Responding to Cross Border Child Trafficking in South Asia: An Analysis of the Feasibility of a Technologically Enabled Missing Child Alert System

This report examines the feasibility of a technologically enabled system to help respond to the phenomenon of cross-border child trafficking in South Asia, and makes recommendations on how to proceed with a pilot project in the selected areas of Bangladesh, Nepal and India. The study was commissioned by the Missing Child Alert (MCA) programme which is an initiative led by Plan. MCA is an initiative to address cross-border child trafficking in South Asia, led by Plan. The aim of the programme is to link existing institutions, mechanisms and resources in order to tackle the phenomenon from a regional perspective. To achieve this, Plan propose to implement a technologically equipped, institutionalised system of alert that can assist in the rescue, rehabilitation, repatriation and reintegration of children who are at risk of, or are victims of, cross-border trafficking

Understanding the Current Situation of E-Government in Saudi Arabia: A Model for Implementation and Sustainability

Saudi Arabia started its implementation of the E-Government project in 2005, when it established the Yesser programme, which is the organization that controls this project. Since 2005, there have been two action plans aimed at providing a collaborative environment for government agencies to be able to transform to E-Government. There have been a number of issues and challenges investigated in previous studies, which address phases of implementation. However, it is essential to investigate the current situation of the project in order to gain in-depth understanding of its development and implementation. This study explores the perceptions of the main stakeholders of project Yesser, government agencies and citizens. It aims to understand the current situation of the project from different points of view. Eight open-ended interviews were conducted in order to achieve the aim of this study. The constructivist grounded theory method was used in this study for the data analysis. The analysis uncovered seven core categories, which could provide a model for the implementation and sustainability of the project in Saudi Arabia and other similar states

Making sense of methods – a conversation about qualitative research in library and information studies

Currently there is an embarrassment of riches with regards to the range of research methods appropriate for library and information studies [LIS]; including qualitative and quantitative methods as well as ‘mixed methods’. All of this provides a rich body of resources for researchers, but this abundance also has a downside since it can also result in confusion and perplexity amongst researchers as they plan their investigative studies. Contributions such as this special issue are welcome opportunities to resolve and ameliorate this situation, and so in our contribution we seek to address some of these issues in the form of an interchange between two researchers with interests that include, but are not limited to, research in LIS. Between us we have a wide range of publications, as well as 80 plus PhD completions, many of which fall under the heading of LIS – broadly conceived. In particular we would claim specific expertise in Grounded Theory [Bryant] and Action Research [Abbott-Halpin]. Our aim is to seek clarification of some of the key methodological issues; although we realize that this is unlikely to provide any definitive outcome, it may assist those seeking guidance on these matters

Understanding Factors Influencing E-Government Implementation in Saudi Arabia from an Organizational Perspective

The purpose of this paper is to explore the organizational factors influencing the implementation of the egovernment project within the public sector in Saudi Arabia. This project (also known as the Yesser programme) was established in Saudi Arabia in 2005 to control the e-government transformation process. The aims of the project are to provide a collaborative environment for government organizations to implement egovernment and increase effectiveness and efficiency within the public sector. This paper sheds light on the organizational factors that have delayed implementation and achievement of the government’s vision and plans for Yesser. A qualitative approach was employed to understand those factors, by conducting a series of interviews with government officials for the data collection required. The analysis of the data uncovered seven organizational factors that are needed to advance implementation of the e-government project in Saudi Arabia and other similar states

(Executive Summary) FAITH, FAMILY and CRIME An exploration of Muslim families' involvement with the Criminal Justice System and its impact on their health and social needs

Arooj has more than 10 years of community-based experience working to deliver holistic, culturally appropriate, and specifi c support services to BAME and Muslim off enders/ex-off enders and their families, particularly within South Asian communities. In 2014, Arooj produced a report based on original research with 115 Muslim people with criminal convictions. This research highlighted a range of structural, cultural and religious factors that impacted on the rehabilitation of Muslim people leaving prison or completing a community sentence. In 2017, with support from Barrow Cadbury Trust, Arooj, in partnership with Professor Edward Abbott-Halpin at Leeds Beckett University and Dr Christine Hough from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN), started a project to look in more depth at the issues which arose from the 2014 research, through one-to-one interviews with prisoners’ families from Muslim communities across the North West. It is hoped that the research will identify for Muslim families a range of available support services for when a family member is involved with the CJS as well as make policy recommendations for the CJS, policy-makers and NGOs working with prisoners’ families

Inhaled ciclesonide versus inhaled budesonide or inhaled beclomethasone or inhaled fluticasone for chronic asthma in adults: a systematic review

BACKGROUND: Ciclesonide is a new inhaled corticosteroids licensed for the prophylactic treatment of persistent asthma in adults. Currently beclomethasone dipropionate, budesonide and fluticasone propionate are the most commonly prescribed inhaled corticosteroids for the treatment of asthma but there has been no systematic review comparing the effectiveness and safety ciclesonide to these agents. We therefore aimed to systematically review published randomised controlled trials of the effectiveness and safety of ciclesonide compared to alternative inhaled corticosteroids in people with asthma. METHODS: We performed literature searches on MEDLINE, EMBASE, PUBMED, the COCHRANE LIBRARY and various Internet evidence sources for randomised controlled trials or systematic reviews comparing ciclesonide to beclomethasone or budesonide or fluticasone in adult humans with persistent asthma. Data was extracted by one reviewer. RESULTS: Five studies met the inclusion criteria. Methodological quality was variable. There were no trials comparing ciclesonide to beclomethasone. There was no significant difference between ciclesonide and budesonide or fluticasone on the following outcomes: lung function, symptoms, quality of life, airway responsiveness to a provoking agent or inflammatory markers. However, the trials were very small in size, increasing the possibility of a type II error. One trial demonstrated that the combined deposition of ciclesonide (and its active metabolite) in the oropharynx was 47% of that of budesonide while another trial demonstrated that the combined deposition of ciclesonide (and its active metabolite) in the oropharynx was 53% of that of fluticasone. One trial demonstrated less suppression of cortisol in overnight urine collection after ciclesonide compared to fluticasone (geometric mean fold difference = 1.5, P < 0.05) but no significant difference in plasma cortisol response. CONCLUSION: There is very little evidence comparing CIC to other ICS, restricted to very small, phase II studies of low power. These demonstrate CIC has similar effectiveness and efficacy to FP and BUD (though equivalence is not certain) and findings regarding oral deposition and HPA suppression are inconclusive. There is no direct comparative evidence that CIC causes fewer side effects since none of the studies reported patient-based outcomes

Ontology-based end-user visual query formulation: Why, what, who, how, and which?

Value creation in an organisation is a time-sensitive and data-intensive process, yet it is often delayed and bounded by the reliance on IT experts extracting data for domain experts. Hence, there is a need for providing people who are not professional developers with the flexibility to pose relatively complex and ad hoc queries in an easy and intuitive way. In this respect, visual methods for query formulation undertake the challenge of making querying independent of users’ technical skills and the knowledge of the underlying textual query language and the structure of data. An ontology is more promising than the logical schema of the underlying data for guiding users in formulating queries, since it provides a richer vocabulary closer to the users’ understanding. However, on the one hand, today the most of world’s enterprise data reside in relational databases rather than triple stores, and on the other, visual query formulation has become more compelling due to ever-increasing data size and complexity—known as Big Data. This article presents and argues for ontology-based visual query formulation for end-users; discusses its feasibility in terms of ontology-based data access, which virtualises legacy relational databases as RDF, and the dimensions of Big Data; presents key conceptual aspects and dimensions, challenges, and requirements; and reviews, categorises, and discusses notable approaches and systems

Alphacoronaviruses in New World Bats: Prevalence, Persistence, Phylogeny, and Potential for Interaction with Humans

Bats are reservoirs for many different coronaviruses (CoVs) as well as many other important zoonotic viruses. We sampled feces and/or anal swabs of 1,044 insectivorous bats of 2 families and 17 species from 21 different locations within Colorado from 2007 to 2009. We detected alphacoronavirus RNA in bats of 4 species: big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus), 10% prevalence; long-legged bats (Myotis volans), 8% prevalence; little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus), 3% prevalence; and western long-eared bats (Myotis evotis), 2% prevalence. Overall, juvenile bats were twice as likely to be positive for CoV RNA as adult bats. At two of the rural sampling sites, CoV RNAs were detected in big brown and long-legged bats during the three sequential summers of this study. CoV RNA was detected in big brown bats in all five of the urban maternity roosts sampled throughout each of the periods tested. Individually tagged big brown bats that were positive for CoV RNA and later sampled again all became CoV RNA negative. Nucleotide sequences in the RdRp gene fell into 3 main clusters, all distinct from those of Old World bats. Similar nucleotide sequences were found in amplicons from gene 1b and the spike gene in both a big-brown and a long-legged bat, indicating that a CoV may be capable of infecting bats of different genera. These data suggest that ongoing evolution of CoVs in bats creates the possibility of a continued threat for emergence into hosts of other species. Alphacoronavirus RNA was detected at a high prevalence in big brown bats in roosts in close proximity to human habitations (10%) and known to have direct contact with people (19%), suggesting that significant potential opportunities exist for cross-species transmission of these viruses. Further CoV surveillance studies in bats throughout the Americas are warranted

COPD uncovered: an international survey on the impact of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD] on a working age population

Background: Approximately 210 million people are estimated to have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD] worldwide. The burden of disease is known to be high, though less is known about those of a younger age. The aim of this study was to investigate the wider personal, economic and societal burden of COPD on a cross country working-age cohort. Methods: A cross-country [Brazil, China, Germany, Turkey, US, UK] cross-sectional survey methodology was utilised to answer the research questions. 2426 participants aged 45-67 recruited via a number of recruitment methods specific to each country completed the full survey. Inclusion criteria were a recalled physician diagnosis of COPD, a smoking history of > 10 pack years and the use of COPD medications in the previous 3 months prior to questioning. The survey included items from the validated Work Productivity and Activity Impairment [WPAI] scale and the EuroQoL 5 Dimension [EQ-5D] scale. Disease severity was measured using the 5-point MRC [Medical Research Council] dyspnoea scale as a surrogate measure. Results: 64% had either moderate [n = 1012] or severe [n = 521] COPD, although this varied by country. 75% of the cohort reported at least one comorbid condition. Quality of life declined with severity of illness [mild, mean EQ-5D score = 0.84; moderate 0.58; severe 0.41]. The annual cost of healthcare utilisation [excluding treatment costs and diagnostic tests] per individual was estimated to be $2,364 [1,500] pound. For those remaining in active employment [n: 677]: lost time from work cost the individual an average of$880 [556] pound per annum and lifetime losses of $7,365 [4,661] pound amounting to$596,000 [377,000] pound for the cohort. 447 [similar to 40%] of the working population had retired prematurely because of COPD incurring individual estimated lifetime income losses of $316,000 [200,000] pound or a combined total of$141 m [89.6 pound m]. As the mean age of retirees was 58.3 and average time since retirement was 4 years, this suggests the average age of retirement is around 54. This would mean a high societal and economic impact in all study countries, particularly where typical state retirement ages are higher, for example in Brazil, Germany and the UK [65] and the US [65,66,67], compared to Turkey [58 for women, 60 for men] and China [60]. Conclusions: Although generalisation across a broader COPD population is limited due to the varied participant recruitment methods, these data nevertheless suggest that COPD has significant personal, economic and societal burden on working age people. Further efforts to improve COPD diagnosis and management are required