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This research paper addresses the poetics and politics of the children’s cultural archive held at The Ark, a custom-built children’s cultural centre in the heart of Dublin city, Ireland, that opened its doors to the public in 1995. This is one of several outputs from the ongoing LA-TRAC project, a collaboration between The Ark and the School of English, Trinity College Dublin. The ultimate goal of the LA-TRAC project is to use the archive held at The Ark to establish a Living Archive for Teachers, Researchers, Artists, and Children. The LA-TRAC project asks – how do we go about creating living cultural archives with, about, and for children? In this paper, I reflect on the early stages of the research, map out the nature of The Ark archive, and highlight its research potential and possibilities. The first two sections provide an overview of the archive and theorise its distinct nature in terms of child and adult voices; the following three sections set out the potential of the archive to contribute to and advance broader cultural debates on the politics of childhood in Ireland, on Irish theatre history, and on marginalised voices. I suggest that the exploration of the potential of The Ark archive may act as a model for the research and development of children’s cultural archives across Europe. This study, therefore, may be of particular interest to other researchers working in the field of children’s cultural archives.
QuestionWhat is the effectiveness of a mHealth (mobile health) intervention for achieving self-reported continuous tobacco abstinence at 6 months, compared with usual care in people with tuberculosis (TB)?FindingsIn this randomized clinical trial that included 1080 patients with TB who smoked tobacco, the proportion achieving self-reported continuous tobacco abstinence at 6 months, supported by biochemical verification at 6 months, was significantly higher with mHealth (41.7%) vs with usual care (15.3%).MeaningIn people with TB who smoke tobacco, the use of an mHealth intervention may be warranted. ImportanceSmoking worsens outcomes in people with tuberculosis (TB), while quitting hastens recovery.ObjectiveTo assess the effectiveness of a mobile health (mHealth) intervention for achieving self-reported continuous tobacco abstinence at 6 months, supported by biochemical verification at 6 months, compared with usual care in people with TB.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsMulticenter, cluster randomized clinical trial conducted between September 18, 2023, and January 2, 2025, randomizing (2:1) 27 TB clinics in Bangladesh and Pakistan to mHealth or usual care groups. The follow-up was 6 months. Participants were eligible if they were 15 years or older, had been diagnosed with drug-sensitive pulmonary TB in the past 4 weeks, smoked daily, were willing to quit, and had access to mobile phones.InterventionThe mHealth group (n = 720) received text messages throughout TB treatment, daily for 2 months then monthly for 4 months, encouraging tobacco cessation. The usual care group (n = 360) received written information on tobacco cessation.Main Outcomes and MeasuresThe primary outcome was self-reported continuous abstinence at 6 months, verified biochemically using carbon monoxide breath test at 6 months. Secondary outcomes included self-reported point abstinence at 9 weeks and 6 months, TB treatment adherence (days receiving TB treatment), TB treatment success (cured + completed treatment), TB treatment failure, TB treatment default (interruption of TB treatment for >= 2 months), and death.ResultsOf 9232 patients assessed for eligibility, 1080 were randomized; most were male (mHealth, 96.9%; usual care, 95.8%), and 985 were retained throughout the trial (91%). For the primary outcome, 300 of 720 participants (41.7%) in the mHealth group demonstrated self-reported and biochemically verified continuous abstinence at 6 months, compared with 55 of 360 (15.3%) in the usual care group (risk ratio, 3.0 [95% CI, 2.0-4.9]). In the mHealth vs usual care groups, respectively, mean TB treatment adherence was 174.3 (SD, 21.5) days vs 178.0 (SD, 12.1) days (P = .23), and treatment success was 89.3% vs 85.6% (risk ratio, 1.2 [95% CI, 0.9-1.6]). TB treatment failure (0.1% vs 0.5%) and default (3.1% vs 1.9%) were uncommon. Mortality was lower with mHealth (3.5%) vs usual care (7.5%) (hazard ratio, 0.4 [95%CI, 0.2-0.9]).Conclusions and RelevanceAn mHealth intervention was effective in achieving continuous abstinence in people with TB who smoked. mHealth is a feasible and effective intervention to help patients with TB quit smoking.Trial Registrationisrctn.org Identifier: ISRCTN86971818 This cluster randomized trial assesses the effectiveness of a mobile health text-message intervention, compared with usual care, for achieving continuous tobacco abstinence at 6 months in people with tuberculosis in Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Introduction Bangladesh’s cigarette smoking prevalence remained unchanged (around 14%) between 2009 and 2017. Through tax evasion and regulatory non-compliance, illicit trade might have contributed to the status quo. Little is known about the magnitude of illicit cigarettes in Bangladesh. Methods We analysed empty cigarette packs collected from retailers and street litter in eight districts in Bangladesh between December 2019 and January 2020. We examined tax stamps on packs to assess tax evasion and printed health warnings, retail prices, sales declarations, misleading descriptors, and duty-free signs to determine packaging law compliance. All but tax-paid and compliant packs were considered illicit. We examined associations between tax evasion and price or non-price factors. Sensitivity and specificity of packaging compliance were measured when used as a proxy for tax evasion. Results Among 24 363 cigarette packs examined from sampled districts in Bangladesh (23 207 from shops and 1156 from litter), 5.32% (95% CI: 5.04% to 5.60%) evaded taxes, while only 0.77% (95% CI: 0.4% to 1.4%) were non-compliant with packaging laws, totalling 5.62% (95% CI: 4.3% to 7.1%) illicit share. This neither differed statistically significantly between packs collected from shops (5.47%; 95% CI: 4.2% to 7.0%) and those from litter (8.13%; 95% CI: 5.7% to 11.1%) nor between urban (5.15%; 95% CI: 3.5% to 7.3%) and rural (6.16%; 95% CI: 4.2% to 8.7%) areas. Low-price cigarettes (OR: 3.48; 95% CI: 2.10 to 5.75) and those sold in unconventional shops (OR: 1.99; 95% CI: 1.12 to 3.54) were more likely to be tax evaded than high-price cigarettes and those sold in formal shops, respectively. Packaging non-compliance was not a sensitive marker for detecting tax-evaded cigarettes. Conclusions Bangladesh has a low share of illicit cigarette packs. While surveillance of the illicit cigarette trade is essential, the government should continue to enhance cigarette taxes without concern for its effect on the illicit trade.
The Gaussian Plume Model is one of the most used and recognized mathematical methods for estimating the dispersion of air pollutants emitted from industrial stacks or other point sources into the atmosphere. This model is predicated on the idea that pollutants disperse in both dimensions horizontally and vertically like a Gaussian (or normal) distribution curve, subject to various atmospheric and source-related influences. In this regard, the model is used to replicate the patterns of pollutant concentrations for various emission rates, stack design parameters, and meteorological conditions. Primary parameters used in the study are wind speed, emission height, atmospheric stability class, and the pollutant release rate. These factors are crucial in defining how the pollutants are dispersed, diluted, and deposited in lower areas from the point of emission. With actual, or even hypothetical, meteorological data, the model creates spatial concentration patterns for various ground-level receptor locations. Simulation output analysis makes it possible to identify the concentration zones, which in geo-eco and human risk assessment are essential. Such output data is required for comparison to national and international air quality standards for evaluating compliance and for taking appropriate mitigation action. The model can also aid in the planning and management of industrial site selection, pollution control technology implementation, and the formulation of regulatory frameworks in environmental technology. In a cost-efficient manner, the Gaussian Plume Model together with other meteorological models, explain and predict with scientific rigor the movement of airborne contaminants. This understanding helps in planning how to reduce the contaminants and the damage their discharges may cause to the environment.
INTRODUCTION:Smokeless tobacco (ST) use is widespread and poses a considerable health burden for Bangladesh. However, the tobacco control law enforcement for ST is significantly weaker than for smoking tobacco, leading to a near-total non-compliance of ST products. We explored tobacco control stakeholders' perspectives on high ST non-compliance, in order to improve regulation in Bangladesh. METHODS:We conducted a qualitative study involving in-depth semistructured interviews (n=20) with five stakeholder groups (policymakers, non-governmental organisations, researchers, international agencies and advocacy networks) between July and September 2024. Participants were asked about their perspectives on regulatory non-compliance of ST, policies and enforcement mechanisms, and supply chain control and international collaboration to address ST non-compliance in Bangladesh. We used the framework approach to analyse the data, which involved iteratively coding, charting and interpreting the interview transcripts. FINDINGS:Stakeholders perceived weak monitoring and enforcement of ST, leading to substantial non-compliance of ST regulation in Bangladesh. Factors such as market's informality, cultural embedment and lack of registration and licensing of ST businesses contributed to this. A disjointed regulatory framework and perceived low tax return made ST non-compliance a low priority for regulators. Furthermore, diversity in packaging and targeting of consumers' social and cultural beliefs by the manufacturers made ST compliance more challenging than cigarettes. Widespread tax evasion arises from a flawed self-declarations system and a lack of explicit tax markers due to regulatory weaknesses and manufacturers' influence. Bangladesh's current legal framework fails to address ST product diversity. Participants suggested introducing standardised packaging and licensing with local government involvement to strengthen regulations and address ST non-compliance. CONCLUSION:ST control has long been neglected by policymakers in Bangladesh. Besides government commitment, strengthening regulation to address high ST non-compliance would require implementing evidence-based approaches.
