AIDS Organizations Research Articles

Race, homosexuality, and AIDS in London: the response of British AIDS voluntary organizations to Black gay men’s sexual health needs during the AIDS crisis (1980s–2000)

Abstract Focusing on three specific organizations—The Terrence Higgins Trust (THT), Blackliners, and The NAZ Project (Naz)—this article explores the different ways in which voluntary organizations responded to Black gay men (BGM) in Britain during the AIDS crisis from the 1980s to 2000. Illustrating how the place of BGM in Britain at this time was multidimensional and often contradictory, the first section demonstrates how they required safer-sex messaging that took account of the heterogeneous ways in which they experienced the intersection of racism and homophobia. Situated in this context, the second section explores for the first time the well-documented work of THT as it applied to BGM. It shows how although the Trust increasingly recognized the need to reach BGM, white activists struggled to grapple with issues of race. It demonstrates how their work on race was shaped by the broader context of changes to voluntary organizations’ relationship to the state. In doing so, it makes clear the challenges of intersectional activism with communities of colour for white-dominated organizations and sheds light on how the HIV/AIDS voluntary sector responded to communities with particular needs. Taking Black AIDS organizations as its focus, the final section uncovers how Blackliners and Naz centred gay men in their work and reveals their nuanced and culturally sensitive initiatives. By tracing the contrasting ways in which these organizations navigated contested understandings of race in the final decades of the twentieth century, this article demonstrates the real-world consequences of the fragmentation of political conceptions of Blackness.

Partially ordered stochastic conformance checking

AbstractProcess mining aids organisations in improving their operational processes by providing visualisations and algorithms that turn event data into insights. How often behaviour occurs in a process—the stochastic perspective—is important for simulation, recommendation, enhancement and other types of analysis. Although the stochastic perspective is important, the focus is often on control flow. Stochastic conformance checking techniques assess the quality of stochastic process models and/or event logs with one another. In this paper, we address three limitations of existing stochastic conformance checking techniques: inability to handle uncertain event data (e.g. events having only a date), exponential blow-up in computation time due to the analysis of all interleavings of concurrent behaviour and the problem that loops that can be unfolded infinitely often. To address these challenges, we provide bounds for conformance measures and use partial orders to encode behaviour. An open-source implementation is provided, which we use to illustrate and evaluate the practical feasibility of the approach.

Assessing Institutional Performance Using Machine Learning Algorithms

In Middle Eastern nations, social media has grown in importance in influencing political and governmental choices. In Iraq, Facebook is regarded as one of the most widely used social networking sites. The underutilization of this tool for evaluating institutional performance persists. Thus, using sentiment analysis on Facebook, this study suggests a methodology that aids organizations like the Ministry of Justice in Iraq in assessing their own performance. The model makes use of a variety of machine learning methods, including Naive Bayes, Logistic Regression, and Support Vector Machine. TF-IDF (Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency) was used to convert the textual data into numerical features, which is essential for effective text analysis. Additionally, features were carefully managed by utilizing both unigram and bigram models. Using datasets from (Facebook pages belonging to the Iraqi Ministry of Justice), a thorough experimental investigation was conducted. The results of our experiments showed that the SVM algorithm produced the best accuracy, at 98.311%. following the suggested model's retention of a few stop words, which was shown to significantly improve the algorithm's performance and guarantee accurate categorization of comments while maintaining the content of the phrase.

TTPXHunter: Actionable Threat Intelligence Extraction as TTPs from Finished Cyber Threat Reports

Understanding the modus operandi of adversaries aids organizations to employ efficient defensive strategies and share intelligence in the community. This knowledge is often present in unstructured natural language text within threat analysis reports. A translation tool is needed to interpret the modus operandi explained in the sentences of the threat report and convert it into a structured format. This research introduces a methodology named TTPXHunter for automated extraction of threat intelligence in terms of Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) from finished cyber threat reports. It leverages cyber domain-specific state-of-the-art natural language model to augment sentences for minority class TTPs and refine pinpointing the TTPs in threat analysis reports significantly. We create two datasets: an augmented sentence-TTP dataset of \(39,296\) sentence samples and a \(149\) real-world cyber threat intelligence report-to-TTP dataset. Further, we evaluate TTPXHunter on the augmented sentence and report datasets. The TTPXHunter achieves the highest performance of \(92.42\%\) f1-score on the augmented dataset, and it also outperforms existing state-of-the-art TTP extraction method by achieving an f1-score of \(97.09\%\) when evaluated over the report dataset. TTPXHunter significantly improves cybersecurity threat intelligence by offering quick, actionable insights into attacker behaviors. This advancement automates threat intelligence analysis and provides a crucial tool for cybersecurity professionals to combat cyber threats.

Safety Incidents and Situation Awareness Amongst Maintenance Personnel in the Food Manufacturing Industry

Enabling high levels of situation awareness (SA) represents an essential design element of a human-centered work environment. SA has been studied extensively in the fields of aviation, power transmission, and transportation but has received much less attention in the manufacturing work environment. In this article, 52 maintenance safety investigations resulting from recordable injuries occurring over a 72-week period in a multinational food manufacturing company are analyzed from a SA perspective. It was found that 20 of these incidents were the result of SA errors while 18 were not; a total of 14 incident investigations did not provide enough detail allowing for an appropriate determination of the incident’s SA-relatedness. We argue that this analysis contributes to a better understanding of the causal factors involved in maintenance safety incidents and subsequently aids researchers and organizations in developing more effective procedural, design, and training modifications.

Navigating the Complex ESG Accounting Landscape: Engineering a Method Selection Framework

Environmental, social, and governance accounting (ESGA) aids organizations in achieving their sustainability goals through continuous improvement. Suitable method selection is crucial to prevent rework, additional expenses, trivial outcomes, and reduced confidence in sustainability practices. The current ESGA method selection process lacks comprehensive consideration of alternatives and criteria, occasionally resulting in suboptimal choices. This work aims to achieve optimal ESGA by engineering a method selection framework. The research approach is based on the design cycle, where engineering decisions are informed by empirical evidence. The main findings are that the framework, which includes a decision model and a supporting information system, can reduce the chances of organizations selecting an unsuitable method, whilst sparing decision-making managers time and effort. Firstly, the reusable elements of the framework can help managers of any organization select a suitable method more efficiently since they do not have to produce these elements themselves. Secondly, the results demonstrate how selection frameworks and tools can aid organizations in navigating the complex ESG accounting landscape. Lastly, this study lowers the barrier for organizational impact management; in particular, for measuring and reporting ESG impact, which is a rigorous assessment of the organization’s progress towards sustainable development goals.

KeyHound - Identity Provider and Access Management

Single organization handles multiple applications based on different departments or needs. To access these applications, users must remember the login credentials for each. This results in the data of mutual users being stored in different identity providers, causing data redundancy and indirectly increasing storage costs. Solution is needed to globalize user credentials. Implementing a centralized system aids organizations in saving storage costs by eliminating redundant user data stored across multiple identity providers. Key Words: Identity provider and Management, Access management, Validation, Authorization.

A holistic approach to implementing artificial intelligence in radiology

ObjectiveDespite the widespread recognition of the importance of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare, its implementation is often limited. This article aims to address this implementation gap by presenting insights from an in-depth case study of an organisation that approached AI implementation with a holistic approach.Materials and methodsWe conducted a longitudinal, qualitative case study of the implementation of AI in radiology at a large academic medical centre in the Netherlands for three years. Collected data consists of 43 days of work observations, 30 meeting observations, 18 interviews and 41 relevant documents. Abductive reasoning was used for systematic data analysis, which revealed three change initiative themes responding to specific AI implementation challenges.ResultsThis study identifies challenges of implementing AI in radiology at different levels and proposes a holistic approach to tackle those challenges. At the technology level, there is the issue of multiple narrow AI applications with no standard use interface; at the workflow level, AI results allow limited interaction with radiologists; at the people and organisational level, there are divergent expectations and limited experience with AI. The case of Southern illustrates that organisations can reap more benefits from AI implementation by investing in long-term initiatives that holistically align both social and technological aspects of clinical practice.ConclusionThis study highlights the importance of a holistic approach to AI implementation that addresses challenges spanning technology, workflow, and organisational levels. Aligning change initiatives between these different levels has proven to be important to facilitate wide-scale implementation of AI in clinical practice.Critical relevance statementAdoption of artificial intelligence is crucial for future-ready radiological care. This case study highlights the importance of a holistic approach that addresses technological, workflow, and organisational aspects, offering practical insights and solutions to facilitate successful AI adoption in clinical practice.Key points1. Practical and actionable insights into successful AI implementation in radiology are lacking.2. Aligning technology, workflow, organisational aspects is crucial for a successful AI implementation3. Holistic approach aids organisations to create sustainable value through AI implementation.Graphical

Unlocking factors of digital twins for smart manufacturing: a case of emerging economy

ABSTRACT The Industry 4.0/smart manufacturing paradigm has significantly changed the activities and processes of organizations. Emergent smart manufacturing technology called a ‘Digital Twin’ (DT) aids organizations in enhancing overall performance by creating a virtual prototype of a real system. However, DT technology adoption in emerging economies is in the nascent stage. This research aims to identify the determinants affecting the adoption of DT technology in Indian manufacturing firms. Based on an extensive literature survey and experts’ opinions, 14 determinants were identified, and these determinants were analyzed using a hybrid multi-attribute decision-making approach to understand the contextual relationship and to identify the cause–effect relationship amongst them. Based on these results, the most critical determinants were explored, namely ‘Real-time system operations and tracking’, ‘Integration, the convergence of systems, processes & resources and enterprise collaboration’, ‘Information and Data management within or between the systems’. The manufacturing organizations of emerging economies need to consider these determinants for the effective adoption of DT technology, and policymakers can use the findings of this study to develop appropriate strategies.

Willingness to pay (WTP) for HIV and AIDS services in Africa: a descriptive thematic systematic review

Background The African continent has the highest burden of HIV and AIDS, with its response to HIV and AIDS largely donor supported. However, in the face of declining donor support, alternative ways to sustainably support HIV and AIDS responses in Africa are paramount. This systematic review explores the willingness to pay (WTP) for HIV services in Africa as a potentially more sustainable HIV and AIDS service cost recovery approach. Methods A comprehensive systematic search for literature was conducted in PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and CINAHL and websites of HIV and AIDS organisations for studies published until 30 June 2023. Studies were included if they were about WTP, HIV and AIDS services, were conducted in Africa and were published in English. Studies were excluded if they used methods other than WTP and were not about an HIV service. JBI critical appraisal tools were used to assess for quality and risk of bias. Information on the HIV service, the study methods, and factors influencing WTP were extracted. A descriptive thematic analysis was undertaken to synthesise evidence. The findings are summarised in tables and graphs. Results 5,141 records were identified and screened for eligibility from the initial search. After title and abstract screening and removing duplicates, twenty-three articles from 10 countries with 20,780 study participants were included in the final review. There is an uneven distribution of WTP studies across different types of HIV services and across countries. There is evidence of a willingness to pay for HIV services, with the proportion of people reported in individual studies that are willing to pay ranging from 34.3% to 97.1%. However, in most studies (77.3%, 17/22), the amount people are willing to pay cannot cover the full-service cost in an open market. Factors associated with WTP include socio-economic status, beliefs, and knowledge about HIV services. Conclusions This systematic review presents evidence of cost recovery from HIV programs. The main finding is that other resources, beyond out-of-pocket payments, are needed to meet the total cost of any service. This has implications for providing (non-donor-funded) services on a sustainable level in the long term. In interpreting the findings of this study, limitations such as excluding papers not published in English need to be considered. Registration: PROSPERO, CRD42021275215.

Cyberpsychology: A Longitudinal Analysis of Cyber Adversarial Tactics and Techniques

The rapid proliferation of cyberthreats necessitates a robust understanding of their evolution and associated tactics, as found in this study. A longitudinal analysis of these threats was conducted, utilizing a six-year data set obtained from a deception network, which emphasized its significance in the study’s primary aim: the exhaustive exploration of the tactics and strategies utilized by cybercriminals and how these tactics and techniques evolved in sophistication and target specificity over time. Different cyberattack instances were dissected and interpreted, with the patterns behind target selection shown. The focus was on unveiling patterns behind target selection and highlighting recurring techniques and emerging trends. The study’s methodological design incorporated data preprocessing, exploratory data analysis, clustering and anomaly detection, temporal analysis, and cross-referencing. The validation process underscored the reliability and robustness of the findings, providing evidence of increasingly sophisticated, targeted cyberattacks. The work identified three distinct network traffic behavior clusters and temporal attack patterns. A validated scoring mechanism provided a benchmark for network anomalies, applicable for predictive analysis and facilitating comparative study of network behaviors. This benchmarking aids organizations in proactively identifying and responding to potential threats. The study significantly contributed to the cybersecurity discourse, offering insights that could guide the development of more effective defense strategies. The need for further investigation into the nature of detected anomalies was acknowledged, advocating for continuous research and proactive defense strategies in the face of the constantly evolving landscape of cyberthreats.

African American Gay Men

African American Gay Men

The End of Exceptionalism or Exceptionalism by other Means? Unraveling the Contradictions of HIV/AIDS Governance in Canada

ABSTRACT How is HIV/AIDS both exceptional yet no longer worthy of a distinct state response? Reflecting on state efforts in Canada to normalize HIV/AIDS and fold it into a more integrated response to sexually transmitted infections and bloodborne illnesses, we examine how ‘end of HIV/AIDS exceptionalism’ narratives obscure the new ways in which state power is being deployed such that, at the level of bodies and community organizations, actors are still subjected to exceptional state surveillance and control. In spite of continued efforts to normalize HIV/AIDS and blunt the advocacy of AIDS organizations, we argue that state power has intensified in ways that suggest that HIV/AIDS is still exceptional after all.

Setting the global research agenda for community-based HIV service delivery through the faith sector

BackgroundWhile leading AIDS organizations expect faith and health collaborations to play a crucial role in organizing and scaling up community-based HIV services, it is unclear how this can be realized. Little primary research has been conducted into which strategies for collaboration and service provision are most effective, efficient, scalable and sustainable. Seeking to align research with urgent needs, enhance coordination and increase the likelihood that results are used, this study aimed to set an inclusive global research agenda that reflects priority research questions from key stakeholders at the intersection of HIV healthcare and faith.MethodsIn order to develop this global research agenda, we drew from document analyses, focus group discussions, interviews with purposively selected key informants from all continents (policy-makers, healthcare providers, faith leaders, academics and HIV activists), an online questionnaire, and expert meetings at several global conferences. We carried out focus group discussions and interviews with faith leaders in South Africa. Other stakeholder focus groups and interviews were carried out online or in person in France, Switzerland, the Netherlands and South Africa, and virtual questionnaires were distributed to stakeholders worldwide. Respondents were purposively sampled.ResultsWe interviewed 53 participants, and 110 stakeholders responded to the online questionnaire. The participants worked in 54 countries, with the majority having research experience (84%), experience with policy processes (73%) and/or experience as a healthcare provider (60%) and identifying as religious (79%). From interviews (N = 53) and questionnaires (N = 110), we identified 10 research themes: addressing sexuality, stigma, supporting specific populations, counselling and disclosure, agenda-setting, mobilizing and organizing funding, evaluating faith-health collaborations, advantage of faith initiatives, gender roles, and education. Respondents emphasized the need for more primary research and prioritized two themes: improving the engagement of faith communities in addressing sexuality and tackling stigma.ConclusionsA wide range of respondents participated in developing the research agenda. To align research to the prioritized themes and ensure that results are used, it is essential to further engage key users, funders, researchers and other stakeholders, strengthen the capacity for locally embedded research and research uptake and contextualize priorities to diverse religious traditions, key populations and local circumstances.

Moderating role of top management support in electronic procurement usage of Jordanian firms

The use of e-procurement aids organisations in reducing business costs, broadening their market access and simplifying purchasing processes. However, in Jordan, only 27.6% of firms utilise e-procurement systems. Hence, the usage of e-procurement systems by Jordanian firms is still in its infancy. In this work, the technology, organisation and environment (TOE) factors affecting the use of e-procurement systems by large firms in Jordan were investigated. Previous studies have reported inconsistent findings with regard to the antecedent factors that may affect e-procurement usage. Therefore, this work aimed to determine the factors related to e-procurement usage and whether or not top management support moderates the relationship between TOE factors and e-procurement usage. Results revealed that all TOE factors used in this study influenced the e-procurement usage of the firms. Moreover, the moderating role of top management support was found to be positively related to relative advantages and organisational readiness and negatively related to complexity.

Hepatitis C Among High-Risk Alabamians: Disease Burden and Screening Effectiveness.

The effectiveness of hepatitis C testing and linkage-to-care (LTC) is poorly characterized in low-resource jurisdictions facing gaps in harm reduction, including illegality of syringe exchange services. Effectiveness of a community-based test/LTC program was evaluated in Alabama. In 2016-2018, shelters, drug treatment centers (DTCs), AIDS organizations, and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) engaged in screening/LTC. A coordinator navigated individuals to confirm viremia and link to substance use treatment or primary care with hepatitis C prescribers. Point-of-care (POC) tested 4293 individuals (10% [427] antibody-positive, 71% [299/419] RNA performed, 80% [241/299] viremia confirmed) and 93% linked to care (225/241). Electronic medical record (EMR)-based reflex strategy screened 4654 (15% [679] antibody positive, 99% [670/679] RNA performed, 64% [433/679] viremia confirmed) and 85% linked to care (368/433). We observed higher odds of RNA confirmation in EMR-based reflex versus POC (OR, 2.07; P < .0001) and higher odds of LTC in EMR-based reflex versus POC (OR, 1.51; P < .0001). Overall, 53% individuals tested were nonbaby boomers. In Alabama, screening at high-risk settings identified significant hepatitis C burden and reflex testing outperformed point-of-care linkage indicators. Colocating testing in DTCs and treatment in FQHCs provided key LTC venues to at-risk younger groups.

An Examination of Issues Surrounding Nonprofit Executive Salaries: 2010-2017

This paper examines issues related to executive compensation in the nonprofit sector for the period since the last recession, 2010-2017. We explain why nonprofit executive compensation matters in terms of charitable giving in the United States. We discuss what is meant by the terms “nonprofit” and “tax-exempt”; the requirements that an entity must meet in order to achieve each respective designation; and why the two terms are not interchangeable. We examine different types of tax-exempt entities and how tax-exempt status aids organizations in raising funds from the donating public. We focus on the requirements for obtaining, and maintaining that status as a regulatory tool. We review the significant expenses for a tax-exempt non-profit and note how commercial entities face similar expenses. We illustrate how the particular expense of executive compensation is inherently different for a tax-exempt non-profit than for profit-making enterprises. We explain the factors that determine executive salaries in the former and the components of this compensation. We review the federal and state regulations governing tax-exempt nonprofit executive salaries and guidelines offered by non-governmental entities. We note that research (Balsam and Harris 2014) indicates a negative correlation between the level of disclosed executive compensation and the percentage of donations that a tax-exempt nonprofit receives. We discuss and analyze the compensation for chief executives at certain such nonprofits which have been highlighted by the mainstream media, the source of nonprofit information most easily accessible to the vast majority of donors to such entities. We conclude by highlighting why donors should have a voice in the determination of a tax exempt’s nonprofit executive compensation.

Horizontal collaboration in response to modern slavery legislation

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how horizontal collaboration aids organisations in responding to modern slavery legislation and in gaining a socially sustainable competitive advantage.Design/methodology/approachAction research has been conducted in the textiles and fashion industry and a relational perspective adopted to interpret five collaborative initiatives taken to tackle modern slavery (e.g. joint training and supplier audits). The primary engagement has been with a multi-billion pound turnover company and its collaborations with 35 brands/retailers. A non-government organisation and a trade body have also participated.FindingsSuccessful horizontal collaboration is dependent on both relational capital and effective (formal and informal) governance mechanisms. In collaborating, firms have generated relational rents and reduced costs creating a socially sustainable competitive advantage, as suggested by the relational perspective. Yet, limits to horizontal collaboration also exist.Research limitations/implicationsThe focus is on one industry only, hence there is scope to extend the study to other industries or forms of collaboration taking place across industries.Practical implicationsSuccessful horizontal collaborative relationships rely on actors having a similar mindset and being able to decouple the commercial and sustainability agendas, especially when direct competitors are involved. Further, working with non-business actors can facilitate collaboration and provide knowledge and resources important for overcoming the uncertainty that is manifest when responding to new legislation.Social implicationsSocial sustainability improvements aim to enhance ethical trade and benefit vulnerable workers.Originality/valuePrior literature has focussed on vertical collaboration with few prior studies of horizontal collaboration, particularly in a socially sustainable supply chain context. Moreover, there has been limited research into modern slavery from a supply chain perspective. Both successful and unsuccessful initiatives are studied, providing insights into (in)effective collaboration.

Strengths, Constraints and Gaps in HIV and AIDS Education Communication Process among NGOs in Kenya

This study aimed to investigate the enhancing and constraining factors in planning of communication process among HIV and AIDs NGOs in Kenya. The study aimed at assessing the NGOS conformity with acceptable communication principles; and to identify the strengths, gaps and constraints in the existing planning of the communication process of the said organisations.The study was carried out in Nairobi and Kisumu. The sample was derived from registered NGOS in Kenya offering HIV and AIDS education. Data was collected from both primary and secondary sources. Data from the semi-structured interviews were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), while data from the key informant interviews were analysed along thematic areas and used to support the information derived from the semi-structured interviews. The findings are presented using triangulation, as well as visual graphics, such as bar charts and pie charts. Data analysis was done using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and themes respectively. Findings were presented using triangulation, graphics, such as bar charts and pie charts. The findings indicate that participation was well integrated in most of the organisations’ interventions. The study concludes that one of the assumptions made in this study, participation was a key component for about three-quarters of the organisations. The researcher recommended for further research on audience studies on HIV and AIDS communication in Kenya; and the mass media and HIV and AIDS. Keywords: Communication process, Communication planning, HIV and AIDS organizations, Constraints in HIV and AIDS communication.

English

The need for an appropriate evaluation model with respect to workplace HIV/AIDS information, education and communication (IEC) programme implementation necessitated this study. The study adopted the documentary research method. The documents review relied to a large extent on documents from the ILO, the Botswana governments&rsquo; National Strategic Framework on HIV/AIDS and the Botswana Revised National policy on HIV and AIDS. Besides, the study also consulted other empirical literatures from electronic databases. These covered books, academic journals, official publications, websites of government and international HIV and AIDS organisations. In all, a total of 47 documents were reviewed. The criteria for the selection of the documents were being focused on HIV/AIDS policies, workplace HIV/AIDS information, education and communication programmes as well as theoretical frameworks. The key components of the input evaluation model (HIVADIEF Model) are programme intervention, resources, institutional support mechanisms and target groups. Each component had its measuring attributes. The study recommended HIVADIEF input evaluation model for researchers in the field of workplace HIV/AIDS information, education and communication programme evaluation in Botswana and elsewhere with a view to further developing and improving the input evaluation model for hospitality facilities.&nbsp; &nbsp; Key words: Information, education and communication, workplace, theoretical framework, inputs evaluation, HIV/AIDS, Botswana.