Is change on the horizon for Maori and Pacifica female high school students when it comes to ICT?

This paper explores some of the factors that discourage the participation of Māori and Pacific girls in ICT in New Zealand. Despite many ICT job opportunities, there has been a steady decrease in the percentage of girls, especial Māori and Pacific girls entering into ICT study, and pursuing ICT careers. This study used a modified version of the conceptual framework designed by Bernhardt (2014) based on the 'STEMcell' model. The STEMcell framework was used to explores the factors that discourage participation in ICT through such concepts as cultural, social, structural and social IT that contribute to the likelihood of student’s career choice in ICT. An online questionnaire gathered data from year 11 students studying at high schools within Wellington, New Zealand. The findings indicated that Pacific girl’s more than Māori girls reported that their family members were seen as role models, which could impact on their future career choices. The statistical results also show that stereotypes are still alive in both Māori and Pacific year 11 student’s perceptions and that both Pacific and Māori girls from year 11 are unlikely to follow a career in ICT. Currently, the number of Māori and Pacific girls enrolling in ICT subjects at secondary school is still substantially below that for boys and, until changes are made, Māori and Pacific girls going into the industry will be in the minority

Maturity of the Internet of Things Research Field: Or Why Choose Rigorous Keywords

Periodically researchers examine the maturity of their research fields against a set of maturity criteria including the types of theories and methods used within the field. Keyword metadata was used to locate relevant research articles, which were manually read, summarised, and compared against field maturity criteria. This study used data extracted from three academic databases to examine the maturity of the Internet of Things (IoT) research field using keyword metadata analysis alone. The metadata analysis was proposed to reduce analysis time, and allowed for testing of a much larger sample of articles. Findings indicated that the IoT research field was immature, with experimental methods dominating research outputs. Difficulties with keyword metadata including synonyms, abbreviations, poor accuracy, and method and theory not being included in metadata, made this research challenging. To relieve these problems in the future a keyword schema is suggested. This should also assist researchers in locating relevant literature

RFID/INTERNET OF THINGS SYSTEMS ON THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS: AN ANT STUDY OF MULTIPLICITY

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems are becoming increasingly common in applications that are shared between the public and private sectors. These systems facilitate supply chain, traceability and sensor functions, not to mention the application of RFID technology in enabling the Internet of Things. Despite their increasing ubiquity, the management of public-private RFID systems is under-researched and little understood. This research addresses a gap in literature by using Actor-Network Theory (ANT) to uncover the public-private RFID network. It was found that the public-private sector relationship is initially characterised by stereotypical views which diminish as sectors work together. Further, the public sector in this context was seen to be a multiplicity with four different performances, public sector as a member of the public-private partnership; as legislator; as enforcer and as funding provider. This multiplicity is shown to lead to confusion within public-private partnerships as members of the partnership are not always clear about which performance of the public sector they are enacting, or interacting with. ANT provided a sound basis to explore such a complex networked system, its inclusion of technology within the construction of the social offers a way of understanding complexity within internet of things based applications

Design Science Research: Building evaluation into the construction of indigenous cultural artefacts in New Zealand

There is increasing interest in the technological construction of the cultural artefact. However the uptake of technology may be coming at a cost to the historical values sincere to cultural groups. This paper reports on evaluation techniques applied towards a recent research effort delivering a virtual reality experience that embraced the traditions of indigenous Maori within a learning, language and cultural context. A 3D computer generated artefact was constructed portraying an indigenous Maori mythological story able to interact with cultural objects using Design Science Research (DSR) as a research method, then evaluated as a cultural deployment using an array of evaluation techniques. This article expands the research material available to cultural research in DSR, as well as demonstrating how DSR evaluation can be viewed during the construction of an indigenous cultural artefact

Privacy on Facebook Brand Pages: A Content Analysis Study of New Zealand Organisations

With a significant number of organisations using a Facebook brand page to connect with users, the privacy issues that arise should not be ignored. In New Zealand, organisations have the obligation to protect the data privacy of their clients. For organisations using Facebook pages, it is essential to make sure users know how personally identifiable data gathered through these pages is being treated. This study develops a content analysis questionnaire that can be used to test privacy on organisational Facebook pages. The questionnaire determines the tools and features organisation brand pages use, as well as testing how the organisation communicates its data handling practices in respect of the data it gathers. The study concludes that the Facebook pages of top New Zealand organisations are making common use of Facebook tools, but are very poor in communicating their data handling practices with only a few pages examined having any form of privacy notification

PRIVACY GOVERNANCE ONLINE: PRIVACY POLICY PRACTICES ON NEW ZEALAND WEBSITES

Addressing privacy issues and concerns are important for organisations when interacting with online customers, and customers are increasingly demanding better transparency about how their personal information could be collected and used. Many organisations are informing users about their privacy practices through an online privacy notice, policy or statement. These privacy notices should reflect the privacy governance practices of the website owners as such notices are the only way online customers can be informed about the privacy practices of the organisation. This study presents a definition of privacy governance, and discusses what good governance would be in the online context. The online privacy practices of organisations in New Zealand are examined using a content analysis questionnaire, with the aim to further understand how organisations in New Zealand through their websites are informing users about their privacy practices, and whether privacy practices of the organizations align with the privacy laws set by the New Zealand government. It was found that while many New Zealand organisations are posting privacy notices, many are failing to provide a good indication of their privacy governance by omitting best practices and legislative requirements

RFID on the boundary between the public and private sectors: An ANT/Institutional Theory investigation

Radio frequency identification (RFID) enabled devices are becoming increasingly common in today’s world, facilitating many things from supply chain efficiencies to medical equipment tracking. The majority of studies into such systems centre on technical and engineering issues associated with their implementation and operation. Research outside of this scope generally focuses on RFID systems in isolated private sector supply chains. Less common is research on RFID systems within the public sector, and this research generally occurs within the health, defence, or agriculture areas. Using a combination of Actor-Network Theory (ANT) and Institutional Theory, this qualitative study examines how RFID is used within the public sector/private sector RFID network. Interactions across public and private sector RFID networks are examined in order to identify common themes within the network, and to determine where the needs of the two sectors diverge. Twelve themes were identified that acted as ANT mediators within the network, across three dimensions. These mediators differed in activity depending on where within the ANT translation they were strongest. A number of the mediators were also found to exert institutional pressures on organisations within the network, contributing to their strength during translation. The relationship between the two sectors was also examined. Findings indicated that some mediators were stronger within the public sector, particularly with respect to privacy and legislation. It was further found that the relationship between the two sectors was confused by the multiple different roles taken by the public sector within the translation. This multiplicity at times confused both public and private sector partners, leading to uncertainty within the network. This study contributes to research by addressing a gap in understanding of RFID systems in the public-private sector context. It also provides practitioners with a guideline as to which mediators should be addressed when contemplating an RFID system within this context, as well as indicating possible reasons the relationship between organisations in the two sectors may be challenging. In addition, the unusual combination of ANT and Institutional Theory contributes to theory by pointing towards a possible new way to investigate complex technology systems at the organisational level

The role of social movements in strengthening health systems: The experience of the National Health Forum in El Salvador (2009–2018)

From Crossref via Jisc Publications RouterNicole Vidal - ORCID 0000-0001-6159-2757 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6159-2757Pol de Vos - ORCID 0000-0002-1672-6469 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1672-6469In 2009, the newly elected FMLN government of El Salvador launched a comprehensive health reform, which gave the National Health Forum (NHF) a key role in developing community participation. This study aims to examine and analyze the content and impact of this social movement during the study period 2009–2018. The context was analyzed through relevant documents, which helped identify key stakeholders. Semi-structured interviews took place at 3 levels of decision making: the political level, the health professionals, and the community. Data were analyzed using a qualitative methodology. Participation is carried by a structure created by the Ministry of Health, the National Health Forum. The NHF developed 3 strategies: (1) leadership building in the communities through the strengthening of social, political, and economic skills, where they developed social accountability mechanisms at all decision-making levels of the health system; (2) the strategy carried by the sectoral working groups, where they responded to prioritized needs identified by the community; and (3) advocacy for human rights-based policies. The NHF, and its role in the strengthening of the National Public Health System, provides strong evidence of community participation strategies and co-governance with the health system within the social determinants of health scope.Funder: Health Services and Delivery Research Programme; FundRef: 10.13039/501100002001; Grant(s): 16/136/10050pubpub

Community and health staff perceptions on non-communicable disease management in El Salvador’s health system: A qualitative study

From Springer Nature via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: received 2019-10-01, accepted 2020-04-23, registration 2020-04-23, online 2020-05-27, epub 2020-05-27, collection 2020-12Funder: Public Health Research Programme; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001921; Grant(s): Programme 16/136/100Dataset available in eData: https://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/9699Background: Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of global mortality and disability with a rising burden in low- and middle-income countries. Their multifactorial aetiology, and their requirement of long-term care, implies the need for comprehensive approaches. From 2009, the Ministry of Health (MoH) in El Salvador has developed a national public health system based on comprehensive primary health care. This study aims to describe the different stakeholders’ perceptions about the management of NCDs along the pathways of care in this health system. Methods: During three fieldwork periods in 2018, three complementary qualitative data collection methods were deployed and conducted in settings with high prevalence of NCDs within El Salvador. First, illness narrative methodology was used to document the life histories of people living with a chronic disease and being treated in second and third level health facilities. Second, through social mapping, support resources that NCD patients used throughout the process of their illness within the same settings were analysed. Third, semi-structured interviews were conducted in the same locations, with both chronic patients and health personnel working at different levels of the primary health care setting. Participants were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling, and a deductive approach was implemented for coding during the analysis phase. After grouping codes into potential themes, a thematic framework was developed using a reflexive approach and following triangulation of the data. Results: This innovative approach of combining three well-defined qualitative methods identified key implications for the implementation of a comprehensive approach to NCD management in resource-poor settings. The following elements are identified: 1) social risk factors and barriers to care; 2) patient pathways to NCD care; 3) available resources identified through social connections mapping; 4) trust in social connections; and 5) community health promotion and NCD prevention management. Conclusions: The Salvadoran public health system has been able to strengthen its comprehensive approach to NCDs, combining a clinical approach – including long-term follow-up – with a preventive community-based strategy. The structural collaboration between the health system and the (self-) organised community has been essential for identifying failings, discuss tensions and work out adapted solutions.This study was supported by the NIHR Research Unit on Health in Situations of Fragility (RUHF), through the NIHR Global Health Research Programme 16/136/10020pubpu

Comprehensive primary health care and non-communicable diseases management: A case study of El Salvador

From PubMed via Jisc Publications RouterOne of today's greatest challenges in public health worldwide - and especially its key management from Primary Health Care (PHC) - is the growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). In El Salvador, since 2009 the Minister of Health (MoH) has scaled up a national public health system based on a comprehensive PHC approach. A national multi-sectorial strategic plan for a comprehensive approach to NCDs has also been developed. This analysis explores stakeholders' perceptions related to the management of NCDs in PHC and, in particular, the role of social participation. A case-study was developed consisting of semi structured interviews and official document reviews. Semi-structured interviews were developed with chronic patients (14) and PHC professionals working in different levels within PHC (12). Purposive sampling was used to recruit participants. A non-pure, deductive approach was implemented for coding. After grouping codes into potential themes, a thematic framework was elaborated through a reflexive approach and the triangulation of the data. The research was conducted between March and August of 2018 in three different departments of El Salvador. The structure and the functioning of the Salvadoran PHC system and its intersectoral approach is firstly described. The interdisciplinary PHC-team brings holistic health care closer to the communities in which health promoters play a key role. The findings reflect the generally positive perception of the PHC system in terms of accessibility, quality and continuity of care by chronic patients. Community engagement and the National Health Forum are ensuring accountability through social controllership mechanisms. However, certain challenges were also noted during the interviews related to the shortage of medication and workforce; coordination between the levels of care and the importance of prevention and health promotion programmes for NCDs. The Salvadoran PHC and its comprehensive approach to NCDs with an emphasis on intersectoral participation has been positively perceived by the range of stakeholders interviewed. Social engagement and the NHF works as a driving force to ensure accountability as well as in the promotion of a preventive culture. The challenges identified provide keys to amplify knowledge for addressing inequalities in health by strengthening PHC and its NCDs management.19pubpu