Civil society organisations and global health initiatives: problems of legitimacy.

Civil society organisations (CSOs) have a prominent role in global health initiatives such as The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund) and, in the United States, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). They are increasingly consulted by international organisations and, in some cases like the Global Fund, are involved in decision-making. They are also increasingly seen as crucial agents in delivering health interventions on the ground. Some donors prefer to channel funds through CSOs in developing countries than through perceived to be corrupt or inefficient government agencies. This paper examines this growing role and the arguments put forward to justify their increasing influence, particularly in HIV/AIDS initiatives. It analyses the main challenges to CSOs' legitimacy and outlines key responses to these challenges. It concludes by suggesting a number of research priorities that might help to evaluate the impact of CSOs in global health initiatives

Generic data warehousing for consumer electronics retail industry

The dynamic and highly competitive nature of the consumer electronics retail industry means that businesses in this industry are experiencing different decision making challenges in relation to pricing, inventory control, consumer satisfaction and product offerings. To overcome the challenges facing retailers and create opportunities, we propose a generic data warehousing solution which can be applied to a wide range of consumer electronics retailers with a minimum configuration. The solution includes a dimensional data model, a template SQL script, a high level architectural descriptions, ETL tool developed using C#, a set of APIs, and data access tools. It has been successfully applied by ASK Outlets Ltd UK resulting in improved productivity and enhanced sales growth

Exploring the influence of the Global Fund and the GAVI Alliance on health systems in conflict-affected countries.

BACKGROUND: Global Health Initiatives (GHIs) respond to high-impact communicable diseases in resource-poor countries, including health systems support, and are major actors in global health. GHIs could play an important role in countries affected by armed conflict given these countries commonly have weak health systems and a high burden of communicable disease. The aim of this study is to explore the influence of two leading GHIs, the Global Fund and the GAVI Alliance, on the health systems of conflict-affected countries. METHODS: This study used an analytical review approach to identify evidence on the role of the Global Fund and the GAVI Alliance with regards to health systems support to 19 conflict-affected countries. Primary and secondary published and grey literature were used, including country evaluations from the Global Fund and the GAVI Alliance. The WHO heath systems building blocks framework was used for the analysis. RESULTS: There is a limited evidence-base on the influence of GHIs on health systems of conflict-affected countries. The findings suggest that GHIs are increasingly investing in conflict-affected countries which has helped to rapidly scale up health services, strengthen human resources, improve procurement, and develop guidelines and protocols. Negative influences include distorting priorities within the health system, inequitable financing of disease-specific services over other health services, diverting staff away from more essential health care services, inadequate attention to capacity building, burdensome reporting requirements, and limited flexibility and responsiveness to the contextual challenges of conflict-affected countries. CONCLUSIONS: There is some evidence of increasing engagement of the Global Fund and the GAVI Alliance with health systems in conflict-affected countries, but this engagement should be supported by more context-specific policies and approaches

The role of gender inclusive leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic to support vulnerable populations in conflict settings.

The real heroines in the fight against COVID-19 are women'.1 Significant attention has been given to women political leaders in highincome settings, where it has been reported that women have led several countries' effective national responses to COVID-19.2 However, little attention has been given to the role of women as leaders and decision makers in conflict settings. In conflict settings, COVID-19 is a multidimensional and existential crisis for many: a pandemic colliding with poor governance, insecurity, instability, other disease outbreaks (eg, cholera), disintegrated health and education systems, and food insecurity.3 These have dire consequences for vulnerable populations in conflict settings, including women and girls.4 Pandemics are a gendered vulnerability, with their socioeconomic impact disproportionately higher among women. 5 6 In this article, we argue that cultivating and harnessing the advancements of women's leadership globally and implementing a gender inclusive lens in pandemic preparedness and responses by including the experiences and voices of women in conflict settings is paramount. This will in turn create effective leadership models, as well as improving women and girls' access to adequate healthcare in conflict settings

PS2CLH: a learning factor model for enhancing students’ ability to control their achievement

Numerous factors that influence students’ academic performance involve issues beyond the individuals’ control, such as national policies, government initiatives and university resources among many others. Even if students are aware of these factors, addressing them may be unfeasible. Identifying causes within students’ control could both improve students’ understanding of these factors as well as enabling students to independently deal with related issues. This paper proposes a student-controllable learning factor model that combines the perspectives of Psychology, Self-responsibility, Sociology, Communication, Learning and Health & wellbeing (PS2CLH). The proposed model used qualitative methods to identify underlying aspects affecting academic achievement and selected controllable factors. This research reports on the outcomes of the employment of the PS2CLH model to predict student performance. Initially, data is collected through a self-evaluative web-based questionnaire. Each student’s past performance and factors affecting this are then quantified. This study reveals the impact of students’ controllable factors on student achievement. The model test results indicated 94% accuracy of successful prediction of the student performance based on the proposed PS2CLH model. The importance of “establishing and achieving personal goals” was higher than “stress”, “learning room” and “grammar and vocabulary” among other factors. This research raised participant students’ awareness of PS2CLH perspectives, which helped them manage factors affecting academic performance more effectively. Consequently, most of the students have enhanced their academic performance by addressing these critical factors. However, due to the limitations of the current sample data, the PS2CLH model will be further monitored for various applications

An optimised competency framework to prepare students for employment

The language of competency is heavily utilised by employers when considering staff selection, appraisal, continued professional development, technical training and personal development. However, students and new graduates are not proficient in this language and therefore face challenges when entering the employment market. Competency frameworks exist in virtually all professional and employment sectors, but are particularly prolific in science, medicine, engineering, computing and IT, where they are often aligned to continuing professional development and certification. In this paper, we present a competency framework developed by adapting a number of existing professional competency frameworks used within the IT industry. Our competency framework is designed to be used by and for students on a degree programme with an embedded work-related learning course. The framework has two specific aims: firstly, that it must be usable by students for self-evaluation and self-regulation purposes, and secondly, that it must allow for the support and dispensing of developmental feedback. We also present the results of a study conducted to test the competency framework with 125 students on a Computing-related degree. Understanding, through cluster and correlation analysis, the way in which students perceive their own competencies has led us to optimise our framework to include the twelve most significant competencies within the Academic, Workplace and Personal Effectiveness categories. In our study, it is the Personal Effectiveness competencies such as ‘self-management’ ‘adaptability’ and ‘integrity’ that feature prominently and it is this category of competencies that students find the most challenging to refine

Classifying and evaluating assessment feedback practices

The provision of assessment feedback to students is an area which has received much interest in modern education, particularly in the Higher Education context. As current pedagogic practices strongly encourage the provision of feedback and given also the advances in digital technology, feedback mechanisms are becoming ever more sophisticated. However, considering that a great deal of effort is expended on timely, actionable and constructive feedback by tutors, the student perception of the value of the feedback given to them is not as positive as it could be. Currently a multitude of feedback practices have been developed and utilised, though with varying degrees of productiveness. Research in this area is understandably extremely broad as subject disciplines, use of technology, assessment types, methods and tools, educator preferences, student audience and peer and self-assessment capability all have a significant part to play. Given that the approaches to providing feedback are myriad, it is desirable to advance a systematic method of understanding the most constructive feedback types. This paper describes the development of a taxonomical classification which provides structure, order and frame to current popular practices that have evolved during the last decade. The taxonomy is then evaluated with the use of dimensions such as effectiveness/impact, satisfaction, adoption/engagement and quantity of feedback. The main finding of the taxonomical evaluation is the significance of developmental feed-forward guidance with which students are able to self-regulate and evaluate themselves. The paper concludes that this powerful combination should underpin further investigations into how assessment and feedback provision can be optimised for the experiential learning domain in general and to the work-based learning area in particular

Eradicating polio in Pakistan:An analysis of the challenges and solutions to this security and health issue

Since the launch of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) in 1988 the global incidence of poliomyelitis has fallen by nearly 99 %. From a situation where wild type poliovirus was endemic in 125 countries across five continents, transmission is now limited to regions of just three countries – Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria. A sharp increase in Pakistan’s poliomyelitis cases in 2014 prompted the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee to declare the situation a ‘public health emergency of international concern’. Global polio eradication hinges on Pakistan’s ability to address the religious, political and socioeconomic barriers to immunisation; including discrepancies in vaccine coverage, a poor health infrastructure, and conflict in polio-endemic regions of the country. This analysis provides an overview of the GPEI, focusing on the historical and contemporary challenges facing Pakistan’s polio eradication programme and the impact of conflict and insecurity, and sheds light on strategies to combat vaccine hesitancy, engage local communities and build on recent progress towards polio eradication in Pakistan