No translating machine exists at the present time. The idea for such a machine arose in 1947 during discussions between Booth & Warren Weaver of the Rockefeller Foundation. The earliest proposals for machine translation envisaged only a dictionary-look-up-manner. Translation on a more ambitious scale was stimulated by a grant from the Nuffield Foundation. A set of grammatical & syntactical rules for the resolution of the French language were developed along with a machine which solves the basic problems attending the translation of French sci'ific texts. Improvements in this machine are progressing & at the present time work on the resolution of the German language is proceeding. This machine will at a future date become an important addition to the armament of the United Nations & similar org's. B. J. Keeley.
Getting started on your literature review -- Taking a systematic approach to your literature review -- Choosing your review methods -- Planning and conducting your literature review -- Defining your scope -- Searching the literature -- Assessing the evidence base -- Synthesising and analysing quantitative studies -- Synthesising and analysing qualitative studies -- Writing, presenting and disseminating your review
Les décideurs (notamment les personnes en charge de la mise en oeuvre de projets et programmes, les responsables de politiques et les organismes techniques) ont besoin d'informations exactes et de données probantes appropriées leur permettant de planifier, d'élaborer et de mettre en oeuvre des programmes de nutrition et de santé, en temps opportun. Ils ont besoin de connaître l'efficacité des interventions et des politiques, ainsi que la manière dont ces interventions portent leurs fruits, les contextes appropriés et le rapport coût-efficacité. Les revues systématiques sont de plus en plus utilisées pour éclairer les décisions en matière de politique et pour apporter des orientations aux systèmes de santé. Toutefois, la production de revues systématiques est souvent très longue, très consommatrice de ressources et incompatible avec les échéances de la prise de décisions, car pouvant durer une à deux années. Les revues rapides constituent une approche alternative, rapide, disponible en temps opportun et permettant de fournir des données probantes pertinentes et exploitables pouvant être utilisées pour éclairer les décisions sur les systèmes de santé, aussi bien en situation normale qu'en contexte d'urgence (figure 1). Les revues rapides sont générées grâce à une méthode transparente, scientifique et reproductible qui préserve les principes clés de la synthèse des connaissances. ; Non-PR ; IFPRI1; Transform Nutrition West Africa; 5 Strengthening Institutions and Governance; CRP4 ; PHND; A4NH ; CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH)
Background:Local authorities (LA) are key in improving population health, and LA public health decision makers need support from appropriately organised research capacity; however, few models of LA research systems are known to exist. Aims and objectives:To explore potential and existing models of LA-based research systems. Methods:This mapping review and time-constrained systematic review synthesises conceptual and empirical literature from 12 health and social science databases, grey literature and reference/citation tracking. Three reviewers screened titles, abstracts and full texts of retrieved records, and extracted key data from included papers. Evidence was synthesised based on characteristics of research systems and quality-assessed for relevance, rigour and richness. Findings:Nine models were examined in depth. From these, we developed a typology of research systems. Few models were specifically designed for LA research activity; as a Whole System approach, the Local Authority Champions of Research model offers a potential blueprint. Useful lessons may be learned from UK Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research, Academic Collaborative Centres in the Netherlands, local Research and Development units in Sweden, and generic University-Community partnerships. Discussion and conclusions:An optimal research system requires the coexistence of multiple systems including Centre, Partnership, Collaboration, Network and Community types. The review is UK-focused, but the models appear to have wider relevance. Our classification offers those planning an LA research system the opportunity to choose an approach that meets their requirements and resources. A Whole System approach is optimal, with egalitarian input from the LA and academia.
West Africa has a high burden of malnutrition and the drivers are often complex, highly context-specific, and cut across individual, social, political and environmental domains. Public health research most often considers immediate individual health and diet drivers, at the expense of wider considerations that may fall outside of a health agenda. The objective of this systematic mapping review is to map the broad drivers of malnutrition in West Africa, from public health and social science perspectives, and to evaluate the additional value of an interdisciplinary approach. Evidence was gathered from one public health (MEDLINE) and one social science (International Bibliography of Social Science) database using a detailed search syntax tailored to each disciplinary configuration. Literature was screened against pre-determined eligibility criteria and extracted from abstracts. Studies published in English or French between January 2010 and April 2018 were considered for inclusion. Driver categories (immediate, underlying and basic drivers) were coded against the UNICEF conceptual framework of malnutrition. A total of 358 studies were included; 237 were retrieved from the public health database and 124 from the social science database, 3 studies were included in both. The public health and social science literature document different drivers, with MEDLINE most often reporting immediate drivers of malnutrition and the International Bibliography of Social Science database reporting underlying and basic drivers. The combined literature offers more balanced representation across categories. An interdisciplinary approach proved successful in achieving complementarity in search results while upholding rigorous methods. We recommend that interdisciplinary approaches are utilised to bridge recognised gaps between defined disciplines.
ABSTRACT Although there is increasing demand for syntheses of qualitative research, little is known about papers that aim to report such syntheses. We searched for published reports of attempts to conduct syntheses of qualitative research in health and healthcare. Papers were included if they were published between 1988 and 2004, in the English language, and in a peer-reviewed journal. We identified a modest body of literature (42 papers) reporting syntheses of qualitative research in health and healthcare. We extracted data on the topic of the paper and on reported methods for searching, appraisal, and synthesis. Some papers reported purposive attempts to innovate with, and to adapt, methods for synthesis. Many papers lack explicitness about methods for searching, appraisal, and synthesis, and there is little evidence of emerging consensus on many issues. There was also some evidence of possibly inappropriate use of some techniques. We conclude that continued methodological progress and improved reporting are required.
Printed on double leaves. ; "Index to battles, campaigns, engagements, etc., fought within the limits of the state of Louisiana, 1861-1865 . "; v. 1, p. 18-20. ; Photocopy. ; Mode of access: Internet.
Issues: Effectiveness of alcohol policy interventions varies across times and places. The circumstances under which effective polices can be successfully transferred between contexts are typically unexplored with little attention given to developing reporting requirements that would facilitate systematic investigation. Approach: Using purposive sampling and expert elicitation methods, we identified context‐related factors impacting on the effectiveness of population‐level alcohol policies. We then drew on previous characterisations of alcohol policy contexts and methodological‐reporting checklists to design a new checklist for reporting contextual information in evaluation studies. Key Findings: Six context factor domains were identified: (i) baseline alcohol consumption, norms and harm rates; (ii) baseline affordability and availability; (iii) social, microeconomic and demographic contexts; (iv) macroeconomic context; (v) market context; and (vi) wider policy, political and media context. The checklist specifies information, typically available in national or international reports, to be reported in each domain. Implications: The checklist can facilitate evidence synthesis by providing: (i) a mechanism for systematic and more consistent reporting of contextual data for meta‐regression and realist evaluations; (ii) information for policy‐makers on differences between their context and contexts of evaluations; and (iii) an evidence base for adjusting prospective policy simulation models to account for policy context. Conclusions: Our proposed checklist provides a tool for gaining better understanding of the influence of policy context on intervention effectiveness. Further work is required to rationalise and aggregate checklists across interventions types to make such checklists practical for use by journals and to improve reporting of important qualitative contextual data.
AbstractFamilies who attract the attention of child protection services most often have ongoing lived experiences of poverty, gender-based domestic and family violence, problematic substance use and, sometimes, formally diagnosed mental health conditions. Without broader contextual knowledge and understanding, particularly regarding ongoing poverty, decision-making by child protection workers often leads to the removal of children, while the family's material poverty and experiences of violence remain unaddressed. Case studies are a common tool to succinctly capture complex contexts. In this article, we make explicit, through case examples and analysis, how poverty is almost always the backdrop to the presence of worrying risk factors before and during child protection intervention. Further, we expose the existential poverty that parents live with after they lose their children into care and which invariably exacerbates material poverty. In the final section, we consider the multi-faceted organisational poverty that blights the work environment of child protection workers, and we suggest strategies for improved practice with families living in poverty.
The Transform Nutrition West Africa project is a regional platform that aims to improve and support policy and program decisions and actions to accelerate reductions in maternal and child undernutrition through an inclusive process of knowledge generation and mobilization. Recognizing that knowledge is derived from evidence and experience, TNWA takes a 'knowledge for action' approach. As such, TNWA focuses on strengthening the latter stages of the data value chain (namely analysis, translation, and dissemination for decision-making). Through a regional consultation with different stakeholders (researchers, NGOs, civil society, private sector, government, UN, donor agencies) from various sectors, key priorities for future action in the region were identified. These included capturing, documenting, and learning from implementation experiences, and accelerating equitable program coverage of mother, infant and young child interventions at scale. We apply evidence synthesis approaches (i.e., rapid reviews) to identify best practices on topics as prioritized by regional stakeholders. Previous topics include effectiveness and implementation experience of interventions to improve exclusive breastfeeding and early initiation of breastfeeding in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), implementation tools for nutrition, and a landscape analysis of research on adolescent nutrition in the region. Through engagements with UNICEF, the Regional Nutrition Working Group (which is a collective of donors, INGO's, researchers, development agencies that are active in nutrition in the region), and other stakeholders, the next topic identified as a key issue for the region was wasting among children under five years of age. The output of this rapid review will not only inform various stakeholders active in the region but will also support the Integrated Research on Acute Malnutrition in the Sahel project (IRAM). IRAM aims to generate evidence on wasting prevention and treatment interventions in four countries: Chad, Mauritania, Mali and Niger (multi-country partnership between UNICEF and IFPRI). Stakeholders (review users, such as implementers and researchers) will be involved throughout. They will be consulted to set and refine the review question, eligibility criteria, and the outcome of interest. Consultations will ensure that this rapid review is fit for purpose. ; Non-PR ; IFPRI1; Transform Nutrition West Africa; CRP4; 2 Promoting Healthy Diets and Nutrition for all ; PHND; A4NH ; CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH)
International audience ; Background: Obesity and nutrition-related non-communicable diseases (NR-NCDs) are increasing throughout Africa, driven by urbanisation and changing food environments. Policy action has been limited - and influenced by high income countries. Socio-economic/political environments of African food systems must be considered in order to understand what policy might work to prevent NR-NCDs, for whom, and under what circumstances. Methods: A realist synthesis of five policy areas to support healthier food consumption in urban Africa: regulating trade/foreign investment; regulating health/nutrition claims/labels; setting composition standards for processed foods; restricting unhealthy food marketing; and school food policy. We drew upon Ghana and Kenya to contextualise the evidence base. Programme theories were generated by stakeholders in Ghana/Kenya. A two-stage search interrogated MEDLINE, Web of Science and Scopus. Programme theories were tested and refined to produce a synthesised model. Results: The five policies operate through complex, inter-connected pathways moderated by global-, national- and local contexts. Consumers and the food environment interact to enable/disable food accessibility, affordability and availability. Consumer relationships with each other and retailers are important contextual influences, along with political/ economic interests, stakeholder alliances and globalized trade. Coherent laws/regulatory frameworks and government capacities are fundamental across all policies. The increasing importance of convenience is shaped by demographic and sociocultural drivers. Awareness of healthy diets mediates food consumption through comprehension, education, literacy and beliefs. Contextualised data (especially food composition data) and inter-sectoral collaboration are critical to policy implementation. Conclusion: Evidence indicates that coherent action across the five policy areas could positively influence the healthiness of food environments and consumption in urban ...
International audience ; Background: Obesity and nutrition-related non-communicable diseases (NR-NCDs) are increasing throughout Africa, driven by urbanisation and changing food environments. Policy action has been limited - and influenced by high income countries. Socio-economic/political environments of African food systems must be considered in order to understand what policy might work to prevent NR-NCDs, for whom, and under what circumstances. Methods: A realist synthesis of five policy areas to support healthier food consumption in urban Africa: regulating trade/foreign investment; regulating health/nutrition claims/labels; setting composition standards for processed foods; restricting unhealthy food marketing; and school food policy. We drew upon Ghana and Kenya to contextualise the evidence base. Programme theories were generated by stakeholders in Ghana/Kenya. A two-stage search interrogated MEDLINE, Web of Science and Scopus. Programme theories were tested and refined to produce a synthesised model. Results: The five policies operate through complex, inter-connected pathways moderated by global-, national- and local contexts. Consumers and the food environment interact to enable/disable food accessibility, affordability and availability. Consumer relationships with each other and retailers are important contextual influences, along with political/ economic interests, stakeholder alliances and globalized trade. Coherent laws/regulatory frameworks and government capacities are fundamental across all policies. The increasing importance of convenience is shaped by demographic and sociocultural drivers. Awareness of healthy diets mediates food consumption through comprehension, education, literacy and beliefs. Contextualised data (especially food composition data) and inter-sectoral collaboration are critical to policy implementation. Conclusion: Evidence indicates that coherent action across the five policy areas could positively influence the healthiness of food environments and consumption in urban ...
International audience ; Background: Obesity and nutrition-related non-communicable diseases (NR-NCDs) are increasing throughout Africa, driven by urbanisation and changing food environments. Policy action has been limited - and influenced by high income countries. Socio-economic/political environments of African food systems must be considered in order to understand what policy might work to prevent NR-NCDs, for whom, and under what circumstances. Methods: A realist synthesis of five policy areas to support healthier food consumption in urban Africa: regulating trade/foreign investment; regulating health/nutrition claims/labels; setting composition standards for processed foods; restricting unhealthy food marketing; and school food policy. We drew upon Ghana and Kenya to contextualise the evidence base. Programme theories were generated by stakeholders in Ghana/Kenya. A two-stage search interrogated MEDLINE, Web of Science and Scopus. Programme theories were tested and refined to produce a synthesised model. Results: The five policies operate through complex, inter-connected pathways moderated by global-, national- and local contexts. Consumers and the food environment interact to enable/disable food accessibility, affordability and availability. Consumer relationships with each other and retailers are important contextual influences, along with political/ economic interests, stakeholder alliances and globalized trade. Coherent laws/regulatory frameworks and government capacities are fundamental across all policies. The increasing importance of convenience is shaped by demographic and sociocultural drivers. Awareness of healthy diets mediates food consumption through comprehension, education, literacy and beliefs. Contextualised data (especially food composition data) and inter-sectoral collaboration are critical to policy implementation. Conclusion: Evidence indicates that coherent action across the five policy areas could positively influence the healthiness of food environments and consumption in urban ...
Background Two UK academic centres were commissioned to provide a responsive rapid evidence synthesis service. The service covered topics identified by the National Institute for Health Research Health Services & Delivery Research (NIHR HSDR) programme as priorities for the National Health Service or to inform research commissioning.
Aims and objectives To describe and evaluate the review teams' interactions with the evidence users the programme aimed to serve, primarily NHS clinicians, commissioners and managers. We particularly aim to highlight the barriers and facilitators to the impact that this type of programme may have on the uptake and use of research evidence by decision makers.
Methods Narrative review of stakeholder interactions at different stages of the review process: prioritisation and defining scope; dealing with unexpected results; dissemination of findings; and measuring impact, illustrated by examples from the first three years of the service (2014–17).
Conclusions Timely production of high-quality outputs was facilitated by: initial mapping and scoping of the available published evidence; early engagement with stakeholders to optimise their involvement within limited time and resources; and willingness to consider creative solutions and different ways of working to overcome problems encountered in specific projects.
Systematic review has developed as a specific methodology for searching for, appraising and synthesizing findings of primary studies, and has rapidly become a cornerstone of the evidence-based practice and policy movement. Qualitative research has traditionally been excluded from systematic reviews, and much effort is now being invested in resolving the daunting methodological and epistemological challenges associated with trying to move towards more inclusive forms of review. We describe our experiences, as a very diverse multidisciplinary group, in attempting to incorporate qualitative research in a systematic review of support for breastfeeding. We show how every stage of the review process, from asking the review question through to searching for and sampling the evidence, appraising the evidence and producing a synthesis, provoked profound questions about whether a review that includes qualitative research can remain consistent with the frame offered by current systematic review methodology. We conclude that more debate and dialogue between the different communities that wish to develop review methodology is needed, and that attempts to impose dominant views about the appropriate means of conducting reviews of qualitative research should be resisted so that innovation can be fostered.
