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A central trope of the information society is that of ‘information flows.’ The implicit assumption underlying such a vision involves the removal of gatekeepers and intermediaries who are perceived to impede such flows. Drawing from field research on information circulation, trade, and money in rural markets in Myanmar and India, we show why intermediaries persist alongside information and communication technologies (ICTs) in trade and financial transactions in the ‘Information Age.’ We examine the range of roles, (human and non-human) actors, and material practices that are involved in conducting financial transactions, and we show the importance of historical legacies and politics in explaining why both cash and financial intermediaries persist in the digital age. Focusing on the different value that human and non-human intermediaries bring to financial encounters helps explain what characteristics make each resilient or replaceable in a time of change. By situating intermediaries and mediations in the social relations within which they operate, we bring back the role of power and politics – an element that is often missing in accounts focused on the unmediated and ‘free’ circulation of information using ICTs – in explaining processes of mediation and circulation.

Aims With an ageing population, the presence of asymptomatic valvular heart disease (VHD) in the community remains unknown. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence and associated factors of asymptomatic VHD in individuals ≥60 years old and to evaluate the feasibility of echocardiographic screening for VHD in this population. Methods and results This was a prospective cohort study conducted between 2007 and 2016 in the UK. Asymptomatic patients with no prior indication for echocardiography were invited to participate and evaluated with a health questionnaire, clinical examination, and transthoracic echocardiography. A total of 10,000 individuals were invited through their general practices. A total of 5429 volunteered to participate, of whom 4237 were eligible for inclusion. VHD was diagnosed in more than a quarter of patients (28.2%). The most common types of VHD were regurgitation of the tricuspid (13.8%), mitral (12.8%), and aortic (8.3%) valves (trivial regurgitation was not included). The rate of prevalence of clinically significant VHD was 2.4% (2.2% moderate and 0.2% severe), with mitral and aortic regurgitation being the most common. The only parameter associated with significant VHD was age (odds ratio 1.07 per 1 year increment, 95% confidence interval 1.05–1.09, P < 0.001). The number needed to scan to diagnose one clinically significant case of VHD is 42 for individuals ≥60 and 15 for those ≥75 years old. Conclusion Asymptomatic VHD is present in a significant proportion of otherwise healthy individuals without known VHD over 60 years old. Age is strongly associated with an increased incidence of significant VHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why do financial intermediaries persist, despite the promises of disintermediation that accompanied the diffusion of digital technologies?Through a comparative qualitative study of financial intermediation in rural markets in Shan State, Myanmar, and Kerala, India, we map out and make visible official and unofficial roles played by different types of brokers (traders, hundi, transport companies, etc.), and different financial  tools (cash, gold, land, banks, etc.), and look at how information and communication technologies  (ICTs) fit in the interactions between the two. ICTs and human brokers perform functions that are sometimes  complementary, sometimes in conflict, and sometimes simply different from each other. In examining the range of roles that (human and non-human) actors and material practices that are involved in  conducting financial transactions have, we show the central role that historical legacies and politics play in explaining why both cash and financial intermediaries persist in the digital age. Focusing on the different values that human and non-human intermediaries bring to financial encounters helps explain what characteristics make each resilient or replaceable in a time of change, and furthers understanding of which of the many functions embodied by humans can be replaced or supported by digital technologies, and which ones are likely to remain the domain of humans. We conclude that the “expertise” inscribed into technological artifacts such as mobile phones tends to be fixed, whereas human expertise can be more flexible and quicker to react to changing political or economic situations.

In this article, we revisit a study that has become canonical in ICTD, economist Robert Jensen’s study of mobile phone use in fishing markets in north Kerala. Jensen found that the use of mobile phones to share market price information made fish markets more efficient, while also improving producer and consumer welfare. Based on our own ethnographic case study in the region, we examine the historical, geographic, and political-economic conditions in which Jensen’s findings hold. We show that north Kerala’s coastal geography and prevalent credit relationships make it a special case of fish trading where fishers had the flexibility to optimize profits by selling at different markets. Fishers’ ability to leverage mobile phones for sharing price information derived from this flexibility. Moreover, we found a broader definition of welfare at play that went beyond increased income. Those working in various roles in Kerala’s fishing industry emphasized a spectrum of benefits from phone use, including maintaining trade relations, facilitating coordination, and protecting themselves during times of risk, vulnerability, or emergency. We suggest that parsimonious models, such as Jensen’s, can generate blind spots, which are problematic when such studies are used to draw broader conclusions about policy and technology design.

This article presents a series of preliminary, quantitative results on rural PC kiosks in India. An analysis of the data confirms many expected trends and correlations and shows that kiosks still face the challenge of sustainability as a business. This study is based on questionnaires presented to kiosk operators and customers of kiosks operated or franchised by Drishtee and n-Logue, two for-profit rural kiosk companies that operate in various geographies throughout India. Recurring surveys are being run with three questionnaires concerning the daily operation and demographic context of the kiosks. The recurring questionnaires will be repeated once a quarter for three years; the results for this article are from the first two sets only. (Contains 2 notes.)

People with a learning disability are just as likely as people in the general population to be at risk of cerebrovascular disease, due to the presence of undetected/undertreated vascular risk factors. When people with a learning disability are presenting with additional cognitive impairment, it is important to consider a range of conditions that may account for this. Stroke is a major cause of cognitive impairment in older people, affecting at least one-third of stroke survivors (Leeds et al. 2001). However, post-stroke psychosis is rare following stroke, and, as can be seen from the case of "May", individuals can make a good recovery with appropriate assessment and intervention. It is important that a diagnosis of dementia is given only after all other potentially treatable conditions have been excluded, and there is a stepwise global deterioration without any other explanation.

A central trope of the information society is that of 'information flows.' The implicit assumption underlying such a vision involves the removal of gatekeepers and intermediaries who are perceived to impede such flows. Drawing from field research on information circulation, trade, and money in rural markets in Myanmar and India, we show why intermediaries persist alongside information and communication technologies (ICTs) in trade and financial transactions in the 'Information Age.' We examine the range of roles, (human and non-human) actors, and material practices that are involved in conducting financial transactions, and we show the importance of historical legacies and politics in explaining why both cash and financial intermediaries persist in the digital age. Focusing on the different value that human and non-human intermediaries bring to financial encounters helps explain what characteristics make each resilient or replaceable in a time of change. By situating intermediaries and mediations in the social relations within which they operate, we bring back the role of power and politics – an element that is often missing in accounts focused on the unmediated and 'free' circulation of information using ICTs – in explaining processes of mediation and circulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]