Cervical Cancer Infrastructure, Knowledge and Attitudes in Kabale, Uganda

Cervical Cancer Infrastructure, Knowledge and Attitudes in Kabale, Uganda Nicole Robertson1, ShaCoria Winston2, Kara Miller3, Julia Hanebrink4 1University of Louisville 2Washington University in St. Louis 3University of California Riverside 4Christian Brothers University, Department of Anthropology Cervical cancer has increasing prevalence in southwestern Uganda and is the most common cancer among women in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite this increased prevalence, the biomedical infrastructure in Uganda lacks support for cervical cancer screening and treatment. At the same time, cervical cancer carries a stigma as an incurable sexually transmitted disease similar to the history of HIV/AIDS. This study explored the knowledge and perspectives of cervical cancer among community members and healthcare providers in the Kabale District of southwest Uganda. Therefore, we conducted a mixed-methods pilot study consisting 105 semi-structured interviews with female and male interviewees at four health centers to account for cancer knowledge and perspectives. Structured interviews were conducted with eight biomedical practitioners to evaluate the health infrastructure in regards to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cervical cancer. We found most participants described cervical cancer relating to pain and diminishment. Participants attributed sexual practices, hygiene and using family planning as causes. The willingness to receive and pay for cervical cancer screening and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination was high. However, inadequate training and supplies currently inhibit cervical cancer diagnoses. Also, the region\u27s infrastructure lacks support for cervical cancer treatment, leading to a low survival rate. Unfortunately, this leads to several negative implications for women because cervical cancer treatment can cause infertility, so women face unforeseen reproductive consequences that transform family relationships. As a result, we found women of southwestern Uganda face disproportionate health outcomes thus leading to health disparities. Additionally, men should be included in conversations to decrease HPV transmission. In conclusion, a lack of cancer education contributes to low knowledge and overall awareness of cancers. To address cervical cancer, additional training to perform screenings and increased diagnostic capabilities are needed. Improved funding and prioritizing screening are needed to increase prevention to reduce overall incidence

A Tale of Two Butterflies: The Effect of Larval Social Environment and Circadian Rhythms on Mating Behavior in Bicyclus anynana and Heliconius hewitsoni

Two key components of mate choice research focus on: 1) who an organism mates with, which may be influenced by any number of factors from sexual ornamentation to male-male competition; and, 2) when an organism courts, be it daily, monthly, or seasonally. Both aspects are especially important for gregarious species as mistakes in either can incur high costs to overall fitness. My research focuses on using butterflies to explore kin recognition from the larval stage and its possible impacts on adult mate choice and if courtship is circadian in Heliconius hewitsoni. My first experiment concerned kin recognition. When inbred, Bicyclus anynana are known to suffer from inbreeding depression, however populations can recover lost fitness within just a few generations when allowed to mate freely. It has been shown that B. anynana can recognize and choose against inbred individuals, however it is unknown whether they can detect siblings. I demonstrated that larval rearing condition (isolated or gregarious) did not influence adult mate choice in that female B. anynana did not innately detect or learn to detect and avoid sibling males during mate selection. Thus, in B. anynana, kin recognition may not be important to reproductive fitness. Through analysis of recorded behavior, I also showed that male harassment did not influence female mate choice. In my second experiment I examined circadian rhythms, specifically regarding courtship. I demonstrated that H. hewitsoni exhibits circadian rhythms, including a period of peak courtship around noon, and that some behaviors are sexually dimorphic in these butterflies. Recorded peak activity closely matches diurnal behavior in H. hewitsoni’s primary food source, which may influence overall behavior patterns in this species. My findings broaden our understanding of the mechanisms behind mate choice and provide valuable information for future research in these two systems, including the importance of female choice versus male harassment and sexual dimorphism in behavior. With my research I have improved our overall understanding of kin recognition and circadian rhythms to address the “who” and “when” of mate choice

Access to early childhood education in Australia: insights from a qualitative study

Based on interviews with 94 parents in Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, and Western Australia, this report investigates parents\u27 knowledge of and attitudes towards early childhood education. Executive summary This report documents the background, methodology and findings from the Access to Early Childhood Education (AECE): Qualitative Study, undertaken by the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) and commissioned by the then Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR; now the Department of Education) on behalf of the Early Childhood Data Subgroup (ECDSG). This research was commissioned within the context of the National Partnership Agreement on Early Childhood Education (NP ECE), which jointly committed the Commonwealth and all state and territory governments to achieving universal access to preschool by 2013. The AECE Qualitative Study was undertaken in order to develop a qualitative evidence base about how the concept of “access” to early childhood education (ECE) is defined and understood, and to explore what reasons and barriers exist in relation to access to ECE. A qualitative framework was chosen for this study to enable more in-depth study of any barriers to ECE, and/or factors that lead to parents making particular decisions about their children’s use of ECE. &nbsp

Conservation Decision Support System Design for West Indian Manatee Habitat Suitability and Protection

Title: Conservation Decision Support System Design for West Indian Manatee Habitat Suitability and Protection. Authors: Ashleigh Wilson, Jeffery Robertson, Sudhanshu Panda Abstract Manatees along Florida’s western coastline are being severely affected by major hazards such as watercraft collisions, red tide events, seagrass depletion, and cold stress. Conservation effort by public and government authorities is necessary to safeguard its population from the consequence of latest climate change impact and other human-induced hazards. Thus, the objective of this study is to develop an automated geospatial model analyzing all relevant features responsible for the West Indian Manatee habitat and to suggest proper decision support for its conservation. Geospatial data including historical boating collision records, marina site locations, population, chemical runoff, bathymetry, red tide spatial distribution, climate change, and vegetation were processed by creating an Area of Interest (AOI), projecting to a common UTM NAD 1983 Zone 17N projection system and converting vector data to raster format with 30m spatial resolution. Using a Delphi-based analysis, we created a spatial model that accommodated for all the variables of our study. With the advent of ‘Weighted Sum’ tool in ArcGIS, the individual contributing features were combined to provide the suitable habitat location for West Indian Manatee habitat on a scale of high-moderate-low. We obtained the present conservation location data for the State of Florida. Its intersection analysis with the suitable habitat feature data provided the information on the spatial locations that need to be conserved to safeguard the manatees. The critical areas not already safeguarded are to be proposed to the Fish and Wildlife Department for consideration in the creation of new protected habitats, promoting future species growth

Providing financial services to consumers at the base of the pyramid in Nigeria

This study assesses challenges of financial service providers, specifically banks, microfinance institutions, long term insurers and short term insurers, at the base of the pyramid with respect to affordability, acceptability, availability and awareness in Nigeria. This was done through a questionnaire posed to base of the pyramid consumers in Nigeria. Loyalty to financial service providers was examined to determine what the drivers of loyalty are in the base of the pyramid market. These drivers differ per financial service and need to be viewed separately by each of the industries within the financial services sector. It was found that most base of the pyramid consumers do not participate in financial services due to acceptability, showing that the products and services provided by these institutions are not meeting the needs of the base of the pyramid consumers. Affordability also plays a role in base of the pyramid consumers not taking out financial services products. This indicates that financial services providers need to come up with new products and services with appropriate pricing models in order to service this market. Other factors, such as trust, also play a role in the financial services sector in base of the pyramid consumers in Nigeria.Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010.Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)unrestricte

The Perceptions of Traumatic Brain Injury Researchers Toward Data Sharing

Data curators have encouraged researchers to share their study data with repositories because new knowledge often comes from the secondary analysis of verifiable data sets. Data sets that are shared with repositories are also protected from loss and technological obsolescence, so their content may be fully exploited over time. However, many members of the traumatic brain injury (TBI) research community are not convinced that data sharing is good policy. This exploratory study seeks to identify the reasons why these scientists are or are not in favor of sharing study data with repositories. This study also seeks to identify which of the prevailing reasons in favor of sharing data these scientists are aware of and if they agree with them. In conclusion, this study suggests more phenomena that may be worth examining: the costs associated with sharing TBI study data, the data submission requirements of repositories, and the reuse of shared TBI study data.Master of Science in Information Scienc

Women, workers, and women workers: Connections and tensions in transnational activism

Daniel Laqua's Activism across Borders since 1870 is an impressive contribution to scholarly research on transnational activism. It provides a detailed and innovative study of the connections but also the divisions between individuals, groups, and organizations. Laqua's approach and analysis interrogate the connectedness, transience, ambivalence, and marginality of transnational activism. He explores the complex relationship of campaigners, campaigns, and causes that crossed national boundaries, building a rich analysis of these interactions. This contribution engages with Activism across Borders with a particular emphasis on women, workers, and women workers. This perspective offers an analysis at the intersection of women's history and labour history. Among the themes considered are: campaigns that forged partnerships and amplified voices; women's transnational activism and national borders; and the divisions and differences among activists campaigning to improve working conditions

Developing a Comprehensive Handwriting Curriculum Utilizing the Handwriting Without Tears™ Approach for Typically Developing Elementary School Aged Children

It is estimated that 27% of school-aged children in the United States have handwriting difficulties (McHale & Cermak, 1992). According to Hammerschmidt and Sudsawad (2004), illegible handwriting is the most common reason for referral to occupational therapy services; 49.2% of total referrals. Previous research on handwriting intervention supports that task-oriented handwriting instructional methods, such as Handwriting Without Tears™ (HWT), are among the most effective handwriting intervention approaches (Lust & Donica, 2011; Olsen, 2011; Weintraub et al., 2009). The purpose of this project was to develop a comprehensive handwriting curriculum based on the HWT™ technique, including the new IPad application and prewriting activities, to assist kindergarten, first, and third grade teachers in utilizing a standardized handwriting program. Dominican University of California occupational therapy graduate students partnered with The North Oakland Community Charter School (NOCCS) in developing and implementing this project. As a result, a comprehensive 14-week handwriting curriculum guide was developed and tailored to meet the specific needs of the primary school teachers at NOCCS. The main goals of this project were to create an outline of HWT™ activities to be administered once per day, three days per week, and to organize the material in a straightforward format that would be easily understood and implemented in the classroom. A Likert scale, handwriting curriculum assessment was created to evaluate the curriculum’s content, ease of use, and satisfaction among kindergarten, first and third grade teachers. Although the teachers did not complete or return the curriculum assessment, they informally reported that they had begun utilizing the HWT curriculum, and felt it was an effective teaching tool

#ILovePortland 2019

A public consultation focussed on the Isle of Portland’s ‘loveability’ and the key opportunities and challenges for b-side and its stakeholders to build resilience in 2019 and beyond. The content of this report is intended to be a contribution to building the resilience of b-side as arts organisation on the isle of Portland and to identify future directions for its geo-tourism strategy and fund-raising initiatives. The material presented herein and the views expressed were produced through a consultation process which consisted of a series of workshops with local residents, businesses, charities, government and other organisations. The text represents the interpretation of the findings and the views of the authors and should not be regarded as representing the collective views of b-side or their funders. Compiling of this report was done with the utmost care. However, the authors and the organisations they represent are not liable for any damage resulting from the information provided in this publication