Review of 'M-libraries 4: From Margin to Mainstream – Mobile Technologies Transforming Lives and Libraries'

Caperon, Lizzie - ORCID 0000-0001-5204-170X https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5204-170XItem not available in this repository.https://doi.org/10.1108/LM-09-2014-010535pubpub8/

The Treatment Of Religion In Four Nineteenth-century Novelists: Mrs. Gaskell, George Eliot, Mrs. Olipant and William Hale White

This thesis argues that the four novelists named in the title are distinctive among their contemporaries in the way they treat religion - both religious experience and the religious community. The novelists' own experience of religion gives them a particular awareness of the importance of religion in the personal life, and the religious life of their characters is rendered with both inwardness and respect. At the same time, the novelists' own commitments in religion can be seen as artistically important, exercising a decisive effect on the shape of the novels. There is also in these novelists a special interest in the social dimension of religion, and a concern to portray its social world. Also, the novelists are specially aware of change in the religious world, and offer - taken as a "line" of writers - illuminating comment on the process of secularization. The main argument of this thesis is illustrated in the second to fifth chapters by detailed discussions of the writers' religious backgrounds and of the novels. Mrs. Gaskell's deliberate commitment as a Christian novelist, and the effect of her Unitarianism on her writing, are discussed in relation to Mary Barton, Ruth, North and South and Cousin Phillis. George Eliot's early Evangelicalism and subsequent religious radicalism are seen as central to her early fiction, particularly Scenes of Clerical Life, Adam Bede and Silas Marner. Mrs. Oliphant's Chronicles of Carlingford are discussed in relation to the author's Christian commitment and sociological awareness; and the novels of William Hale White are seen as documents illustrating the psychological weaknesses of the English Puritan tradition and its inevitable social disintegration

Developing Adaptable, Efficient Mobile Library Services: Librarians as Enablers

Mobile devices such as smartphones, iPads and tablet computers are rapidly proliferating in society and changing the way information is organised, received and disseminated. Consequently the library world must adopt mobile services which maximise and adapt to exciting technological changes. What do library users want from mobile services? How can libraries adopt new, innovative mobile initiatives? How can libraries use their advantage of being technological intelligence centres to forge and create exciting new mobile services that directly target users’ needs, many of whom are now armed with smartphones when commencing their academic experience? These questions are all addressed in the following article which investigates user desires for mobile services at Leeds University library. User needs for a mobile library service at Leeds University Library are assessed with a combination of both qualitative and quantitative methods and analysis in the form of focus groups and online questionnaires. As a result of this analysis, a mobile services toolkit is created for Leeds University and is potentially transferable, if adapted, to other library contexts. Results revealed the potential for the librarian to enable the user’s seamless quick retrieval of information by mobile means

Voice, Choice and Power: Using co-production to develop a community engagement strategy for an ethnically diverse community

The context of the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the need to increase co-production activities to empower communities. The pandemic has further highlighted systemic health and socioeconomic inequities, especially for those from ethnic minority communities and in areas of economic deprivation. This research article presents a complex, collaborative process of co-production we undertook as part of the service design of Community Engagement work within the Better Start Bradford Programme; a program of projects for pregnant women and families with children aged 0–4 years living in an ethnically diverse area. Using theory of change as our underpinning theoretical framework, we co-produced a community engagement logic model or ‘strategy’. Our approach involved nine 90-minute workshops with a range of community stakeholders. We used the seven Scottish National Standards for Community Engagement and Communities’ self-identified key concepts of ‘voice’, ‘choice’ and ‘power’ to structure the partnership activity. Workshop discussions were analysed using qualitative framework analysis, and we developed a comprehensive, multi-faceted community engagement logic model with the community. Discussions with the community highlighted that (1) the COVID-19 pandemic had opened new avenues of community engagement, primarily virtual ones, and a blended offer of face-to-face and online activities; (2) vital support for community readiness to engage, facilitated through culturally sensitive engagement delivered by trusted sources, transparent governance processes and informal consultation, combined with a flexible approach to adapting to the community’s needs; (3) the need for a continuous reflective process of recruitment to key governance roles to include a range of diverse voices to ensure power is given to community voices. A strong two-way feedback loop is at the core of our community engagement strategy, with both the community and the organisation playing equal roles

Sustainable electricity for sustainable health? A case study in North-western Zambia

This study explores the under-researched link between clean energy and public health outcomes, and offers new insights into the link between wider access to clean energy and progress towards health outcomes, in particular the prevention and treatment of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes. This is the first study to consider the impact of a run-of-river hydropower plant (RORHP) in a remote rural community in Zambia in relation to health outcomes. Exploring this relationship establishes how the health benefits which renewable energy can bring can be capitalised upon to meet the health-related objectives of the United Nations sustainable development goals. Workshops and semi-structured interviews were conducted with a range of stakeholders including community members, health workers, business owners, and key people involved with the plant, to establish health and social impacts of the introduction of electricity in the community of Ikelenge. Findings are used to establish both synergies and trade-offs of the RORHP on the health of the community, and recommendations are made for the continued improvement of health following the introduction of the RORHP, to achieve further progress towards meeting SDG targets

Adapting and implementing training, guidelines and treatment cards to improve primary care-based hypertension and diabetes management in a fragile context: results of a feasibility study in Sierra Leone

Background Sierra Leone, a fragile country, is facing an increasingly significant burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Facilitated by an international partnership, a project was developed to adapt and pilot desktop guidelines and other clinical support tools to strengthen primary care-based hypertension and diabetes diagnosis and management in Bombali district, Sierra Leone between 2018 and 2019. This study assesses the feasibility of the project through analysis of the processes of intervention adaptation and development, delivery of training and implementation of a care improvement package and preliminary outcomes of the intervention. Methods A mixed-method approach was used for the assessment, including 51 semi-structured interviews, review of routine treatment cards (retrieved for newly registered hypertensive and diabetic patients from June 2018 to March 2019 followed up for three months) and mentoring data, and observation of training. Thematic analysis was used for qualitative data and descriptive trend analysis and t-test was used for quantitative data, wherever appropriate. Results A Technical Working Group, established at district and national level, helped to adapt and develop the context-specific desktop guidelines for clinical management and lifestyle interventions and associated training curriculum and modules for community health officers (CHOs). Following a four-day training of CHOs, focusing on communication skills, diagnosis and management of hypertension and diabetes, and thanks to a CHO-based mentorship strategy, there was observed improvement of NCD knowledge and care processes regarding diagnosis, treatment, lifestyle education and follow up. The intervention significantly improved the average diastolic blood pressure of hypertensive patients (n = 50) three months into treatment (98 mmHg at baseline vs. 86 mmHg in Month 3, P = 0.001). However, health systems barriers typical of fragile settings, such as cost of transport and medication for patients and lack of supply of medications and treatment equipment in facilities, hindered the optimal delivery of care for hypertensive and diabetic patients. Conclusion Our study suggests the potential feasibility of this approach to strengthening primary care delivery of NCDs in fragile contexts. However, the approach needs to be built into routine supervision and pre-service training to be sustained. Key barriers in the health system and at community level also need to be addressed

Perseverative Cognition and Health Behaviors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Recent developments in stress theory have emphasized the significance of perseverative cognition (worry and rumination) in furthering our understanding of stress-disease relationships. Substantial evidence has shown that perseverative cognition (PC) is associated with somatic outcomes and numerous physiological concomitants have been identified (i.e., cardiovascular, autonomic, and endocrine nervous system activity parameters). However, there has been no synthesis of the evidence regarding the association between PC and health behaviors. This is important given such behaviors may also directly and/or indirectly influence health and disease outcomes (triggered by PC). Therefore, the aim of the current review was to synthesize available studies that have explored the relationship between worry and rumination and health behaviors (health risk: behaviors which, if performed, would be detrimental to health; health promoting: behaviors which, if performed, would be beneficial for health). A systematic review and meta-analyses of the literature were conducted. Studies were included in the review if they reported the association between PC and health behavior. Studies identified in MEDLINE or PsycINFO (k = 7504) were screened, of which 19 studies met the eligibility criteria. Random-effects meta-analyses suggested increased PC was generally associated with increased health risk behaviors but not health promoting behaviors. Further analyses indicated that increases in rumination (r = 0.122), but not reflection (r = -0.080), or worry (r = 0.048) were associated with health risk behaviors. In conclusion, these results showed that increases in PC are associated with increases in health risk behaviors (substance use, alcohol consumption, unhealthy eating, and smoking) that are driven primarily through rumination. These findings provide partial support for our hypothesis that in Brosschot et al.'s (2006) original perseverative cognition hypothesis, there may be scope for additional routes to pathogenic disease via poorer health behaviors

Identifying opportunities to engage communities with social mobilisation activities to tackle NCDs in El Salvador in the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic

From Springer Nature via Jisc Publications RouterLizzie Caperon - ORCID: 0000-0001-5204-170X https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5204-170XStella Arakelyan - ORCID: 0000-0003-0326-707X https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0326-707XAlastair Ager - ORCID: 0000-0002-9474-3563 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9474-3563Background: Social mobilisation is potentially a key tool in the prevention of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in fragile settings. This formative study addressed existing and potential social mobilisation mechanisms seeking behaviour to tackle NCDs in El Salvador, with an emphasis on the implications in the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We conducted 19 semi-structured interviews with health workers, government officials, NGO leaders, and community members. Interviews addressed mechanisms for social mobilisation which existed prior to COVID-19, the ways in which these mechanisms tackled NCDs, the impact of COVID-19 on social mobilisation activities and new, emerging mechanisms for social mobilisation in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: Findings indicate a growing awareness of NCDs within communities, with social mobilisation activities seen as valuable in tackling NCDs. However, major barriers to NCD prevention and treatment provision remain, with COVID-19 constraining many possible social mobilisation activities, leaving NCD patients with less support. Factors linked with effective social mobilisation of communities for NCD prevention included strong engagement of community health teams within community structures and the delivery of NCD prevention and management messages through community meetings with trusted health professionals or community members. There are gender differences in the experience of NCDs and women were generally more engaged with social mobilisation activities than men. In the context of COVID-19, traditional forms of social mobilisation were challenged, and new, virtual forms emerged. However, these new forms of engagement did not benefit all, especially those in hard-to-reach rural areas. In these contexts, specific traditional forms of mobilisation such as through radio (where possible) and trusted community leaders - became increasingly important. Conclusions: New mechanisms of fostering social mobilisation include virtual connectors such as mobile phones, which enable mobilisation through platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter. However, traditional forms of social mobilisation hold value for those without access to such technology. Therefore, a combination of new and traditional mechanisms for social mobilisation hold potential for the future development of social mobilisation strategies in El Salvador and, as appropriate, in other fragile health contexts.Funder: National Institute for Health Research; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000272; Grant(s): 16/136/100pubpu

Ammonium regeneration: Its contribution to phytoplankton nitrogen requirements in a eutrophic environment

Ammonium regeneration, nutrient uptake, bacterial activity and primary production were measured from March to August 1980 in Bedford Basin, Nova Scotia, Canada, a eutrophic environment. Rates of regeneration and nutrient uptake were determined using 15N isotope dilution and tracer methodology. Although primary production, nutrient uptake and ammonium regeneration were significantly intercorrelated, no relationship was detected between these parameters and heterotrophic activity. The average contribution of ammonium to total nitrogen (ammonium+nitrate) uptake was similar in the spring and in the summer (approximately 60%). On a seasonal average basis, 36% of the phytoplankton ammonium uptake could be supplied by rapid remineralization processes. In spite of the high average contribution of NH4 regeneration to phytoplankton ammonia uptake, there is indirect evidence suggesting that other NH4 sources may occasionally be important