The social context of controlled drug use amongst young people in a slum area in Makassar, Indonesia

Background

There are few studies exploring the social context of controlled drug use amongst young people in Indonesia. This qualitative study examines the experience of young people in a slum area (lorong) in Makassar, eastern Indonesia, who use drugs but are not drug dependent and who employ various forms of self regulation to control their use.

Methods

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight controlled drug users.

Results

The study found that whilst controlled drug users lived in a drug risk environment, they were not deeply embedded in the street culture, risk-taking practises and drug scene within their locality. Their employment, albeit in the informal economy and in low-paid jobs, facilitated their perspective that the status of rewa (a local construct of masculinity) and gaul (being sociable and up-to-date) could and should be accomplished through conventional means such as jobs and halal (legitimate) income. Their employment generated both direct benefit (legitimate income) and indirect benefit, including meaningful activities, structured time, positive identity and wider social networks (bridging social capital). This enabled them to have a stake in mainstream society and provided an incentive to control drug use. All factors which are protective against escalation into problematic drug use.

Conclusion

The study showed the importance of sociological concepts of direct and indirect benefits of employment and of social capital in understanding the social context of controlled drug use amongst young people in the lorong. Additionally, drug policy should be more cognizant of the social vulnerability in the lorong and of the need to increase access to employment amongst young people in order to potentially decrease the likelihood of problematic drug use.     

The use of graphic rules in grade one to help identify children at risk of handwriting difficulties

Previous researches on elementary grade handwriting revealed that pupils employ certain strategy when writing or drawing. The relationship between this strategy and the use of graphic rules has been documented but very little research has been devoted to the connection between the use of graphic rules and handwriting proficiency. Thus, this study was conducted to investigate the relative contribution of the use of graphic rules to the writing ability. A sample of 105 first graders who were average printers and 65 first graders who might experience handwriting difficulty, as judged by their teachers, of a normal primary school were individually tested on their use of graphic rules. It has been found that pupils who are below average printers use more non-analytic strategy than average printers to reproduce the figures. The results also reveal that below average printers do not acquire the graphic principles that foster an analytic approach to production skills. Although the findings are not sufficient to allow definitive conclusions about handwriting ability, it can be considered as one of the screening measures in identifying pupils who are at risk of handwriting difficulties.     

Wavelet Based Filters for Artifact Elimination in Electroencephalography Signal: A Review

Electroencephalography (EEG) is a diagnostic test that records and measures the electrical activity of the human brain. Research investigating human behaviors and conditions using EEG has increased from year to year. Therefore, an efficient approach is vital to process the EEG dataset to improve the output signal quality. The wavelet is one of the well-known approaches for processing the EEG signal in time–frequency domain analysis. The wavelet is better than the traditional Fourier Transform because it has good time–frequency localized properties and multi-resolution analysis where the transient information of an EEG signal can be extracted efficiently. Thus, this review article aims to comprehensively describe the application of the wavelet method in denoising the EEG signal based on recent research. This review begins with a brief overview of the basic theory and characteristics of EEG and the wavelet transform method. Then, several wavelet-based methods commonly applied in EEG dataset denoising are described and a considerable number of the latest published EEG research works with wavelet applications are reviewed. Besides, the challenges that exist in current EEG-based wavelet method research are discussed. Finally, alternative solutions to mitigate the issues are recommended.

     

The social context of initiation into injecting drugs in the slums of Makassar, Indonesia

BackgroundThe association between socio-economic marginalisation in urban poor neighbourhoods and the prevalence of violence, crime, drug use and drug dealing has been well documented. However few studies have explored the social context of the transition to, initiation and maintenance of drug injection career in slum areas in developing countries. This study examines the lived experience of young men in initiating and maintaining drug injection in slum areas, commonly named lorong, in the city of Makassar, Indonesia.MethodIn-depth interviews were conducted with 18 male injecting drug users who attended a drop-in centre for drug users in the city.ResultsThe interviews revealed that the pharmacological effects of putaw (street grade heroin) and the economics of injection were factors in initiating and maintaining injection. Importantly, the intersection of socio-economic deprivation with pursuing the status of rewa (local concept of masculinity) and the dynamics of gang participation led many members of the lorong into a drug injection career, making them vulnerable for HIV and other blood-borne viral infections.ConclusionTo be more effective, the existing harm reduction programmes in Makassar that focus on individualistic behavioural changes need to be complemented with community-based programmes that take into consideration the social and structural context of risk-taking practices amongst young people in the lorong.     

Appendicular metastasis from carcinoma cervix

A young lady who was treated for early squamous cell carcinoma of cervix presented with perforated appendicitis. Appendicectomy was done and the histopathology was reported as metastatic squamous cell carcinoma. Squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix metastasizing to the appendix is extremely rare and we previously unreported.