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News coverage of national disasters holds the potential to evoke unique moral sentiments and political reactions. Often, however, we learn that the common use of elite political actors' consensual commentary by journalists serves to politically appropriate such events or render mute their potential. This paper explores a challenge to this observed authority skew in the performance of TV journalism (BBC, ITN, Channel 4 and Channel 5) while covering the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower block fire. The analysed reporting shows that the presence of (i) disruptive geography (ii) disruptive expertise and (iii) disruptive commentary challenge the reproduction of a traditional 'reporting template' and its inscribed authority skew. Combined, such 'disruptive factors', it is reasoned, enable opportunities for challenger voices to appear in number, and therein direct criticisms of both neglect and inaction and even to reflect on the state, race and poverty and incite thereafter an elite political apology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Ending AIDS by 2030 is a global target, to which India is a signatory. HIV-self-test (HIVST) coupled with counselling and AIDS-care, including antiretroviral therapy, has the potential to achieve this. However, national programs are at varying stages of acceptance of HIVST, as discussions around its introduction spark controversy and debates. HIV-self-test, as yet, is not part of the AIDS control program in India. Against this backdrop, we explored acceptability of an HIV oral self-test (HIVOST) among truckers and young men and women. Methods A qualitative investigation with 41 in-depth-interviews and 15 group discussions were conducted in the district of Pune, in the western state of Maharashtra, India. These interactions were built around a prototype HIVOST kit, helped in taking the discussions forward. The software N-vivo (version 11.0) was used to manage the volumes of data generated through the aforementioned process. The study was conducted during June through December, 2019. Results While the truckers belonged to the age bracket 21–67 year, the youths were in the age group 18–24 year. ‘Ease of doing HIVOST’ and ‘fear of needle pricks’ were the reasons behind acceptance around HIVOST by both the study groups. Truckers felt that HIVOST would encourage one to know one’s HIV status and seek help as appropriate. Accuracy of HIVOST result and disposal of the kits following use were concerns of a few. Most of the participants preferred saliva over blood as the specimen of choice. Instructions in local language reportedly would enable test-use by self. The truck drivers preferred undertaking HIVOST at the truckers-friendly ‘Khushi clinics’ or in the vehicle, while youths preferred the privacy of home. Some of the young men mis-perceived the utility of HIVOST by referring to doing a test on a partner immediately prior to sexual encounter. On the other hand, a few truckers had wrong information on HIV cure. Conclusions Overall, the study communities expressed their acceptance towards HIV-self-test. The National AIDS Control Program, India would benefit by drawing upon the findings of the current investigation. Existing myths and misconceptions around HIV test and treatment require program attention.

Meaningful participation of people as agents in development practice has been a central concern in capabilitarian scholarship and of Amartya Sen's own work, as a valuable freedom and functioning in itself. Yet, there has been limited attention until now about knowledge generation processes and who is fully included, despite a growing body of literature arguing for pluriversality and decolonial approaches against historical and geographical inequalities at many levels. The paper proposes that capabilitarian scholarship could be enriched by considering a pluriverse of methodological perspectives, building on the work already undertaken but taking it further to create multi-epistemic conversations. This paper explores why the methodological and cosmological – onto-epistemological – unexplored areas of participatory research in capabilitarian scholarship should be embedded in our research culture and practice for more inclusive, decolonial, methodologically challenging empirical strategies (beyond methods and methodologies) that will place those situated at the margins of epistemic divisions and conflicts in the centre of knowledge production and debates. To this end and adding to the debates, the paper first considers participatory projects reported on in the journal before presenting an original framing of a capabilitarian participatory paradigm. The paper further proposes some principles that underpin its operationalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ending AIDS by 2030 is a global target, to which India is a signatory. HIV-self-test (HIVST) coupled with counselling and AIDS-care, including antiretroviral therapy, has the potential to achieve this. However, national programs are at varying stages of acceptance of HIVST, as discussions around its introduction spark controversy and debates. HIV-self-test, as yet, is not part of the AIDS control program in India. Against this backdrop, we explored acceptability of an HIV oral self-test (HIVOST) among truckers and young men and women.Methods: A qualitative investigation with 41 in-depth-interviews and 15 group discussions were conducted in the district of Pune, in the western state of Maharashtra, India. These interactions were built around a prototype HIVOST kit, helped in taking the discussions forward. The software N-vivo (version 11.0) was used to manage the volumes of data generated through the aforementioned process. The study was conducted during June through December, 2019.Results: While the truckers belonged to the age bracket 21-67 year, the youths were in the age group 18-24 year. 'Ease of doing HIVOST' and 'fear of needle pricks' were the reasons behind acceptance around HIVOST by both the study groups. Truckers felt that HIVOST would encourage one to know one's HIV status and seek help as appropriate. Accuracy of HIVOST result and disposal of the kits following use were concerns of a few. Most of the participants preferred saliva over blood as the specimen of choice. Instructions in local language reportedly would enable test-use by self. The truck drivers preferred undertaking HIVOST at the truckers-friendly 'Khushi clinics' or in the vehicle, while youths preferred the privacy of home. Some of the young men mis-perceived the utility of HIVOST by referring to doing a test on a partner immediately prior to sexual encounter. On the other hand, a few truckers had wrong information on HIV cure.Conclusions: Overall, the study communities expressed their acceptance towards HIV-self-test. The National AIDS Control Program, India would benefit by drawing upon the findings of the current investigation. Existing myths and misconceptions around HIV test and treatment require program attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental justice (EJ) is an integral part of the mission of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) working together with states, tribes, and affected communities to ensure equitable environmental and public health protection. Executive order (EO) 12898 was signed February 11, 1994 by the President requiring Federal Agencies to incorporate EJ practices into their operations. EO 12898 defines EJ as "the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws and policies." In this paper we will describe how EJ is defined, how EPA identifies issues concerning over-burdened and vulnerable populations, EPA's mapping tool called EJSCREEN, other science-based resources, and provide examples of success stories impacting vulnerable populations. Examples include the agency's first "EPA-led" Health Impact Assessment (HIA) demonstration project in the Proctor Creek Community of Atlanta and a community-led Mold and Mildew project (Eco-Action Inc) also in Atlanta. EJ is about promoting a healthy and sustainable community for everyone, including minority, low-income, and tribal populations and building capacity with our external stakeholders to better understand and address issues that concern overburdened communities. The objective of this paper is to provide a greater understanding of the EPA's EJ work and accomplishments in partnership with other federal partners, state/local government, non-governmental organizations (NGO's), and community organizations. Moreover, it is anticipated that the outcomes would be a catalyst for participants to further incorporate EJ considerations into their programs, policies, practices and activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In less developed destinations, rapid commercial tourism development has gradually suppressed local communities’ central participation in tourist activities. While the literature suggests a number of roles that local residents can play in tourism development, to date very little emphasis has been placed on how the locals themselves feel about the issue, despite it being explained in tourist destinations’ policy configurations. Based on the case of Victoria Falls, this paper’s aim was to understand the degree of community involvement in tourism development, with the intention of finding a way to advance host community stimuli in terms of policy formulation and implementation. Through the series of 270 household surveys and interviews with resource persons conducted, the findings revealed that the local community’s involvement and participation was mainly linked to economic activities and employment. Furthermore, the local communities wanted to be involved, and incorporated in, the prevailing systems when tourism policies are being made to influence policymakers in preparing a policy that meets their needs and protects their interests.

Participatory mapping has been documented to be an effective process for empowering stakeholders and integrating Indigenous and western systems of knowledge. Reflecting on the way participatory mapping is conducted allows researchers and facilitators to genuinely listen to community voices. Our experiences with participatory mapping demonstrate that there is an emphasis on transforming map content to meet research goals and less focus on the process and consequences of participatory mapping for stakeholders. In this paper, we critically reflect upon our roles as researchers in using participatory mapping. We describe four case studies in Mongolia, Ethiopia, Papua New Guinea, and the United States, tracing the typology of voices (i.e., individual-researcher, collective, and researcher-interpreted collective voices) throughout the participatory mapping process. We take a critical look at this process by questioning our practice and limitations of participation, how voices are (in)equitably represented, and the unintended consequences of our projects. Finally, we share a roadmap of community participation to assess the process and identify opportunities for reflection to enhance collaboration and improve equitable outcomes. [Display omitted] • Participatory mapping is an effective tool for community engagement and empowerment. • Existing participatory mapping research emphasizes products rather than process. • Critical reflection is needed for assessment of participatory mapping processes. • A participatory mapping roadmap identifies avenues for reflection to improve outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pressure on development actors to demonstrate results has forced the adoption of logical models that objectify contexts and people through cultural, time, and other value-laden frames that distance the service providers from those they purport to serve. This permits the compartmentalisation of the past, the present, and the future of target populations into dismembered experiences in which the emotions, knowledge, and desires of people bear no relationship to each other. Based on encounters in workshops, focus group discussions, and personal interviews, as part of post-conflict peace and development interventions in Liberia, this study asserts that the best efforts of donors and practitioners in peace and development can do no more than skirt around the challenges ordinary people face without finding lasting solutions, since their metrics aim to make the targets be like them, not better of themselves. Donors count what target populations do not count as peace or development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2015, the United Nations committed to 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to drive global development policy and practice. Six years into the implementation of the 15-year agenda, the SDGs are subject to extensive monitoring and research at the national, regional, and global levels using quantitative data sets. In contrast, this scoping review considered the contribution of qualitative research studies published in 2021, utilizing data collected from local, place-based community participants. Qualitative research with community participants connects global policy with place-based experience, thus potentially offering a valuable perspective on SDG implementation. Searches were carried out using the Scopus database to identify studies that explicitly linked their aims and objectives to the SDGs. Fifty-four papers met the criteria for inclusion in the review and were charted, mapped, and analysed. For the majority of studies, data collection was carried out in lower-middle income and low-income countries. The "voices" of community participants highlight tensions and challenges affecting the implementation of the SDGs. Reviewing this body of research as a whole identified opportunities to strengthen future qualitative research that will further illuminate progress towards the SDGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efundja is the annual flooding experienced in the Cuvelai-Etosha basin of northern Namibia. This recurring flooding varies in intensity and impact the lives of the inhabitants of the basin in disparate ways. The rural population of the basin is especially vulnerable to the impacts associated with these floods. The governmental response to the efundja is mostly reactive, and the voices of the rural community are lacking in the development and execution of the disaster response strategy for the area. Limited studies exist to include the voices of rural communities in the narrative about the efundja and its impact and mitigation. This study used focus group discussions to investigate the experiences of heads of households in the affected rural communities in the study area to address this hiatus in the research. The results of the study can also aid in addressing the deficiencies in the governmental response strategy used to deal with the floods. Rural communities in the study area articulated the impacts of the efundja on their lives well and indicated that the impacts are pervasive and affect their entire way of life. They reported that the nature and duration of the efundja have changed over time, with a longer duration, more severe impacts, pollution, and poor water quality associated with recent efundja events. They attribute this mainly to climate change, an increase in the population of the basin, inappropriate human behavior and bad spatial planning. Although the rural communities reported various practical methods to alleviate the adverse impacts of the flooding, they expressed a general lack of capacity to deal with the flooding effectively. Empowerment through education and training on how to mitigate effects and participation in disaster response planning and execution were affirmed needs in the communities surveyed. The research and its results can be used to inform a better disaster response strategy for northern Namibia. The study can also be emulated in other areas of the Global South. The results of such studies can be compared with that of the present study to expand the disaster response narrative. Adding the voices of vulnerable rural communities can be a particularly valuable addition to the disaster response narrative since their views are sometimes excluded in disaster response studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]