Aid Recipients Research Articles

Практичні підходи забезпечення сталості результатів програм міжнародної технічної допомоги в Україні (на прикладі Програми USAID/DOBRE)

Based on more than ten years of author’s experience in international technical assistance programs, the paper considers the problem of ensuring the sustainability of their outcomes. The author substantiates the position that international technical assistance in Ukraine significantly helps the development and modernisation of certain social spheres. However, effectiveness may vary depending on specific projects/programs and specific project teams. In addition, the author argues that international technical assistance in Ukraine requires greater coordination from the government and the direct participation of representatives of relevant ministries to be able to scale, monitor and evaluate effectiveness. The article provides an example of a specific local development tool proposed and tested over the six years of the USAID/DOBRE Program that can be scaled up at the national level. Experts’ attention may be drawn to the classification of factors that hinder the sustainability of international technical assistance programs/projects in Ukraine regarding aid recipients, donor organisations and the state. The author analysed the positions of Ukrainian scientists and the international donor organisations’ approaches on the content of the concept: outcomes sustainability of international technical assistance programs and investigated the criteria for determining their effectiveness. The concept of “The phenomenon of the financial absolutism illusion” was discovered and introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. The author also outlined the socio-psychological barriers that prevent Ukrainian communities from reaping the full benefits of local development instruments provided by donor countries. In addition, the author proposed some practical measures that will optimise the process of providing international technical assistance in Ukraine.

"Hurry up and wait": Stigma, Poverty, and Contractual Citizenship.

The emergence of welfare contractualism in the United States in the 1970s marked a shift from viewing welfare as an entitlement to viewing welfare as a right to be earned through work. Combined with the continual degradation of labor markets since the 1970s, the rise of neoliberal ideology emphasizing individualism, and the passage of the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, the devolved welfare system – most often managed by a myriad of social service nonprofits – has exacerbated the difficulties of the poor. Scholars have noted, for instance, the loss of civil rights and the proliferation of administrative burdens – including incessant waiting – with which poor people seeking aid are increasingly faced. But “contractual citizenship,” I argue, has not just remade relations between the poor and the state. Rather, as a diffuse cultural ethos, contractual citizenship has also remade relations between and amongst the poor themselves, exacerbating stigmatization, distancing, and denigration. Drawing upon an ethnography of a soup kitchen based in Syracuse, New York, I argue that as a consequence of contractual citizenship, prospective recipients of aid and the poor more broadly adapt their behavior to appear as deserving, worthy citizens and, simultaneously, externally defame their peers for their lesser behaviors. Those who take maximum advantage of free resources – such as attending multiple emergency food programs and taking more than one plate of food – are often deemed by other poor recipients of aid as greedy, ungrateful, and selfish. Thus, the repetitious and time-consuming nature of interacting with the state for basic resources – such as housing or welfare – is further complicated by this intraclass stigma. These findings not only shed light on the challenges of building solidarity amongst the poor but show how political and economic shifts influence how poor people interact with each other and the state.

Qatar’s Development Cooperation and Least Developed Countries (LDCs)

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the foreign aid behavior of new donors on humanitarian cooperation? The non–OECD-DAC donors, such as Qatar, try to adapt to the new environment of development and humanitarian aid under COVID-19 pandemic. Qatar has successfully used public diplomacy to deal with regional geopolitical challenges. In this sense, the current situation presents an opportunity to Qatar for opening up to new geographies. This research analyzes Qatar’s foreign aid, utilizing a novel dataset on Qatar’s foreign aid interactions before and during the pandemic. These interactions show Qatar’s main recipients of foreign aid, with which country, income group and geography it interacts more. This dataset is essential to demonstrate Qatar’s priorities in humanitarian diplomacy as well. The pandemic makes this dataset even more interesting because it is worthwhile to investigate how a global health shock might affect the aid behavior of a new donor. Our analysis shows that Qatar has increased its foreign aid interactions compared to the pre-pandemic period. Qatar’s foreign aid regime is evolving according to income group and geographical differentiation, new communications with different recipients, revealing the country’s aspirations to be a global donor. However, Qatar’s foreign aid also has many limitations that negatively affect its global status. These factors are related to Qatar’s insistence on providing aid to specific regions and countries. Although Qatar has increased its humanitarian aid interaction with underdeveloped countries and disadvantaged geographies, the country privileges certain countries and geographies. The income group diversification in Qatar’s foreign aid policy does not manifest a strong positive inclination toward LDCs.

Urgensi Peraturan Daerah Bantuan Hukum bagi Masyarakat Miskin dan Kelompok Rentan di Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta

The enactment of Law Number 16 of 2011 concerning Legal Aid shows the commitment of state administrators in absolute terms, but the issue of legal aid is not only a matter for the central government but also for local governments with the specificity of the region so that access to justice and equality before the law for citizens is more fulfilled by mutual support between the central and regional governments, as well as a more comprehensive legal aid regulation is needed not only for the poor but also for vulnerable groups, especially in the Special Region of Yogyakarta with the aim of there is an expansion of access to legal aid recipients and course better and more targeted legal aid services.

Planning for clean technology diffusion: Identifying innovation system functions in country technology action plans

Researchers and policymakers have been emphasizing on the importance of accelerating clean energy technology diffusion across developing world facing low technology penetration rates and other innovation system barriers. Over the years, development cooperation has pivoted towards recipient country capacity building under broadly defined climate-related aid. In the energy sector of aid recipient countries, aid projects are influential in financing deployment of low-carbon technologies as well as policy advice and reforms, mobilizing private investments, network strengthening, and rural electrification support. Future projects and programs in this sector need to be cognizant of recipient country expectations. This study explores the outlook for future projects managing energy transition through targeted interventions. Employing content analysis of Technology Action Plan documents for twenty-five countries, activities under prioritized technologies were matched with indicators corresponding to seven functions of a technological innovation system. Resource mobilization and creation of legitimacy were the functions prioritized by the countries, while the function of entrepreneurial activity received less priority. The innovation system indicators identified in the literature and used in the study are useful measures that can complement design of donor interventions aimed at accelerating adoption & diffusion of energy technologies. These findings could be used to support further development of Nationally Determined Contributions and accelerated deployment of climate mitigation technologies in national strategies and programs for sustainable development.

Analisis Kelayakan Penerima Bantuan Covid-19 Menggunakan Metode K–Means

The government provides several types of assistance during the covid-19 pandemic that is distributed through the agencies of each village throughout Indonesia, one of which is Punggulan Village air joman subdistrict. The types of assistance that have been distributed to citizens are Cash Social Assistance (BST), Social Safety Net Assistance (JPS), Non-Cash Sembako Assistance, and Cash Direct Assistance (BLT). So far the assistance provided by Punggulan Village is still done manually, so it is possible to occur errors in the collection and distribution of assistance. To solve the problem, the author applies one of the data mining algorithms, the K-Means algorithm, to determine the recipient of covid-19 assistance that is done by collecting population data by the specified attributes. Then the data is weighted to facilitate the calculation of K-Means, after that build a system to implement the K-Means algorithm and perform testing. Population data used is 50 data recipients of aid 2021 as a sample using 3 attributes, namely, income, dependents, and other beneficiaries. The result of this system is prospective recipients of Covid-19 assistance with 2 feasible clusters (C1) and unfit (C2)

LMurky moralities: performing markets in a charitable food aid organization

ABSTRACT This paper explores how competing moralities are brought together in the performance of a market for charitable food aid. Markets, rather than functioning as neutral technologies for bringing together supply and demand, are thoroughly moral phenomena. In markets, calculative devices are crucial for realizing exchange, by facilitating mutual agreement on price and quality. However, such practices of calculation can violate moralities of charity. This paper examines what happens when market practices and moralities are introduced in charitable settings. This is done through an in-depth case study of a food aid organization in the Netherlands that is organized as a supermarket, and part of a broader trend in re-organizing the provision of emergency food aid through the introduction of practices and technologies that shape a market. The case study shows how the socio-technical arrangements which organize market exchange, such as price labels and budget cards, are entangled with neoliberal moralities encouraging financial responsibility. At the same time, the findings show that moralities assowith charity are also present, which can lead to contestations over ‘good’ market performances. Such shifting moral judgements require participants to navigate conflicting moralities to be recognized as deserving recipients of aid.

The environmental consequences of foreign aid and key economic indicators: the Sino-Africa perspective.

The study differs substantially from earlier studies, by probing the environmental consequences of foreign aid and selected key economic indicators with a special focus on Sino-Africa. The study focused on China and its top foreign aid recipients in Africa in the last decade. This paper utilizes the Dynamic Augmented Mean Group Estimator (AMG), a robust and recent econometric approach to provide better statistical inferences; crucial for policy formulation and future reforms on foreign aid, trade, energy, pollutions, and economic growth of economies. The findings of the study revealed the China's Foreign aid oriented towards infrastructure has varying impacts on the economic growth and the environment of most recipient African Countries. The findings revealed the incidence of foreign aid ameliorating pollution of the countries: Nigeria and Morocco under strong domestic institutions. The study is of key relevance for policymakers and stakeholders as it explicates the key pillars, policies, and guidelines needed for foreign aid, trade, economic growth, and related internal reforms for mitigating resulting environmental pollution across a wider international context.

Quality of governance and corporate real investment: Assessing the impact of foreign aid

AbstractDeveloping economies are the main recipients of foreign aid. Nonetheless, such countries must face trade‐offs regarding poor governance due to the inflow of foreign aid because aid hampers governance situations. Given that, the current study aims to examine the role of country governance in defining corporate investment decisions and to ascertain how this effect varies across those countries that receive substantial amounts of foreign aid. To test the hypotheses, we collect the financial information of non‐financial sector enterprises from seven economies and apply the generalized method of moments and two‐stage least square models. The statistical results reveal that governance has a positive influence on corporate investment choices. This positive effect is consistent across individual effects of foreign aid. However, foreign aid systematically deteriorates the governance quality of the host country, referring to donor agencies’ unnecessary interruption of the host country's institutional proceedings. This factor reduces institutional efficiency, which further deteriorates corporate investment. Our empirical analysis suggests that all the countries analysed should focus on better governance situations to promote industrial growth. Policymakers from these economies should ensure the effectiveness of foreign aid and introduce better governance practices to expediate industrial growth.HIGHLIGHTS Country level governance has a positive and significant impact on CI decisions. Foreign aid affects CI decisions positively. Foreign aid deteriorates the host country's governance quality. The interaction effect of country governance and foreign aid on CI is negative.

Inmates in the Role of the "Wounded Healer": The Virtuous of Peer-to-Peer Programs in Prison

Researchers in the field of crime desistance have recently focused on the strength-based role of the "wounded healer" or "professional-ex", as exemplified by former addicts and prisoners who desist from crime and recover through the professional practice of peer mentoring. Studies point to the many benefits inherent in the role of the “wounded healer” for incarcerated people employed in peer-based rehabilitation roles. These benefits can include opportunities to experience accomplishments and an increasing sense of ability and self-worth. Additional benefits include acquiring a new meaning and purpose in life, the development of a new self-identity, increasing feelings of belonging and satisfaction from life, and a stronger commitment to avoid crime. These findings suggest that formerly incarcerated individuals can form positive, pro-social relationships with their peers and serve as positive role models for them. The purpose of the present article is to review the current literature on peer-to-peer programs currently implemented in Western prisons, to establish and expand them, as a means of improving the rehabilitation efforts of present and past prisoners. It is recommended to examine the preservation of their benefits and effectiveness in the long run, both for aid providers and recipients.

COVID-19 Related State Aid for the Airline Sector: EU Courts Not Hesitant to Remove the Commission’s Stamp of Approval

This article considers the significant amounts of State aid provided to European airlines in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic, three recent challenges in the EU General Court to the Commission’s decision to approve specific State aid measures and the consequences of those cases for the industry going forward. It is argued that the two successful challenges to Commission decisions approving aid are significant, because they confirm that the EU courts will not hesitate – despite the unprecedented financial damage to the airline industry caused by the Covid-19 pandemic – to annul Commission decisions approving aid where the reasoning is unsatisfactory. Equally, it is emphasized that the General Court did not find the State aid authorized by the Commission decisions in question to be unlawful as such, and the Court’s preferred remedy would suggest that the court was keen to avoid such an outcome, if possible. Furthermore, the principle of legitimate expectations would seem to render it unlikely that recipients of Commission-approved State aid will be required to repay that aid. Finally, it is argued that Covid-19 related State aid is liable to have caused some competitive distortions in the sector and that regulation of the industry needs to be attentive to this going forward. State Aid, EU Law, Covid-19, Airline Industry, Legitimate Expectations

Theorizing Agency: New Directions in Research on HIV/AIDS Activism

Theorizing Agency: New Directions in Research on HIV/AIDS Activism Jallicia Jolly (bio) Evidence of Being: The Black Gay Cultural Renaissance and the Politics of Violence. By Darius Bost. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2018. 192 pages. $82.50 (cloth). $27.50 (paper). Let the Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP New York, 1987–1993. By Sarah Schulman. New York: Macmillan, 2021. 736 pages. $40.00 (cloth). Remaking a Life: How Women Living with HIV/AIDS Confront Inequality. By Celeste Watkins-Hayes. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2019. 336 pages. $85.00 (cloth). $29.95 (paper). To Make the Wounded Whole: The African American Struggle against HIV/AIDS. By Dan Royles. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2020. 332 pages. $95.00 (cloth). $29.95 (paper). The fourth decade of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on the heels of the COVID-19 outbreak has prompted an undoing of our sense of self and community in relation to illness and inequality. The responses to these two historic pandemics have not only laid bare preexisting racial, gender, sexual, and structural inequities but also illuminated the perennial silences and erasures that have long marked HIV/AIDS in the United States. The initial responses to the pandemic in the 1980s focused on the experiences and needs of white cis-gender gay men, whose influential mobilization was widely documented in mainstream political activism, media, public discourse, and public health interventions. Since then, mainstream HIV/AIDS research has focused heavily on microlevel behavioral risk factors that inform biological susceptibility to HIV transmission, neglecting the histories of marginalization and structural violence that have long facilitated the exposure to social vulnerabilities and slow [End Page 169] death. This emphasis on individualized risk in HIV research and traditional public health interventions coupled with public discourses and media narratives that stigmatize LGBTQ and Black communities as active transmitters of HIV reinforced the homophobia, structural racism, and institutional sexism that has undermined effective approaches to the pandemic. The advent of medication and technology has catalyzed the transition of HIV/AIDS from a “death sentence” to a “chronic illness,” which has produced new social, political, and cultural realities. Of course, for as long as HIV/AIDS has existed, the labor of feminist and queer communities of color to highlight the racial, gendered, and cultural dynamics of disease and state violence have upended linear narratives of HIV/AIDS progress. Alongside the direct action, consciousness raising, and coalitional work of the leading HIV activist group, ACT UP, Black organizers cultivated grassroots collectives to offer communal care for the sick and dying, marshal resources to advocate for their strategic interests, and amplify their overlapping concerns for basic resources, rights, and recognition. In particular, Black feminists and Black gay and lesbian communities—scholars, activists, community leaders, artists—have mounted radical challenges to racism, state violence, and the politics of respectability by foregrounding the humanity, lives, sociality, and political labor of Black people. When we consider the backdrop of this radical activism in Cathy Cohen’s incisive reflections on the HIV/AIDS crisis, neoliberal policies, and conservative ideologies implemented by the Reagan and Clinton administrations, we see a fuller picture of the racial, gendered, sexual, and structural contexts of the pandemic. Cohen’s often-quoted analytic category of “punks, bulldaggers, and welfare queens” describes the historical marginalization of subjects—lesbians, gays, transgender and bisexual persons, single mothers, and state aid recipients.1 As Jafari Allen notes, these subjects are marked not only as “unruly would-be subject citizens, but also as outside cultural boundaries of belonging and care.”2 Decades later, Black, feminist, and queer scholars and organizers continue to build on these intellectual and activist legacies while embracing the radical potentiality of HIV/AIDS activism to transform the HIV/AIDS pandemic and US culture as we know it. The review essay maps this emergent wave of scholarship on the racial, gender, and cultural stories of HIV/AIDS, as well as the political and social dimensions of the evolving landscape of HIV/AIDS activism represented by recent publications from Sarah Schulman, Dan Royles, Darius Bost, and Celeste Watkins-Hayes. These works signal an expansive generation of HIV/AIDS research that foregrounds alternative political and historical...

Impact of the Status of Forces Agreements on Host States in the Indo-Pacific: How Will Sri Lanka Tame the Dragon and Uncle Sam?

The rise of China and its maritime expansion has threatened the US preponderance in world politics. The Indo-Pacific construct is America’s comeback and its strategy to engage with a rising Asia while countering its adversaries, especially China. Within this larger strategic dynamic, US defence agreements have become a curious subject of scrutiny, especially for small states in South Asia such as Sri Lanka, which is strategically located in the Indo-Pacific region. US defence agreements are manifold and have been signed with many countries in different regions. A vast majority of these, such as the acquisition and cross-services agreements (ACSA) and the status of forces agreements (SOFA), deal with technical matters concerning logistical support, conduct of US troops on foreign soil, and jurisdictional and basing issues. While the SOFA establishes the legal framework under which US armed forces operate in a foreign country, there are certain inherent features that are deemed highly controversial, such as the exercise of criminal jurisdiction, causing chronic and pervasive dangers to human security in host nations. While the United States is a ‘necessary evil’ for strategic hedging to keep Chinese aggressions at bay, the adverse impacts on host states could ultimately hinder US efforts to counter China in the long run. Sri Lanka, in particular, is an aid recipient of both the United States and China. Therefore, Sri Lanka must learn to re-evaluate its international policy carefully to preclude being divested in intense great power rivalry.

Do political actions affect country image and travel intentions? The case of COVID-19

ABSTRACT The existing literature on the intersection between tourism and politics has recognized that tourism planning and development can be a political process in which decisions are made in order to implement specific political policies and goals. However, there has been very little acknowledgment that political actions themselves can shape tourism. The current research seeks to address this gap. Using the COVID-19 pandemic as our context, we explore the potential implications of foreign aid on country image and tourists' travel intentions, we show that participants hold a more positive country image and thus are more likely to visit a country that provides aid to their own country compared to a country that is the recipient of aid provided by their own country. We also show that participants' patriotism in their own country can actually strengthen the country image and travel intentions they hold of the country that sends aid to them. The findings are among the first to show how political actions influence tourism and provide insights to managers and policy-makers in understanding how foreign aid may also influence tourism by improving their country's image.

Abstract P3-12-25: Risk of second primary cancers after curative treatment of breast cancer: A Korean nationwide population-based study

Abstract Purpose:This study was performed to analyze the risk of second non-breast primary cancers (2nd_PrimaryCa) among Korean women who had received curative treatment for breast cancer. Methods:By using data from the Korean National Health Insurance Service Database between 2002 and 2017, we identified 399,621 women with invasive breast cancer. To analyze the long-term risk of 2nd_PrimaryCa, we included 52,506 women who underwent curative surgery between 2003 and 2008, and no history of cancers before the date of breast cancer surgery. The cumulative incidence of 2nd_PrimaryCa was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier analysis. Cox regression analysis was used to analyze the association between 2nd_PrimaryCa occurrence and factors including age, income level, receipt of systemic treatment or radiotherapy, family history of cancers, alcohol intake, and BRCA gene mutations.Results:A total of 3,084 (5.87%) patients developed 2nd_PrimaryCa. The 10-year incidence of 2nd_PrimaryCa was 5.78% (range, 5.56 – 6.00%). The median time to 2nd_PrimaryCa was 7.61 years (range, 6.22 – 9.31 years). Types of organs involved by 2nd_PrimaryCa were as followings: thyroid (18.84%), gynecological organs (12.78%), hepatobiliary structures (12.48%), thorax (11.25%), lower gastrointestinal (GI) tract (9.63%), upper GI tract (9.18%), skin (4.22%), lymphoma or leukemia (4.09%), brain (3.15%), head and neck (2.56%), and others (11.84%). The risk of 2nd_PrimaryCa was significantly associated with ≥ 60 years of age (hazard ratio (HR) = 2.15, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.60 – 2.90, p < 0.01), Medical Aid recipients (HR = 8.79, 95% CI = 6.73 – 10.85, p < 0.01), and receipt of chemotherapy and endocrine therapy (HR = 1.27, 95% CI = 1.12 – 1.43, p < 0.01). Radiotherapy was related to lower incidence of 2nd_PrimaryCa (HR = 0.87, 95% CI = 0.81 – 0.94, p < 0.01). Alcohol intake, family history of cancer, or carrying BRCA gene mutations was not related to the risk of 2nd_PrimaryCa. Among the patients with 2nd_PrimaryCa, the 5-year overall survival (OS) rate was 67.28% after the diagnosis of 2nd_PrimaryCa. Age of ≥ 60 years (HR = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.01 – 2.78, p = 0.04) and receiving chemotherapy and endocrine therapy (HR = 1.88, 95% CI = 1.43 – 2.46, p < 0.01) were significantly related to inferior OS. Conclusions:The risk of 2nd_PrimaryCa was associated with personal and treatment factors in Korean patients with breast cancer. These factors are needed to be considered in the surveillance of breast cancer survivors. Citation Format: Haeyoung Kim, Su SSan Kim, Ji Sung Lee, Jae Sun Yoon, Hyuk Jai Shin, Jeong Eon Lee, Sei Kyung Lee, Il Yong Chung, So-Youn Jung, Young Jin Choi, Korean Breast Cancer Society. Risk of second primary cancers after curative treatment of breast cancer: A Korean nationwide population-based study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2021 Dec 7-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-12-25.

Reconstructive surgery outreach to low- and middle-income countries: An interdisciplinary analysis of 131 non-governmental organizations.

BackgroundA significant portion of surgical aid to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is provided by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in concert with surgeons, but little is known about the overall scope of this work or how it corresponds to indicators typically used to guide developmental aid distribution. The objective of this study was to characterize and investigate the collective efforts of NGOs providing reconstructive surgical aid to LMICs.MethodsAn interdisciplinary approach was taken drawing from political science to examine this issue in reconstructive surgery. NGOs providing reconstructive surgical aid were identified, and then catalogued with respect to the LMICs they serve. LMICs were characterized using 28 variables in 6 domains based on contemporary developmental theory. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed.ResultsA total of 131 reconstructive surgery NGOs were identified serving 718 sites in 136 LMICs. Univariate analysis found that LMICs that were more frequent recipients of aid were more populous (P < 0.001), had lower ‘Hospital Beds Density’ (P = 0.001), and had higher rates of ‘Mortality by Injury’ (P = 0.001). Multivariate regression analysis identified population as the sole predictor among all indicators analyzed (95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.154 to 1.469; P = 0.001).ConclusionsThe distribution of reconstructive surgical aid by NGOs is guided most by population, but not other characteristics traditionally used to guide aid distribution. Greater coordination and data-sharing among NGOs is recommended to optimize outreach efforts.

The impact of socioeconomic deprivation on the risk of atrial fibrillation in patients with diabetes mellitus: a nationwide population-based study

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background Although the prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) is increasing worldwide, little is known about the exact risk factors of AF; and the disease"s association with socioeconomic status (SES) is under debate. Purpose This study aimed to examine the association between SES and the risk of AF in Korean patients with diabetes mellitus. Methods We studied 2,429,610 diabetic patients (mean age 56.9 years, female 40%) who underwent health check-ups from 2009 to 2012, using the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) database of Korea. Subjects were categorized into 6 groups according to the number of times (0 through 5) entitled for medical aid (MA) recipient, within the past 5 years from the date of check-up. (Fig. 1) Division of Medical Care Assistance in the Ministry of Health and Welfare selects the medical aid beneficiaries. The recipients should not have a reliable caregiver, nor their income be more than 40% of the standard median income. Among the study population, 64,818 were classified as MA group: 10,697 in MA 1, 11,005 in MA 2, 12,431 in MA 3, 10,689 in MA 4, 19,996 in MA 5, respectively. The remaining 2,364,792 were never entitled to MA recipients within 5 years and were assigned to the non-MA group. The incidence rate and hazard ratio of AF were then calculated for each group. Results Risk factors for cardiovascular disease were measured at baseline. More current smokers were in MA 5 group (28.7% in MA 5, 26.7% in non-MA, 26.2% in MA 1, 23.8% in MA 2, 23% in MA 3, 23.2% in MA 4, respectively, p &amp;lt; 0.001), while more heavy drinkers were in the non-MA group than among the MA groups (20.7% vs. 6.2–7.9%, p &amp;lt; 0.001). Hypertension and dyslipidemia were generally higher in MA groups than in the non-MA group (hypertension, 60.8–65.8% in MA groups vs. 54.8% in non-MA group; dyslipidemia, 44.1–54.9% in MA groups vs. 39.6% in non-MA group, all, p &amp;lt; 0.001), and the non-MAs tended to do more physical activities (20.7% vs. 15.4–15.8%, p &amp;lt; 0.001). Obese people with BMI≥30 were more in MA groups, especially in the MA 5, than in the non-MA group (7.5% in non-MA, 9.3%–9.7% in MA 1–4, and 12.2% in MA 5, all, p &amp;lt; 0.001). 80,257 were newly identified as AF in the retrospective 5 years. All the MA groups showed a higher risk of AF than the non-MA group: hazard ratio (95% confidence interval [CI]) for each group, 1.44 (1.32–1.58) in MA 1, 1.58 (1.45–1.73) in MA 2, 1.52 (1.39–1.65) in MA 3, 1.53 (1.40–1.68) in MA 4, and 1.35 (1.24–1.45) in MA 5. Adjusting with multi-variables, the MA 5 showed 54% increased risk of AF compared to the non-MA group (HR, 1.54, [95% CI, 1.42–1.67]). (Fig. 2) Conclusion The risk of AF increased more than 50% in patients who needed medical aid 5 years in a row, and the risk also rose greatly in patients with only a short experience of socioeconomic hardship. Based on the findings, we need more attention to individuals with recent socioeconomic deprivation to provide timely management for AF and its complications. Abstract Figure. Fig. 1

Da‘wa as Development: Kuwaiti Islamic Charity in East and West Africa

AbstractDirect Aid (formerly Africa Muslims Agency), Kuwait's largest charity focused on Africa, carefully mediates between Gulf donor wishes, aid recipient needs, Kuwaiti and African government regulations, and various development priorities. Since the 1980s, Direct Aid has been centralizing religious and development work in complexes that comprise orphanages, schools, clinics, and mosques – a distinctly Kuwaiti model that aims for self‐sufficient communities. The Islamic NGO cannot be confined to narrow Western categorizations of Gulf Salafi da‘wa (proselytizing) institutions. Direct Aid's approach is strategically grounded in comprehensiveness/“holism,” which serves to blur established categories of “charity,” “relief,” and “development” to become da‘wa‐as‐development. “Good Muslims” are envisioned as those who graduate from the international NGO's educational programs and become moral members of society trained to be productive citizens of their countries. This article examines the work of one transnational Islamic charity headquartered in Kuwait in two very different African countries. A comparison of the similarities and variances of Direct Aid's projects in Tanzania and Senegal highlights how the organization adapts its work to local Muslim‐minority and Muslim‐majority settings. What is the cultural and religious impact of Gulf funding in East and West Africa? How do Kuwait headquarters interact with African beneficiaries?

Socialization of Ranperda on Organization of Legal Aid to Poor Communities

Legal Aid is legal services provided by Legal Aid Providers free of charge to Legal Aid Recipients. The law is felt to be a frightening specter for underprivileged communities. Apart from general law with various complex problems, obtaining legal aid services is expensive. Because the profession of an advocate as a provider of legal services requires special education and expertise, the pay is also no joke. It is not surprising that many people still think twice when they want to ask for legal services, especially for economically disadvantaged people. Even though every person with problems with the law has the right to receive legal assistance from the time of investigation until a court decision has permanent legal force, providing legal assistance is part of human rights. Thus, through this socialization, it can help and provide understanding for the community, especially the less fortunate; when it comes to legal cases, they can find out that there is a plan to draft regional regulations regarding providing legal Aid for people experiencing poverty.

Profile Matching in Government Scholarship Acceptance System for Student in Aceh Utara

The scholarship program held to ease the burden of students in taking the study period, especially in terms of costs. This research conducted at SMP Negeri 7 Sawang – Paya Gaboh in Sawang sub-district, Kabupaten Aceh Utara. This research discusses the provision of educational scholarships from the government of Kabupaten Aceh Utara for students. Therefore, the researcher intends to offer a solution to determine the scholarship recipients at SMP Negeri 7 Sawang by applying the Profile Matching method to find the criteria for receiving the scholarship. The purpose of this research is to design and build a system to determine students who are entitled to receive the scholarships by applying the Profile Matching method based on core data and secondary factors. The implementation of the results of the criteria for the scholarship recipients will be processed using the Profile Matching method. It will produce an output that later assist the selection team in finding the scholarship recipients. The results of the research indicate that the use of the Profile Matching algorithm in finding scholarship recipients works according to the expected categories. The student with the highest score on rank is the first alternative that deserves to be the recipient of the government scholarship aid of Kabupaten Aceh Utara. The system is builtand implemented using PHP programming language.