Being a Mid-Career Academic: Challenges, Rewards, and Reflections

Background. Health resources are key determinants of healthcare coverage. Community members who utilise healthcare have significant insights into the availability of health resources in providing healthcare. Aim. This study sought to explore community (health committee) members’ perspectives on health resource gaps in lower-level health facilities in the municipality. Methods. The qualitative descriptive study explored the perspectives of community members who served on the health committee. Thirty-four community health committee members at community-based health planning and services (CHPS) compounds, maternity-unit CHPS, and health centres were studied. Results. The study found three high-level categories of resource gaps deemed relevant to community members—infrastructural gaps, equipment gaps, and safety-quality gaps. Conclusion and Recommendation. There are perceived gaps in health resources from the community members’ perspective. It is recommended that the Lawra Municipal Health Directorate and other health directorates with similar health resource challenges take steps to fill health resource gaps to ensure universal health coverage.

To assess engagement quality, partnership processes, and network characteristics of a community-academic research collaboration. We surveyed community and academic members of a community advisory board (CAB) in Baltimore, Maryland (December 2019 to August 2020) to assess demographics, health equity work experiences, quality of community engagement and partnership, and collaborative networks among members. Fifty-four members completed the survey (77% response rate). Members reported a median of 10 years of health equity work experience and 2 years serving on the CAB. Community (non-academic) members rated the quality of community engagement and most domains of partnership, except quality of decision-making, as high (~4/5). CAB members reported collaborative ties, on average, with 16 to 17 other members. Academic members had nearly twice the ties of community members. Community members' number of ties and engagement ratings were not associated. In this CAB, collaborative ties were numerous. Although community members rated the CAB's engagement and partnership quality favorably on several dimensions, additional efforts to enhance decision-making processes and members' influence and outreach within the network could further promote achievement of the CAB's goals.

Two-stage anaerobic digestion (AD) systems provide treatment for high strength wastewater with high stability and performance. Encapsulation technology can intensify AD to facilitate the separation of the solids retention time from the hydraulic retention time (HRT), offering lower HRTs, smaller reactors, and high effluent quality. To support successful deployment, however, the encapsulated community must contain all the needed microorganisms for successful treatment and be flexible enough to treat a variety of wastewaters. Here, a two-stage system was investigated in which microbial cultures were enriched on various high-strength wastewaters in suspended flow-through systems to determine how feed type influenced performance and microbial community structure. The hypothesis was that specific genera, or so-called "keystone species" would positively correlate to organic carbon degradation for a given feed, enabling construction of a well-functioning community for encapsulation. Results showed that the number of total bacteria (as 16S rRNA gene copies) did not correlate to soluble chemical oxygen demand (sCOD) removal, indicating that the community structure and/or members were important for good performance. Results also showed that feed type strongly influenced carbon removal and microbial community structure for 1st-stage fermenting communities, but not 2nd-stage methanogenic communities. In this study, the "core" community members were defined as organisms common to all of either the 1st- or 2nd-stage reactors irrespective of the feed they received and were present in at least 50% of the samples throughout the entire experiment. "Unique" community members were specific to a single feed, and hence, only present in either the 1st- or 2nd-stage reactors receiving that feed. In both 1st- and 2nd-stage communities, only one core genera and no unique genera were positively and significantly correlated to sCOD removal. Verification experiments performed with encapsulated communities showed that organisms identified in flow-through system and correlated with carbon degradation, though not significantly, seemed to be important for performance. Our results suggest that one cannot construct a community containing specific populations in lieu of enrichment. Nevertheless, a single diverse encapsulated anaerobic community should provide good (>80%) carbon removal when fed a variety of influents, if time is provided for enrichment after deployment.

In Black, Hispanic, and Native American communities, historical and current systemic inequities result in medical mistrust limiting participation in biomedical studies. At the same time, many researchers misunderstand the context of communities experiencing the highest disparities, which may produce incomplete or inapplicable research questions. These conditions constrain the development of new and relevant biomedical research questions and hampers understanding of biological, clinical, and social factors holding disparities in place. With the goal of reducing misunderstanding and mistrust between researchers and community members, a team led by a senior basic science researcher at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) and a retired community college faculty member launched a pilot 9-month bi-weekly Cancer Disparities Curriculum for Research and Community Scholars in Fall 2021. This curriculum is a project of the Community and Cancer Science Network (CCSN) which promotes transdisciplinary collaboration with equitable engagement of non-academic audiences as full partners and emphasizing co-learning and co-developing of solutions. Designed for early career basic scientists (“research scholars”) and Milwaukee community members (“community scholars”), the curriculum included topics such as cancer disparities, social determinants of health, bias, racism, communicating with different audiences, and bridging diverse perspectives. Respected experts from the Milwaukee community and MCW facilitated the sessions. Additionally, dyad pairs of one research and one community scholar worked throughout the 9-months to develop project plans to address cancer disparities incorporating both perspectives. At the end of the program, the scholars presented these plans to MCW faculty and staff, and community leaders and members. To assess the impact of the curriculum and to continuously improve its delivery, the team used quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection throughout the pilot curriculum. These methods included attendance data, scholar surveys, facilitator surveys, and observations and debriefs of each session, all of which have informed adjustments to the curriculum. Following the conclusion of the first cohort in May 2022, the evaluation team began its preliminary review and found that scholars reported an increase in understanding of the scientific, environmental, and social factors that influence cancer disparities but wanted to have more opportunities to connect learning to action. Research Scholars specifically reported that engagement with community led them to begin to think differently about their work. To fully address cancer disparities, biomedical researchers and community members must collectively address issues of mistrust and misunderstanding. This can be achieved by increased understanding and empathy, shared vocabulary, and opportunities to explore different ways to partner. Our curriculum provides opportunity and guidance to build authentic collaboration, increase understanding, and engage in low-risk program exploration. Citation Format: Tobi A. Cawthra, Laura Pinsoneault, Kristen Gardner-Volle, Jessica Olson, Alexis Krause, Deborah Thomas, Melinda Stolley, Carol Williams. First year results of a cancer disparities curriculum to address mistrust and misunderstanding between basic science researchers and community members [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 15th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2022 Sep 16-19; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2022;31(1 Suppl):Abstract nr B065.

This paper investigates how the type of community and personal goals affect self-presentation. In 3 online studies, we simulated the registration process in online communities, presenting either a common-bond or a common-identity community. Study 1 confirmed that members of the common-bond community presented themselves in an individualizing manner, while members of the common-identity community focused on characteristics shared among members of the community. Study 2 investigated underlying processes, showing that the goal to get in contact with other members was less salient in the common-identity than in the common-bond community. Study 3 demonstrated that community members actively manage their self-presentation in accordance with personal goals. Based on these findings, we discuss implications for research and profile design. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Reindeer Gains : For centuries, the Swedish government has regulated herding and education as a way of controlling the Native Sami population

The impacts of climate change, loss of biodiversity and pollution influence the living experiences of the various members of communities that rely on agriculture, shaping the adaptation responses to those phenomena and actions towards sustainable development. This study aims to understand how members of rural communities in Morocco perceive the causes of environmental degradation and the solutions meant to support the reduction of the vulnerabilities by applying a sustainable development lens. To achieve those objectives, this empirical study collects qualitative data by conducting semi-structured interviews on the local population's perceptions of environmental degradation causes and impacts, vulnerabilities, and solutions to adapt or cope with those impacts. The study includes a critical analysis of the proposals presented by the community members by addressing the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of their implications for development. The most common issue identified was water management, underscoring the water stress affecting several regions. However, several solutions presented would lead to further depletion of non-renewable water sources, which endangers the pursuit of genuinely sustainable development. The study's conclusions highlight the importance of contextualising the communication and adaptation responses that address local perceptions, namely the low prevalence of perceptions attributing anthropogenic causes to environmental degradation, leading to sentiments of helplessness among members of the rural communities.

In chapter 2 i discussed the nature of a liberal political community as structured by the defining values of autonomy, freedom, privacy, and pluralism; the role of the criminal law in such a polity as defining or creating a range of ‘public’ wrongs that concern the whole community; and the role of the criminal trial as a process through which members of the community are called to answer for their alleged commissions of such wrongs, and to be publicly censured if those allegations are proved. Such a criminal process treats those subjected to it as members of the political community. They are called to answer for their alleged wrongdoings by a law that claims to be their law—to bind them as members of the community; and the process respects their autonomy, freedom, and privacy.

This book appears at a time when the crisis rhetoric about schools, teaching, and learning to read is extremely high. There is a rising call within the profession for a balanced perspective on reading. Balancing Principles for Teaching Elementary Reading aspires to help set the agenda for improving the quality of literacy instruction in the United States--by recentering the debate from "What's better, 'whole language' or 'phonics'?" to "What can we do in reading instruction to prepare all children for the literacy demands of the next century?" The authors, all members of the professional community of reading educators, work on a daily basis with teachers in classrooms, prospective teachers, clinicians, and tutors. Their goal for this book is to represent what they have learned about effective teaching and learning as members of this community. It is written with four purposes in mind: * to offer a principled conception of reading and learning to read that is considerate of both the personal dimensions of literacy acquisition as well as the changes that are taking place in society, * to summarize key findings from the research that relate specifically to effective teaching practices, * to describe current practices in reading instruction with specific comparisons to the principles of effective practice that are identified, and * to suggest an action agenda that is school-based and designed to promote positive changes in the quality of instruction. This text offers a perspective for teaching that provokes members of the reading education community to think about their underlying beliefs about teaching and their shared commitment to making schools more effective for the students they serve. It is envisioned as a resource to be used in building a community of learners--to be read with professional colleagues in a course of study, in a teacher-researcher book club, or in some type of in-service setting. Readers are encouraged to debate the ideas presented, to challenge the authors' conceptions with their own reality, to make sense within a community about what action is desirable. Some specific suggestions and strategies are provided as springboards for further exploration and action.

The article analyzes the participation of Ukrainian deputies in work of the Second State Duma of the Russian Empire. Authors of the research described the process of establishment of the Ukrainian duma community in the Russian parliament. The article provides the ways of search for allies in struggle for rights and freedoms of the region by Ukrainian deputies who were members of the community. Reasons of failure to cooperate with cadets and social democrats are provided. Justification of political cooperation of representatives of Ukrainian faction with members of a labour faction is conducted. Reasons for termination of cooperation with a labour faction and establishment of their own deputy faction are explained. The most active members of Ukrainian duma community were named. Authors named directions in activity of a deputy group, the most important among them were the following: declaration of Ukraine’s autonomy, struggle for local self-government, introduction of Ukrainian in education, justice and church life. The role of the newspaper “Ridna sprava – Dumski visti”, a printed body of the community, was explained. Representatives of Ukrainian community of Saint-Petersburg that provided assistance to deputies who were members of the community were mentioned. Authors emphasize on comparison of activity of Ukrainian duma communities in the First and Second State Dumas of the Russian Empire.

Given the disproportionate representation in HIV/AIDS cases among young Black members of the LGBTQIA community, it is important to continue to identify both their ability to assess the knowledge that can foster healthier sexual outcomes as well as dynamics that may foster or undermine their efforts. The goal of this study is to examine whether 236 young Black persons ages 18-30 years old who are members of the LGBTQIA community know where to go locally to locate healthcare services to combat HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted health issues. Quantitative findings show the influence of self-identified sexual identity, age, and place of residence on knowledge about HIV-related services. The implications of these results illustrate the possible effects of place and identity development on knowledge about HIV-related services that can affect life chances and quality of life for certain members of this community.

Densely connected parts in networks are referred to as “communities”. Community structure is a hallmark of a variety of real-world networks; individual communities form functional modules constituting complex systems described by networks. Therefore, revealing community structure in networks is essential to approaching and understanding complex systems described by networks. This is the reason why network science has made a great deal of effort to develop effective and efficient methods for detecting communities in networks. Here we examine a novel type of community detection, which has not been examined so far but will be of great practical use. Suppose that we are given a set of source nodes that includes some (but not all) of “true” members of a particular community; suppose also that the set includes some nodes that are not the members of this community (i.e., “false” members of the community). We propose to detect the community from this “imperfect” and “inaccurate” set of source nodes using attractor neural-network dynamics. Community detection achieved by the proposed method can be viewed as restoration of the original pattern from a deteriorated pattern, which is also analogous to cue-triggered recall of short-term memory in the brain. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method using synthetic networks and real social networks for which correct communities are known. KeywordsComplex networkCommunityLocal detectionPattern restorationCell assemblyShort-term memory

The speciation of arsenic and the content of germanium and mercury in members of the pelagic Sargassum community

Visualisation of social behaviour of members in online communities is a challenging issue. It provides holistic information on the behaviour of the community to the administrators/moderators and helps individual members in the community to monitor and analyse their own behaviour. This paper presents the design and implementation of a social trust visualisation service, called TrustVis, where the social trust is derived from the social behaviour of members in the community. One of the unique features of TrustVis is that it supports the faceted browsing and monitoring of members’ social behaviour based on activities, contexts, time and roles. TrustVis is implemented and deployed in an online community we are currently trialling in collaboration with a government department to deliver support services to welfare recipients during their transition back to work. We describe the look and feel and the working of TrustVis in our production environment.KeywordsSocial NetworkSocial Network AnalysisVisualisation ToolOnline Social NetworkSocial TrustThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

This article explores the current migration of the Slovak community members of Serbia to Slovakia, focusing on their perception of safety and risk, in the period since 1990 when the post-Communist transition began both in Serbia and Slovakia. The authors attempt to analyse how the members of the given community, who migrated to Slovakia during the reference period, perceive Slovakia today from the point of view of their safety, understood as the search for freedom from threats. They focus on individual safety factors (life, health, status, wealth and freedom). After 1990, Slovakia became not only a country left by migrants, but also a country of destination for migrants. One such migrant group is the members of Slovak communities abroad, in particular Serbia, Romania and Ukraine. The first wave of migration of Slovaks from Serbia took place in the early 1990s in connection with the violent ethnic conflicts in former Yugoslavia, and the next one as a result of the global financial crisis in 2008, which intensified after 2015. The main push factors of the migration of Vojvodina Slovaks to Slovakia in the 1990s included attempts to avoid mobilisation and participation in combat operations; after 2008, the key role was played primarily by material issues which they perceived as an existential threat to themselves and to their families. The main pull factor in favour of choosing Slovakia comprise of the relatively small administrative barriers and linguistic proximity. While our interlocutors regarded their concerns about the impacts of the 1990s war conflicts as short-term threats, they perceived the social impacts of the economic transition and uncontrolled global financial crisis after 2008 as long-term or even permanent threats. In this context, they consider Slovakia a safe country. The article is based on extensive multi-sited fieldwork – in-depth interviews with the members of the community – and on other available sources (legal documents, statistical data, media, etc.).