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Franzi

Following the article, the author J. Kenens has published another paper "Changing perspectives: tracing the evolution of citizen radiation measuring organizations after Fukushima (2020)" DOI: 10.1051/radiopro/2020041 (link) that draws on the research on citizen science in Japan with a new focus on the comparison of their practices directly after the nuclear accident and today. 

Annotation

Franzi

It is interesting to see how citizen science in Japan is enacted and how the concept of citizen science is dependent to the social and cultural context. Also looking at it not only from a top-down perspective, where universities or organizations are involved, but also the bottom-up perspective that includes only those practices that are done by citizens alone opens up a new space. As I am currently engaging with research on air pollution in different sites, I could build from this text in considering the link between "citizen-driven approaches and institutional imparatives in the governance" (p. 7) of issues with air pollution. 

Annotation

Franzi

The text is an article about citizen science in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster in 2011. The first noteworthy detail about this text that struck me is the inclusion of Japanese words and even their original spelling. This creates a kind of closeness to the field that the authors did their research in. 

Annotation

Franzi

The authors engaged in multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork that took place in and around Fukushima but also in other geografical sites like Tochigi, Miyagi, Aichi, Tokyo and Kyoto. There, they conduct semi-structured interviews with various organisations that are all somehow involved with citizen science or radiation measurement.  To learn about the citizens that measure radioactivity and create their own data on radiation because of a lack of provided data by the government, a literature review of policy documents and workshops with those citizen scientists is performed. 

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ciera.williams

The program was created in reaction to the disaster at Fukushima-Daiichi, with influence of the lessons learned post-bombing in Hiroshima. Hiroshima University specializes in radiation casualty medicine and works to improve medical care in response to nuclear emergencies. This program was specifically made to generate leaders capable of directing relief efforts while keeping the clear goal of reconstruction post-disaster. 

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maryclare.crochiere
Annotation of

I looked up the rates of hospital bankruptcy/closing, the results looked to be interesting. The article (http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/hospital-bankruptcies-result-…) makes it seem avoidable, if the warnings are taken seriously in the years leading up to the crisis. "What they found was that filing hospitals tended to be smaller, not part of a health system and were more likely to be in the Northeast or West Coast. Many factors were involved, including poor financial management, changes in payer mix, reimbursement reductions, overzealous construction and purchasing of physician practices, decrease in volume and demographic shifts that were the impetus for filing."

I also looked up ER wait time statistics, by state, over the course of several years, etc. (https://projects.propublica.org/emergency/) Very interesting!

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ciera.williams

In Baltimore, researchers found that racism and poverty especially affected African Americans without insurance. In order to address this, they removed boundaries to care within the medical system and community so that poor patients could receive the care they needed without economic trouble. Along with this, they also established a system that relied on the community as a whole for care, taking the social stigma away from AIDS/HIV care and building ties as a whole. Within a few years, many disparities disappeared among the studied population.

Another study in rural Haiti was used to develop the PIH model of care. This model relies on an accompagnateur who is trained in drug delivery and supportive care. This allows care to be given within a village, not a clinic, and improves access to care. This model has worked to improve patient care and outcome in Haiti, Peru, and Boston.

In Rwanda, structural violence has perpetuated to transmission of disease from mother to child for decades. Access to resources such as clean water and formula, along with public health agencies promoting the merits of breastfeeding, have made it challenging to address MTCT. However, when researchers asked mothers if they would like these resources, they were eager to receive them and wanted to help in preventing further transmission.