^{Image: A Pat Jasan volunteer group, copyright Kachinland News.}

Three papers produced in the context of Dr Mandy Sadan's Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) projects have recently been made publicly available. The papers have been co-written with local Myanmar researchers and they are available as free downloads for the next month, forming part of a Special Edition which will be available in full soon.

^{Image credit: Louie Rosencrans/CDC from flickr}

An international team of researchers led by GSD Assistant Professor Dr Marco J Haenssgen have analysed the impact of mass vaccination campaigns, which are often used in global health efforts in low- and middle-income countries. Based on their findings, the researchers warn that there must be a strategy to safeguard and strengthen health systems with fewer resources in low- and middle-income countries if such campaigns are used in the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.

A major collaborative report on understanding antibiotic use and tackling drug-resistant infections was launched on Wednesday 24 February 2021 by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The extensive inter- and transdisciplinary research by Assistant Professor in GSD, Dr Marco J Haenssgen, and his collaborators has formed a key contribution to the report.

A new study, led by Assistant Professor in GSD Dr Marco J Haenssgen, finds that patients living in precarious circumstances are less likely to use antibiotics appropriately. The study suggests that efforts to improve those with little security in their livelihoods could have an unexpected benefit in helping to tackle antimicrobial resistance globally.

Last month saw the publication of a new paper in the Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals about 'Tourist Traps: Assessing the Role of Tourism in Sustaining Life Below Water', authored by Dr Jess Savage, Senior Teaching Fellow (GSD); Dr Godwin Yeboah, Senior Research Fellow (IGSD); and Dr Sarah Cook, Research Fellow (Warwick Water Group.

^{Image credit: Dr Marco J Haenssgen}

A new paper demonstrates the facilitating yet potentially inequitable role of mobile phones in rural healthcare access.

GSD researcher Marco J Haenssgen, Giacomo Zanello (University of Reading), and Nutcha Charoenboon (University of Bristol) have released a new paper in the prestigious journal World Development. Analysing health behaviours in rural Thailand and Laos, the researchers highlight the complexities of technological change and caution against over-enthusiastic medical interventions that aim to promote health through mobile phones.

Now more than ever, we’re thinking about the role of the digital in educational settings. How can digital technology help us ensure educational environments are platforms for engaging students as full agents of their own learning?

Launched last month, ‘Critical Digital Pedagogies in Modern Languages - a Tutorial Collection’, guest edited by Paul Spence and Renata Brandão, offers online tutorials which explore the theories and applications of digital methods and tools for engaging with modern languages and cultures. This publication is the result of a “tutorial writing sprint”, which took place in the summer of 2019. The purpose of the two-day event was to learn how to produce self-learning online tutorials.

Dr Gioia Panzarella’s self-learning tutorial in the collection guides learners of Italian in an exploration of online resources made available by associations fighting against organised crime. The tutorial focuses on the critical understanding of online resources, and in particular, on the need to encourage learners to engage critically with websites whilst learning a language (in this case, Italian).

Editors Spence and Brandão explain that, thanks to this tutorial, “In assessing the state of antimafia resources and the way in which they communicate their message, the learner will gain skills in evaluating digital resources while engaging with Italian culture through authentic content and developing intercultural competences.” (Critical Digital Pedagogies in Modern Languages - a Tutorial Collection)

You can access Gioia’s tutorial here.

The Special Collection is open access and is published by Modern Languages Open.

Dr Stéphanie Panichelli-Batalla, the Head of School for Cross-faculty Studies, has had her latest article on Cuban internationalism published by The Conversation UK. The article is titled 'By sending doctors to Italy, Cuba continues its long campaign of medical diplomacy'. You can read the article in full here.

"Cuba stresses its programme to send doctors abroad is based in solidarity. But there are diplomatic and economic reasons too."

You can also read Dr Stéphanie Panichelli-Batalla's recent article published by The Oral History Review on laughter in oral history interviews with Cuban internationalist healthcare professionals here.