Academic literature on the topic 'Guyana. National Service'

Abstract Background Inappropriate use of antimicrobials is one of the core contributors to antimicrobial resistance. While hospitals create high selection pressures on bacteria due to the high quantity and broader spectrum of antibiotics used, information on antimicrobial use at the patient level in the Caribbean is sparse. In response, PAHO implemented a standardized WHO methodology to engage national leaderships, build local capacity, and facilitate the use of data to inform antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASP) in the Caribbean. Methods Point prevalence surveys (PPS) were performed in four acute care hospitals in Barbados, Guyana and Saint Lucia between June and July 2018. Medical records of all inpatients were reviewed to collect information on antibiotic use, indications and use of laboratory services (Figure 1). A hospital questionnaire was used to assess hospital infrastructure, policy and practices, and monitoring and feedback systems (Figure 2). Training on PPS methods and electronic data collection tool in REDCap™ were provided to build local capacity and identify potential ASP leaderships. A standardized data validation, analysis and reporting system was built in R to streamline the process. Results and recommendations were disseminated to national authorities and stakeholders to support hospital and national decision-making and training for healthcare providers (Figure 3). Results A total of 60 physicians, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory technicians, and infection control specialists were trained and participated in the PPS. The survey collected records of 816 patients in which 442 (54%) were females and 374 (46%) were males. In total, 356 (44%) patients received 551 antibiotics. Overall, 300 (75%) of 398 indications for antibiotic use were treatment and 72 (18%) were prophylaxis. A higher use of parenteral antibiotics (79%) was observed compared with oral antibiotics (21%). Antibiotic prescribing patterns differed across hospitals. The most commonly used antibiotics were metronidazole (12%) and amoxicillin/clavulanate (11%). Conclusion The PPS method provided a feasible and effective way to collect baseline data and identify target areas for interventions. Engaging national leaderships and building local capacity offered a sustainable way in optimizing antimicrobial use in resource-limited settings. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.

Background: Agricultural extension plays a critical role in amplifying agricultural productivity and profitability of farmers and improving the livelihoods of rural communities. In an agricultural dependent country like Guyana, effective agricultural extension service delivery is essential to reduce poverty and improve food security. Methods: This study was carried out to determine the efficacy of the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute agricultural extension service delivery as perceived by researchers and extension officers. During 2019-2020 data were collected from researchers and extension officers via questionnaires, group discussion and interviews. Percentage and chi-square analysis were used to analyze the collected data. Result: The major findings of the study were that (45.8%) of researchers and (43.8%) of extension officers said they sometimes collaborate with each other whereas (29.2%) of researchers and (37.5%) of extension officers said they do not collaborate with each other. Extension professionals (42.5%) perceived that farmers were hesitant to adopt newly researched technologies because they preferred to continue with the practices they already know. In addition, (35%) of extension professionals perceived that more emphasis shall be placed on the number and quality of training programs offered to farmers in order to improve agricultural extension service delivery.

ObjectiveTo describe the Caribbean Public Health Agency’s (CARPHA)Tourism and Health Information System (THiS), a web-basedsyndromic surveillance system to increase the capacity of Caribbeancountries to monitor the health of visitors and staff in hotels, anddetect potential infectious disease outbreaks for early and coordinatedpublic health response.IntroductionThe tourism industry is highly vulnerable to Health, Safety, andEnvironmental Sanitation (HSE) threats. The Caribbean is the mosttourism dependent region in the world, with over 54.2 million stay-over and cruise ship arrivals in 2015, generating revenues of $US29.6billion and contributing to 15% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)and 2,255,000 jobs [1]. Tourists and staff are at an increased risk ofacquiring infectious diseases, given the mass-gathering of individualswith varying levels of susceptibility and often times in close quartersin hotels and cruise ships. To prevent the spread of infectious diseasesin these settings, early warning and response to potential publichealth threats is essential. To increase the capacity of countries in theCaribbean monitor and protect the health of tourists and staff in theirhotel establishments, THiS was designed as an early warning systemfor infectious disease outbreaks.MethodsCARPHA launched the Regional Tourism Health Information,Monitoring and Response System in 2016 with donor fundingreceived from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Theoverall objective of THMRS project from 2016-2018 is to improveparticipating country’s capacity to provide cost-effective and qualityhealth, food safety and environmental solutions to HSE threats.As part of the THMRS project, the development of a hotel-basedsyndromic surveillance system for early warning and response toinfectious diseases was developed.THiS was developed in collaboration with six participating IDBcountries: Barbados, Bahamas, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidadand Tobago. The implementation plan (2016-2018) with each countryinvolved three stages:1) Project Operations, Coordination, Management (includingAdvocacy, and Endorsement)2) Development of the project outputs: gap analysis and bestpractices; development of surveillance guidelines and trainingmodules, HSE Standards3) Implementation in participating countries (i.e. technical visits,ongoing technical coordination): Preparation, Buy-in, Training andLaunchThe web-based design of THiS enables the collection of real-time data which will inform health service delivery decisions/policies, strengthen national and regional health monitoring efforts,and trigger a rapid coordinated response to outbreaks, and preventescalation of tourism HSE incidents. The system involves a web-based questionnaire with a series of 11 short questions that ask theuser for basic non-identifiable demographic information as well assymptoms. The reported symptoms are used by the system to generatesix syndromes: Gastroenteritis, Undifferentiated Fever, HemorrhagicFever, Fever with Neurologic symptoms. Fever with Respiratorysymptoms, Fever with Rash.Data entry persons include hotel staff, physicians, and the case.Access to anlaytic dashboards of the aggregated data is limited toregistered hotel staff (i.e. Managers), the Ministry of Health of thecountry where the hotel reporting is located, and CARPHA.The limited level of baseline data for syndromes in the Caribbeanregion means that statistical aberration detection mechanisms formost syndromes will not be available until THiS collects at least oneyear’s worth of data. However, for acute gastroenteritis, until a moreaccurate threshold can be generated, a cut-off of 3% ill (staff andguests) will be used for alerting potential outbreaks. This is scheduledto be live and functional beginning in hotel facilities in Trinidad andTobago at the beginning of October 2016.By the end of 2016, THiS will be operating in facilities in all sixparticipating countries, allowing for the collection of baseline data forsyndromes occurring among tourists and staff in hotel-settings, andproviding a mechanism to detect and response to emerging publichealth threats early and efficiently.ConclusionsEstablishing this system is critical to improving countries’capacities to support the overall health surveillance system of thetourism-dependent Caribbean economies, enabling countries tocollect real-time data which will inform health service deliverydecisions/policies, strengthen national and regional health monitoringefforts to trigger a rapid coordinated response to outbreaks and othercrises and thus prevent tourism HSE incidents.

As governments worldwide move towards openness and transparency, the development of legislation to facilitate access to information is an essential requirement for modernization of the public sector and for effective governance. Access to information legislation is one way to ensure integrity in public life. Over 68 countries have approved national legislation and many are actively involved in the implementation of these laws. Globally the move to openness is supported by statements aimed at ensuring universal and equitable access to information as a basic human right. Factors influencing the approval of this legislation have included internal and external pressures from civil society, local and international press associations, and regional and international organizations. These laws mainly have an overall objective of mitigating corruption and provide the general public with the ability to request documents and other materials held by all government agencies and other agencies receiving public funds. The exemptions identified under the laws are usually based on ensuring national security. In the English–speaking Caribbean, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago have passed access legislation and several countries including the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, and Guyana are discussing their own draft legislation. This paper assesses the main elements and current status of the legislation from global surveys including that done by Banisar in 2004, and will examine in detail the progress in implementing the access legislation in the Caribbean. The research will examine the context of access legislation, complementary legislation, information infrastructure, administrative procedures, and the impact of new technologies on access to information services.

ObjectiveThe study describes the characteristics of attendances for low back pain (LBP) in the French emergency departments (ED) network Oscour®, in order to give an overview of this disease before launching a prevention campaign.IntroductionLBP is one of the leading contributors to disease burden worldwide [1]. In France, LBP is a frequent reason of general practice consultations. According to a study published in 2017 and based on 2014 data issued of the National Health Insurance Cross-Schemes Information System (Sniiram) [2], this pathology stands for 30% of thickness leave and 4 of 5 people will suffer of low back pain during their own life. Most often, LBP is a chronic pathology with acute episodes which most often require emergency care.In order to prevent chronicity, French health care insurance launched into a mainstream national prevention campaign during spring 2018. This campaign was also targeted for health professional to inform them of the best recommendations to provide to their patients. Then the French society of emergency medicine (SFMU) has been asked to relay this campaign to emergency departments (ED) where LBP is a frequent reason of attendance.Since 2004, the French syndromic surveillance system SurSaUD® [3] coordinated by the French Public Health Agency (Santé publique France) daily collects morbidity data from the emergency departments (ED) network Oscour®. Almost 92% of the French ED attendances were recorded by the system in 2017.The availability of this large ED dataset on the whole territory since several years gives the opportunity to describe LBP attendances before the potential fallout of the national prevention campaign.MethodsFor each ED attendance, the SurSaUD® system daily collects individual data containing demographic (age, gender, zip code), administrative (ED unit, date of attendance, transport…) and medical information (medical diagnosis (ICD10), chief complaint, severity, hospit.). These data are routinely analyzed to detect and follow-up various expected or unusual public health events all over the territory [3] and also constitute a large database to perform in-depth studies on specific public health issues.ED attendances with a medical diagnosis of LBP have been identified using at least one of the following ICD10 codes “M545”, “M5450”, “M5456”, “M5457”, “M5458”, “M5459”. Those data have been analyzed from 01/01/2014 to 31/12/2017 (504 ED) for the following age groups; less than 18 years old (yo), 18 to 34 yo, 35 to 49 yo, 50 to 64 yo, 65 to 84 yo and 85 yo and over, at national and regional levels. ED attendances have been also described by month, day of week and hour of day. Hospitalizations after discharge, stay duration in ED services, transport and associated diagnoses were also analyzed.ResultsFrom 2014 to 2017, 481,291 ED attendances for LBP were recorded corresponding to 1.12% of the total number of ED attendances with a coded diagnosis. 60% of annual ED attendances for LBP concern 18 to 50 years old adults. The proportion of LBP attendances among the all-cause activity remains stable between 2014 and 2017.At the regional level, LBP proportion among the all-cause activity is similar to the national value in metropolitan regions (0.8% in Brittany to 1.6% in Corsica) and is lower than the national value in overseas regions (0.4% in Mayotte to 0.8% in Guyane) except for Saint-Barthélémy (1.8%).At the national level, almost 10% of ED attendances for LBP are hospitalized after discharge. This proportion increases with age to reach 43% for the 85 years old and more. Proportion of hospitalization ranges between 5.6% (in Paris area) and 17.1% (in Brittany) in metropolitan regions and between 2.8% (Guyane) and 9.3% (Reunion island) in overseas regions.From 2014 to 2017, ED attendances for LBP remain stable by month. However, we observed a slight decrease along the week with more attendances on Monday (17.8% of LBP attendances) than the other days. The attendances are more frequent in the morning (between 6 and 12 AM).At the national level, mean stay duration for LBP attendances in ED is almost 5 hours whereas median stay duration is 2 hours and 45 minutes. Stay duration is longer for patient arrived during night hours (from midnight to 6 AM) and for those hospitalized after discharge. Stay duration is also increasing with age. At the regional level, mean stay duration varies from 3 to more than 6 hours.ConclusionsThe broad coverage of the French ED network on the whole territory since several years enables to give an overview of ED attendances for acute LBP and their characteristics.One strength of the system is its strong partnership between epidemiologists and the ED physicians. It enables to verify that the results of the study are consistent with their perception on the field.The results of this study will be used as reference to evaluate potential benefits of this campaign.Finally, this study is a good illustration of how the syndromic surveillance system in collaboration with ED physicians, can quickly provide valuable data to support political strategies.References[1] Maher et al, Non-specific low back pain Lancet 2017; 389: 736–47 Published Online October 10, 2016, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ S0140-6736(16)30970-9[2] Assurance Maladie, Le patient adulte atteint de lombalgie commune; Livret d’information Octobre 2017 données SNIRAAM 2014, https://www.ameli.fr/sites/default/files/Documents/346618/document/lombalgie-professionnels-de-sante_assurance-maladie.pdf[3] Caserio-Schönemann C, Bousquet V, Fouillet A, Henry V, pour l’équipe projet SurSaUD®. Le système de surveillance syndromique SurSaUD®. Bull Epidémiol Hebd. 2014;(3-4):38-44.

Introduction The academic area known as food studies—incorporating elements from disciplines including anthropology, folklore, history, sociology, gastronomy, and cultural studies as well as a range of multi-disciplinary approaches—asserts that cooking and eating practices are less a matter of nutrition (maintaining life by absorbing nutrients from food) and more a personal or group expression of various social and/or cultural actions, values or positions. The French philosopher, Michel de Certeau agrees, arguing, moreover, that there is an urgency to name and unpick (what he identifies as) the “minor” practices, the “multifarious and silent reserve of procedures” of everyday life. Such practices are of crucial importance to all of us, as although seemingly ordinary, and even banal, they have the ability to “organise” our lives (48). Within such a context, the following aims to consider the influence and significance of an important (although largely unstudied) professional figure in rural and regional economic life: the country food preparer variously known as the local chef or cook. Such an approach is obviously framed by the concept of “cultural economy”. This term recognises the convergence, and interdependence, of the spheres of the cultural and the economic (see Scott 335, for an influential discussion on how “the cultural geography of space and the economic geography of production are intertwined”). Utilising this concept in relation to chefs and cooks seeks to highlight how the ways these figures organise (to use de Certeau’s term) the social and cultural lives of those in their communities are embedded in economic practices and also how, in turn, their economic contributions are dependent upon social and cultural practices. This initial mapping of the influence and significance of the rural and regional chef in one rural and regional area, therefore, although necessarily different in approach and content, continues the application of such converged conceptualisations of the cultural and economic as Teema Tairu’s discussion of the social, recreational and spiritual importance of food preparation and consumption by the unemployed in Finland, Guy Redden’s exploration of how supermarket products reflect shared values, and a series of analyses of the cultural significance of individual food products, such as Richard White’s study of vegemite. While Australians, both urban and rural, currently enjoy access to an internationally renowned food culture, it is remarkable to consider that it has only been during the years following the Second World War that these sophisticated and now much emulated ways of eating and cooking have developed. It is, indeed, only during the last half century that Australian eating habits have shifted from largely Anglo-Saxon influenced foods and meals that were prepared and eaten in the home, to the consumption of a wider range of more international and sophisticated foods and meals that are, increasingly, prepared by others and eaten outside the consumer’s residence. While a range of commonly cited influences has prompted this relatively recent revolution in culinary practice—including post-war migration, increasing levels of prosperity, widespread international travel, and the forces of globalisation—some of this change owes a debt to a series of influential individual figures. These tastemakers have included food writers and celebrity chefs; with early exponents including Margaret Fulton, Graham Kerr and Charmaine Solomon (see Brien). The findings of this study suggests that many restaurant chefs, and other cooks, have similarly played, and continue to take, a key role in the lives of not only the, necessarily, limited numbers of individuals who dine in a particular eatery or the other chefs and/or cooks trained in that establishment (Ruhlman, Reach), but also the communities in which they work on a much broader scale. Considering Chefs In his groundbreaking study, A History of Cooks and Cooking, Australian food historian Michael Symons proposes that those who prepare food are worthy of serious consideration because “if ‘we are what we eat’, cooks have not just made our meals, but have also made us. They have shaped our social networks, our technologies, arts and religions” (xi). Writing that cooks “deserve to have their stories told often and well,” and that, moreover, there is a “need to invent ways to think about them, and to revise our views about ourselves in their light” (xi), Symons’s is a clarion call to investigate the role and influence of cooks. Charles-Allen Baker-Clark has explicitly begun to address this lacunae in his Profiles from the Kitchen: What Great Cooks Have Taught Us About Ourselves and Our Food (2006), positing not only how these figures have shaped our relationships with food and eating, but also how these relationships impact on identities, culture and a range of social issues including those of social justice, spirituality and environmental sustainability. With the growing public interest in celebrities, it is perhaps not surprising that, while such research on chefs and/or cooks is still in its infancy, most of the existing detailed studies on individuals focus on famed international figures such as Marie-Antoine Carême (Bernier; Kelly), Escoffier (James; Rachleff; Sanger), and Alexis Soyer (Brandon; Morris; Ray). Despite an increasing number of tabloid “tell-all” surveys of contemporary celebrity chefs, which are largely based on mass media sources and which display little concern for historical or biographical accuracy (Bowyer; Hildred and Ewbank; Simpson; Smith), there have been to date only a handful of “serious” researched biographies of contemporary international chefs such as Julia Child, Alice Waters (Reardon; Riley), and Bernard Loiseux (Chelminski)—the last perhaps precipitated by an increased interest in this chef following his suicide after his restaurant lost one of its Michelin stars. Despite a handful of collective biographical studies of Australian chefs from the later-1980s on (Jenkins; O’Donnell and Knox; Brien), there are even fewer sustained biographical studies of Australian chefs or cooks (Clifford-Smith’s 2004 study of “the supermarket chef,” Bernard King, is a notable exception). Throughout such investigations, as well as in other popular food writing in magazines and cookbooks, there is some recognition that influential chefs and cooks have worked, and continue to work, outside such renowned urban culinary centres as Paris, London, New York, and Sydney. The Michelin starred restaurants of rural France, the so-called “gastropubs” of rural Britain and the advent of the “star-chef”-led country bed and breakfast establishment in Australia and New Zealand, together with the proliferation of farmer’s markets and a public desire to consume locally sourced, and ecologically sustainable, produce (Nabhan), has focused fresh attention on what could be called “the rural/regional chef”. However, despite the above, little attention has focused on the Australian non-urban chef/cook outside of the pages of a small number of key food writing magazines such as Australian Gourmet Traveller and Vogue Entertaining + Travel. Setting the Scene with an Australian Country Example: Armidale and Guyra In 2004, the Armidale-Dumaresq Council (of the New England region, New South Wales, Australia) adopted the slogan “Foodies thrive in Armidale” to market its main city for the next three years. With a population of some 20,000, Armidale’s main industry (in economic terms) is actually education and related services, but the latest Tourist Information Centre’s Dining Out in Armidale (c. 2006) brochure lists some 25 restaurants, 9 bistros and brasseries, 19 cafés and 5 fast food outlets featuring Australian, French, Italian, Mediterranean, Chinese, Thai, Indian and “international” cuisines. The local Yellow Pages telephone listings swell the estimation of the total number of food-providing businesses in the city to 60. Alongside the range of cuisines cited above, a large number of these eateries foreground the use of fresh, local foods with such phrases as “local and regional produce,” “fresh locally grown produce,” “the finest New England ingredients” and locally sourced “New England steaks, lamb and fresh seafood” repeatedly utilised in advertising and other promotional material. Some thirty kilometres to the north along the New England highway, the country town of Guyra, proclaimed a town in 1885, is the administrative and retail centre for a shire of some 2,200 people. Situated at 1,325 metres above sea level, the town is one of the highest in Australia with its main industries those of fine wool and lamb, beef cattle, potatoes and tomatoes. Until 1996, Guyra had been home to a large regional abattoir that employed some 400 staff at the height of its productivity, but rationalisation of the meat processing industry closed the facility, together with its associated pet food processor, causing a downturn in employment, local retail business, and real estate values. Since 2004, Guyra’s economy has, however, begun to recover after the town was identified by the Costa Group as the perfect site for glasshouse grown tomatoes. Perfect, due to its rare combination of cool summers (with an average of less than two days per year with temperatures over 30 degrees celsius), high winter light levels and proximity to transport routes. The result: 3.3 million kilograms of truss, vine harvested, hydroponic “Top of the Range” tomatoes currently produced per annum, all year round, in Guyra’s 5-hectare glasshouse: Australia’s largest, opened in December 2005. What residents (of whom I am one) call the “tomato-led recovery” has generated some 60 new local jobs directly related to the business, and significant flow on effects in terms of the demand for local services and retail business. This has led to substantial rates of renovation and building of new residential and retail properties, and a noticeably higher level of trade flowing into the town. Guyra’s main street retail sector is currently burgeoning and stories of its renewal have appeared in the national press. Unlike many similar sized inland towns, there are only a handful of empty shops (and most of these are in the process of being renovated), and new commercial premises have recently been constructed and opened for business. Although a small town, even in Australian country town terms, Guyra now has 10 restaurants, hotel bistros and cafés. A number of these feature local foods, with one pub’s bistro regularly featuring the trout that is farmed just kilometres away. Assessing the Contribution of Local Chefs and Cooks In mid-2007, a pilot survey to begin to explore the contribution of the regional chef in these two close, but quite distinct, rural and regional areas was sent to the chefs/cooks of the 70 food-serving businesses in Armidale and Guyra that I could identify. Taking into account the 6 returns that revealed a business had closed, moved or changed its name, the 42 replies received represented a response rate of 65.5per cent (or two thirds), representatively spread across the two towns. Answers indicated that the businesses comprised 18 restaurants, 13 cafés, 6 bistro/brasseries, 1 roadhouse, 1 takeaway/fast food and 3 bed and breakfast establishments. These businesses employed 394 staff, of whom 102 were chefs and/cooks, or 25.9 per cent of the total number of staff then employed by these establishments. In answer to a series of questions designed to ascertain the roles played by these chefs/cooks in their local communities, as well as more widely, I found a wide range of inputs. These chefs had, for instance, made a considerable contribution to their local economies in the area of fostering local jobs and a work culture: 40 (95 per cent) had worked with/for another local business including but not exclusively food businesses; 30 (71.4 per cent) had provided work experience opportunities for those aspiring to work in the culinary field; and 22 (more than half) had provided at least one apprenticeship position. A large number had brought outside expertise and knowledge with them to these local areas, with 29 (69 per cent) having worked in another food business outside Armidale or Guyra. In terms of community building and sustainability, 10 (or almost a quarter) had assisted or advised the local Council; 20 (or almost half) had worked with local school children in a food-related way; 28 (two thirds) had helped at least one charity or other local fundraising group. An extra 7 (bringing the cumulative total to 83.3 per cent) specifically mentioned that they had worked with/for the local gallery, museum and/or local history group. 23 (more than half) had been involved with and/or contributed to a local festival. The question of whether they had “contributed anything else important, helpful or interesting to the community” elicited the following responses: writing a food or wine column for the local paper (3 respondents), delivering TAFE teacher workshops (2 respondents), holding food demonstrations for Rotary and Lions Clubs and school fetes (5 respondents), informing the public about healthy food (3 respondents), educating the public about environmental issues (2 respondents) and working regularly with Meals on Wheels or a similar organisation (6 respondents, or 14.3 per cent). One respondent added his/her work as a volunteer driver for the local ambulance transport service, the only non-food related response to this question. Interestingly, in line with the activity of well-known celebrity chefs, in addition to the 3 chefs/cooks who had written a food or wine column for the local newspaper, 11 respondents (more than a quarter of the sample) had written or contributed to a cookbook or recipe collection. One of these chefs/cooks, moreover, reported that he/she produced a weblog that was “widely read”, and also contributed to international food-related weblogs and websites. In turn, the responses indicated that the (local) communities—including their governing bodies—also offer some support of these chefs and cooks. Many respondents reported they had been featured in, or interviewed and/or photographed for, a range of media. This media comprised the following: the local newspapers (22 respondents, 52.4 per cent), local radio stations (19 respondents, 45.2 per cent), regional television stations (11 respondents, 26.2 per cent) and local websites (8 respondents, 19 per cent). A number had also attracted other media exposure. This was in the local, regional area, especially through local Council publications (31 respondents, 75 per cent), as well as state-wide (2 respondents, 4.8 per cent) and nationally (6 respondents, 14.3 per cent). Two of these local chefs/cooks (or 4.8 per cent) had attracted international media coverage of their activities. It is clear from the above that, in the small area surveyed, rural and regional chefs/cooks make a considerable contribution to their local communities, with all the chefs/cooks who replied making some, and a number a major, contribution to those communities, well beyond the requirements of their paid positions in the field of food preparation and service. The responses tendered indicate that these chefs and cooks contributed regularly to local public events, institutions and charities (with a high rate of contribution to local festivals, school programs and local charitable activities), and were also making an input into public education programs, local cultural institutions, political and social debates of local importance, as well as the profitability of other local businesses. They were also actively supporting not only the future of the food industry as a whole, but also the viability of their local communities, by providing work experience opportunities and taking on local apprentices for training and mentorship. Much more than merely food providers, as a group, these chefs and cooks were, it appears, also operating as food historians, public intellectuals, teachers, activists and environmentalists. They were, moreover, operating as content producers for local media while, at the same time, acting as media producers and publishers. Conclusion The terms “chef” and “cook” can be diversely defined. All definitions, however, commonly involve a sense of professionalism in food preparation reflecting some specialist knowledge and skill in the culinary arts, as well as various levels of creativity, experience and responsibility. In terms of the specific duties that chefs and professional cooks undertake every day, almost all publications on the subject deal specifically with workplace related activities such as food and other supply ordering, staff management, menu planning and food preparation and serving. This is constant across culinary textbooks (see, for instance, Culinary Institute of America 2002) and more discursive narratives about the professional chef such as the bestselling autobiographical musings of Anthony Bourdain, and Michael Ruhlman’s journalistic/biographical investigations of US chefs (Soul; Reach). An alternative preliminary examination, and categorisation, of the roles these professionals play outside their kitchens reveals, however, a much wider range of community based activities and inputs than such texts suggest. It is without doubt that the chefs and cooks who responded to the survey discussed above have made, and are making, a considerable contribution to their local New England communities. It is also without doubt that these contributions are of considerable value, and valued by, those country communities. Further research will have to consider to what extent these contributions, and the significance and influence of these chefs and cooks in those communities are mirrored, or not, by other country (as well as urban) chefs and cooks, and their communities. Acknowledgements An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Engaging Histories: Australian Historical Association Regional Conference, at the University of New England, September 2007. I would like to thank the session’s participants for their insightful comments on that presentation. A sincere thank you, too, to the reviewers of this article, whose suggestions assisted my thinking on this piece. Research to complete this article was carried out whilst a Visiting Fellow with the Research School of Humanities, the Australian National University. References Armidale Tourist Information Centre. Dining Out in Armidale [brochure]. Armidale: Armidale-Dumaresq Council, c. 2006. Baker-Clark, C. A. Profiles from the Kitchen: What Great Cooks have Taught us about Ourselves and our Food. Lexington: UP of Kentucky, 2006. Bernier, G. Antoine Carême 1783-1833: La Sensualité Gourmande en Europe. Paris: Grasset, 1989. Bourdain, A. Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly. New York: Harper Perennial, 2001. Bowyer, A. Delia Smith: The Biography. London: André Deutsch, 1999. Brandon, R. The People’s Chef: Alexis Soyer, A Life in Seven Courses. Chichester: Wiley, 2005. Brien, D. L. “Australian Celebrity Chefs 1950-1980: A Preliminary Study.” Australian Folklore 21 (2006): 201–18. Chelminski, R. The Perfectionist: Life and Death In Haute Cuisine. New York: Gotham Books, 2005. Clifford-Smith, S. A Marvellous Party: The Life of Bernard King. Milson’s Point: Random House Australia, 2004. Culinary Institute of America. The Professional Chef. 7th ed. New York: Wiley, 2002. de Certeau, M. The Practice of Everyday Life. Berkeley: U of California P, 1988. Hildred, S., and T. Ewbank. Jamie Oliver: The Biography. London: Blake, 2001. Jenkins, S. 21 Great Chefs of Australia: The Coming of Age of Australian Cuisine. East Roseville: Simon and Schuster, 1991. Kelly, I. Cooking for Kings: The Life of Antoine Carême, The First Celebrity Chef. New York: Walker and Company, 2003. James, K. Escoffier: The King of Chefs. London and New York: Hambledon and London, 2002. Morris, H. Portrait of a Chef: The Life of Alexis Soyer, Sometime Chef to the Reform Club. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1938. Nabhan, G. P. Coming Home to Eat: The Pleasures and Politics of Local Foods. New York: W.W. Norton, 2002. O’Donnell, M., and T. Knox. Great Australian Chefs. Melbourne: Bookman Press, 1999. Rachleff, O. S. Escoffier: King of Chefs. New York: Broadway Play Pub., 1983. Ray, E. Alexis Soyer: Cook Extraordinary. Lewes: Southover, 1991. Reardon, J. M. F. K. Fisher, Julia Child, and Alice Waters: Celebrating the Pleasures of the Table. New York: Harmony Books, 1994. 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Abstract The ExxonMobil Wells organization, along with Hess Guyana Exploration Limited and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, executed a successful multi-rig campaign to achieve First Oil on the Liza Phase 1 project ahead of schedule, utilizing advanced deepwater completion technologies to deliver highly productive wells. Considering the sizable resource offshore Guyana, strategic partnerships have been established with drilling contractors and other service providers to build economies-of-scale. ExxonMobil's prior global experience is actively being leveraged in rig selection and well design. Standardization, both above and below the rotary, has allowed for increased flexibility on current and future well execution, maintaining optionality to rapidly adjust project pace. A deliberate contracting strategy with established rig providers has also opened access to top tier rigs with reduced procurement timelines, providing flexibility with total rig count and capability. With an integrated team approach focused on simulataneous operations (SIMOPS) mitigation, rig movements have been optimized within the field to prioritize the highest value work and streamline project delivery. Effective schedule integration with multiple drilling rigs and installation vessels has reduced SIMOPS downtime during Phase 1 project execution. Additionally, batch rig operations have allowed the team to capitalize on operational efficiencies. A combination of these factors led to on-time well delivery and helped the project achieve aggressive First Oil milestones. The team has implemented innovative technologies to maximize value and well reliability, including the following: integrated geosteering workflows, with Azimuthal Ultra-Deep Resistivity (AUDR), enabling maximum reservoir penetrations; a suite of low equivalent circulating density (ECD) drilling fluids that enable the drilling of narrow-margin, highly deviated wells; ExxonMobil's patented NAFPac™ openhole gravel pack technology and autonomous inflow control devices (AICDs) on stand-alone-screen completions to increase well life and reliability; and remotely operated vehicle (ROV) based tree intervention control systems and ROV actuated suspension valves allowing for offline installation of subsea trees. Additionally, the team implemented the first floating application of the NOVOS™ automated slip-to-slip drilling system. NOVOS™ has been coupled with an automated drilling advisory system (AutoDAS) and data analytics environments for continuous performance improvement. The production wells that were delivered for Liza Phase 1 have highly productive, low-skin completions averaging over 900 m in length and production rates in excess of 30 kbd/well. Advancements in completion technology and efficiency proven on Liza Phase 1 are being extended into Phase 2 development and beyond, providing additional reservoir management capability. Lastly, ExxonMobil's commitment to Guyana extends to its people. Guyanese personnel have benefitted from significant training provided by ExxonMobil and sub-contractors, and Guyanese Nationals represented approximately 40% of the workforce involved in Wells-related activities at the end of 2020.