Search results for: narrative qualitative analysis

Authors: Linda Kauškale, Ineta Geipele

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Due to the rapidly changing external environment, portfolio management strategies became closely interconnected with real estate industry development and macroeconomic development tendencies. The aim of the research is to analyze sustainable real estate market development influencing factors, with particular focus on its economic and management aspects that influences real estate investment decisions as well. Scientific literature and article analysis, data analysis, expert evaluation, and other quantitative and qualitative research methods were used in the research. Developed real estate market sustainability model and index analysis approach can be applied by investors and real estate companies in real estate asset management and can help in risk minimization activities in international entrepreneurship. Future research directions have been identified in the research as well.

Keywords: indexes, investment decisions, real estate market, sustainability

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Authors: Manish Manohar Hingorani

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The purpose of the research is to find out the level of understanding, adoption, and implementation of CRM in Indian Businesses, either product/ service and the processes which should be followed to ensure minimal to no customer churn and further enhance loyalty. The study used comprehensive qualitative interviews of 36 respondents across mid and senior-level management in product and services organizations of Indian origin. The findings of the study exhibit a gap between the understanding, adoption and implementation of CRM in the Indian context. Different Industries have attributed different levels of understanding, adoption, and limited implementation studies on CRM to the Indian context exists in different industries, but studies related to the consequences of not understanding the true meaning of CRM at the grass root level and further than on non-adoption and non-implementation will have an adverse effect on the customer loyalty, and customer satisfaction leading to customer churn. As this was a qualitative approach, the analysis was content-based and discourse based. The responses were taken from mid to very-senior management decision-makers in organizations of Indian origin.

Keywords: customer relationship management, Indian consumer, customer loyalty, customer experience, customer satisfaction

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Authors: Kristen Emory, Jerry Flores

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Purpose: We explore the unique and underrepresented experiences of Indigenous women living in Toronto, Canada, during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study is to better document the impacts of COVID-19 on the mental health and well-being of Indigenous women in Toronto, Canada, in order to better understand unmet needs, as well as lay the groundwork for more targeted research and potential interventions based on these needs. Background: It has been fairly well documented that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased mental health concerns among various populations globally. There have also been numerous studies indicating increases in substance use and abuse in response to the stress of the pandemic. There is also evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted a variety of historically marginalized populations in Canada, the US, and globally, including Indigenous populations. While these studies provide some insight into how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the global population, much less is known about the lived experiences of Indigenous populations during the time of COVID-19. Better understanding these experiences will allow public health professionals, governments, and non-governmental organizations better combat health inequities related to the pandemic. Methods: In-depth qualitative semi-structured virtual (due to COVID-19) interviews with 13 Indigenous women were conducted during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020). Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed by team members using Dedoose qualitative analysis software. Findings: COVID-19 negatively affected Indigenous females identifying participants’ mental health and corresponding reported increases in substance use. In addition to the daily stress of the unpredictability of life in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, participants cited job loss, economic concerns, homeschooling, and lack of access to medical resources as primary factors in increasing their stress and decreasing mental health and wellbeing. In response to these stressors, a majority of participants cited coping mechanisms such as increased substance use to help deal with the uncertainty. In particular, alcohol and tobacco emerged as coping mechanisms to help participants cope with stress related to the pandemic (as well as its social and economic toll on respondents' lives). We will present qualitative data to be presented, including participant direct quotes, explaining their experiences with COVID-19, mental health, and increased substance use, as well as analysis and synthesis with the existing scientific evidence base. Conclusion: This research is among the good studies to our knowledge that scientifically explore the impact of COVID-19 on mental health and well-being and corresponding increases in reported substance use.

Keywords: mental health, covid-19, indigenous, inequity, anxiety, depression, stress

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Authors: Madhura Yadav

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Urban redevelopment planning initiatives in developing countries have been largely criticised due to top-down planning approach and lack of involvement of the targeted beneficiaries which have led to a challenging situation which is contrary to the perceived needs of beneficiaries. Urban renewal projects improve the lives of people and meaningful participation of community plays a pivotal role. Public perceptions on satisfaction and participation have been given less priority in the investigation, which hinders effective planning and implementation of urban renewal projects. Moreover, challenges of community participation in urban renewal projects are less documented, particularly in relation to public participation and satisfaction. There is a need for new paradigm shift focusing on community participatory approach in urban renewal projects. The over 125-year-old Bhendi Bazar in Mumbai, India is the country’s first ever cluster redevelopment project, popularly known as Bhendi Bazaar redevelopment and it will be one of the largest projects for urban rejuvenation of one of Mumbai’s oldest and dying inner city areas. The project is led by the community trust, inputs were taken from various stakeholders, including residents, commercial tenants and expert consultants to shape the master plan and design of the project. The project started in 2016 but there is a significant delay in implementing the project. The study aimed at studying and assessing public perceptions on satisfaction and the relationship between community participation and community satisfaction in Bhendi Bazaar of Mumbai, India. Furthermore, the study will outline the challenges and problems of community participation in urban renewal projects and it suggests recommendations for the future. The qualitative and quantitative methods such as reconnaissance survey, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, walking interviews, a narrative inquiry is used for analysis of data. Preliminary findings revealed that all tenants are satisfied for the redevelopment of an area but the willingness of residential tenants to move in transit accommodation has made the projects successful and reductant of some residential and commercial tenants, regulatory provisions rising to face challenges in implementation. Experiences from the case study can help to understand dynamics behind public participation and government. At the same time, they serve as an inspiration and learning opportunity for future projects to ensure that they are sustainable not only from an economic standpoint but also, a social perspective.

Keywords: urban renewal, Bhendi Bazaar, community participation, satisfaction, social perspective

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Authors: Thanomsin Chakreeves, Atichat Preittigun, Ajchara Phu-ang

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This paper presents a stakeholder analysis of agricultural drone policies that meet the government's goal of building an agricultural drone ecosystem in Thailand. Firstly, case studies from other countries are reviewed. The stakeholder analysis method and qualitative data from the interviews are then presented including data from the Institute of Innovation and Management, the Office of National Higher Education Science Research and Innovation Policy Council, agricultural entrepreneurs and farmers. Study and interview data are then employed to describe the current ecosystem and to guide the implementation of agricultural drone policies that are suitable for the ecosystem of Thailand. Finally, policy recommendations are then made that the Thai government should adopt in the future.

Keywords: drone public policy, drone ecosystem, policy development, agricultural drone

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Authors: Bilgen Özlük, Ülkü Baykal

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The study was conducted with the aim of determining the evaluations of nurses directed at the restructuring process carried out in the nursing services of a private hospital, and reveal how they have been affected by this process, in an integrated manner between a prospective approach and methods of quantitative and qualitative research, and as a comparative study, comparing the changes over a period of three years. The sample for the study is comprised of all of the nurses employed at a private hospital, and data has been collected from 17 nurses (a total of 30 interviews) for the qualitative part 377 nurses in 2013 and 429 nurses in 2014 for the quantitative part. As vehicles of data collection, the study used a form directed at identifying the changes in the organisational and management structure of the hospital, a nurses' interview form, a questionnaire identifying the personal and occupational characteristics of the nurses, the "Minnesota Job Satisfaction Scale", the "Organisational Citizenship Behaviour Scale" and the "Organisational Trust Scale". Qualitative data by researchers, quantitative data was analysed using number and percentage tests, a t-test, and ANOVA, progressive analysis Tukey and regression tests. While in the qualitative part of the study the nurses stated in the first year of the restructuring that they were satisfied with their relationship with top level management, the increases in salaries and changes in the working environment such as the increase in the number of staff, in later years, they stated that there had been a fall in their satisfaction levels due to reasons such as nursing services instead of nurse practitioners in a position they are not satisfied that the director, nursing services outside the nursing profession appointment of persons to positions of management and the lack of appropriate training and competence of these persons, increases in the burden of work, insufficient salaries and the lack of a difference in the salaries of senior and more junior staff. On the other hand, in the quantitative part, it was found that there was no difference in the levels of job satisfaction and organisational trust in any of the two years, that as the level of organisational trust increased the level of job satisfaction also increased, and that as the levels of job satisfaction and organisational trust a positive impact on organisational citizenship behaviour also increased.

Keywords: services, nursing management, re-structuring, job satisfaction, organisational citizenship behaviour, organisational trust

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Authors: Jessica J. Gillies

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Awareness of the tragedy that is human trafficking has increased exponentially over the past two decades. The four pillars widely recognised as global solutions to the problem are prevention, prosecution, protection, and partnership between government and non-government organisations. While ‘sex-trafficking’ initially received major attention, this focus has shifted to other industries that conceal broader experiences of exploitation. However, within the regions of focus for this study, namely Australia and Thailand, trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation remains the commonly uncovered narrative of criminal justice investigations. In these regions anti-trafficking action is characterised by government-led prevention and prosecution efforts; whereas protection and reintegration practices have received criticism. Typically, non-government organisations straddle the critical chasm between policy and practice; therefore, they are perfectly positioned to contribute valuable experiential knowledge toward understanding how both sectors can support survivors in the post-trafficking experience. The aim of this research is to inform improved partnerships throughout government and non-government post-trafficking services by illuminating gaps in protection and reintegration initiatives. This research will explore government and non-government responses to human trafficking in Thailand and Australia, in order to understand how meaning is constructed in this context and how the construction of meaning effects survivors in the post-trafficking experience. A qualitative, three-stage methodology was adopted for this study. The initial stage of enquiry consisted of a discursive analysis, in order to deconstruct the broader discourses surrounding human trafficking. The data included empirical papers, grey literature such as publicly available government and non-government reports, and anti-trafficking policy documents. The second and third stages of enquiry will attempt to further explore the findings of the discourse analysis and will focus more specifically on protection and reintegration in Australia and Thailand. Stages two and three will incorporate process observations in government and non-government survivor support services, and semi-structured interviews with employees and volunteers within these settings. Two key findings emerged from the discursive analysis. The first exposed conflicting feminist arguments embedded throughout anti-trafficking discourse. Informed by conflicting feminist discourses on sex-work, a discursive relationship has been constructed between sex-industry policy and anti-trafficking policy. In response to this finding, data emerging from the process observations and semi-structured interviews will be interpreted using a feminist theoretical framework. The second finding progresses from the construction in the first. The discursive construction of sex-trafficking appears to have had influence over perceptions of the legitimacy of survivors, and therefore the support they receive in the post-trafficking experience. For example; women who willingly migrate for employment in the sex-industry, and on arrival are faced with exploitative conditions, are not perceived to be deserving of the same support as a woman who is not coerced, but rather physically forced, into such circumstances, yet both meet the criteria for a victim of human trafficking. The forthcoming study is intended to contribute toward building knowledge and understanding around the implications of the construction of legitimacy; and contextualise this in reference to government led protection and reintegration support services for survivors in the post-trafficking experience.

Keywords: Australia, government, human trafficking, non-government, reintegration, Thailand

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Authors: Han Zheng

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This research is being conducted to explore women's leadership in China's National Governing Bodies ( in order to identify the barriers to women's leadership and provide feasible solutions. Extensive research has been undertaken internationally, which has identified and acknowledged the underrepresentation of women in leadership positions across multiple industries and global contexts. According to these studies, leadership specifically within the sports industry was both historically and is still currently male-dominated. Within China, the underrepresentation of women in leadership positions is also evident, which women only occupy 16% of the leadership in business enterprises and 5.6% in scientific and technological research institutions, yet there is limited research that has looked to examine why this is the case regarding women's leadership in China, especially within in sports industry. Therefore, this research gap drives the purpose, which aims to explore the current situation of women's leadership in sports National Governing Bodies (NGBs) in China. By using both questionnaires and interviews, data from NGBs in China will be collected. This research will achieve the following three goals: 1, determine the representation level of women's leadership in the target organizations. 2, identify barriers to women's leadership and their causes. 3, provide feasible solutions. Based on the multi-level framework, this study develops a "barrier matrix" framework: according to the analysis of the previous literature, it concludes that there are eight main barriers that hinder the development of women's leadership. The research combines qualitative and quantitative analysis, using questionnaires and interviews. Key findings according to the analysis of the primary data collected: 1. The average proportion of female occupational leadership in China's sports NGBs is less than 17.5%. 2. 50.8% of China's sports NGBs have no equal employment opportunity policy. 3. According to the preliminary qualitative analysis of the interviews, it is found that the core barriers affecting women's leadership development are mainly in the following areas: male-dominated culture and gender stereotyping (macro-level), biased organizational policies and procedures (meso-level), work-family conflicts and self-limiting behaviors (micro-level).

Keywords: women leadership, sport management, gender equality, sport leadership, sport NGBs

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Authors: Ling-Lang Huang

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Background: The holistic health care should ideally cover physical, mental, spiritual, and social aspects of a patient. With very constrained time in current clinical practice system, medical decisions often tip the balance in favor of evidence-based medicine (EBM) in comparison to patient's personal values. Even in the era of competence-based medical education (CBME), when scrutinizing the items of entrustable professional activities (EPAs), we found that EPAs of establishing doctor-patient relationship remained incomplete or even missing. This phenomenon prompted us to raise this project aiming at advocating value-based medicine (VBM), which emphasizes the importance of patient’s values in medical decisions. A true and effective doctor-patient communication and relationship should be a well-balanced harmony of EBM and VBM. By constructing VBM into current EPAs, we can further promote genuine shared decision making (SDM) and fix the missing link in holistic health care. Methods: In this project, we are going to find out EPA elements crucial for establishing an ideal doctor-patient relationship through three distinct pairs of doctor-patient relationships: patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (relatively young but with grave disease), patients undergoing surgery (facing critical medical decisions), and patients with terminal diseases (facing forthcoming death). We’ll search for important EPA elements through the following steps: 1. Narrative approach to delineate patients’ values among 2. distinct groups. 3.Hermeneutics-based interview: semi-structured interview will be conducted for both patients and physicians, followed by qualitative analysis of collected information by compiling, disassembling, reassembling, interpreting, and concluding. 4. Preliminarily construct those VBM elements into EPAs for doctor-patient relationships in 3 groups. Expected Outcomes: The results of this project are going to give us invaluable information regarding the impact of patients’ values, while facing different medical situations, on the final medical decision. The competence of well-blending and -balanced both values from patients and evidence from clinical sciences is the missing link in holistic health care and should be established in future EPAs to enhance an effective SDM.

Keywords: value-based medicine, shared decision making, entrustable professional activities, holistic health care

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Authors: Concetta Papapicco

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The spreading of new Coronavirus (COVID-19) in addition to becoming a global phenomenon, following the declaration of a pandemic state, has generated excessive access to information, sometimes not thoroughly screened, which makes it difficult to navigate a given topic because of the difficulty of finding reliable sources. As a result, there is a high level of contagion, understood as the spread of the virus, but also as the spread of information in a viral and harmful way, which prompted the World Health Organization to coin the term Infodemia to give 'a name' the phenomenon of excessive information. With neologism 'Infodemia', the World Health Organization (OMS) wanted, in these days when fear of the coronavirus is raging, point out that perhaps the greatest danger of global society in the age of social media. This phenomenon is the distortion of reality in the rumble of echoes and comments of the global community on real or often invented facts. The general purpose of the exploratory study is to investigate how the coronavirus situation is described from journalistic communication. Starting from La Repubblica online, as a reference journalistic magazine, as a specific objective, the research aims to understand the way in which journalistic communication describes the phenomenon of the COVID-19 virus spread, the spread of contagion and restrictive measures of social distancing in the Italian context. The study starts from the hypothesis that if the circulation of information helps to create a social representation of the phenomenon, the excessive accessibility to sources of information (Infodemia) can be modulated by the 'how' the phenomenon is described by the journalists. The methodology proposed, in fact, in the exploratory study is a quanti-qualitative (mixed) method. A Content Analysis with the SketchEngine software is carried out first. In support of the Content Analysis, a Diatextual Analysis was carried out. The Diatextual Analysis is a qualitative analysis useful to detect in the analyzed texts, that is the online articles of La Repubblica on the topic of coronavirus, Subjectivity, Argomentativity, and Mode. The research focuses mainly on 'Mode' or 'How' are the events related to coronavirus in the online articles of La Repubblica about COVID-19 phenomenon. The results show the presence of the contrast vision about COVID-19 situation in Italy.

Keywords: coronavirus, Italian infodemia, La Republica online, mix method

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Authors: Romeu Bonk Mesquita

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Argentina is the South American number 1 country of destiny to intraregional migration flows. This research aims to shed light on the main trends of the Argentine immigrant policy from 2016 on, when Mauricio Marci was elected President, taking the approval of the current and fairly protective of human rights Ley de Migraciones (2003) as an analytical starting point. Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA) serves as the theoretical background, highlighting decision-making processes and institutional designs that encourage or constraint political and social actors. The analysis goes through domestic and international levels, observing how immigration policy is formulated as a public policy and is simultaneously connected to Mercosur and other international organizations, such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Thus, the study revolves around the Direccion Nacional de Migraciones, which is the state agency in charge of executing the country’s immigrant policy, as to comprehend how its internal processes and the connections it has with both domestic and international institutions shape Argentina’s immigrant policy formulation and execution. Also, it aims to locate the migration agenda within the country’s contemporary social and political context. The methodology is qualitative, case-based and oriented by process-tracing techniques. Empirical evidence gathered includes official documents and data, media coverage and interviews to key-informants. Recent events, such as the Decreto de Necesidad y Urgencia 70/2017 issued by President Macri, and the return of discursive association between migration and criminality, indicate a trend of nationalization and securitization of the immigration policy in contemporary Argentina.

Keywords: Argentine foreign policy, human rights, immigrant policy, Mercosur

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Authors: Moiseenko F. V., Volkov N. M., Zhabina A. S., Stepanova E. O., Kirillov A. V., Myslik A. V., Artemieva E. V., Agranov I. R., Oganesyan A. P., Egorenkov V. V., Abduloeva N. H., Aleksakhina S. Yu., Ivantsov A. O., Kuligina E. S., Imyanitov E. N., Moiseyenko V. M.

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Analysis of ctDNA in patients with NSCLC is an emerging biomarker. Multiple research efforts of quantitative or at least qualitative analysis before and during the first periods of treatment with TKI showed the prognostic value of ctDNA clearance. Still, these important results are not incorporated in clinical standards. We evaluated the role of ctDNA in EGFR-mutated NSCLC receiving first-line TKI. Firstly, we analyzed sequential plasma samples from 30 patients that were collected before intake of the first tablet (at baseline) and at 6, 12, 24, 36, and 48 hours after the “starting point.” EGFR-M+ allele was measured by ddPCR. Afterward, we included sequential qualitative analysis of ctDNA with cobas® EGFR Mutation Test v2 from 99 NSCLC patients before the first dose, after 2 and 4 months of treatment, and on progression. Early response analysis showed the decline of EGFR-M+ level in plasma within the first 48 hours of treatment in 11 subjects. All these patients showed objective tumor response. 10 patients showed either elevation of EGFR-M+ plasma concentration (n = 5) or stable content of circulating EGFR-M+ after the start of the therapy (n = 5); only 3 of these patients achieved an objective response (p = 0.026) when compared to the former group). The rapid decline of plasma EGFR-M+ DNA concentration also predicted for longer PFS (13.7 vs. 11.4 months, p = 0.030). Long-term ctDNA monitoring showed clinically significant heterogeneity of EGFR-mutated NSCLC treated with 1st line TKIs in terms of progression-free and overall survival. Patients without detectable ctDNA at baseline (N = 32) possess the best prognosis on the duration of treatment (PFS: 24.07 [16.8-31.3] and OS: 56.2 [21.8-90.7] months). Those who achieve clearance after two months of TKI (N = 42) have indistinguishably good PFS (19.0 [13.7 – 24.2]). Individuals who retain ctDNA after 2 months (N = 25) have the worst prognosis (PFS: 10.3 [7.0 – 13.5], p = 0.000). 9/25 patients did not develop ctDNA clearance at 4 months with no statistical difference in PFS from those without clearance at 2 months. Prognostic heterogeneity of EGFR-mutated NSCLC should be taken into consideration in planning further clinical trials and optimizing the outcomes of patients.

Keywords: NSCLC, EGFR, targeted therapy, ctDNA, prognosis

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Authors: Qian Wang

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In recent years, a growing number of Chinese women choose to pursue Ph.D. education. Except for the male and female, women with PhD degrees are stigmatized as the ‘third gender’ in Chinese society. People, especially most men, believe that female PhD students challenge the traditional image and gender role of Chinese women. This gender stereotype causes a range of difficulties in finding partners in marriage market for Chinese female PhD students. In this study, the author conducted in-depth interviews with 15 participants who are currently doing their PhD studies in Chinese universities to explore their perceptions of being leftover women on the basis of their experience. All the participants are single. Based on the analysis of qualitative data, this study found that the ‘leftover women’ phenomenon among Chinese female PhD students is the result of the contradictions generated between Chinese patriarchal society and them. Although Chinese female PhD students is an attention-attracting group, the studies about them are very limited in China. This study could not only contribute to the understanding of the ‘third gender’ phenomenon and the ‘leftover women’ studies in China, but also, in practical level, could give some guidance for governments to resolve the social problems of female PhD students.

Keywords: Chinese female Ph.D. students, the ‘leftover women’, the Chinese patriarchal society, gender role, Chinese culture

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Authors: Arezoo Fallahi, Fateme Aslibigi, Parvaneh Taymoori, Babak Nematshahrbabaki

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Background and Aims: Cancer of the cervix, one of cancer-related death, is the second most common cancer in women worldwide. It develops over time but it is one of the most preventable types of cancer and there is the available proper screening program for its preventing. Since Pap smear test is vital to prevent and control of disease but women do not accomplish it regularly. Therefore, this study was aimed to explore women's needs referring to health care centers for doing Pap smear test. Material and methods: In this study, an inductive qualitative method with content analysis approach was used. This survey was done in varamin city (is located capital of Iran) in year 2014. Through the purposive sampling 15 women's view of point referring to health care centers of for doing Pap smear test was surveyed. Inclusion criteria were: 20-50 years old married women, having experience Pap smear test and attendance to participate in the Study. Recorded semi- structured interviews were typed and analyzed through of content analysis method. To obtain trustworthiness and rigor of the data, the criteria of credibility, dependability, confirmability and transferability was used. Results: During the data analysis, four main categories of “role of health care team”, “role of organizations”, “social support” and “policies and administration system” were developed. The participants emphasized on making motivational rules and coordination among organizations to do behaviors related to women health. Conclusion: The findings of study showed that doing Pap smear test are attributed to appropriate and intimate interactions with health professionals, family support, encouraging legislation and policies and coordination and notification of organizations. Therefore, designers and stockholders of policies and health system should more consider to growth and involve other organizations toward women's health.

Keywords: qualitative approach, pap smear test, women, health care centers

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Authors: Mariam Arif

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The objective of the current study is to find out the electoral violence against women and its implications on their political participation. This paper is a qualitative study to get an in-depth analysis of the phenomenon. This study used questionnaires and interviews for findings. This paper attempts to study electoral violence and women in politics in Pakistan. The study concluded that women are subjected to different categories of violence defined as physical violence that involves sexual and bodily harm to a politically active woman or to people associated with her. Social and psychological violence includes class difference, stress, social limitations, family pressure and character assassination. Economic violence is defined as a systematic restriction of access to economic resources available to women thus hinder women active participation in politics (elections). All these violence against women in elections are threat to the integrity of the electoral process of the country that eventually affects women’s participation as voters, party candidates, election officials and political party leaders. It also undermines the free and fair democratic process. This qualitative paper shows a significant negative relationship between electoral violence and women participation in politics.

Keywords: elections, politics, violence, women

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Authors: Awangku Hassanal Bahar Pengiran Bagul, Fauziahton Ag. Samad

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The focus of this study is to outline the development of Community-Based Ecotourism (CBET) in order to achieve sustainability. The CBET in Desa Cinta Kobuni is a result of a collaboration between Kampung Kobuni, Kota Kinabalu City Hall or DBKK (Dewan Bandaraya Kota Kinabalu), and Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS). It is located in Inanam, a sub-district of Kota Kinabalu city. The current ecotourism activities are still in the growth stage and mainly focused on cultural tourism products and activities that showcase their traditional food, clothing, language, history, values, beliefs, dance, arts, and crafts. The study’s methodological approach is qualitative with narrative inquiry, also known as storytelling. This enables the study to access valuable insight with rich data into the complexity of developing community-based ecotourism. The results show that there are three major impacts on the Desa Cinta Kobuni, which are, 1) the increment of secondary income, 2) the advancement of women’s empowerment, and 3) the enhanced sustainability initiatives of the villagers. The experience in developing their first CBET has resulted in the Kota Kinabalu City Hall producing the Framework for Sustainable Community Based Ecotourism that integrates Sustainable Development Goals and the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism (GCET) for future CBET development in other parts of the city. The paper concludes that there is a significant positive transformation of the village and the villagers while reaffirming that Community-Based ecotourism (CBET) is a sustainable form of tourism that improves the quality of life of hosts at the tourist destination.

Keywords: community, ecotourism, cultural tourism, sustainability, sustainable development

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Authors: Margarita Santi Becerra Santiago

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The following document addresses the descriptive analysis under the qualitative approach of resilient leadership that allows us to know the importance of the application of a new leadership model to face the new challenges within the gastronomic companies in Mexico. Likewise, to know the main factors that influence resilient leaders and companies to develop new skills to elaborate strategies that contribute to overcoming adversities and managing change. Adversities in a company always exist and challenge us to move and apply our knowledge to be competitive as well as to strengthen our work team through motivation to achieve efficiency and develop in a good organizational climate.

Keywords: challenges, efficiency, leadership, resilience skills

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Authors: Yunfan Jiang

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In response to an identified gap in available treatment programmes for high-risk offenders with multiple criminogenic needs and guided by emerging literature in the field of correctional rehabilitation, Singapore Prison Service (SPS) developed the Integrated Criminogenic Programme (ICP) in 2012. This evidence-informed psychological programme was designed to address all seven dynamic criminogenic needs (from the Central 8) of high-risk offenders by applying concepts from rehabilitation and psychological theories such as Risk-Need-Responsivity, Good Lives Model, narrative identity, and motivational interviewing. This programme also encompasses a 6-month community maintenance component for the purpose of providing structured step-down support in the aftercare setting. These sessions provide participants the opportunity for knowledge reinforcement and application of skills attained in-care. A quantitative evaluation of the ICP showed that the intervention group had statistically significant improvements across time in most self-report measures of criminal attitudes, substance use attitudes, and psychosocial functioning. This was congruent with qualitative data from participants saying that the ICP had the most impact on their criminal thinking patterns and management of behaviours in high-risk situations. Results from the comparison group showed no difference in their criminal attitudes, even though they reported statistically significant improvements across time in their substance use attitudes and some self-report measures of psychosocial functioning. The programme’s efficacy was also apparent in the lower rates of recidivism and relapse within 12 months for the intervention group. The management of staff issues arising from the development and implementation of an innovative high-intensity psychological programme such as the ICP will also be discussed.

Keywords: evaluation, forensic psychology, intervention programme, offender rehabilitation

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Authors: Pedro M. Abreu, Bruno R. Mendes

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The management of pharmacotherapy and the process of dispensing medicines is becoming critical in clinical pharmacy due to the increase of incidence and prevalence of chronic diseases, the complexity and customization of therapeutic regimens, the introduction of innovative and more expensive medicines, the unbalanced relation between expenditure and revenue as well as due to the lack of rationalization associated with medication use. For these reasons, co-payments emerged in Europe in the 70s and have been applied over the past few years in healthcare. Co-payments lead to a rationing and rationalization of user’s access under healthcare services and products, and simultaneously, to a qualification and improvement of the services and products for the end-user. This analysis, under hospital practices particularly and co-payment strategies in general, was carried out on all the European regions and identified four reference countries, that apply repeatedly this tool and with different approaches. The structure, content and adaptation of European co-payments were analyzed through 7 qualitative attributes and 19 performance indicators, and the results expressed in a scorecard, allowing to conclude that the German models (total score of 68,2% and 63,6% in both elected co-payments) can collect more compliance and effectiveness, the English models (total score of 50%) can be more accessible, and the French models (total score of 50%) can be more adequate to the socio-economic and legal framework. Other European models did not show the same quality and/or performance, so were not taken as a standard in the future design of co-payments strategies. In this sense, we can see in the co-payments a strategy not only to moderate the consumption of healthcare products and services, but especially to improve them, as well as a strategy to increment the value that the end-user assigns to these services and products, such as medicines.

Keywords: clinical pharmacy, co-payments, healthcare, medicines

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Authors: Albert Acheampong, Tamer Elshandidy

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We investigate the extent to which sustainability disclosure from the narrative section of European banks’ annual reports improves analyst forecast accuracy. We capture sustainability disclosure using a machine learning approach and use forecast error to proxy analyst forecast accuracy. Our results suggest that sustainability disclosure significantly improves analyst forecast accuracy by reducing the forecast error. In a further analysis, we also find that the induction of Directive 2014/95/European Union (EU) is associated with increased disclosure content, which then reduces forecast error. Collectively, our results suggest that sustainability disclosure improves forecast accuracy, and the induction of the new EU directive strengthens this improvement. These results hold after several further and robustness analyses. Our findings have implications for market participants and policymakers.

Keywords: sustainability disclosure, machine learning, analyst forecast accuracy, forecast error, European banks, EU directive

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Authors: Kenneth Kapalu Muzata, Dikeledi Mahlo, Pinkie Mabunda Mabunda

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This paper presents results of a study conducted to establish special education teachers’ knowledge and application of curriculum adaptation of the 2013 revised curriculum in Zambia. From a sample of 134 respondents (120 special education teachers, 12 education officers, and 2 curriculum specialists), the study collected both quantitative and qualitative data to establish whether teachers understood and applied the concept of curriculum adaptation in teaching learners with special education needs. To obtain data validity and reliability, the researchers collected data by use of mixed methods. Semi-structured questionnaires and interviews were administered. Lesson Observations and post-lesson discussions were conducted on 12 selected teachers from the 120 sample that answered the questionnaires. Frequencies, percentages, and significant differences were derived through the statistical package for social sciences. Qualitative data were analyzed with the help of NVIVO qualitative software to create themes and obtain coding density to help with conclusions. Both quantitative and qualitative data were concurrently compared and related. The results revealed that special education teachers lacked a thorough understanding of the concept of curriculum adaptation, thus denying learners with special education needs the opportunity to benefit from the revised curriculum. The teachers were not oriented on the revised curriculum and hence facing numerous challenges trying to adapt the curriculum. The study recommended training of special education teachers in curriculum adaptation.

Keywords: curriculum adaptation, special education, learners with special education needs, special education teachers

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Authors: Yei Mian Adrian Yap

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How we idealize the regular schools to be inclusive as much as possible hinges on mainstream teachers’ attitudes and teaching-efficacy towards the inclusion of students with special needs in the regular schools. This research studies the Japanese and Singaporean mainstream teachers’ attitudes and teaching-efficacy towards the inclusion of students with special needs in the regular classrooms by investigating what key variables influence their attitudes and teaching-efficacy and how they strategize to address their challenges to include their students with special needs in their regular classrooms. In order to understand the nature of teachers’ attitudes and teaching-efficacy towards the inclusive education, a mixed-method research methodology was carried out in Japan and Singapore; it involved an explanatory sequential method of employing quantitative research first before qualitative research. In the quantitative research, 189 Japanese and 183 Singaporean teachers were invited to participate in the questionnaires and out of these participants, 38 Japanese and 15 Singaporean teachers shared their views during their semi-structured interviews. Based on the empirical findings, Japanese teachers’ attitudes and teaching-efficacy were more likely to be influenced by their experiences in teaching students with special needs, knowledge about disability legislation, presence of their disabled family members and level of confidence to teach students with special needs. On the other hand, Singaporean teachers’ attitudes and teaching-efficacy were affected by gender, educational level, received trainings in special needs education, knowledge about disability legislation and level of confidence to teach students with special needs. Both country results also demonstrated that there was a positive correlation between their teaching-efficacy and attitude. Narrative findings further expanded the reasons behind these quantitative factors that shaped teachers’ attitudes and teaching-efficacy. Also it discussed the various problems faced by Japanese and Singaporean teachers and how they identified their coping strategies to circumvent their challenges in including their students with special needs in their regular classrooms. The significance of this research manifests in necessary educational reforms in both countries especially in the context of inclusive education. These findings may not be as definitive as expected but it is believed that it could provide useful information on the current situation about teachers’ concerns towards the inclusive education. In conclusion, this research could potentially make its positive contribution to the body of literature on teachers’ attitudes and teaching-efficacy in the context of Asian developed countries and these findings could posit that regular teachers’ positive attitudes and strong sense of teaching self-efficacy could directly improve the success rate of inclusion of students with special needs in the regular classrooms.

Keywords: attitudes, inclusive education, special education, teaching-efficacy

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Authors: Maryam Pirdehghan

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During the Ba'ath Party's rule in Iraq, propaganda was utilized to justify and to promote Saddam Hussein's image in the collective memory as the greatest Arab leader. Consequently, urban walls were routinely covered with images of Saddam. Relying on these images, the regime aimed to provide a basis for evoking meanings in the public opinion, which would supposedly strengthen Saddam’s power and reconstruct facts to legitimize his political ideology. Nonetheless, Saddam was not always portrayed with common and explicit elements but in certain periods of his rule, the paintings depicted him in an unusual context, where various historical and contemporary elements were combined in a narrative background. Therefore, an understanding of the implied socio-political references of these elements is required to fully elucidate the impact of these images on forming the memory and collective unconscious of the Iraqi people. To obtain such understanding, one needs to address the following questions: a) How Saddam Hussein is portrayed in mural during his rule? b) What of elements and mythical-historical narratives are found in the paintings? c) Which Saddam's political views were subject to the collective memory through mural? Employing visual semiotics, this study reveals that during Saddam Hussein's regime, the paintings were initially simple portraits but gradually transformed into narrative images, characterized by a complex network of historical, mythical and religious elements. These elements demonstrate the transformation of a secular-nationalist politician into a Muslim ruler who tried to instill three major policies in domestic and international relations i.e. the arabization of Iraq, as well as the propagation of pan-arabism ideology (first period), the implementation of anti-Israel policy (second period) and the implementation of anti-American-British policy (last period).

Keywords: Ba'ath Party, Saddam Hussein, mural, Iraq, propaganda, collective memory

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Authors: Ruth Leitch, Joanne Hughes

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This paper presents the findings of a three-year government-funded study (ILiAD) that aimed to understand the reasons for differential educational achievement within and between socially and economically deprived areas in Northern Ireland. Previous international studies have concluded that there is a positive correlation between deprivation and underachievement. Our preliminary secondary data analysis suggested that the factors involved in educational achievement within multiple deprived areas may be more complex than this, with some areas of high multiple deprivation having high levels of student attainment, whereas other less deprived areas demonstrated much lower levels of student attainment, as measured by outcomes on high stakes national tests. The study proposed that no single explanation or disparate set of explanations could easily account for the linkage between levels of deprivation and patterns of educational achievement. Using a social capital perspective that centralizes the connections within and between individuals and social networks in a community as a valuable resource for educational achievement, the ILiAD study involved a multi-level case study analysis of seven community sites in Northern Ireland, selected on the basis of religious composition (housing areas are largely segregated by religious affiliation), measures of multiple deprivation and differentials in educational achievement. The case study approach involved three (interconnecting) levels of qualitative data collection and analysis - what we have termed Micro (or community/grassroots level) understandings, Meso (or school level) explanations and Macro (or policy/structural) factors. The analysis combines a statistical mapping of factors with qualitative, in-depth data interpretation which, together, allow for deeper understandings of the dynamics and contributory factors within and between the case study sites. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data reveals both cross-cutting factors (e.g. demographic shifts and loss of community, place of the school in the community, parental capacity) and analytic case studies of explanatory factors associated with each of the community sites also permit a comparative element. Issues arising from the qualitative analysis are classified either as drivers or inhibitors of educational achievement within and between communities. Key issues that are emerging as inhibitors/drivers to attainment include: the legacy of the community conflict in Northern Ireland, not least in terms of inter-generational stress, related with substance abuse and mental health issues; differing discourses on notions of ‘community’ and ‘achievement’ within/between community sites; inter-agency and intra-agency levels of collaboration and joined-up working; relationship between the home/school/community triad and; school leadership and school ethos. At this stage, the balance of these factors can be conceptualized in terms of bonding social capital (or lack of it) within families, within schools, within each community, within agencies and also bridging social capital between the home/school/community, between different communities and between key statutory and voluntary organisations. The presentation will outline the study rationale, its methodology, present some cross-cutting findings and use an illustrative case study of the findings from a community site to underscore the importance of attending to community differences when trying to engage in research to understand and improve educational attainment for all.

Keywords: educational achievement, multiple deprivation, community case studies, social capital

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Authors: Francesco Ceresia

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Workplace aggression is broadly recognized as a main work-related risk for healthcare organizations the world over. Scholars underlined that nonfatal workplace aggressions can be also produced by Type II workplace aggression, that occur when the aggressor has a legitimate relationship with the organization and commits an act of hostility while being served or cared for by members of the organization. Several reviews and meta-analysis highlighted the main antecedents and consequences of Type II verbal and physical workplace aggression in the healthcare sector, also focusing on its economic and psychosocial costs. However, some scholars emphasized the need for a systemic and multi-factorial approach to deeply understand and effectively respond to such kind of aggression. The main aim of the study is to propose a qualitative model of Type II workplace aggression in a health care organization in accordance with the system thinking and multi-factorial perspective. A case study research approach, conducted in an Italian non-hospital healthcare organization, is presented. Two main data collection methods have been adopted: individual and group interviews with a sample (N = 24) of physicians, nurses and clericals. A causal loop diagram (CLD) that describes the main causal relationships among the key-variables of the proposed model has been outlined. The main feedback loops and the causal link polarities have been also defined to fully describe the structure underlining the Type II workplace aggression phenomenon. The proposed qualitative model shows how the Type II workplace aggression is related with burnout, work performance, job satisfaction, turnover intentions, work motivation and emotional dissonance. Finally, strategies and policies to reduce the strength of workplace aggression’s drivers are suggested.

Keywords: healthcare, system thinking, work motivation, workplace aggression

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Authors: J. Marchand

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While university dropout entrepreneurs are celebrated in the practitioner literature, students’ intentions of becoming entrepreneurs have increasingly been the focus of student entrepreneur studies. However, students who are already running a business have rarely been examined. The experience of these students is a phenomenon that requires further research. Entrepreneurial identity represents a gap in the organisational studies literature. This paper utilises studentpreneurs’ self-narratives of their entrepreneurial journey. More specifically, the aim is to answer the following question: what are the types of identity work that individuals go through to build their entrepreneurial identity during that journey? Through long interviews, this paper studies the lived experience of 14 studentpreneurs who have achieved $54,000 in income and who participated publicly in entrepreneurial competitions. A general inductive analysis is performed on their narrative. With its focus on the journey, this paper makes a contribution to the literature on identity work and the entrepreneurial journey. A key contribution is the study of identity work on the journey to becoming an (established) entrepreneur in contrast to routine identity work.

Keywords: entrepreneurial identity, student entrepreneur, identity work, student entrepreneurship

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Authors: Gunjan Razdan, Priyanka Sreenath, Jagannath Behera, S. K. Mishra, Sunil Mehra

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Uttar Pradesh is one of the poor performing states with high Malnutrition and Anaemia among adolescent girls resulting in high MMR, IMR and low birth weight rate. The rate of anaemia among adolescent girls has doubled in the past decade. Adolescents gain around 15-20% of their optimum height, 25-50% of the ideal adult weight and 45% of the skeletal mass by the age of 19. Poor intake of energy, protein and other nutrients is one of the factors for malnutrition and anaemia. METHODS: The cross-sectional survey using a mixed method (quantitative and qualitative) was adopted in this study. The respondents (adolescents, parents and frontline health workers) were selected randomly from 30 villages and surveyed through a semi-structured questionnaire for qualitative information and FGDs and IDIs for qualitative information. A 24 hours dietary recall method was adopted to estimate their dietary practices. A total of 1069 adolescent girls, 1067 boys, 1774 parents and 69 frontline functionaries were covered under the study. Percentages and mean were calculated for quantitative variable, and content analysis was carried out for qualitative data. RESULTS: Over 80 % of parents provided assertions that they understood the term balanced diet and strongly felt that their children were having balanced diet. However, only negligible 1.5 % of parents could correctly recount essential eight food groups and 22% could tell about four groups which was the minimum response expected to say respondents had fair knowledge on a balanced diet. Only 10 percent of parents could tell that balanced diet helps in physical and mental growth and only 2% said it has a protective role. Besides, qualitative data shows that the perception regarding balanced diet is having costly food items like nuts and fruits. The dietary intake of adolescents is very low despite the increased iron needs associated with physical growth and puberty.The consumption of green leafy vegetables (less than 35 %) and citrus fruits (less than 50%) was found to be low. CONCLUSIONS: The assertions on an understanding of term balanced diet are contradictory to the actual knowledge and practices. Knowledge on essential food groups and nutrients is crucial to inculcate healthy eating practices among adolescents. This calls for comprehensive communication efforts to improve the knowledge and dietary practices among adolescents.

Keywords: anemia, knowledge, malnutrition, perceptions

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Authors: Shreya Mishra, Manosi Chaudhuri, Ajoy K. Dey

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Workplace bullying is a social phenomenon which has proved to be hazardous not only for employees’ well-being but also organizations. Despite being prevalent across geographical boundaries, Indian organizations have failed to acknowledge its vices. This paper aims to understand targets’ perception on what makes bullying nurture in organizations. The paper suggests that person-led Indian work settings give birth to bullying behavior as it lacks professional acumen and systems. An analysis of 13 in-depth interviews of employees from the organized sector suggests that organizations, where decision making lies with single individual, may be a hub of hostile behavior due to the culture which promotes ‘yesmanship’, ‘authoritarianism’ and/or blind belief of leaders on certain set of employees. The study used constructivist grounded theory approach, and the data was analyzed using R Based Qualitative Data Analysis (RQDA) software. Respondents reported that bullying behavior is taken lightly by the management with 'just ignore it' attitude. According to the respondents, the behavior prolong as the perpetrator have a direct approach to the top authority. The study concludes that person-led organizations may create a family-like environment which is favored by employees; however, authoritative leaders are unable to gain the trust of employees. Also, employees who are close to the leader may either be a perpetrator or a target of bullying. It is recommended that leaders in such organizations need to acknowledge the presence of bullying which affects an employees’ commitment towards their job and/or organization. They need to have an assertive check on individuals who hide behind ‘yesman’ attitude. This may help employees feel safe in such work settings.

Keywords: constructivist grounded theory, person-led organization, RQDA, workplace bullying

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Authors: Do Thi Ha, Khanitta Nuntaboot

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Background: Competency of nurses is vital to safe nursing practice as well as essential component to drive quality of nursing services. There exists little up to date information concerning actual competency among Vietnamese nurses. Purposes: The purpose of this study is to identify the actual nursing competency among nurses in clinical settings in Vietnam. Methods: A qualitative study, ethnographic method, comprised of the participant-observation, in-depth interview, and focus group discussion with multidisciplinary groups of nurses employing in Cho Ray hospital, Vietnam, managers/administrators, nurse teachers, medical doctors, other health care providers, patients and family members which derived from purposeful sampling technique. Content analysis was used for data analysis. Results: Five essential themes of nursing competencies among nurses were identified include (1) knowledge, (2) skills, (3) attitude and value-based nursing practice, (4) legal and ethical competencies, and (5) transcultural competencies. Basic and advanced knowledge were identified as further two dimensions of knowledge. There were five sub themes identified as further dimensions of skills include technical skills, communication skills, organizing and management skills, teamwork and interrelationship, and critical thinking skills. Conclusions: The findings from this study provide valuable information and understanding of the actual competency among nurses in clinical settings in Vietnam. It is expected that this understanding would assist in developing a guide to nursing education and training, nursing practice and relevant policy regulation used for promoting nursing competency among nurses.

Keywords: ethnographic method, nursing competency, qualitative design, Vietnam

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Authors: Saman Keshavarzi

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The process of planning, designing and building neighborhoods is a complex and multidimensional part of urban planning. Understanding the elements that give a neighborhood a sense of identity can lead to successful city planning and result in a cohesive and functional community where people feel a sense of belonging. These factors are important in ensuring that the needs of the urban population are met to live in a safe, pleasant and healthy society. This research paper aims to identify the elements of the identity of traditional neighborhoods in Isfahan and analyzes ways of using these elements in the design of modern neighborhoods to increase social interaction between communities and cultural reunification of people. The neighborhood of Jolfa in Isfahan has a unique socio-cultural identity as it dates back to the Safavid Dynasty of the 16^th century, and most of its inhabitants are Christian Armenians of a religious minority. The elements of the identity of Jolfa were analyzed through the following research methods: field observations, distribution of questionnaires and qualitative analysis. The basic methodology that was used to further understand the Jolfa neighborhood and deconstruct the identity image that residents associate with their respective neighborhoods was a qualitative research method. This was done through utilizing questionnaires that respondents had to fill out in response to a series of research questions. From collecting these qualitative data, the major finding was that traditional neighborhoods that have elements of identity embedded in them are seen to have closer-knit communities whose residents have strong societal ties. This area of study in urban planning is vital to ensuring that new neighborhoods are built with concepts of social cohesion, community and inclusion in mind as they are what lead to strong, connected, and prosperous societies.

Keywords: development, housing, identity, neighborhood, policy, urbanization

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