Workshop Participants Research Articles

FERTILITY CARE IN LOW AND MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES: Implementing fertility care: insights from a participatory workshop in The Gambia.

The Gambia, West Africa, has made recent progress on infertility, a component of sexual and reproductive health that is lagging behind others. Since 2016, there is favourable policy environment stemming from infertility research and partnership building with national stakeholders and local civil society organisations focussing on infertility. Here, we report outcomes from a participatory workshop on infertility policy implementation in The Gambia and provide insights on setting national priorities for fertility care in resource-limited settings. We conducted a participatory workshop involving 29 participants from Gambia's public and private health sectors. Using selected participatory group work tools, stakeholders identified and prioritised key activities within the framework of five pre-defined areas of action, including (i) creating guidelines/regulations; (ii) recording/reporting data; (iii) building public-private partnerships; (iv) training health providers; and (v) raising awareness and health-seeking. A total of 17 prioritised activities were proposed across the five action areas, according to short-, medium-, and long-term timeframes. Three were further prioritised from the overall pool, through group consensus. A group model building activity helped to envision the complexity by elucidating links, loops, and connections between each activity and their expected outcomes. The participatory workshop identified actionable interventions for fertility care in The Gambia, with stakeholders setting a clear path ahead. Despite challenges, the continued engagement of Gambian policymakers, practitioners, researchers, and activists in efforts to move beyond policy creation to its implementation is essential. Improving fertility care in The Gambia and other low- and middle-income countries is feasible with effective collaboration and financial support. In The Gambia, a partnership of stakeholders from various domains, including research, grassroots activism, clinicians, and policymakers, contributed to an increased awareness of infertility. This, in turn, led to the inclusion of infertility in the national reproductive health strategic plan. An in-country participatory workshop involving participants from both public and private health sectors was held in October 2023 with the objective of identifying priorities for moving beyond planning to implementation, within the context of resource constraints. The top three identified priorities were: (i) training about infertility for health providers; (ii) harmonisation of data collection; and (iii) the development of clinical guidelines for infertility management. It is important for the Gambian Ministry of Health to implement these proposed locally relevant fertility care activities. Despite current and future challenges, having a clear vision and pathway will help establish fertility care in the country, with Gambia potentially leading the way among many other countries.

DIY Digital Interventions: Behaviour Change with Trigger-Action Programming

Whether it is sleep, diet, or procrastination, changing behaviours can be challenging. Individuals could design and build their own personalised digital interventions to help them reach their goals, but little is known about this process. Building upon previous research we propose the Behaviour Change with Trigger-Action Programming (BC-TAP) model which describes how individuals could bridge the gap between their current and desired behaviour through the creation of 'Do-It-Yourself' (DIY) digital interventions. We conducted a two-day participatory workshop based on the BC-TAP model with 28 participants. Participants articulated plans to change a behaviour of their choice and represented these plans in mobile device automations. After using their interventions for up to three weeks, participants reflected on their experience. Our findings report opportunities and challenges at each stage of the process. While formulating a digital proxy for certain behaviours was challenging, both failures and successes facilitated participants' awareness of their behaviour, and their ability to change it.

Democratic literacy: Challenges and opportunities to engage youth participatory in the age of digital media

This study endeavors to ascertain the challenges and opportunities in democracy literacy to foster active youth engagement in the digital media age. Through the implementation of Focus Group Discussions and participatory workshops involving a cohort of 17 participants, comprising eight student journalists and nine non-student journalists, who are poised to exercise their voting rights for the first time during the forthcoming 2024 elections, the research outcomes divulge that disparities exist in the democratic perspectives of student and non-student journalists, primarily due to their contrasting experiences. Nevertheless, both groups concur that a solid understanding of democratic principles empowers them to partake in the democratic process. In the digital media era context, four notable challenges emerge in democratic literacy: hoax oasis, politician stigmatization, idiot discussion engagement, and political apathy engagement. Conversely, two prospective avenues for bolstering democratic literacy are identified: information oasis and reigniting youth participation. These identified challenges and opportunities serve as fundamental pillars for formulating effective democratic literacy strategies in the digital era, thereby fostering increased participation of young voters in democratic practices.

Collective Translation as Forking (分岔)

Together with a Taiwanese working group, we have been producing a Chinese translation of Aesthetic Programming: A Handbook of Software Studies, a free and open source book first written by Winnie Soon and Geoff Cox in 2020, and released in English in a git repository, dynamic website, downloadable PDF and printed form. Apart from learning to code in p5.js, the book addresses the cultural and aesthetic dimensions of programming from its insides, as a means to think and act critically, and to understand the importance of programming as a cultural practice that can develop discussion of issues that are relatively under-acknowledged in technical subjects such as gender, race and sexuality. Importantly, the book is understood as a computational object, not released as a fixed and universal teaching resource, but rather a situated curriculum with the potential for extension and customization with other arts and coding communities. The use of Git has allowed the authors to formalize its production as an iterative process, allowing for reversioning and for others to fork a copy and customize with different references, examples, critical reflections and even new chapters. The interest is in forking a book like forking software, and incorporating local knowledge and examples, and how this resonates with a politics of cultural translation. This essay will elaborate on the process of running two open participatory workshops that were conducted in Taipei and London (in 2023) with the aim to challenge some of the normative social relations of production associated with translation, and explore other possibilities of collective practice. The politics of translation has been well-established in general, but what of the specifics of translating a book such as this? Aside from the technical and aesthetic challenges and implications, this raises the question of how the Chinese language model enforces particular hegemonic worldviews that occlude differences. With all the variants of Chinese language, how is this tied to expressions of colonial power that resonates with our use of English? Given the rich variations of Chinese and indigenous languages (not least in a Taiwanese context), we are curious how we might be sensitive to language diversity that challenges the Western-centrism of programming in English (and inherent nationalisms). We are also mindful of the way that “queer” politics has informed the way that terms can be appropriated/expropriated, as a means to “talk back” to the source codes of oppression. What are the implications of drawing the practices of forking and translating together?

Compliance with COVID-19 government guidance and rules by disabled people and people from minoritised ethnic groups: Qualitative findings from the CICADA study.

Within the 2020/21 CICADA (Coronavirus Intersectionalities: Chronic Conditions or Disabilities and Migrants and other Ethnic minorities) study, we explored full, partial or noncompliance with government COVID-19 infection-containment measures by people from minoritised ethnic groups with a disabling health condition or impairment. We used an assets-based intersectional approach and purposive sampling, included non-disabled and White British comparators, and trained community co-researchers to help us reach undocumented migrants and asylum seekers. We undertook 271 semi-structured qualitative interviews, followed by participatory workshops with interviewees to explore data and changes in experiences five and 10 months after the interviews. Perceiving their vulnerability to COVID-19, most participants quickly and often zealously adopted infection-containment behaviours, and continued this after restrictions were lifted. This could reduce mental wellbeing, especially in community-facing cultures, and could create family conflict. Various structural inequities impeded compliance. Many, especially undocumented migrants, felt imprisoned. The intersection of gender, citizenship, socioeconomic status and culture impacted disclosures of COVID-19 infection, support seeking and use. Many were unclear what was safe as well as unsafe. People complained that disability and cultural considerations were omitted from policymaking. Participants mostly had taken the COVID-19 vaccine by October 2022, but ethnic minority participants needed time to deliberate and trusted, community-embedded information whereas White British participants were mostly influenced by mass media. The intersection of health condition or impairment, poverty, and living alone led to more non-compliance with general rules, and more vaccine hesitancy than did misinformation spread through ethnic community channels. Many participants were reluctant to reintegrate in May 2022 because of continued perceived vulnerability to COVID-19 but by September 2022 = seemed more concerned about the economic crisis. We add two new 'types' to existing compliance typologies: deliberators (who eventually decide to follow the rules), and 'necessity-driven non-compliers' who are totally unable to comply because of their disabilities.

A mixed-methods approach exploring acceptability and feasibility of trials designed to test drugs targeting prevention of post-traumatic osteoarthritis after knee injury.

To explore key stakeholder views around feasibility and acceptability of trials seeking to prevent post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) following knee injury, and provide guidance for next steps in PTOA trial design. Healthcare professionals, clinicians, and/or researchers (HCP/Rs) were surveyed, and the data were presented at a congress workshop. A second and related survey was then developed for people with joint damage caused by knee injury and/or osteoarthritis (PJDs), who were approached by a UK Charity newsletter or Oxford involvement registry. Anonymized data were collected and analyzed in Qualtrics. Survey responses (n = 19 HCP/Rs, 39 PJDs) supported studies testing pharmacological agents preventing PTOA. All HCP/Rs and 30/31 (97%) PJDs supported the development of new treatments that improved or delayed knee symptoms and damage to knee structure. PJDs thought that improving structural knee damage was more important than knee symptoms. Both groups found studies more acceptable as expected future benefit and risk of PTOA increased. All drug delivery routes were acceptable. Workshop participants (around n = 60) reflected survey views. Discussions suggested that stratifying using molecular testing for likely drug response appeared to be more acceptable than using characteristics such as sex, age, and BMI. Our findings supported PTOA drug intervention studies, including situations where there is low risk of disease, no expected benefit of treatment, and frequent treatment administration. PJDs appeared less risk-averse than HCP/Rs. This work reinforces the benefits of consensus and involvement work in the co-creation of PTOA drug trial design. Involvement of key stakeholders, such as PJDs with different risks of OA and regulatory representatives, are critical for trial design success.

Learning design for short-duration e-textile workshops: outcomes on knowledge and skills

AbstractE-textiles provide an interesting field of research as they “blend traditional craft with modern science” (Peppler, 2016) and help learners “broaden their own perceptions of computing” (Searle et al., 2016). Despite the promising findings by primarily long-term interventions structured around e-textiles, educational curriculum reform has been slow to materialize. Educators who embrace a STEAM philosophy are more likely to endorse short workshops, integrating them in existing courses or initiatives; this could serve as a steppingstone for longer interventions and bottom-up curriculum reform. This study examines whether shorter e-textile workshops (lasting four hours) can result in significant gains in understanding. We present an investigation of e-textiles with 22 young children who have no prior experience with e-textiles or working with microprocessors. We present details of our learning design, as well as findings related to circuitry knowledge and computational making skills. We find that the children advanced their circuitry knowledge and practice a range of computational making skills. We further document a series of emerging challenges, including the children’s unwillingness to engage or lack of adeptness with software, a tension between aesthetics and construction, creativity limited by samples of previous e-textile projects, and the difficulty in grasping the materiality of e-textiles. We propose that some direct instruction and facilitation is not incompatible with the making ethos; the approach can help address these challenges, allowing young children to benefit from their participation in short-duration e-textile workshops.

Tracing gender variation in traditional knowledge: participatory tools to promote conservation in a Quilombola community in Brazil

BackgroundBased on participatory research tools and analysis with a gender focus, we aim to identify the knowledge associated with native plants of the Atlantic Forest in one Quilombola community whose territory is juxtaposed with a protected area, in South Brazil.MethodsThrough the perception of the residents of the Quilombola community of São Roque, we classified the availability, harvesting intensity, abundance, and importance of fourteen plants native to the Atlantic Forest found in their territory. These fourteen plants were selected after initial interviews with a free listing of plants done with all adults (44 people), followed by plant collection and identification. A participatory workshop was built with the community to collect data through three activities: four-cell tool, environment matrix, and importance matrix. To identify the gender nuances in the knowledge within this community, all activities were separated into two groups based on the gender of the 22 participants (9 women and 13 men) and the researchers.ResultsThe species Pau-pra-tudo (Picrasma crenata), Quina (Coutarea hexandra), and Cipó-milome (Aristolochia triangularis) were similarly classified as important by both groups, which indicates the cultural and environmental relevance associated with them regardless of gender. The perceptions of other species were expressed differently between the groups, showing the variance of the ecological knowledge and the relationship between the sociocultural contexts of gender and the knowledge manifested. The final part of the workshop was a lecture given by two community experts about herbal medicines based on forest species found in the territory.ConclusionsBased on the multiple forms of results recorded in the workshop, we discuss the demand for inclusion of the traditional community in land management plans of environmental agencies, highlighting how individual characteristics, such as gender, can fill gaps in data about local biodiversity.

No room! Of course there’s room

This article is an adaptation of a workshop provocation given at the University of the Arts London (UAL) Education Conference in July 2023, which I set up as an ‘Alice in Wonderland’ ‘Mad Hatter’s’ table. I dressed the table on theme and equipped it with props, as a set to share with fellow educators a focus group project I had undertaken with students on overcrowding in their college art studios. I held up the lack of room in the studios as a social justice issue for exploration, first, as the inflation of numbers and knock-on impact of overcrowding of studios felt by students was acknowledged as result of over-recruitment to the course during and post pandemic; and second, exploring the question of whether minority students are most impacted; including those who are less confident to claim space due to factors such as accessibility, language barriers, financial issues and lack of peer support within the course. By putting workshop participants in the position of taking a seat at a fictional table space, loaded with caricature, I sought to provoke a creative dialogue around positionality and our relationship to shared space, while contemplating anonymised transcripts of the focus group dialogue that had taken place with students around a different table earlier in the academic year. The workshop gave reference to the ideas of Nirmal Puwar regarding positionality and the negotiation of space; and to Mikhail Bakhtin when considering student utterances in the focus group dialogue.

Scaling up healthy eating in early childhood education and care: evaluation of the Appetite to Play capacity-building intervention.

The purpose of this study was to examine the dissemination of the healthy eating component of Appetite to Play at scale using the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework. The Appetite to Play capacity-building intervention is a set of evidence-informed implementation strategies aimed at enhancing the adoption of recommended practices for promoting healthy eating and active play in early years settings. The evaluation was pragmatic, employing both quantitative (surveys) and qualitative (interviews) data collection. The Appetite to Play intervention was delivered through in-person community-based workshops, virtual workshops, asynchronous e-learning and online resources. We received completed surveys from 1670 in-person workshop participants (96 % female), and twenty-three (all female) survey respondents also participated in a telephone interview. Approximately two-thirds of all participant groups were certified early childhood educators. Results indicated that Appetite to Play had high reach (25 867 individual website visits, 195 workshops delivered), effectiveness (significant increases in care provider's knowledge, confidence (P < 0·05) and high post-intervention intention to implement), adoption (11 % of educators in BC trained) and implementation (good alignment with implementation strategies and current practices), with a significant maintenance plan to support the intervention's future success. An evidence-based capacity-building intervention with an emphasis on training and provision of practical online resources can improve early years providers' knowledge, confidence and intention to implement recommended practices that promote healthy eating. Further research is needed to determine the impact on child-level outcomes and how parents can be supported in contributing to positive food environments.

The Impact of a Student-Taught Point-of-Care Ultrasound Workshop on Confidence in Medical and Pre-Medical Students

Background: The vast utilization of Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) across medical specialties has increased the need for enhanced undergraduate medical education in image acquisition and interpretation among medical students. However, challenges such as the need for a standardized medical school curriculum and limited trained faculty preceptors restrict its implementation. The literature highlights the potential of student-taught POCUS workshops in expanding access and enhancing learning. This study seeks to evaluate the efficacy of a student-run POCUS workshop for medical and pre-medical students. Methods: A prospective, cross-sectional study assessed the efficacy of first and second-year medical students teaching a POCUS workshop on the Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma (FAST) exam. Student workshop participants were asked to complete pre- and post-workshop surveys to assess their confidence in utilizing POCUS and identifying relevant organs and landmarks. Surveys employed a standardized five-point Likert Scale. Results: Of the 43 initial participants, 29 completed both surveys. Results showed a significant increase in self-reported ultrasound experience (1.7 to 3.2, p &lt; 0.001) and confidence in performing the FAST exam and organ identification (2.2-fold increase, p &lt; 0.001). Both medical and pre-medical student cohorts exhibited similar confidence improvements in confidence. Conclusion: This study supports the literature that student-taught POCUS programs may be a viable adjunct to an institution's ultrasound curriculum. Implementing medical student-led workshops could help address current training gaps, enhance students' teaching and leadership skills, and improve confidence in utilizing and interpreting ultrasound images.

Unintended consequences of health and safety interventions in fisheries

AbstractFishing communities globally continue to face poor health and safety outcomes, driving the expansion of fisheries occupational health and safety (OHS) interventions. However, narrowly focused OHS interventions that neglect the social and structural determinants of health may have unintended consequences. We illustrate this problem through a case study from the UK where a recent OHS intervention, the introduction of compulsory medical certificates to all commercial fishers, led to unforeseen negative impacts. Through analysis of data from interviews, focus groups and a participatory workshop in Cornwall, UK, we highlight three key findings. First, while seeking to improve safety at sea, the regulatory change actually had negative consequences for fishers' health, their access to healthcare and potentially even their safety. Second, a mismatch between the requirements of the regulation and fishers' lived experience undermined the efforts of health promotion and outreach activities. Third, a failure to account for the implications for different sectors of the fleet has contributed to mistrust that may have ramifications for future fisheries governance activity. Our research brings to the fore important implications for the design of OHS regimes in fisheries. These include the broadening of OHS approaches to consider fishers' wider health and well‐being; engagement of fishers in the development and implementation of OHS interventions to account for their lived experiences of health and safety at sea and better integrate their knowledge; support for bottom‐up fisher‐led initiatives aimed at managing health and safety at sea; and improved coordination between agencies responsible for different areas of fisheries governance.

Examining sustained sub-national health system development: experience from the Western Cape Province, South Africa, 1994-2016.

Governance and leadership are recognized as central to health system development in low- and middle-income countries, yet few existing studies consider the influence of multilevel governance systems. South Africa is one of the many (quasi-)federal states. Provincial governments have responsibility for managing health care delivery within national policy frameworks and norms. The early post-apartheid period saw country-wide efforts to address the apartheid legacy of health system inequity and inefficiency, but health system transformation subsequently stalled in many provinces. In contrast, the Western Cape provincial health department sustained service delivery reform and strengthened management processes over the period 1994-2016. This department can be considered a 'pocket of relative bureaucratic effectiveness': an organizational entity that, compared to others, is relatively effective in carrying out its functions in pursuit of the public good. This paper considers what factors enabled the development of the Western Cape health system in the period 1994-2016. Two phases of data collection entailed document review, participatory workshops, 43 in-depth interviews with purposively selected key informants from inside and outside the Western Cape and a structured survey testing initial insights (response rate 42%). Analysis included triangulation across data sets, comparison between the Western Cape and other provincial experience and deeper reflection on these experiences drawing on POE theory and public administration literature. The analysis highlights the Western Cape experience of stable and astute sub-national governance and leadership and the deepening of administrative and technical capacity over time-within a specific provincial historical and political economy context that sustained the separation of political and administrative powers. Multilevel governance systems can create the space for sub-national POEs to emerge in their mediation of wider political economy forces, generating spaces for skilled reform leaders to act in the public interest, support the emergence of distributed leadership and develop robust management processes.

Vaccination governance in protracted conflict settings: the case of northwest Syria

BackgroundEffective vaccination governance in conflict-affected regions poses unique challenges. This study evaluates the governance of vaccination programs in northwest Syria, focusing on effectiveness, efficiency, inclusiveness, data availability, vision, transparency, accountability, and sustainability.MethodsUsing a mixed-methods approach, and adapting Siddiqi’s framework for health governance, data were collected through 14 key informant interviews (KIIs), a validating workshop, and ethnographic observations. Findings were triangulated to provide a comprehensive understanding of vaccination governance.ResultsThe study highlights innovative approaches used to navigate the complex health governance landscape to deliver vaccination interventions, which strengthened sub-national vaccination structures such as The Syria Immunisation Group (SIG). The analysis revealed several key themes. Effectiveness and efficiency were demonstrated through cold-chain reliability and extensive outreach activities, though formal reports lacked detailed analysis of vaccine losses and linkage between disease outbreak data and coverage statistics. Key informants and workshop participants rated the vaccination strategy positively but identified inefficiencies due to irregular funding and bureaucracy. Inclusiveness and data availability were prioritised, with outreach activities targeting vulnerable groups. However, significant gaps in demographic data and reliance on paper-based systems hindered comprehensive coverage analysis. Digitalisation efforts were noted but require further support. The SIG demonstrated a clear strategic vision supported by international organizations such as the World Health Organization, yet limited partner participation in strategic planning raised concerns about broader ownership and engagement. While the SIG was perceived as approachable, the lack of public documentation and financial disclosure limited transparency. Internal information sharing was prevalent, but public communication strategies were insufficient. Accountability and sustainability faced challenges due to a decentralized structure and reliance on diverse donors. Despite stabilizing factors such as decentralization and financial continuity, fragmented oversight and reliance on donor funding remained significant concerns.DiscussionThe study highlights the complexities of vaccination governance in conflict-affected areas. Comparisons with other conflict zones underscore the importance of local organisations and international support. The SIG’s role is pivotal, but its legitimacy, transparency, and inclusivity require improvement. The potential transition to early recovery in Syria poses additional challenges to SIG’s sustainability and integration into national programs.ConclusionThe governance of vaccination in northwest Syria is multifaceted, involving multiple stakeholders and lacking a legitimate government. Enhancing transparency, local ownership, and participatory decision-making are crucial for improving governance. The role of international bodies is essential, emphasising the need for structured feedback mechanisms and transparent monitoring processes to ensure the program’s success and sustainability.

Political disaffection or institutional adultcentrism? Youth perceptions of adult hegemony in institutional politics and policies

ABSTRACT The relationship between young people and public institutions has traditionally attracted a lot of attention. In particular, there has been much discussion about the idea of youth political disaffection. In recent years, the literature seems to agree that this disaffection of the new generations is fundamentally oriented towards the institutional political system. Studies on institutional disaffection have tended to look at the characteristics, transformations and situations experienced by young people themselves. However, the role that public institutions play in producing this distancing has hardly been examined. In this article, we aim to determine whether the theoretical tool of adultcentrism, as a hegemony that places young people in a peripheral position, helps us understand these processes. We use data from focus groups and participatory workshops in the city of Barcelona to analyse to what extent the distancing of young people from institutions is shaped by perceptions and discourses that assume or react to the marginal position that youth have in the institutional system. By basing this analysis on adultcentric forms of governance, we aim to understand both how such perspectives are constructed by young people through their interaction with institutions, and also how these perceptions become generalised discourses among youth.

Using exploratory modeling to challenge narratives of risk governance in Mexico City.

Achieving more sustainable adaptation to social-environmental change demands the transformation of the narratives that provide the rationale for risk governance. These narratives often reflect long-standing beliefs about social and political relationships, ascribe actions and responsibilities, and specify solutions to risk. When such solutions are implemented through material investments in landscapes, these narratives become embedded in physical infrastructure with long legacies. Dominant narratives can mask a range of divergent problem framings. By masking alternatives, narratives can contribute to the persistence of unsustainable governance trajectories. Decision-support tools have begun to represent narratives as drivers of system dynamics; making narratives visible can reveal opportunities for more sustainable governance. We present the results of the project "The Dynamics of Multi-Scalar Adaptation in the Megalopolis", a dynamic, exploratory model of socio-hydrological risks in Mexico City that was designed to both endogenize and simultaneously challenge the dominant narratives that characterize water-risk governance in the city. Qualitative data characterize dominant narratives at city and borough scales. An agent-based model, informed by multicriteria decision analysis and coupled with hydrological, urbanization, and climatic model inputs, permitted the development of exploratory governance scenarios designed to challenge dominant narratives. Scenarios revealed how dominant narratives may contribute to the persistence of vulnerability "hotspots" in the city, despite stated goals of equity and vulnerability alleviation. Participatory workshops with representatives of the city government illustrate how making such narratives visible through exploratory modeling can lead to a questioning of prior assumptions and causal relations, recognition of a need for intersectoral collaboration, and insights into potential management strategies.

Diagnosing communities’ childcare friendliness: case studies of two South Korean cities

ABSTRACT As the low birth rate in Korea is a pressing issue, enhancing children’s quality of life and creating a favorable childcare environment have become crucial national priorities. This study defines the concepts of childcare friendliness and a childcare-friendly community and develops a mixed-method framework to diagnose communities’ childcare friendliness. Specifically, it integrates neighborhood-level quantitative measures of the supply levels and physical accessibility of childcare-related infrastructure, along with a qualitative survey of residents’ needs and participatory workshops on their ideal childcare-friendly communities. The diagnostic framework of the study was applied to two distinctive urban-rural consolidated cities, Namyangju, including new cities, and Gongju, dominant in rural areas. The results show intercity and intracity spatial disparities in the current status and desired future of childcare-friendly communities in both cities. The concept, methodological framework, and results of this study can help local governments and communities identify unique issues with neighborhood childcare and formulate locally tailored policies and urban/regional plans towards a society conducive to child rearing and development.

Positive Energy Districts: Fundamentals, Assessment Methodologies, Modeling and Research Gaps

The definition, characterization and implementation of Positive Energy Districts is crucial in the path towards urban decarbonization and energy transition. However, several issues still must be addressed: the need for a clear and comprehensive definition, and the settlement of a consistent design approach for Positive Energy Districts. As emerged throughout the workshop held during the fourth edition of Smart and Sustainable Planning for Cities and Regions Conference (SSPCR 2022) in Bolzano (Italy), further critical points are also linked to the planning, modeling and assessment steps, besides sustainability aspects and stakeholders’ involvement. The “World Café” methodology adopted during the workshop allowed for simple—but also effective and flexible—group discussions focused on the detection of key PED characteristics, such as morphologic, socio-economic, demographic, technological, quality-of-life and feasibility factors. Four main work groups were defined in order to allow them to share, compare and discuss around five main PED-related topics: energy efficiency, energy flexibility, e-mobility, soft mobility, and low-carbon generation. Indeed, to properly deal with PED challenges and crucial aspects, it is necessary to combine and balance these technologies with enabler factors like financing instruments, social innovation and involvement, innovative governance and far-sighted policies. This paper proposes, in a structured form, the main outcomes of the co-creation approach developed during the workshop. The importance of implementing a holistic approach was highlighted: it requires a systematic and consistent integration of economic, environmental and social aspects directly connected to an interdisciplinary cross-sectorial collaboration between researchers, policymakers, industries, municipalities, and citizens. Furthermore, it was reaffirmed that, to make informed and reasoned decisions throughout an effective PED design and planning process, social, ecological, and cultural factors (besides merely technical aspects) play a crucial role. Thanks to the valuable insights and recommendations gathered from the workshop participants, a conscious awareness of key issues in PED design and implementation emerged, and the fundamental role of stakeholders in the PED development path was confirmed.

Meningkatkan Akses Pendidikan Masyarakat melalui Workshop Gratis: Program Pengabdian untuk Masyarakat

Learning is a right for every individual. However, many people are still unable to pursue education to the fullest. The field of information technology is currently in high demand. Yet, many Indonesians cannot study this field due to various reasons, such as financial constraints and limited access. Recognizing this, Hacktiv8, in collaboration with the Semarang Android Developer Centre (SANDEC), has organized a free online workshop event for the community members who wish to learn about information technology but lack adequate resources. Through this program, workshop participants receive basic training in Android development, equipping them with relevant skills to compete in the digital era.

Feasibility Assessment of a Novel Isolation Care Tent in Uganda During the 2022 Sudan ebolavirus Outbreak.

This case study describes a feasibility assessment of a novel isolation care tent used in health facilities in Uganda during the 2022 Sudan ebolavirus outbreak. The Isolation System for Treatment and Agile Response to High-Risk Infections Model 1B (ISTARI 1B) is a single-occupancy, portable, negative-pressure isolation tent designed for the safe delivery of standard care to patients with a communicable disease, including Ebola disease (Sudan). At the request of the Uganda Ministry of Health, the Makerere University Infectious Diseases Institute and University of Nebraska Medical Center partnered to evaluate 7 health facilities across 4 districts in Uganda for infrastructure, case management, and infection prevention and control (IPC) capacity relevant to isolation care and ISTARI 1B use. A 3-day workshop was held with IPC leaders to provide familiarization and hands-on experience with the ISTARI 1B, delineate appropriate use scenarios in Ugandan healthcare settings, contextualize ISTARI 1B use in case management and IPC workflows, develop a framework for site assessment and implementation readiness, and consider ongoing monitoring, assessment, and intervention tools. Workshop participants performed a comprehensive site assessment and mock deployment of the ISTARI 1B. In this case study, we describe lessons learned from health facility assessments and workshop outcomes and offer recommendations to support successful ISTARI 1B implementation. Use scenarios and implementation strategies were identified across facility levels, including tools for site assessment, training, risk communication, and ongoing quality and safety monitoring.