Field Staff Research Articles

Challenges Locating the Scene of Emergency: A Qualitative Study of the EMS System in Rwanda

Background Timely prehospital emergency care significantly improves health outcomes. One substantial challenge delaying prehospital emergency care is in locating the patient requiring emergency services. The goal of this study was to describe challenges emergency medical services (EMS) teams in Rwanda face locating emergencies, and explore potential opportunities for improvement. Methods Between August 2021 and April 2022, we conducted 13 in-depth interviews with three stakeholder groups representing the EMS response system in Rwanda: ambulance dispatchers, ambulance field staff, and policymakers. Semi-structured interview guides covered three domains: 1) the process of locating an emergency, including challenges faced; 2) how challenges affect prehospital care; and 3) what opportunities exist for improvement. Interviews lasted approximately 60 min, and were audio recorded and transcribed. Applied thematic analysis was used to identify themes across the three domains. NVivo (version 12) was used to code and organize data. Results The current process of locating a patient experiencing a medical emergency in Kigali is hampered by a lack of adequate technology, a reliance on local knowledge of both the caller and response team to locate the emergency, and the necessity of multiple calls to share location details between parties (caller, dispatch, ambulance). Three themes emerged related to how challenges affect prehospital care: increased response interval, variability in response interval based on both the caller’s and dispatcher’s individual knowledge of the area, and inefficient communication between the caller, dispatch, and ambulance. Three themes emerged related to opportunities for processes and tools to improve the location of emergencies: technology to geolocate an emergency accurately and improve the response interval, improvements in communication to allow for real-time information sharing, and better location data from the public. Conclusion This study has identified challenges faced by the EMS system in Rwanda in locating emergencies and identified opportunities for intervention. Timely EMS response is essential for optimal clinical outcomes. As EMS systems develop and expand in low-resource settings, there is an urgent need to implement locally relevant solutions to improve the timely locating of emergencies.

Data-Driven Virtual Viscosity Meter Augments Inline, Laboratory Measurements

_ This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of paper SPE 211393, “Introducing Data-Driven Virtual Viscosity Measurements,” by Volodmir Karpan, Shell, and Samya Al Farsi and Hanaa Al Sulaimani, SPE, Petroleum Development Oman, et al. The paper has not been peer reviewed. _ For polymer-based chemical flooding projects, controlling the viscosity of the injected polymer solution is critical because polymer cost is one of the more significant elements in project economics. The polymer viscosity is measured routinely in the laboratory using fluid samples taken manually at different sampling points. In the case of large-scale projects, however, such viscosity monitoring becomes time-consuming and requires a dedicated field staff. The complete paper introduces a data-driven virtual viscosity meter (VVM) as a tool to augment inline and laboratory viscosity measurements. Introduction In field conditions, proven ways to monitor polymer viscosity of the injected solution include laboratory measurements using injector wellhead samples and inline measurements using a viscometer. In the former, injected chemical solution is sampled regularly to test its viscosity in the laboratory. This is a time- and labor-intensive method with safety and environmental risks during sampling. The latter method is a way to monitor viscosity using inline viscosity-measurement devices. Measuring the viscosity inline reduces the risk of polymer degradation significantly and provides more viscosity data. An inline viscometer uses pressure-drop and flow-rate measurements for the fluid flowing in a bypass line. Pressure drop is measured in the insulated coiled tube, while the flow rate is measured using a Coriolis-type flowmeter. During operation, the polymer solution temperature and pressure drop at a fixed flow rate are measured continuously. The system then calculates the viscosity of the polymer solution passing through the viscometer using the curve extrapolated from the calibration points. Such a viscometer measures a wide range of polymer viscosity and could be used for both high-viscosity and diluted solutions at low and high pressures. Use of inline viscosity measurement, while advantageous in many ways, comes with significant costs. An inline viscometer usually is installed on the foundation in a cabinet to protect it from harsh weather conditions (Fig. 1). Additionally, the injection line upstream of the wellhead must be equipped with a bypass line and drainage system. Maintenance activities could affect the uptime of the inline viscometer. This could become critical under field conditions, where problems with water treatment could translate into plugging of the viscometer filters, leading to erroneous measurements and eventual downtime for cleanup. Such problems grow with the number of devices in operation. Therefore, using a few viscometers is often considered a compromise that comes at the cost of less-effective viscosity monitoring. The authors address a solution to this problem wherein a machine-learning (ML) tool is proposed to augment viscosity measurements by calculating the viscosity using field data for the periods when no viscosity measurements are available.

Timber trade in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC): effectiveness of timber parks in tackling tax frauds/Commerce du bois dans l'est de la République Démocratique du Congo (RDC): efficacité des parcs á bois dans la lutte contre la fraude fiscale

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) shares borders with nine countries and has around 150 million hectares of tropical moist forests. A moratorium on logging titles has been in place since 2002 and infrastructure is very poor. The country plans to lift the moratorium and invest in infrastructure as part of the broader East-African road and railway networks. We present a case-study conducted for thirty months (2020– 2022) on timber trade and export at the first 'timber park' established on the eastern border. Multiple forms of potentially illegal timber trade were detected. In the case of transiting timber, results indicate that 100% of export declarations mention only one, and the same tree species. There also exist several mismatches between declared vs actually exported species (e. g. Mammea africana instead of genus Afzelia, recently listed in Annex II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)). We estimate the potential financial losses for the DRC Government and discuss possible improvements. The model's extension to major border crossings could contribute to both sectoral improvements and better environmental policies. Yet results also indicate that the model's replication, sustainability and effectiveness can only occur and be maintained if interest and political support by provincial governments and their field staff remain strong.

Agribisnis Bandeng Organik

Empowerment of coastal communities is a must because of the many limitations, causing backwardness, especially economically. The specific objective of this program is to realize a pond farming business that has high productivity at low cost and is environmentally friendly so that farming sustainability can be realized, in addition to realizing a farming system with proper management, both production management and institutional and financial management. The method that will be used to achieve this goal is to provide group management and business management training. Business management training is carried out to provide an understanding of the advantages of organic pond cultivation and is also carried out directly in real business. Activities are carried out simultaneously by the group members involved in the planned stages and guided by field staff and the implementing team. The technical stage of its implementation is that the seeds purchased from the hatchery are maintained in a smelting pond for one month. Previously, soil turning, drying, liming, and applying organic fertilizer were carried out. On the other hand, this farmer group can implicitly know and carry out organic farming/fishery activities so that they have supported the government's program on environmentally friendly organic and sustainable farming (Go-Organic).

Kinerja Aparatur Sipil Negara Di Badan Kepegawaian Daerah Kabupaten Jayawijaya

This study aims to find out how, the performance of the state civil apparatus in the Jayawijaya district civil service agency. This research was carried out from February to May 2023. The selection of respondents was done deliberately. The data used are primary data and secondary data. Primary data was collected through interviews, based on questionnaires, to the head of the field and honorary staff respectively. jayawijaya district civil service. So that the total respondents were 6 people. Secondary data was obtained from related agencies, namely through the Jayawijaya Regency Regional Personnel Agency for Human Resources. Secondary data was also obtained through books obtained from local bookstores and the internet via Google Scholar in the form of books, journal articles and theses related to the topic of this research, namely the Performance of State Civil Apparature at the Jayawijaya Civil Service Agency. The results of the study show that the assessment of the performance of state civil servants in the Jayaawijaya Regency Regional Civil Service Agency is not optimal. Because there are still some problems. Based on the quantity indicator, it shows that there are still targets that have not been implemented and work that has exceeded the target, thus increasing the workload. In terms of quality, it was found that many mistakes were made in carrying out the work due to a lack of accuracy and understanding. In terms of time use, it was found that there were still many employees who had not used working hours effectively. Based on the existing problems, there are several suggestions that can be made, namely to increase discipline in working time, the need to improve the quality of work under supervision, provide punishment for employees who violate the provisions of working time and provide rewards for superior performing employees, the need for routine employee development programs , it is necessary to use a finger print for attendance, as well as adding office facilities that are lacking and routine maintenance of facilities and infrastructure.

Penyuluhan Pengendalian Organisme Pengganggu Tanaman Manggis (Garcinia Mongostana L) Secara Terpadu Pada Kelompok Tani Mukti di Desa Cibuntu Kecamatan Wanayasa Kabupaten Purwakarta

Cibuntu is a mangosteen-producing village. Fluctuations and low mangosteen production are caused by pests. Most farmers have not implemented IPC to the fullest. This extension aims to change and improve the understanding, willingness of farmers and the application of IPM. The target of the extension is the members of the Mukti Farmers Group. The The executors are the POPT field staff of the West Java BPTPH agency. Held since 2020. The extension materials include types of organisms that disturb mangosteen plants, the concept of integrated pest control. Anjangsono counseling methods, lectures, discussions, demonstrations of how to, demonstration of results and installation of banners. As a result of counseling, there is an increase in the number of farmers who know the concept of controlling pests, know how to control opto mangosteen in an integrated manner, about natural enemies and integrated opt control is an efficient way. Farmers who have doubts about the concept of opt and how to control integrated opt and about natural enemies are decreasing in number. There are 13.3% of farmers who still don't know how to do IPM. There is an increasing number of farmers who agree to the conservation of natural enemies, weeding tools is better than with pesticides, destroying diseased crop residues, and not eating and drinking when applying pesticides. There was a decrease in the number of farmers who used inorganic pesticides and left the plants alone and did not wash the remaining pesticide mixture. There was an increase in the number of farmers who washed the remaining pesticide mixture first. There was no change in the number of farmers who washed their body parts affected by pesticides with running water or detergent.

Organizational Barriers in Reducing Unmet Need for Family Planning in Mamuju District

Unmet need for family planning is an indicator of the service performance of the Family Planning and Reproductive Health program. This condition indicates the desire of couples of childbearing age for a type of contraceptive that is not available so that they make the decision not to use a contraceptive method or device. The percentage of unmet need in Mamuju Regency based on 2021 is 23.65%, still far from the provincial target of 17.87%, and the national target of 8.30%. The purpose of this study was to explore information on the causes of the high number of unmet need for family planning in Mamuju District from the perspective of service provider organizational barriers (supply side). This research method used qualitative methods with a case study approach. Informants in this study were women with unmet need, husbands, Head of Family Planning, Head of Subdivision Planning Program, midwives, field staffs and cadres in the Mamuju District and Simboro and Islands Districts. The total number of informants was 31 people. Data collection techniques were interviews, focus group discussions (FGD) and document studies. Data analysis using thematic analysis. The results showed that the quality of human resources, limited financing, accessibility of health facilities that were difficult to reach, not yet optimal support across sectors, and inaccurate measurements of unmet need in the field, became obstacles for service providers in reducing unmet need. Unmet need for family planning is multidimensional because it is influenced by various factors, therefore it requires a strong commitment from all parties and synergy between related sectors in optimizing the implementation of family planning programs.

A retrospective study on newly diagnosed Hansen’s disease and its spectrum in a tertiary care hospital

Background: Leprosy, a well known ancient disease caused by the pathogen Mycobacterium leprae. Leprosy became curable with the introduction of multi drug therapy (MDT). But the burden of the disease still continues to make an impact in the present society. India is one of the major contributors to the global leprosy case load even after elimination. The main aim of this study was to assess the clinical pattern of newly diagnosed leprosy patients and to emphasize the need of timely intervention. Methods: This was a hospital based retrospective observational study. The medical records of all the newly diagnosed leprosy patients during the period of January 2022 to December 2022 were collected and various clinical and demographic factors were analyzed. Results: Total 139 newly diagnosed leprosy cases were reported. The most common age group affected was 45-60 years. Males were predominantly affected than females. 128 cases were multibacillary leprosy and 11 were paucibacillary. Borderline tuberculoid (48.2%) was the most common spectrum noted. About 19.4% patients presented with lepra reactions and 25.17% patients presented with deformities. Conclusions: Newly diagnosed leprosy cases show that leprosy is active in the society. Active case detection by household contact survey and timely referral &treatment initiation and follow up by the field staff of health facility will prevent disability and stigma.

Local government stewardship for TB elimination in Kerala, India.

The southern Indian state of Kerala has implemented 'Kerala Tuberculosis Elimination Mission' as 'People's Movement against TB' under the stewardship of local governments (LGs). The state has been certified by the Government of India for being on track to attain the UN Sustainable Development Goals related to TB elimination. To document the role of LG stewardship in the successful implementation of the TB elimination activities in Kerala. 1) Key informant interviews with four state officials, 2) desk review of available documents, 3) in-depth interviews with seven LG leaders, three mid-level programme managers and three health department field staff. LG involvement led to the establishment of solutions based on local problems, enhanced outreach of services to the socially vulnerable individuals, improved treatment support to patients with TB, increased community ownership of TB elimination activities, reduced TB-related stigma and social determinants being addressed. Institutional mechanisms such as LG TB elimination task forces, formal guidance in planning interventions and appreciation of their performance in the form of awards were facilitators for LG involvement. LG stewardship can accelerate TB elimination. A good plan for engagement and institutional mechanisms are crucial for LG involvement.

SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants in Bangladesh: Pandemic to endemic.

SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants in Bangladesh: Pandemic to endemic.

Male and stale? Questioning the role of “opinion leaders” in agricultural programs

Social networks can influence people’s behaviour and therefore it is assumed that central individuals in social networks, also called “opinion leaders”, play a key role in driving change in agricultural and food systems. I analyse the outcomes of an intervention (that encouraged Sulawesi smallholder farmers to take a specific action toward improving the health of their cocoa trees) to assess the impact of engaging opinion leaders in agricultural programs that aim to change farmers’ practices. The intervention has been implemented through (a) 18 opinion leaders identified by interviews and a social network survey of 1885 cocoa farmers; and (b) 18 randomly selected farmers who were not central in local social networks. The obtained social networks and statistical data were quantitatively analysed and the results were interpreted with input from the field staff. Contrary to expectations, the highly socially central opinion leaders were not more effective in promoting the initiative in their communities. On average, randomly selected low-centrality farmers convinced almost twice as many of their peers to take the recommended action as compared to the identified opinion leaders (17.1 versus 8.6) but the variation within the random group was also significantly higher. Importantly, while the identified opinion leaders were mostly senior men, women performed better in influencing others into taking action even when their centrality in local social networks of agricultural advice was lower. I discuss the implications of the conventional selection of perceived opinion leaders as model farmers for achieving sustainable and equitable change at scale in agriculture and propose practical alternatives.

Localisation in the balance: Syrian medical-humanitarian NGOs' strategic engagement with the local and international.

Contributions on localisation often focus on interactions between local organisations and the international community, with limited attention paid to dynamics within the locally-led part of the response. The humanitarian operation in non-government-held areas of Syria is considered a key example of localisation, in which the health sector has assumed a leading role. Drawing on fieldwork among Syrian medical-humanitarian organisations conducted in southern Turkey in 2017, this paper offers a view from below on the localisation debate. It provides a nuanced perspective on 'the local', showcasing how localisation is interpreted and expressed among Syrian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) themselves, and in their interaction with each other. The paper shows how most organisations have moved to a hybrid model that emphasises their local and international character, resisting simplistic classifications. However, despite the sometimes strategic nature of its invocation, localisation does not lose its relevance as a lived experience, especially for local field staff.

Rapid-cycle evaluation and learning for the effective delivery of integrated interventions in early childhood in rural India.

Effective and real-time data analytics plays an essential role in understanding gaps and improving the quality and coverage of complex public health interventions. Studies of public health information systems identify problems with data quality, such as incomplete records and untimely reporting. Effective data collection and real-time analysis systems for rapid-cycle learning are necessary to monitor public health programs and take timely evidence-based decisions. Early childhood development (ECD) programs are very diverse. Rapid-cycle evaluation and learning (REAL) guides the implementation process of such complex interventions in real time. Stepping stones was one such early childhood development program implemented in Central India. The objective was to improve the delivery of complex, integrated public health interventions for early childhood development in remote areas of rural India. The program was developed according to the principles of inclusion and community-centeredness, which can be tested quickly and iteratively. To enhance the decision-making process and improve delivery and coverage, the core team implemented an information system for rapid-cycle learning. We developed performance indicators and a performance measurement matrix after defining the specific needs. Following that, we trained staff to collect complete data using electronic data collection tools and transfer it the same day to the server for quality review and further analysis. A variety of data/information was triangulated to address the gaps in intervention delivery, and those decisions were subsequently implemented. We observed that the quality of data collection improved, and errors were reduced by 50% in the third quarter. The quality of the narrative was also enhanced; it became more elaborate and reflective. Sharing their field output in meetings and improving the quality of the narrative enhanced the self-reflection skills of field staff and consequently improved the quality of the intervention delivery. Refresher training and mentoring by supervisors helped to improve the data quality over time. Rapid-cycle evaluation and learning (REAL) can be implemented in resource-limited settings to improve the quality and coverage of integrated intervention in early childhood. It nurtures a reinforcing ecosystem that integrates providers, community, and family perspectives and guides interactions among stakeholders by integrating data from all available sources.

PELATIHAN PEMASARAN ONLINE DENGAN MEMANFAATKAN MARKETPLACE BERSAMA PELAKU UMKM RT. 05 RW.07 PANDEGILING, SURABAYA

The purpose of the implementation of Community Service activities through Online Marketing Counseling and Marketplace Utilization for MSMEs residents of RT. 05 RW.07 Pandegiling, Surabaya to add insight into online marketing and marketplaces for MSME players in RT. 05 RW.07 Pandegiling, Surabaya. In addition to Lecturers and Students from the School of Economics Indonesia Surabaya as the activity implementation team, this counseling was also carried out by involving partners, namely Community Field Staff from PT Shopee International Indonesia. The result of this activity is an increased understanding of online marketing and marketplaces for MSME players in RT. 05 RW.07 Pandegiling, Surabaya
 Keywords: Online Marketing, Marketplace, MSME

Retrofitting to Last – Selecting Optimal Wildlife Protection Products

Many power pylons in raptor habitat pose high electrocution risk to raptors, which can be mitigated with insulation products. Retrofitting may require a service outage and can be expensive; labor costs are often far greater than materials. Because concrete, steel and, wood pylons often last for 50 years or more, utilities that select high quality raptor mitigation products receive much greater yield on their investment. To maximize mitigation success, utility engineers should consider specific environmental stresses that may affect product longevity and effectiveness in their service area. IEEE 1656–2010 – IEEE Guide (DOI: 10.1109/IEEESTD.2011.5722090)40 for Testing the Electrical, Mechanical, and Durability Performance of Wildlife Protective Devices on Overhead Power Distribution Systems Rated up to 38 kV recommends a sequence of test procedures designed to ensure that products will not compromise system performance and that products will be effective and durable despite long-term exposure to UV, high winds, and/or salt fog. A growing number of vendors have performed IEEE 1656 testing, which facilitates direct comparison between competing products; however, test reports must be carefully reviewed because not all vendors have strictly followed IEEE guidance. Field implementation is a key determinant of project success, therefore linemen should have an opportunity to test candidate products in real-world situations and assess whether they are easy to install within utility safety and work practices and are compatible with the system. The goal of wildlife mitigation product selection is to identify an optimal suite of products that will: a) minimize the possibility of an animal electrocution or related outage; b) provide a long service life; and c) be readily adopted by field staff.

Automated Tasmanian devil segmentation and devil facial tumour disease classification

Context Artificial intelligence algorithms are beneficial for automating the monitoring of threatened species. Devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) is an endemic disease threatening Australia’s Tasmanian devil. The disease is a cancer that can be transmitted from one devil to another during social interactions. Cameras and trapping techniques have been employed to monitor the spread of the disease in the wild. The use of cameras allows for more frequent monitoring of devils than does trapping, but differentiating wounds from tumours in images is challenging, and this requires time and expertise. Aim The purpose of this work is to develop a computer vision system to assist in the monitoring of DFTD spread. Method We propose a system that involves image segmentation, feature extraction, and classification steps. U-net architecture, global average pooling layer of pre-trained Resnet-18, and support vector machine (SVM) classifiers were employed for these purposes, respectively. In total, 1250 images of 961 healthy and 289 diseased (DFTD) devils were separated into training, validation, and testing sets. Results The proposed algorithm achieved 92.4% classification accuracy for the differentiation of healthy devils from those with DFTD. Conclusion The high classification accuracy means that our method can help field workers with monitoring devils. Implications The proposed approach will allow for more frequent analysis of devils while reducing the workload of field staff. Ultimately, this automation could be expanded to other species for simultaneous monitoring at shorter intervals to facilitate broadened ecological assessments.

Development and validation of an electronic application (FoodEapp) to assess the dietary intake of adults in Karachi, Pakistan

BackgroundUnder and over-nutrition-related health conditions are highly prevalent in Pakistan. Dietary data are required to understand the challenges of over and undernutrition in Pakistan. ObjectiveThe purpose of the study was to develop and validate a FoodEapp application (FoodEapp) for field staff with no formal education in nutrition (unskilled) to accurately collect 24-hour (24HR) dietary recall (DR) data to assess the dietary intake of adults in Karachi, Pakistan. MethodWe designed a novel FoodEapp application for unskilled data collectors to collect 24HR DR data. We validated the FoodEapp against the conventional 24HR DR method in rural and urban Karachi. We compared the mean intake of total energy (kcal), macronutrients, and micronutrients, reported through both methods using Pearson Correlation and Intraclass Correlation (ICC). We also used Bland Altman analysis to assess the agreement between the methods. ResultsWe found a high correlation between the two methods for total energy (ρ = 0.88, p-value < 0.001), protein (g) (ρ = 0.81, p-value < 0.001), total lipids (g) (ρ = 0.74, p-value < 0.001), and carbohydrates (g) (ρ = 0.68, p-value < 0.001). Bland Altman's analysis showed good agreement in all the nutrients between the two methods. ConclusionsFoodEapp has good validity and can be used to assess the dietary intake of the adult population in Karachi by non-nutritionists. This study may help overcome the limitation of dietary data collection and facilitate the researchers to conduct larger dietary surveys in Pakistan.

Analytics Saves Lives During the COVID-19 Crisis in Chile

During the COVID-19 crisis, the Chilean Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Sciences, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation partnered with the Instituto Sistemas Complejos de Ingeniería (ISCI) and the telecommunications company ENTEL, to develop innovative methodologies and tools that placed operations research (OR) and analytics at the forefront of the battle against the pandemic. These innovations have been used in key decision aspects that helped shape a comprehensive strategy against the virus, including tools that (1) provided data on the actual effects of lockdowns in different municipalities and over time; (2) helped allocate limited intensive care unit (ICU) capacity; (3) significantly increased the testing capacity and provided on-the-ground strategies for active screening of asymptomatic cases; and (4) implemented a nationwide serology surveillance program that significantly influenced Chile’s decisions regarding vaccine booster doses and that also provided information of global relevance. Significant challenges during the execution of the project included the coordination of large teams of engineers, data scientists, and healthcare professionals in the field; the effective communication of information to the population; and the handling and use of sensitive data. The initiatives generated significant press coverage and, by providing scientific evidence supporting the decision making behind the Chilean strategy to address the pandemic, they helped provide transparency and objectivity to decision makers and the general population. According to highly conservative estimates, the number of lives saved by all the initiatives combined is close to 3,000, equivalent to more than 5% of the total death toll in Chile associated with the pandemic until January 2022. The saved resources associated with testing, ICU beds, and working days amount to more than 300 million USD. Funding: This work was supported by the ANID PIA/APOYO [Grant AFB180003 and AFB220003], used to hire research assistants for developing solutions, information systems, data management, and training of field staff. Fieldwork was funded by the Ministry of Health of the Government of Chile. M. Goic acknowledges the financial support of Fondecyt [Project 1221711] and the Institute for Research in Market Imperfections and Public Policy [Grant IS130002 ANID]. D. Sauré acknowledges the financial support of Fondecyt [Project 1211407]. Finally, G. Weintraub and A. Carranza thank the Stanford RISE COVID-19 Crisis Response Faculty Seed Grant Program for helpful financial support.

Vaccinating badgers in a post‐cull landscape; insights from the field

Abstract In 2010 the BadgerBCG vaccine was licenced for use in badgers in the United Kingdom to reduce the severity of Mycobacterium bovis infection, and hence the risks of onward transmission to cattle. To date badger vaccination in the United Kingdom has been deployed at a relatively limited spatial scale (compared to the large‐scale badger culls) and almost exclusively in high‐density badger populations which have not been recently culled. UK Government policy direction has moved towards the wider rollout of badger vaccination as an exit strategy following culling. Field resources required to carry out vaccination in undisturbed badger populations are well documented, but levels of effort are unlikely to be directly transferable to previously culled populations where badger density and social behaviour may be markedly different. We present an evidence‐based assessment of the likely effort required to vaccinate badger populations that have recently been culled, drawing on data from past culling operations, vaccination operations in a previously culled area and the practical field experiences of expert badger trappers. Trapping efficiency declined over successive years of industry‐led culling, however, this effect was not consistently noted in the government‐run randomized badger culling trial (RBCT). Fewer badgers were removed using cage trapping (compared to ‘controlled shooting’) in the latter years of intensive industry‐led culls. When trapping badgers for vaccination in areas that had previously been culled, highly experienced government field staff adapted their practices in response to the lower density and likely more mobile residual population. A longer and more variable pre‐baiting period was expected and there was a greater reliance on higher levels of skill and experience in interpreting field signs and trapping effectively in such populations.

Trends of andragogy competence development of teaching staff in the corporate education field

In Ukraine, there is a steady trend towards the growth of the number of corporate training centers and the strengthening of their influence not only on the labor market, but also on the market of educational services. Specialists who are professionally engaged in the organization of the educational process in these centers combine in their activities a number of functions related to training and development of personnel, while performing various social roles: mentor, consultant, tutor, facilitator, coach, trainer, etc. Such activity requires the development of andragogic competence. The article reveals and substantiates the trends in the development of andragogical competence of pedagogical staff in the field of corporate education. They are correlated, on the one hand, with the development of adult education and training in general, and on the other hand, they are related to the strategy and mission of each specific organization. With this in mind, they can be classified into general and specific. Among the general trends important for the development of andragogical competence of corporate andragogues are: the dynamics of socio-political and socio-economic processes and phenomena, which must be realized, perceived, adapted to them (global aspect); awareness of one’s involvement in the world community with its general cultural and professional trends (cross-cultural aspect); diversification of educational services and broad involvement of different categories of adults as a result of ICT development (technological aspect); improvement of legislative and regulatory support for education and training of adults (legal aspect). The specific trends in the development of andragogic competence of corporate andragogues are: the growth of the role of the individual, his interests and needs (value aspect); strengthening of the subjective position in society, which requires the development of soft skills (activity aspect); expansion of the information space with simultaneous content changes of information, which require the ability to rework it and use it in new conditions (cognitive aspect); construction of one’s own strategy of personal and professional self-development (reflective aspect); independence and responsibility for one’s own health and livelihood (resource aspect). Awareness of these trends will allow corporate andragogues to take a subject position in the organization of training and development of the organization’s personnel, form ethical and social norms of professional behavior within the framework of the organization’s corporate culture, and independently determine the trajectory of their own development.