HPV VACCINATION AWARENESS AND ITS RELATION TO ORAL AND OROPHARYNGEAL CANCER: A SINGLE CENTRE STUDY

Background - The recently developed HPV vaccine is highly effective against the HPV virus. It has met widespread acceptance amongst healthcare and public health professionals. However, there are still social barriers to vaccination that hampers the effects of preventing the disease caused by HPV. The primary goal of this study was to evaluate the survey responses regarding the knowledge, awareness, and vaccination status among dental professionals and students in a local population and to emphasize the relationship between HPV and the increasing incidence of oral and oropharyngeal cancers in the current scenario. Methodology - This study was a prospective analysis of a questionnaire collected from the dentist and dental students at The Faculty of Dental Sciences, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, Porur, Chennai, Tamilnadu, India; regarding their knowledge, awareness, and Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) - vaccination status.Results - 96% of the participants were aware of the HPV and only 4% were unaware of the virus. About 18.7 % of the participants were unaware of the modes of transmission of HPV. Only 66.6 % knew that HPV - 16 and 18 were responsible for Oral and cervical cancers. Conclusion - Understanding the barriers and hesitancy to vaccination is the crucial step to designing strategies that may aid in enhancing the vaccination

Education for Women and Girls in Iraq

Women in Iraq are still acquiring equality and equity in various aspects of their personal and professional lives. Hence, it is essential to identify factors that influence their education, emphasizing equity as it fulfills lives with strength, success, and prosperity. This chapter presents key challenges that impede a prosperous educational climate that is fair among genders. The chapter presents cultural, economic, social barriers, and pushbacks against women's education in Iraq, the overall impact of education decline, among other factors that reduce equity for women. The author then presents various solutions and recommendations based on an analytical evaluation to achieve education access, equality, and equity for Iraqi women. The chapter calls to develop effective policies and programs that target the identified cultural, societal, and infrastructure obstacles to help improve women's education in Iraq and assure equality and equity.

Social Barriers to, and Gender Gaps in, Educational Attainment for Rural Citizens in China

This research project examined the social barriers to gender equalities in rural Chinese educational contexts in order to identify impediments to educational advancement and, thus, career mobility and poverty reduction, especially for rural girls in the long-term. The research questions of this study were as follows: In what ways and to what extent do different social factors influence the gender gaps among rural Chinese students' academic outcomes? The examined barriers were (1) gender, (2) parental educational attainment, (3) opportunities to practise Mandarin at home, (4) social welfare entitlement, (5) adequacy of educational facilities, and (6) transport accessibility. Human capital theory and dependency theory were used to develop the conceptual framework. Low paternal and particularly maternal education are associated with the widening rural Chinese cohorts' gender gaps in educational attainment; the magnitudes of the found associations are moderate.

Shifting gender norms to improve HIV service uptake: Qualitative findings from a large-scale community mobilization intervention in rural South Africa

Background Interventions to improve HIV service uptake are increasingly addressing inequitable and restrictive gender norms. Yet comparatively little is known about which gender norms are most salient for HIV testing and treatment and how changing these specific norms translates into HIV service uptake. To explore these questions, we implemented a qualitative study during a community mobilization trial targeting social barriers to HIV service uptake in South Africa. Methods We conducted 55 in-depth interviews in 2018, during the final months of a three-year intervention in rural Mpumalanga province. Participants included 25 intervention community members (48% women) and 30 intervention staff/community-opinion-leaders (70% women). Data were analyzed using an inductive-deductive approach. Results We identified three avenues for gender norms change which, when coupled with other strategies, were described to support HIV service uptake: (1) Challenging norms around male toughness/avoidance of help-seeking, combined with information on the health and preventive benefits of early antiretroviral therapy (ART), eased men’s fears of a positive diagnosis and facilitated HIV service uptake. (2) Challenging norms about men’s expected control over women, combined with communication and conflict resolution skill-building, encouraged couple support around HIV service uptake. (3) Challenging norms around women being solely responsible for the family’s health, combined with information about sero-discordance and why both members of the couple should be tested, encouraged men to test for HIV rather than relying on their partner’s results. Facility-level barriers such as long wait times continued to prevent some men from accessing care. Conclusions Despite continued facility-level barriers, we found that promoting critical reflection around several specific gender norms, coupled with information (e.g., benefits of ART) and skill-building (e.g., communication), were perceived to support men’s and women’s engagement in HIV services. There is a need to identify and tailor programming around specific gender norms that hinder HIV service uptake.

Objective factors and policies of countries affecting hydrogen market development

By 2050, blue hydrogen (produced by SMR method using CCS technology to capture CO2) will make up about 18% of hydrogen supply, whilst green hydrogen from solar power will account for 16%, from onshore wind power 16% and offshore wind power 9%. Global hydrogen demand is forecasted to increase to about 150 million tons by 2040 [1]. The article analyses the objective factors (i.e. size and structure of the economy, technological and social barriers) and policies of countries that affect hydrogen market development.

The Physical Activity and fitness in Childhood Cancer Survivors (PACCS) study: Rationale and study design of an international study (Preprint)

BACKGROUND The Physical Activity in Childhood Cancer Survivors (PACCS) study consists of four work packages (WPs) aiming for objective determination of PA, and self-reported health behaviour, fatigue and quality of life (QoL) (WP 1), physical fitness (WP 2), evaluation of barriers/facilitators to PA (WP 1 and 3) and the feasibility testing of an intervention to increase PA and physical fitness (WP 4) based on the previous WPs. OBJECTIVE The Physical Activity in Childhood Cancer Survivors (PACCS) study consists of four work packages (WPs) aiming for objective determination of PA, and self-reported barriers to PA, health behaviour, fatigue and quality of life (QoL) (WP 1), physical fitness (WP 2), evaluation of barriers/facilitators to PA (WP 3) and feasibility testing of an intervention to increase PA and physical fitness (WP 4) based on the previous WPs. METHODS The PACCS study will use a mixed-method design, combining patient-reported outcome measures and objective clinical and physiological assessments with qualitative data gathering methods. A total of 500 CCS aged 9-18 years of age, >1 year after completed treatment will be recruited in follow-up care clinics in Norway, Denmark, Finland, Germany and Switzerland. All participants will participate in WP 1, of these about 150 will be recruited to WP 2, about 40 to WP 3, and about 30 to WP 4. Reference material for WP 1 is available from existing studies, while WP 2 will recruit healthy controls. PA levels will be measured using ActiGraph accelerometers and self-report. Validated questionnaires will be used to assess health behaviors, fatigue, and QoL. Physical fitness will be measured by a cardiopulmonary exercise test (VO2peak), isometric muscle strength tests (hand grip, knee extension and chest press), muscle power test (counter-movement jump) and muscle-endurance test (1-min Sit-to-Stand). Limiting factors will be identified by neurological, pulmonary, and cardiac evaluations, and assessment of body composition and muscle size. Semi-structured, qualitative interviews, analysed using systematic text condensation, will identify CCS and parents perceived barriers/facilitators of PA. In WP 4, we will evaluate the feasibility of a 6-month personalized PA intervention with the involvement of local structures. RESULTS The PACCS study will generate high-quality knowledge that will contribute to the development of an evidence-based PA intervention for young CCS to improve their long-term care and health. Further, we will identify physiological, psychological, and social barriers to PA that can be targeted in future PA interventions. This will allow for rapid and cost-effective implementation of such a service with immediate benefits to the young CCS in need of rehabilitation. CONCLUSIONS The PACCS study will generate high-quality knowledge that will contribute to the development of an evidence-based PA intervention for young CCS to improve their long-term care and health. Further, we will identify physiological, psychological, and social barriers to PA that can be targeted in future PA interventions. This will allow for rapid and cost-effective implementation of such a service with immediate benefits to the young CCS in need of rehabilitation. CLINICALTRIAL Not applicable

Teaching Practice in Acculturation Educational Settings: A Case Study on an Integration Course

Teaching practice has the potential to guide acculturation educational processes to cultural inclusion. Acculturation may lead to social tensions or peaceful connivance. An acculturation process might be inclusive when educational participants symmetrically recognise, validate and use the different cultures as part of the curriculum. The Cultural Bridge (CB) is an approach that teachers might use to design inclusive teaching practices. The method is a qualitative case study on an integration course in Germany. Results evidence a partially inclusive educational process. According to the teacher’s interview analysis, the teaching practice approximates the CB principles, but there are limitations because of the system and social barriers. The most relevant situations that limit the teacher's practice are the rigid curriculum, the test as the primary goal, the short time for addressing the mandatory topics and the students’ social isolation. As a recommendation, integration courses might engage the local community in the educational process.

In and Out in Senegal: Unearthing Queer Roots in Mohamed Mbougar Sarr’s De purs hommes

Mohamed Mbougar Sarr’s 2018 novel De purs hommes fictionalizes recent incidents of homophobia in Senegal to interrogate the relationship between queer men and social dynamics in the country. This article demonstrates that the novel deploys multidirectional critical discourse and oblique narrative tactics to highlight the foundational role in Senegalese culture and society of the fraught dichotomy between private and public life. Bryson contends that the novel unearths these queer roots in order to incorporate all normative identities into queer existence, conceptually blurring the social barriers to LGBTQ+ agency in the country.

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE ASPECTS THAT AFFECT THE QUALITY OF REVITALIZED PUBLIC SPACES : With special reference to the city of Colombo, Sri Lanka

Public spaces are the places where all people can come together and spend their time without any restriction and it can be defined as the “City Living Room”. Therefore, these spaces can foster social cohesion, reduce psychological stress and provide physical activities. Public spaces have unique historic and architectural values and such places can be used to enhance the place making character of the area. Planning agencies often use revitalization, restoration, regeneration, refurbishment or redevelopment as Placemaking tools which can improve the quality of such public spaces in a city. It is often acknowledged that “revitalization” can be identified as one of the viable alternatives instead of demolition of historical buildings. “Revitalization” and “Adaptive re-use” can be identified as the tools for creating public spaces which are livable, accessible and convivial places for all. The previous studies have researched on the aspects an essential method to make places functional, attractive and convivial spaces. Although researchers studied the general functional aspects of revitalized public spaces, a few studies have focused on the quality and the barriers for such revitalized public spaces. This study attempts to fill this research knowledge gap and investigates what are the barriers and areas that need to be improved in the revitalization process within the Sri Lankan context by using three case studies in Colombo. As our framework of this study, we used access & linkages, comfort & image, uses & activities to assess the quality of revitalized places. This study further found that barriers associated with the process of revitalization are regulatory, social barriers, and technical barriers.