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Responding to the current data monopoly by Big Tech firms, there is increasing interest in the potential for collective ownership of data in a ‘data commons’. This article aims to introduce the topic to non-specialists, highlight the broader social significance of data ownership, and reframe the data commons as a problem of social interaction rather than regulatory design. It critically engages with existing work on the data commons to suggest alternative directions for research which draw on humanities and interpretive social science approaches. It recommends the addition of research that (1) includes knowledge from non-Western legal traditions to overcome objections to the possibility of data ownership, (2) studies existing social relations of data governance rather than seeks to design ideal regulations, (3) prioritises a focus on the social and communicative practices involved in a data commons rather than seeing it as a solution to a specific problem, and (4) analyses the meaning-making practices of people as they engage in their own data governance, and the evolving narrative around what constitutes a data commons. The purpose of this alternative research agenda is to provide discursive scaffolding for the ongoing regulatory work on the data commons, while ensuring that its full potential remains imaginatively open.

There is evidence to show that Chinese companies, with some state credit backing, are selling digital surveillance technologies to developing countries, which are then sometimes used in authoritarian practices. However, there is little direct evidence to show that surveillance technologies sold by Chinese companies have more authoritarian potential than the technologies sold by non-Chinese companies. Some researchers define “surveillance technologies” as including any form of digital infrastructure. There is data to show that developing country governments are contracting Chinese companies to build digital infrastructures. Other researchers define “surveillance technologies” as smart city projects. It is estimated that in 2019, Chinese smart city technologies have been purchased in over 100 countries worldwide. Other researchers look at more specific elements of smart cities: There are estimates that the “AI surveillance” components of smart cities have been purchased in 47-65 countries worldwide, and the “data integration” security platforms in at least 80 countries. None of these figures imply anything about how these technologies are used. The “dual use” nature of these technologies means that they can have both legitimate civilian and public safety uses as well as authoritarian control uses. There is evidence of some governments in Africa using Chinese surveillance technologies to spy on political opponents and arrest protesters. Some authors say that some Chinese smart city projects are actually not very effective, but still provide governments with a “security aesthetic”. Research also shows that Chinese smart city technologies have been sold mostly to illiberal regimes. However, in the wider context, there is also ample evidence of non-Chinese surveillance technologies contributing to authoritarian control in developing countries. There is also evidence that UK companies sell surveillance technologies to mostly illiberal regimes. Some reports consulted for this rapid review imply that Chinese surveillance technologies are more likely to be used for authoritarian control than those sold by non-Chinese companies. This analysis is largely based on circumstantial rather than direct evidence. They rely on prior judgements, which are themselves subject to ongoing enquiry in the literature: Almost all of the reports consulted for this rapid review say that the most important factor determining whether governments in developing countries will deploy a particular technology for repressive purposes is the quality of governance in the country. No reports were found in the literature reviewed of Chinese state pressure on developing countries to adopt surveillance technologies, and there were some anecdotal reports of officials in developing countries saying they did not come under any pressure to buy from Chinese companies.

This article examines the international and domestic pressures that shape the governance of personal data in the Global South. As developing countries become new terrain for the expansion of US Big...

“Social movements” are by definition informal or semi-formal, as opposed to the formal structure of a stable association, such as a club, a corporation, or a political party. They are relatively long lasting over a period of weeks, months, or even years rather than flaring up for a few hours or a few days and then disappearing (Smelser et al., 2020). There is a substantial and growing body of work dedicated to social movements, encompassing a wide range of views about how to define them (Smelser et al., 2020). This is complicated by the use of other terms which shade into the idea of “social movements”, such as grass-roots mobilisation/ movements, non-traditional civil society organisations, voluntary organisations, civic space, new civic activism, active citizenship, to name a few. There is also an implied informality to the term “social movements”, so that the research for this rapid review used both “social movement” and “informal social movement”. Thus this rapid review seeks to find out what approaches do donors use to support “informal social movements” in their programming, and what evidence do they base their strategies on. The evidence found during the course of this rapid review was drawn from both the academic literature, and think-tank and donor reports. The academic literature found was extremely large and predominantly drawn from single case studies around the world, with few comparative studies. The literature on donor approaches found from both donors and think tanks was not consistently referenced to research evidence but tended to be based on interviews with experienced staff and recipients.

A “systems thinking” (ST) approach generally recognises that international development processes are complex, inter-related, non-linear, and constantly changing. They involve many different types of actors, all with different levels of power. ST change methods try to mirror these qualities, and move away from more conventional project design and implementation that use simple linear input-output-impact project logic. Thus, this rapid literature review seeks to find out what are some examples of ‘systems thinking’ projects in international development. The aim of this rapid review is to provide concrete examples of how ST shows up in the project design and management processes that are typically used by people working in the international development sector. These include project management arrangements, evaluation indicators, results frameworks, budget allocations and procurement, country diagnostics, and the foundational analysis that informs project design. The examples found were mostly extracted from donor project documents. Different definitions of ST may emphasise different elements. An attempt was made to find a range of projects from different sectors, and to go beyond projects that exemplified “Market Systems Development” and “Adaptive Management,” for which there are already repositories of project examples (see Further Resources).The inclusion of the projects in this review does not imply that they were successful, only that they contain some evidence of ST in them. Most of the projects identified have a further library of documents, including evaluations, that give more detailed information about their successes and failures.

The clearest overall message from across the literature is that designing human resources for health (HRH) initiatives should begin by understanding the needs of a health system or population rather than choosing a specific strategy. In other words, there are no strategies that are universally effective, only strategies that are more or less appropriate to their context. One group of experienced researchers note the “difficulty in predicting how effective a strategy will be in a given context” (Rowe et al, 2018b). Another states that “in 2006, the World Health Report observed that a ‘solution is not straightforward, and there is no consensus on how to proceed.’ This observation remains true in 2020” (Kerry et al., 2020, p.1). The appetite for evidence-based solutions to the health workforce crisis in low-and-middle-income-countries (LMICs) has driven a large research effort to compare different strategies across multiple contexts. The most comprehensive to date, the Health Care Provider Performance Review (HCPPR), offers some findings, but the authors themselves are tentative in their recommendations given the methodological complexity of the research task.

Objectives: People with substance use disorders (SUD) are suggested to have higher risk of hospitalization, intubation, or death from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), although data are mixed. Little is known about other COVID-19-related complications in this group. We compared morbidity and mortality among individuals with and without SUD who were admitted to an urban safety net hospital with COVID-19 early in the pandemic, contemporaneous to other published studies on this subject. Methods: We performed a retrospective study of patients ⩾18 years old admitted with COVID-19 from March 16th to April 8th, 2020. SUD included alcohol, opioid, cocaine, amphetamine, and benzodiazepine use disorders and was identified using diagnostic codes, free text clinical documentation, and urine drug screens. The primary outcome was inpatient mortality. Secondary outcomes included clinical complications (eg, secondary infections, venous thromboembolism) and resource utilization (eg, mechanical ventilation, length of stay). We used multivariable regression to assess the relationship between SUD and mortality. Results: Of 409 patients, the mean age was 56 years and 13.7% had SUD. Those with SUD were more likely to be male, have experienced homelessness, have pulmonary disease or hepatitis C, or use tobacco or cannabis. After multivariable analysis, SUD was not associated with mortality (aOR 1.03; 95% CI, 0.31-3.10). Secondary outcomes were also similar between groups. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that persons with and without SUD have similar COVID-19-related outcomes. Previously reported increased COVID-19 complications may be from medical comorbidities.

Background Individuals with low socioeconomic status experience higher prevalence and worse outcomes of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We undertook a quality improvement initiative at our safety net hospital in which a nurse practitioner (NP)/community health worker (CHW) team followed patients with COPD, frequent admissions, and unmet SDOH needs from hospitalization through one month post-discharge. We report our mixed methods approach to inform development and preliminary evaluation of this intervention. Methods We first assessed characteristics of patients admitted with COPD in 2018 (n = 1811), performing multivariable logistic regression to identify factors associated with ≥ 2 admissions per year. We then tested a standardized tool to screen for unmet SDOH needs in a convenience sample of 51 frequently hospitalized patients with COPD. From January–July 2019, we pilot tested the NP/CHW intervention with 57 patients, reviewed NP/CHW logs, and conducted qualitative interviews with 16 patient participants to explore impressions of the intervention. Results Patients with Medicaid insurance, mental health disorders, cardiac disease, and substance use disorder had increased odds of having ≥ 2 admissions. COPD severity, comorbidities, and unmet SDOH needs made COPD self-management challenging. Seventy-four percent of frequently admitted patients with COPD completing SDOH screening had unmet SDOH needs. Patients perceived that the NP/CHW intervention addressed these barriers by connecting them to resources and providing emotional support. Conclusions Many patients with COPD admitted at our safety-net hospital experience unmet SDOH needs that impede COPD self-management. A longitudinal NP/CHW intervention to address unmet SDOH needs following discharge appears feasible and acceptable.

This rapid review updates a previous report (Fraser and Martineau-Searle, 2018) with evidence from 2018 onwards. It finds an evidence base on online gender-based violence (OGBV) covering a wider range of countries than the previous report. Some key findings on the nature and prevalence of OGBV include: The most recent surveys show a prevalence of OGBV ranging from 16% to 58%; Men and boys also experience online abuse in high numbers, but it is less likely to be gender-based; Several studies from different countries identify Facebook as the top location for incidents of OGBV; Higher levels of online harassment and abuse are faced by people with intersecting inequality factors; According to victim-survivors, perpetrators are more likely to be unknown and acting alone, but large numbers are known to the victims. Perpetrators themselves report divergent, multifaceted and often over-lapping motivations for their actions; Analysis of underlying drivers of OGBV highlights an overarching theme of power and control, and heteronormative expectations around gender roles and sexual practice. Many authors recommend that OGBV be understood as part of a continuum of abuse where normalised behaviours, such as sexual harassment in public spaces, shade into behaviours widely recognized as criminal, such as physical assault. The societal impact of OGBV includes: Media freedom is compromised; Democracy being undermined; Economic losses resulting from lost productivity; A ‘climate of unsafety’ prevails. Evidence base: The number of surveys about self-reported experiences with online harassment has increased rapidly. The majority of the research found during the course of this rapid review came from international and domestic non-governmental organisations and think-tanks. Academic research studies were also found, including several literature reviews.

Are international human rights treaties associated with better rights performance? The appetite for a conclusive answer has driven a number of large scale quantitative studies that have broadly shown little or no effect, and sometimes even a backsliding. However, the headline conclusions belie much more complicated findings, and the research methods used are controversial. These issues undermine confidence in the findings. Comparative and individual case studies allow for more detailed information about how domestic human rights activists use international human rights laws in practice. They tend to be more positive about the effect of treaties, but they are not as systematic as the quantitative work. Some indirect measures of treaty effect show that the norms contained within them filter down into domestic constitutions, and that the process of human rights reporting at the UN may be useful if dialogue can be considered an a priori good. It is likely that states are driven to comply with human rights obligations through a combination of dynamic influences. Drivers of compliance with international law is a major, unresolved question in the research that is heavily influenced by the worldview of researchers. The two strongest findings are: Domestic context drives compliance. In particular: (1) The strength of domestic non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and links with international NGOs (INGOs), and (2) in partial and transitioning democracies where locals have a reason to use the treaties as tools to press their claims. External enforcement may help drive compliance when: (1) other states link human rights obligations in the treaties to preferential trade agreements, and (2) INGOs ‘name and shame’ human rights violations, possibly reducing inward investment flows from companies worried about their reputation. Scholars also identify intermediate effects of continued dialogue and norm socialisation from the UN’s human rights reporting processes. Interviews with diplomats involved in UN reporting say that the process is more effective when NGOs and individual governments are involved.

A relatively small number of countries have an explicit “Feminist Foreign Policy” (FFP). Those most often cited are Sweden, Canada, France, Mexico, and Spain. In theory, an FFP moves beyond gender mainstreaming in foreign development assistance to include: (1) a wider range of external actions, including defence, trade and diplomacy (2) a wider range of marginalised people, not just women. Within foreign development assistance, it implies a more coherent and systematically institutionalised approach to gender mainstreaming. In practice, those countries with an explicit FFP implement it in different ways. Canada currently focuses on development assistance, France on development assistance and formal diplomacy, Sweden more comprehensively covers the trade and defence policy arenas. Mexico and Spain are yet to produce detailed implementation plans. There is increasing academic interest in FFP, but most analyses found during the course of this rapid review focus on narrative content of policies rather than impact. Policy advocacy and advice is provided by several high-profile advocacy organisations. National government agencies in Sweden, France and Canada have produced some evaluations of their FFP, but the evidence is weak. There are many international institution evaluations of gender mainstreaming for many different sectors that are context-specific.

This rapid review synthesises the literature on the environmental risks of four different aspects of digital transformation in developing countries: ICT adoption, digitally-enabled energy efficiency, ride-hailing apps, and big data use. The overall message which runs throughout the diverse literatures and results is that it is not digital technologies that create environmental risks or opportunities, but how they are used. Efficiency gains derived from digital transformation may yet lead developing countries down existing unsustainable development paths if not accompanied by careful, context-dependent policy. For policy-makers seeking to mitigate environmental risks, this means putting the context of digital use at the centre of analysis rather than the technologies themselves. However, the research literature covers more specific aspects of digital transformation. In practice, this report defines digital transformation as: ICT adoption, digitally-enabled energy efficiency, ride-hailing apps, and big data use. These topics were chosen after an initial scoping review of available literature, and because they exemplify a range of the different types of potential digital effects. The literature on the environmental risks of digital transformation is huge and conflicting. This is problematic because it could be easy to cherry pick preferred research results. Several studies noted that there is less research on developing countries than developed countries, but the evidence base is still large. As an evidence review, this report focused on the academic literature, but there is also a large grey literature. Some of the literature has a gender aspect, not covered in this report.

The purpose of this rapid review is to lay out some of the general approaches used by both business and government to tackle ‘modern slavery’ in international business supply chains, and locate evidence of their effectiveness International institutions have been encouraging large international businesses to tackle modern slavery by offering guidelines on how to investigate the issue in their supply chains (‘due diligence’), but their implementation, and ‘auditing’ is highly variable. National governments are increasingly mandating businesses through legislation to report on what they do. More recently, governments have begun imposing a legal duty of care on parent companies which means they can be held responsible for what their subsidiaries do. Key findings are: There is no consistency in how international companies currently implement the due diligence guidelines; The design of national disclosure legislation is generally judged to be flawed. There is medium compliance in terms of quantity of company reports and low compliance in terms of quality; The design of national disclosure legislation is generally judged to be flawed. There is medium compliance in terms of quantity of company reports and low compliance in terms of quality. Overall, the evidence on forced labour and modern slavery is recognised as being “dangerously thin and riddled with bias” (LeBaron, 2018, p.1). It is difficult to research directly because of its illegality, the involvement of powerful interests, and the potential to further endanger highly vulnerable workers. Nevertheless, there is a very large number of articles and reports written on the issue, particularly from the last five years. The main sources used in this review came from both grey literature and academic literature.

Cells modulate their homeostasis through the control of redox reactions via transmembrane electron transport systems. These are largely mediated via oxidoreductase enzymes. Their use in biology has been linked to a host of systems including reprogramming for energy requirements in cancer. Consequently, the ability to modulate membrane redox systems may give rise to opportunities to modulate underlying biology. The current work aims to develop a wireless bipolar electrochemical approach to form on-demand electron transfer across biological membranes. To achieve this goal, it is shown that by using membrane inserted carbon nanotube porins (CNTPs) that can act as bipolar nanoelectrodes, one can control electron flow with externally applied electric fields across membranes. Before this work, bipolar electrochemistry has been thought to require high applied voltages not compatible with biological systems. It is shown that bipolar electrochemical reaction via gold reduction at the nanotubes can be modulated at low cell-friendly voltages, providing an opportunity to use bipolar electrodes to control electron flux across membranes. The authors provide new mechanistic insight into this newly describe phenomena at the nanoscale. The results presented give rise to a new method using CNTPs to modulate cell behavior via wireless control of membrane electron transfer.

Introduction Substance use disorders (SUD) are chronic conditions that often warrant coordinated medical care throughout a relapsing and remitting course. However, SUD treatment is frequently measured as a binary outcome, where individuals either receive or do not receive care following the immediate treatment seeking event. This study aimed to describe longitudinal treatment seeking behaviors by assessing service use patterns among individuals with diagnosed SUDs in a safety net hospital that offers a “no wrong door” care model. This study also examined whether certain patient subgroups were more likely to transition to service use patterns that support recovery or treatment disengagement over time. Methods The team conducted a retrospective cohort study using electronic health record data from adult patients diagnosed with SUDs (n = 1157) who regularly accessed services at a safety net hospital over a five-year period. The study used latent class analysis (LCA) and latent profile analysis to empirically identify distinct treatment utilization profiles of individuals with SUDs. We used multinomial logistic regression to evaluate predictors of class membership and transitions over a five-year period. Results The research team identified five distinct service use classes, including patients who disengaged from services (42.4%), or those who predominantly used outpatient substance use services (7.0%), mental health services (13.0%), primary care services (24.7%), or other specialty care services (13.1%). Being female and an older adult were statistically significant predictors for membership in any service use–driven status. Black patients had increased odds for “substance use service” and “primary care” service statuses over time. Conclusion LCA and latent transition analysis (LTA) methods are novel approaches for identifying profiles of patients with higher risk for health services disengagement. SUD treatment engagement strategies are needed to reach males, young adults, and individuals with non-opioid SUDs.

Cells modulate their homeostasis through the control of redox reactions via transmembrane electron transport systems. These are largely mediated via oxidoreductase enzymes. Their use in biology has been linked to a host of systems including reprogramming for energy requirements in cancer. Consequently, our ability to modulate membrane redox systems may give rise to opportunities to modulate underlying biology. The current work aimed to develop a wireless bipolar electrochemical approach to form on-demand electron transfer across biological membranes. To achieve this goal, we show that using membrane inserted carbon nanotube porins that can act as bipolar nanoelectrodes, we could control electron flow with externally applied electric fields across membranes. Before this work, bipolar electrochemistry has been thought to require high applied voltages not compatible with biological systems. We show that bipolar electrochemical reaction via gold reduction at the nanotubes could be modulated at low cell-friendly voltages, providing an opportunity to use bipolar electrodes to control electron flux across membranes. Our observations present a new opportunity to use bipolar electrodes to alter cell behavior via wireless control of membrane electron transfer.

BACKGROUND Naso-orbitoethmoid fractures associated with ipsilateral zygomaticomaxillary complex fractures are more challenging injuries than zygomaticomaxillary complex fractures alone. However, there is a paucity of information on this complex fracture pattern in the pediatric population. This study investigated the cause, treatment, and outcomes of combined zygomaticomaxillary complex and naso-orbitoethmoid fractures versus isolated zygomaticomaxillary complex fractures in pediatric patients. METHODS This was a 25-year retrospective cohort study of pediatric patients who presented to a single institution with zygomaticomaxillary complex fractures. Baseline patient demographics and clinical information, and concomitant injuries, treatment/operative management, and postoperative complications/deformities were recorded and compared between patients with combined zygomaticomaxillary complex and naso-orbitoethmoid fractures and patients with isolated zygomaticomaxillary complex fractures. RESULTS Forty-nine patients were identified to have had zygomaticomaxillary complex fractures in the authors' 25-year study period, of whom 46 had adequate clinical documentation and follow-up. Seventeen patients had combined zygomaticomaxillary complex-naso-orbitoethmoid fractures, of whom six had panfacial fractures. Both patient groups (zygomaticomaxillary complex only and combined zygomaticomaxillary complex-naso-orbitoethmoid fractures) were similar in terms of demographics. However, a significantly greater proportion of combined fracture patients experienced postoperative complications compared to isolated zygomaticomaxillary complex fracture patients, even after excluding those with panfacial fractures (87.5 percent versus 35.3 percent; p < 0.001). Enophthalmos (37.5 percent) and midface growth restriction (37.5 percent) were the two most common complications/deformities in all combined fracture patients. CONCLUSIONS High-impact trauma can lead to zygomaticomaxillary complex fractures with associated naso-orbitoethmoid fractures in children. This injury pattern was found to cause significantly greater postoperative morbidity than isolated zygomaticomaxillary complex fractures alone. Thus, pediatric patients presenting with this complex facial fracture pattern should be closely monitored. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Risk, II.

This rapid review synthesises evidence on the role of gender in serious and organised/transnational crime (SOC) with regard to gender norms, participation and prevention. It looks at the literature on the roles women play in organised crime groups and their pathways to participation, the impact of cultural gender norms in different forms of participation for men and women in SOC, and the role of gender dynamics within families or communities in preventing SOC. Key Overall Findings linking gender norms, female participation and prevention of SOC: 1). Gender norms and women’s participation in SOC are varied and highly contextual, highlighting the importance of gender analysis to programming; 2). Gendered perceptions of men as perpetrators and women as victims in SOC undermine effective responses; and 3). Some types of masculine identity have been linked to involvement in violent crime and societal tolerance of organised crime groups. In Italy, some feminists characterise opposition to SOC as an anti-patriarchal struggle.

This rapid review synthesises the literature from academic, policy, and knowledge institution sources on how reform in customs procedures can facilitate international trade in environmental goods and services. Overall, it finds that there is a general belief in the literature from the World Trade Organization (WTO), International Trade Center and World Bank, that streamlining customs procedures supports international trade in environmental goods. There is survey evidence that firms exporting environmental goods encounter difficulties with customs procedures at the point of entry. Previous trade facilitation projects have not considered trade in environmental goods, so provide no evidence about what has or has not worked well. The evidence base identified during this literature review was extremely small, and came largely from international trade institutions such as the WTO or World Bank, or research organisations working with them. Most of the references to trade in EGS and customs procedures were mentioned in passing as mutually compatible without going into further detail. One of the few documents to combine trade in EGS with trade facilitation is not available for public viewing.

This review found no sources of straightforward indicators for use in measuring diplomatic influence. The literature and evaluations found to recommend the use of tailor-made evaluations to account for “differences in diplomatic settings, diplomatic activities and policy fields”. They hinge on developing a theory of change alongside questions and evaluation criteria that are context-specific. They rely on assessing intermediate goals as a ‘proxy’ for the immeasurable long-term influence, and causal contributions (contributed to a result) rather than causal attributions (caused a result). It was also frequently mentioned that programme designers tend to design programmes to support diplomatic influence without specific and measurable objectives because influencing processes are by nature non-linear. In these cases, evaluations will be correspondingly unable to provide specific and measurable indicators of achievement.

Bioelectronic medicine aims to interface electronic technology with biological components and design more effective therapeutic and diagnostic tools. Advances in nanotechnology have moved the field forward improving the seamless interaction between biological and electronic components. In the lab many of these nanobioelectronic devices have the potential to improve current treatment approaches, including those for cancer, cardiovascular disorders, and disease underpinned by malfunctions in neuronal electrical communication. While promising, many of these devices and technologies require further development before they can be successfully applied in a clinical setting. Here, we highlight recent work which is close to achieving this goal, including discussion of nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, and nanowires for medical applications. We also look forward toward the next decade to determine how current developments in nanotechnology could shape the growing field of bioelectronic medicine. This article is categorized under: Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Emerging Technologies Nanotechnology Approaches to Biology > Nanoscale Systems in Biology Diagnostic Tools > Biosensing.

Protein orientation in nanoparticle-protein conjugates plays a crucial role in binding to cell receptors and ultimately, defines their targeting efficiency. Therefore, understanding fundamental aspects of the role of protein orientation upon adsorption on the surface of nanoparticles (NPs) is vital for the development of clinically important protein-based nanomedicine. In this work, new insights on the effect of the different orientation of cytochrome c (cyt c) bound to gold nanoparticles (GNPs) using various ligands on its apoptotic activity is reported. Time-of-Flight Secondary-Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS), electrochemical and circular dichroism (CD) analyses are used to investigate the characteristics of cyt c orientation and structure on functionalized GNPs. These studies indicate that the orientation and position of the heme ring inside the cyt c structure can be altered by changing the surface chemistry on the NPs. A difference in the apoptosis inducing capability because of different orientation of cyt c bound to the GNPs is observed. These findings indicate that the biological activity of a protein can be modulated on the surface of NPs by varying its adsorption orientation. This study will impact on the rational design of new nanoscale biosensors, bioelectronics, and nanoparticle-protein based drugs. Keywords: gold nanoparticles, cytochrome c, orientation, apoptosis, peroxidase activity

This introduction to the fourth special issue ofAsiascape: Digital Asiadiscusses the complex interactions between technology and society in the context of ‘digital Asia’. The special issue is drawn from contributions to a conference held in May 2016 titled ‘Digital Disruption in Asia: Methods and Issues’. Inspired by the idea that the use of digital technologies is shaking up some major political and economic institutions, the conference aimed to see whether some of the same processes were playing out across Asia. But while the wording of its title focused on the impact of digital technologies in Asian societies, what emerged were much more complex stories detailing the different ways the technologies are used in their offline contexts. This introduction traces these stories, identifying some common elements of digitality that range from constant connectivity, to mobility, speed, and the potential to break down social and even disciplinary boundaries.

Hydrogen peroxide is a key component of the innate immune response, regulating how a cell responds to a bacterial threat; however, being transient in nature makes it extremely difficult to detect. We show the development of an improved biosensor capable of the rapid detection of the hydrogen peroxide produced intracellularly in response to both smooth and rough lipopolysaccharides (LPS) structures. The arising signal and mass transport behaviour to the electrodes were characterised. This response was detected utilising a single walled carbon nanotube-based sensor that has been functionalised with an osmium complex for specificity and detecting the change in intracellular concentrations of hydrogen peroxide through chronoamperometry. This was conducted within murine macrophage (RAW264.7) cells and using ultra-pure LPS extracted from two different serotypes of bacteria (0111:B4 and Re495). This allowed the comparison of the immune response when infected with different structures of LPS. We demonstrate that the hydrogen peroxide signal can be electrochemically detected within 3 seconds post injection. Combining the nature of the mass transport of hydrogen peroxide and concentration characteristics, a bacterial ‘fingerprint’ was identified. The impact of this work will be demonstrated in allowing us to develop a rapid diagnostic for bacterial detection.

This paper presents a new method of identifying a nation’s political elite using computational techniques on digitised newspaper articles. It begins by describing the three most widely used methods of identifying political elites: positional, decisional and reputational. It then introduces the “reported elite method”, exploring the kinds of elites it detects and how well it reflects the composition of political elites in our case study of Indonesia. Compared to the other existing methods, we find that our method casts a much wider net when searching for political elites, resulting in many more people from civil society, far fewer formal politicians, and challenging conventional notions of who is a political elite. The method has two major underlying assumptions: (1) the newspapers from which the texts are drawn are free and fairly representative and (2) political power can be inferred from frequent appearance in newspapers alongside other frequently appearing individuals in computational “communities” of political elite.

Why has an increase in personal piety among Indonesia's Muslims not translated into electoral gains for Islamic political parties? To help explain this conundrum, this article focuses on the role of Indonesia's mass Islamic social organisations, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah. Using a political economy lens, it argues that control over state resources and the provision of social welfare facilities have helped political parties maintain power over the years and that NU and Muhammadiyah have at times played important mediating roles in this process. Extending this analysis into Indonesia's contemporary politics, it then proposes that since 2004 in particular, the health and education facilities provided by NU and Muhammadiyah are becoming less important to ordinary people in relation to the services provided by the state. It concludes that this trend has weakened the ability of these organisations to channel public support to political parties/candidates and is one reason why Islamic parties...

This paper introduces the Elite Network Shifts (ENS) project to the Asian Studies community where computational techniques are used with digitised newspaper articles to describe changes in relations among Indonesian political elites. Reflecting on how “political elites” and “political relations” are understood by the elites, as well as across the disciplinary boundaries of the social and computational sciences, it suggests ways to operationalise these concepts for digital research. It then presents the results of a field trip where six Indonesian political elites were asked to evaluate the accuracy of their own computational networks generated by the project. The main findings of the paper are: (1) The computational identification of political elites is relatively successful, while much work remains on categorising their relations, (2) social scientists should focus on capturing single dimensions of complex social phenomena when using computational techniques, and (3) computational techniques are not able to capture multiple understandings of social concepts.

This article adds to the literature explaining a rise in the levels of violence and intimidation against the Islamic sect Ahmadiyah in Indonesia. In contrast to approaches which stop at describing the actors or doctrinal differences involved, this article situates the anti-Ahmadiyah discourse in wider processes of maintaining or securing political and social authority. The first section describes the ways in which charges of heresy have historically served to consolidate state and political authorities. It then extends this analysis into the post-Soeharto landscape by showing how the charges of heresy against Ahmadiyah have supported fragments of the New Order state to claw back some of the authority which was lost following the 1998 political transition. The third section then situates this process in the context of increased competition among religious authorities. The implications of using such an approach are that (1) the Indonesian state’s role in the conflict is not just defined by its absence, but also by its active involvement (2) understanding the rise of conservative ulamas as part of a wider process of an increase in many different voices weakens the claim that Indonesia is becoming more religiously conservative. The more general conclusion is that the role of academic writing should be to contextualize contemporary discourses of heresy by revisiting some of the methods used in classic heresiology.