Understanding gendered challenges of noncommunicable diseases in the slums of India: Towards a perspective on communal care

Bunders-Aelen, J.G.F. [Promotor]Pariente, A.F. [Promotor]Cock Buning, J.T. de [Copromotor

Disconnection notice: Exploring the internal effects of energy deprivation as a form of oppression

This project is an absurdist short film about an unemployed woman’s struggle with the rise of electricity bills during a pandemic. Over time, she becomes increasingly burdened with sustaining her basic needs amidst the state of forced isolation and unemployment. This leads her down a state of energy deprivation that degrades her physical, moral, and mental state of being, which in turn forces her to resort to desperate measures. The story takes on the form of a psychological drama in order to flesh out the psychological implications of class struggle and deprivation. The film also adapts an absurdist approach to emphasize the futility of the character’s efforts in trying to escape her extreme situation. This project does not intend to use poverty porn or romanticize the struggles of hardship. It simply intends to show a harsh reality that is experienced by many. Inspired by the experience of the rise of electricity and other basic needs in the middle of a pandemic, the film stems from both our own personal experiences, and from the experiences of interviewed subjects across different classes

Non-communicable diseases in Indian slums: re-framing the Social Determinants of Health

Background: The epidemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in slums has pushed its residents to heightened vulnerability. The Social Determinants of Health (SDH) framework has been used to understand the social dynamics and impact of NCDs, especially in poorly resourced communities. Whilst the SDH has helped to discredit the characterisation of NCDs as diseases of affluence, its impact on policy has been less definite. Given the multitude of factors that interact in the presentation of NCDs, operationalising the SDH for policies and programmes that account for the contextual complexity of slums has stalled. Objective: To organise the complex networks of relations between SDH in slums so as to identify options for Indian municipal policy that are feasible to implement in the short term. Methods: The study reviews the literature describing SDH in Indian slums, specifically those that establish causal relations between SDH and NCDs. Root cause analysis was then used to organise the identified relations of SDH and NCDs. Results: Although poverty remains the largest structural determinant of health in slums, the multi-dimensional relations between SDH and NCDs are structured around four themes that describe the dynamics of slums, namely scarce clean water, low education, physical (in)activity and transportation. From the reviewed literature, four logic trees visualising the relations between SDH in slums and NCDs were constructed. The logic trees separate symptomatic problems from their more distal causes, and recommendations were formulated based on features of these relationships that are amenable to policy intervention. Conclusion: Root cause analysis provides a means to focus the lens of examination of SDH, as evidenced here for Indian slums. It provides a guide for the development of policies that are grounded in the actual health concerns of people in slums, and takes account of the complex pathways through which diseases are socially constituted

Optimizing H-Darrieus Wind Turbine Performance with Double-Deflector Design

This study aims to improve an H-Darrieus vertical-axis wind turbine (VAWT) by imposing a novel double-deflector design. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was implemented to examine the aerodynamic characteristics of the VAWT with double deflectors. Geometrics factors related to the locations of the two deflectors were considered, and the orthogonal array based on the Taguchi method was constructed for CFD simulation. The CFD results were further provided as the training data for the artificial neural network (ANN) to forecast the optimal configuration. The results indicate that the performance of a VAWT with a double-deflector design could exceed that of a bare VAWT or that of one using a single deflector. The mean power coefficient for a bare VAWT is 0.37, although it could be much higher with a proper setup using double deflectors. The prediction of ANN analysis is consistent with the result of CFD simulation, in which the difference between the ANN prediction and CFD simulation is generally less than 4.48%. The result confirms the accuracy of the prediction of the optimal VAWT performance with a double-deflector design