COVID-19 and the Homelessness Support Sector

This exploratory study sought to uncover service provider perspectives on the early response to COVID-19 in a small community in an advanced industrialized country - the homelessness support sector of the Central Okanagan, British Columbia. Following a case study approach, snowball sampling was utilized in May and June 2020 to achieve a sample size of 30 through a mix of one-on-one interviews and open-ended surveys. Qualitative thematic analysis was used to uncover commonalities among interview responses. Common themes are discussed in relation to three areas of questioning including challenges, successes, and mitigations/areas for future support. While the community came together to support the response, there were challenges and concerns regarding safety and personal protective equipment supplies, social distancing and knowledge transmission within the homeless community, access to food and water, and lack of space for isolating positive cases. The findings illustrate possible research, practice, public health policy, and emergency planning considerations within smaller communities.

Online Communities. Benefits and Risks

This article reviews empirical studies from 2008 to 2017 on the effects of participating in online communities. The review uses three databases: PubMed, Scopus and ScienceDirect. The criteria are: (1) online community aimed to provide support by and for people with a common problem; (2) the content of the sessions was determined by users; (3) members met via the Internet; (4) online community was available 24/7; (5) online community access was free and open to everyone with an Internet connection. Of the articles, 13 of 105 met the inclusion criteria. Seven studies reported positive changes: informational and emotional support, increased sense of belonging, less isolation, better medical understanding. Six articles also considered risks: the rise of the level of stress because of successes or failures of other users, the addiction to the forum and the consequent isolation from real relationships.

O Mainstream da mídia, a censura na Internet e o direito à informação: Novos paradigmas a partir do caso Manhattan Community Access Corp. v. Halleck

A censura no ambiente da Internet é cometida pelas empresas privadas, que entendem não ter o dever de observar os preceitos da Primeira Emenda à Constituição Norte-Americana que garante exercício da liberdade de expressão. Contudo, essas empresas são responsáveis atualmente pelo maior fluxo de comunicação e de informação trocadas entre as pessoas de todo o mundo, e sendo assim, devem ser consideradas atores “quase estatais” obrigados a proteger e respeitar a liberdade de expressão on-line. O artigo traz ainda, um olhar de esperança para o futuro, a partir do caso Manhattan Community que será debatido em âmbito da Suprema Corte Norte-Americana e terá o condão de jogar luz e servir de paradigma para o tratamento da presente questão.

Humanitarian and Developmental Research Engagement during COVID-19

Background: Floods and storms are the most common natural hazards. Communities in remote, riparian areas are the most vulnerable in such disasters, particularly when local populations lack reliable energy and early warning systems for hazard response. Our study will investigate energy and flood resilience issues in such communities and use remote methods to enable research continuity in intra and post-pandemic contexts. Methods/Design: A two-round Delphi process will be used to interview 16 participants from Nepal and Greece to understand their priorities and preferred solutions for energy and flood resilience issues. In Round One we aim to understand the current capabilities and vulnerabilities of our focus communities in these areas. In Round Two, we seek feedback on potential options that are either market-available/evidence-informed solutions or co-developed conceptual systems. Remotely deployed semi-structured interviews are the principal method for both rounds. The Round Two structured comparative review also employs choice-based conjoint analysis and SCORE analysis. Discussion: By collecting information from both professionals and non-experts, we aim to understand what options are perceived as reliable, realistic and appropriate for flood-prone communities. The remote research design enables continuity and community access to development-focused research and its outputs, and a flexible, cost-effective approach for researchers and partner organizations.

What has the COVID-19 pandemic taught us about academic book publishing so far? A view from North America

In mid-March 2020 a rash of emergency “lock-down” orders fromState governors confined millions of North American workers to their homes.Students suddenly needed to flip from classroom-based to remote instruction.Scholars in the humanities could no longer get to archives. Movementrestrictions cut off the opportunity to travel for fieldwork and conferenceattendance almost overnight. As publishers and librarians dealt with theravages of COVID-19 on their personal lives and relationships, they alsoembarked on a massive experiment in transforming access to scholarlyinformation. Rather than being a unique benefit only available to members of alibrary subscriber’s “gated community,” access to hundreds of thousands ofbooks and journal articles suddenly became free-to-read globally. That access,of course, had severe limitations. It was temporary (most programs expired atthe end of August 2020), only available to users with an internet connection,and far from comprehensive in its coverage. However, a massive experiment wasstill underway, and the results are proving transformative for publishers andlibraries. So, what did we learn about humanities scholarship and itspublication? This article explores some emerging themes.

Community access to rectal artesunate for malaria (CARAMAL): a large-scale observational implementation study in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria and Uganda

The key to reducing malaria deaths in highly endemic areas is prompt access to quality case management. Given that many severe cases occur at peripheral level, rectal artesunate (RAS) in the form of suppositories was developed in the 1990s. RAS allows the rapid initiation of life-saving antimalarial treatment, before referral to a health facility with full case management capabilities. One randomized controlled trial published in 2009 showed a protective effect of RAS pre-referral treatment against overall mortality of 26%, but with significant differences according to study sites and length of referral. Two important issues remained unaddressed to-date: (1) whether the mortality impact of RAS observed under controlled trial conditions could be replicated under real-world circumstances; and (2) clear operational guidance for the wide-scale implementation of RAS, including essential health system determinants for optimal impact.From 2018 to 2020, the Community Access to Rectal Artesunate for Malaria (CARAMAL) project was conducted as a large-scale observational implementation study in Nigeria, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). CARAMAL aimed to provide high-quality field evidence on the two issues above, in three remote settings with high malaria endemicity. In order to achieve this, a number of complementary study components were implemented. The core of the CARAMAL study was the Patient Surveillance System (PSS), which allowed to track cases of severe febrile illness from first contact at the periphery to a referral health facility, and then on to a Day 28 visit at the home of the patient. Community and provider cross-sectional surveys complemented the PSS.Here we describe in some detail RAS implementation, as well as the key CARAMAL study components and basic implementation experience. This manuscript provides an extensive reference document for the companion papers describing the impact, referral process, post-referral treatment and cost-effectiveness of the RAS intervention.

Participatory, art-based appreciative inquiry with artists labelled/with intellectual and developmental disabilities

People labelled/with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) participate in community-based studio programming across the United States, yet their experiences and preferences for studio programming are not well known. The goal of this research was to learn what artists in a community-based studio think is important about their studio and what they want to change in the future. Using art-based appreciative inquiry and online methods, the artists were prompted to talk and create artwork about ‘what is most important’ in the studio and ‘what we want for the future’. The artists reported that the most important aspects of the studio are the staff and their friends at the studio and the opportunity to make art that is motivated by their interests. The wishes expressed by the artists included increased opportunities to be social, to make more money, to have more community access and more choice and control in the studio.

Evidence Review: Religious Marginalities and COVID Vaccination - Access and Hesitancy

Religious minority affiliation or status can play a very important role in influencing people's access to vaccines as well as their willingness to undergo vaccination. Many studies focus on class, ethnicity and geographic location when examining how social inequalities impact vaccination programmes. However, religious marginality is often overlooked. Here we explore how being situated on the margins, on account of religious affiliation, shapes experiences of vaccine access and uptake. The issues addressed are important for COVID-19 vaccination roll out, but also contain lessons for all vaccination programmes and many other preventative health measures. In this brief, we present key considerations for addressing differentials in access to and willingness to undergo vaccinations that are linked to religious minority status, experiences, authorities or doctrine. We explain why the study and awareness of religious marginality is crucial for the success of vaccination programmes broadly and specifically as they apply to COVID-19 vaccination. We also explore ways in which religious marginality intersects with other identity markers to influence individual and community access to vaccines. Finally, we examine vaccine hesitancy in relation to religious minorities and outline approaches to community health engagement that are socio-religiously sensitive, as well as practical, to enhance vaccination confidence.

Design and Realization of Garage Access Control System Based on STM32 microcontroller minimum system technology

This paper designs and implements a community access control system based on STM32 microcontroller minimum system technology. A power unit composed of steering gear and simple lifting rod device is designed. According to the actual demand, a display device composed of buzzer alarm device and display screen is designed. Considering the need of camera recognition, the program of camera recognition process is designed, the database is written, and the license plate of this area is stored in advance. The system can make the license plate can be recognized by the camera automatically, and through the comparison with the database, the lifting rod or the buzzer alarm is realized. The access control system is of great significance to the control of vehicle entering and leaving and the safety of the community.

Can Forest Management Units Improve Community Access to the Forest?

This paper examines the Forest Management Unit's (FMU) role in enhancing access to forest area utilization, especially in production and protected community-based forests, to suppress the rate of deforestation. We research five FMU in central Sulawesi. The analysis method is qualitative based on emic information from FMU, community, academic, local government, and direct field observations. This paper explains that public access in forest resource utilization is a deciding factor in helping the community face the impact of economic crises. To make it happen, the primary role of FMU is necessary. FMU Should be increasing public access to the state-owned forest by optimizing the facilitating functions. Providing investment opportunities for forest management based on the community in partnership schemes can realize a broad impact and national issues on empowering forest communities. FMU can also prioritize the partnership cooperation programs by implementing social forestry programs, instantly absorbing significant community participation.