the period 2009–12. Findings ODA+ to RMNCH from all donors to all countries worldwide amounted to US$12·2 billion in 2011 (an 11·8$12·8 billion in 2012 (a 5·0% increase relative to 2011). ODA+ to MNCH represents more than 60% of all aid to RMNCH. ODA+ to projects that have newborns as part of the target population has increased 34-fold since 2003. ODA to RMNCH from the 31 donors, which have reported consistently since 2003, to the 75 Countdown priority countries, saw a 3·2% increase in 2011 relative to 2010 ($8·3 billion in 2011), and an 11·8$9·3 billion in 2012). ODA to RMNCH projects has increased with time, whereas general budget support has continuously declined. Bilateral agencies are still the predominant source of ODA to RMNCH. Increased funding to family planning, nutrition, and immunisation projects were noted in 2011 and 2012. ODA+ has been targeted to RMNCH during the period 2005–12, although there is no evidence of improvements in targeting over time. Interpretation Despite a reduction in ODA+ in 2011, ODA+ to RMNCH increased in both 2011 and 2012. The increase in funding is encouraging, but continued increases are needed to accelerate progress towards achieving MDGs 4 and 5 and beyond

Reconnecting Blackfoot items through technology

Reconnect: Presentation of the Mootookakio'ssin and Concepts Have Teeth projects The presentation is organized by Worlding Northern Art (WONA), a research group based at UiT The Arctic University of Norway. Its goal is to strengthen research in art history and visual culture in Northern Norway and the Circumpolar North, and to incorporate curatorial practices and artistic research. The Mootookakio'ssin and Concepts Have Teeth projects aim to reconnect Blackfoot items in UK museums with Blackfoot people and assist in processes of knowledge renewal and transmission using new technologies. The microsite is a part of the Blackfoot Digital Library, an online resource for all those now living in kitawahsinnoon. Here we have created a space that harnesses new technologies for creating and interacting with 3D and RTI images of Blackfoot items. The name, Mootookakio’ssin, was given to the project by Dr. Leroy Little Bear. In English it means distant awareness. We are a large interdisciplinary team of Indigenous and non-indigenous artists and researchers led by Elders from across the Blackfoot Confederacy. Mootookakio'ssin supports artists in addressing the legacies of colonialism, the relationship between physical and digital artworks, and how identity is entangled with these practices

Countdown to 2015: changes in official development assistance to reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health, and assessment of progress between 2003 and 2012.

BACKGROUND: Tracking of aid resources to reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (RMNCH) provides timely and crucial information to hold donors accountable. For the first time, we examine flows in official development assistance (ODA) and grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (collectively termed ODA+) in relation to the continuum of care for RMNCH and assess progress since 2003. METHODS: We coded and analysed financial disbursements for maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) and for reproductive health (R*) to all recipient countries worldwide from all donors reporting to the creditor reporting system database for the years 2011-12. We also included grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. We analysed trends for MNCH for the period 2003-12 and for R* for the period 2009-12. FINDINGS: ODA+ to RMNCH from all donors to all countries worldwide amounted to US$12·2 billion in 2011 (an 11·8$12·8 billion in 2012 (a 5·0% increase relative to 2011). ODA+ to MNCH represents more than 60% of all aid to RMNCH. ODA+ to projects that have newborns as part of the target population has increased 34-fold since 2003. ODA to RMNCH from the 31 donors, which have reported consistently since 2003, to the 75 Countdown priority countries, saw a 3·2% increase in 2011 relative to 2010 ($8·3 billion in 2011), and an 11·8$9·3 billion in 2012). ODA to RMNCH projects has increased with time, whereas general budget support has continuously declined. Bilateral agencies are still the predominant source of ODA to RMNCH. Increased funding to family planning, nutrition, and immunisation projects were noted in 2011 and 2012. ODA+ has been targeted to RMNCH during the period 2005-12, although there is no evidence of improvements in targeting over time. INTERPRETATION: Despite a reduction in ODA+ in 2011, ODA+ to RMNCH increased in both 2011 and 2012. The increase in funding is encouraging, but continued increases are needed to accelerate progress towards achieving MDGs 4 and 5 and beyond. FUNDING: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Density of Healthcare Providers and Patient Outcomes: Evidence from a Nationally Representative Multi-Site HIV Treatment Program in Uganda

This study examined the association between density of healthcare providers and patient outcomes using a large nationally representative cohort of patients receiving combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) in Uganda.Objective: We examined the association between density of healthcare providers and patient outcomes using a large nationally representative cohort of patients receiving combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) in Uganda. Design: We obtained data from The AIDS Support Organization (TASO) in Uganda. Patients 18 years of age and older who initiated cART at TASO between 2004 and 2008 contributed to this analysis. The number of healthcare providers per 100 patients, the number of patients lost to follow-up per 100 person years and number of deaths per 100 person years were calculated. Spearman correlation was used to identify associations between patient loss to follow-up and mortality with the healthcare provider-patient ratios. Results: We found no significant associations between the number of patients lost to follow-up and physicians (p = 0.45), nurses (p = 0.93), clinical officers (p = 0.80), field officers (p = 0.56), and healthcare providers overall (p = 0.83). Similarly, no significant associations were observed between mortality and physicians (p = 0.65), nurses (p = 0.49), clinical officers (p = 0.73), field officers (p = 0.78), and healthcare providers overall (p = 0.73). Conclusions: Patient outcomes, as measured by loss to follow-up and mortality, were not significantly associated with the number of doctors, nurses, clinical officers, field officers, or healthcare providers overall. This may suggest that that other factors, such as the presence of volunteer patient supporters or broader political or socioeconomic influences, may be more closely associated with outcomes of care among patients on cART in Uganda