Search results for: patriarchal themes

Authors: Shulamit Sternin, Raymond M. McKie, Carter Winberg, Robb N. Travers, Terry P. Humphreys, Elke D. Reissing

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Issues surrounding sexual consent negotiation have become a major topic of societal concern. The majority of current research focuses on the complexities of sexual consent negotiations and the multitude of nuanced issues that surround the consent obtainment of heterosexual adults in post-secondary educational institutions. To date, the only study that has addressed sexual consent negotiation behaviour in same-sex relationships focused on the extent to which individuals used a variety of different verbal and nonverbal sexual consent behaviours to initiate or respond to sexual activity. The results were consistent with trends found within heterosexual individuals; thus, suggesting that the current understanding of sexual consent negotiation, which is grounded in heterosexual research, can serve as a strong foundation for further exploration of sexual consent negotiation within same-sex relationships populations. The current study quantitatively investigated the differences between heterosexual men and gay and bisexual men (GBM) in their understanding of sexual consent negotiation. Exploring how the perceptions of GBM differ from heterosexual males provides insight into some of the unique challenges faced by GBM. Data were collected from a sample of 252 heterosexual men and 314 GBM from Canada, the United States, and Western Europe. Participants responded to the question, 'do you think sexual consent and sex negotiation is different for heterosexual men compared to gay men? If so, how?' by completed an online survey. Responses were analysed following Braun & Clarke’s (2006) six phase thematic analysis guidelines. Inter-rater coding was validated using Cohen’s Kappa value and was calculated at (ϰ = 0.84), indicating a very strong level of agreement between raters. The final thematic structure yielded four major themes: understanding of sexual interaction, unique challenges, scripted role, and universal consent. Respondents spoke to their understanding of sexual interaction, believing GBM sexual consent negotiation to be faster and more immediate. This was linked to perceptions of emotional attachment and the idea that sexual interaction and emotional involvement were distinct and separate processes in GBM sexual consent negotiation, not believed to be the case in heterosexual interactions. Unique challenges such as different protection concerns, role declaration, and sexualization of spaces were understood to hold differing levels of consideration for heterosexual men and GBM. The perception of a clearly defined sexual script for GBM was suggested as a factor that may create ambiguity surrounding sexual consent negotiation, which in turn holds significant implications on unwanted sexual experiences for GBM. Broadening the scope of the current understanding of sexual consent negotiation by focusing on heterosexual and GBM population, the current study has revealed variations in perception of sexual consent negotiation between these two populations. These differences may be understood within the context of sexual scripting theory and masculinity gender role theory. We suggest that sexual consent negotiation is a health risk factor for GBM that has not yet been adequately understood and addressed. Awareness of the perceptions that surround the sexual consent negotiation of both GBM and heterosexual men holds implications on public knowledge, which in turn can better inform policy making, education, future research, and clinical treatment.

Keywords: sexual consent, negotiation, heterosexual men, GBM, sexual script

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Authors: Line Massé, Claire Baudry, Claudia Verret, Marie-France Nadeau, Anne Brault-Labbé

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Little research has been conducted on educational services adapted for twice exceptional students. Within an action research, a cluster grouping was set up in an elementary school in Quebec, bringing together gifted or doubly exceptional (2E) students (n = 11) and students not identified as gifted (n = 8) within a multilevel class (3ᵣ𝒹 and 4ₜₕ years). 2E students had either attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (n = 8, including 3 with specific learning disability) or autism spectrum disorder (n = 2). Differentiated instructions strategies were implemented, including the possibility of progressing at their own pace of learning, independent study or research projects, flexible accommodation, tutoring with older students and the development of socio-emotional learning. A specialized educator also supported the teacher in the class for behavioural and socio-affective aspects. Objectives: The study aimed to assess the impacts of the grouping on all students, their academic motivation, and their socio-emotional adaptation. Method: A mixed method was used, combining a qualitative approach with a quantitative approach. Semi-directed interviews were conducted with students (N = 18, 4 girls and 14 boys aged 8 to 9) and one of their parents (N = 18) at the end of the school year. Parents and students completed two questionnaires at the beginning and end of the school year: the Behavior Assessment System for Children-3, children or parents versions (BASC-3, Reynolds and Kampus, 2015) and the Academic Motivation in Education (Vallerand et al., 1993). Parents also completed the Multidimensional Student Life Satisfaction Scale (Huebner, 1994, adapted by Fenouillet et al., 2014) comprising three domains (school, friendships, and motivation). Mixed thematic analyzes were carried out on the data from the interviews using the N'Vivo software. Related-samples Wilcoxon rank-sums tests were conducted for the data from the questionnaires. Results: Different themes emerge from the students' comments, including a positive impact on school motivation or attitude toward school, improved school results, reduction of their behavioural difficulties and improvement of their social relations. These remarks were more frequent among 2E students. Most 2E students also noted an improvement in their academic performance. Most parents reported improvements in attitudes toward school and reductions in disruptive behaviours in the classroom. Some parents also observed changes in behaviours at home or in the socio-emotional well-being of their children, here again, particularly parents of 2E children. Analysis of questionnaires revealed significant differences at the end of the school year, more specifically pertaining to extrinsic motivation identified, problems of conduct, attention, emotional self-control, executive functioning, negative emotions, functional deficiencies, and satisfaction regarding friendships. These results indicate that this approach could benefit not only gifted and doubly exceptional students but also students not identified as gifted.

Keywords: Cluster grouping, elementary school, giftedness, mixed methods, twice exceptional students

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Authors: Maureen Kamau, Gulnaz Mohamoud, Adelaide Lusambili, Njeri Nyanja

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Life expectancy has increased over the last century amongst older individuals, and in particular, those 60 years and over. The World Health Organization estimates that the world's population of persons over 60 years will rise to 22 per cent by the year 2050. Ageing is associated with increasing disability, multiple chronic conditions, and an increase in the use of health services. These multiple chronic conditions are managed with polypharmacy. Polypharmacy has numerous adverse effects including non-adherence, poor compliance to the various medications, reduced appetite, and risk of fall. Studies on polypharmacy and ageing are few and poorly understood especially in low and middle - income countries. The aim of this study was to explore the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of older people towards polypharmacy. A qualitative study of 15 patients aged 60 years and above, taking more than five medications per day were conducted at the Aga Khan University using Semi-structured in-depth interviews. Three interviews were pilot interviews, and data analysis was performed on 12 interviews. Data were analyzed using NVIVO 12 software. A thematic qualitative analysis was carried out guided by Braun and Clarke (2006) framework. Themes identified; - knowledge of their co-morbidities and of the medication that older persons take, sources of information about medicines, and storage of the medication, experiences and attitudes of older patients towards polypharmacy both positive and negative, older peoples beliefs and their coping mechanisms with polypharmacy. The study participants had good knowledge on their multiple co-morbidities, and on the medication they took. The patients had positive attitudes towards medication as it enhanced their health and well-being, and enabled them to perform their activities of daily living. There was a strong belief among older patients that the medications were necessary for their health. All these factors enhanced compliance to the multiple medication. However, some older patients had negative attitudes due to the pill burden, side effects of the medication, and stigma associated with being ill. Cost of healthcare was a concern, with most of the patients interviewed relying on insurance to cover the cost of their medication. Older patients had accepted that the medication they were prescribed were necessary for their health, as it enabled them to complete their activities of daily living. Some concerns about the side effects of the medication arose, and brought about the need for patient education that would ensure that the patients are aware of the medications they take, and potential side effects. The effect that the COVID 19 pandemic had in the healthcare of the older patients was evident by the number of the older patients avoided coming to the hospital during the period of the pandemic. The relationship with the primary care physician and the older patients is an important one, especially in LMICs such as Kenya, as many of the older patients trusted the doctors wholeheartedly to make the best decision about their health and about their medication. Prescription review is important to avoid the use of potentially inappropriate medication.

Keywords: polypharmacy, older patients, multiple chronic conditions, Kenya, Africa, qualitative study, indepth interviews, primary care

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Authors: Jessica Raven Gates, Gemma Wilson-Menzfeld, Professor Alison Steven

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In 2019, the Primary Care system in the UK National Health Service (NHS) was subject to reform and restructuring. Primary Care Networks (PCNs) were established, which aligned with a trend towards integrated care both within the NHS and internationally. The introduction of PCNs brought groups of GP practices in a locality together, to operate as a network, build on existing services and collaborate at a larger scale. PCNs were expected to bring a range of benefits to patients and address some of the workforce pressures in the NHS, through an expanded and collaborative workforce. The early establishment of PCNs was disrupted by the emerging COVID-19 pandemic. This study, set in the context of the pandemic, aimed to explore experiences of the PCN workforce, and their perceptions of the establishment of PCNs. Specific objectives focussed on examining factors perceived as enabling or hindering the success of a PCN, the impact on day-to-day work, the approach to implementing change, and the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic upon PCN development. This study is part of a three-phase PhD project that utilized qualitative approaches and was underpinned by social constructionist philosophy. Phase 1: a systematic narrative review explored the provision of preventative healthcare services in UK primary settings and examined facilitators and barriers to delivery as experienced by the workforce. Phase 2: informed by the findings of phase 1, semi-structured interviews were conducted with fifteen participants (PCN workforce). Phase 3: follow-up interviews were conducted with original participants to examine any changes to their experiences and perceptions of PCNs. Three main themes span across phases 2 and 3 and were generated through a Framework Analysis approach: 1) working together at scale, 2) network infrastructure, and 3) PCN leadership. Findings suggest that through efforts to work together at scale and collaborate as a network, participants have broadly accepted the concept of PCNs. However, the workforce has been hampered by system design and system complexity. Operating against such barriers has led to a negative psychological impact on some PCN leaders and others in the PCN workforce. While the pandemic undeniably increased pressure on healthcare systems around the world, it also acted as a disruptor, offering a glimpse into how collaboration in primary care can work well. Through the integration of findings from all phases, a new theoretical model has been developed, which conceptualises the findings from this Ph.D. study and demonstrates how the workforce has experienced change associated with the establishment of PCNs. The model includes a contextual component of the COVID-19 pandemic and has been informed by concepts from Complex Adaptive Systems theory. This model is the original contribution to knowledge of the PhD project, alongside recommendations for practice, policy and future research. This study is significant in the realm of health services research, and while the setting for this study is the UK NHS, the findings will be of interest to an international audience as the research provides insight into how the healthcare workforce may experience imposed policy and service changes.

Keywords: health services research, qualitative research, NHS workforce, primary care

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Authors: Collen Tebogo Masilo, Erik Schmikl

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The demand for the DataMiner product by customers has presented a great challenge for the vendor in Skyline Communications in deploying its limited resources in the form of human resources, financial resources, and office space, to achieve high organisational performance in all its international operations. The rapid growth of the organisation has been unable to efficiently support its existing customers across the globe, and provide services to new customers, due to the limited number of approximately one hundred employees in its employ. The combined descriptive and explanatory case study research methods were selected as research design, making use of a survey questionnaire which was distributed to a sample of 100 respondents. A sample return of 89 respondents was achieved. The sampling method employed was non-probability sampling, using the convenient sampling method. Frequency analysis and correlation between the subscales (the four themes) were used for statistical analysis to interpret the data. The investigation was conducted into mechanisms that can be deployed to balance the high demand for products and the limited production capacity of the company’s Belgian operations across four aspects: demand management strategies, capacity management strategies, communication methods that can be used to align a sales management department, and reward systems in use to improve employee performance. The conclusions derived from the theme ‘demand management strategies’ are that the company is fully aware of the future market demand for its products. However, there seems to be no evidence that there is proper demand forecasting conducted within the organisation. The conclusions derived from the theme 'capacity management strategies' are that employees always have a lot of work to complete during office hours, and, also, employees seem to need help from colleagues with urgent tasks. This indicates that employees often work on unplanned tasks and multiple projects. Conclusions derived from the theme 'communication methods used to align sales management department with operations' are that communication is not good throughout the organisation. This means that information often stays with management, and does not reach non-management employees. This also means that there is a lack of smooth synergy as expected and a lack of good communication between the sales department and the projects office. This has a direct impact on the delivery of projects to customers by the operations department. The conclusions derived from the theme ‘employee reward systems’ are that employees are motivated, and feel that they add value in their current functions. There are currently no measures in place to identify unhappy employees, and there are also no proper reward systems in place which are linked to a performance management system. The research has made a contribution to the body of research by exploring the impact of the four sub-variables and their interaction on the challenges of organisational productivity, in particular where an organisation experiences a capacity problem during its growth stage during tough economic conditions. Recommendations were made which, if implemented by management, could further enhance the organisation’s sustained competitive operations.

Keywords: high demand for products, high organisational performance, limited production capacity, limited resources

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Authors: Joy Tweed, Jon Pike

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In Thailand, a 4.0 policy has been initiated that is designed to prepare and train an appropriate workforce to support the move to a value-based economy. One aspect of support for this policy is a project to encourage the creation of double degree programmes, specifically between Thai and UK universities. This research into the project, conducted with its key players, explores the factors that can either enable or hinder the development of such programmes. It is an area that has received little research attention to date. Key findings focus on differences in quality assurance requirements, attitudes to benefits, risks, and committed levels of institutional support, thus providing valuable input into future policy making. The Transnational Education (TNE) Development Project was initiated in 2015 by the British Council, in conjunction with the Office for Higher Education Commission (OHEC), Thailand. The purpose of the project was to facilitate opportunities for Thai Universities to partner with UK Universities so as to develop double degree programme models. In this arrangement, the student gains both a UK and a Thai qualification, spending time studying in both countries. Twenty-two partnerships were initiated via the project. Utilizing a qualitative approach, data sources included participation in TNE project workshops, peer reviews, and over 20 semi-structured interviews conducted with key informants within the participating UK and Thai universities. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analysed for key themes. The research has revealed that the strength of the relationship between the two partner institutions is critical. Successful partnerships are often built on previous personal contact, have senior-level involvement and are strengthened by partnership on different levels, such as research, student exchange, and other forms of mobility. The support of the British Council was regarded as a key enabler in developing these types of projects for those universities that had not been involved in TNE previously. The involvement of industry is apparent in programmes that have high scientific content but not well developed in other subject areas. Factors that hinder the development of partnership programmes include the approval processes and quality requirements of each institution. Significant differences in fee levels between Thai and UK universities provide a challenge and attempts to bridge them require goodwill on the part of the latter that may be difficult to realise. This research indicates the key factors to which attention needs to be given when developing a TNE programme. Early attention to these factors can reduce the likelihood that the partnership will fail to develop. Representatives in both partner universities need to understand their respective processes of development and approval. The research has important practical implications for policy-makers and planners involved with TNE, not only in relation to the specific TNE project but also more widely in relation to the development of TNE programmes in other countries and other subject areas. Future research will focus on assessing the success of the double degree programmes generated by the TNE Development Project from the perspective of universities, policy makers, and industry partners.

Keywords: double-degree, internationalization, partnerships, Thai-UK

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Authors: Naphaporn Sapsopha

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Aging population has been growing rapidly in Thailand due to several factors – namely, the declining size of the average Thai family, changing family structure, higher survival rates of women, and job migration patterns – there are fewer working-age citizens who are able to care for and support their aging family members. When a family can no longer provide for their elders, the responsibility shifts to the government. Many non-profit institutional care facilities for older adults have already been established, but having such institutions are not enough. In addition to the provisions that a reliable shelter can provide, older adults also need efficient social services, physical wellness, and mental health, all of which are crucial for successful aging. Yet, to date, there is no consensus or a well-accepted definition of what constitutes successful aging. The issue is further complicated by cultural expectations, and the gendered experience of the older adults. These issues need to be better understood to promote effective care and wellness. This qualitative research investigates the relationship between institutional care and successful aging among the institutionalized Thai older adults at a non-profit facility in Bangkok, Thailand. Specifically, it examines: a) How do institutionalized older adults define successful aging?, b) What factors do they believe contribute to successful aging?, and c) Do their beliefs vary by gender? Data was collected using a phenomenological research approach that included focus groups and in-depth interviews using open-ended questions, conducted on 10 institutionalized older adults (5 men and 5 women) ages 60 or over. Interview transcripts were coded and analyzed using grounded theory methodology. The participants aged between 70-91 years old, and they varied in terms of gender, education, occupation, and life background. The results revealed that Thai institutionalized older adults viewed successful aging as a result of multiple interrelated factors: maintaining physical health, good mental and cognitive abilities. Remarkably, the participants identified as successful aging include independence for self-care and financial support, adhering to moral principles and religious practice, seeing the success of their loved ones, and making social contributions to their community. In addition, three primary themes were identified as a coping strategy to age successfully: self-acceptance by being sufficient and satisfied with all aspects of life, preparedness and adaptation for every stage of life, and self-esteem by maintaining their self. These beliefs are shared across gender and age differences. However, participants highlighted the importance of the interrelationship among these attributes similar to the need for a secure environment, the thoughtfulness and social support of institutional care in order to maintain positive attitude and well-being. With highly increased Thai aging population, many of these older adults will find themselves living in the institutional care; therefore, it is important to intensively understand how older adults viewed successful aging, what constituted successful aging and what could be done to promote it. Interventions to enhance successful aging may include meaningful practice and along with an effective coping strategy in order to lead a better quality of life those living in institutional care.

Keywords: institutional care, older adults, self-acceptant, successful aging

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Authors: Rena Upitis, Philip C. Abrami, Karen Boese

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The success of one-on-one music study relies heavily on the ability of the teacher to provide sufficient direction to students during weekly lessons so that they can successfully practice from one lesson to the next. Traditionally, these instructions are given in a paper notebook, where the teacher makes notes for the students after describing a task or demonstrating a technique. The ability of students to make sense of these notes varies according to their understanding of the teacher’s directions, their motivation to practice, their memory of the lesson, and their abilities to self-regulate. At best, the notes enable the student to progress successfully. At worst, the student is left rudderless until the next lesson takes place. Digital notebooks have the potential to provide a more interactive and effective bridge between music lessons than traditional pen-and-paper notebooks. One such digital notebook, Cadenza, was designed to streamline and improve teachers’ instruction, to enhance student practicing, and to provide the means for teachers and students to communicate between lessons. For example, Cadenza contains a video annotator, where teachers can offer real-time guidance on uploaded student performances. Using the checklist feature, teachers and students negotiate the frequency and type of practice during the lesson, which the student can then access during subsequent practice sessions. Following the tenets of self-regulated learning, goal setting and reflection are also featured. Accordingly, the present paper addressed the following research questions: (1) How does the use of the Cadenza digital music notebook engage students and their teachers?, (2) Which features of Cadenza are most successful?, (3) Which features could be improved?, and (4) Is student learning and motivation enhanced with the use of the Cadenza digital music notebook? The paper describes the results 10 months of field-testing of Cadenza, structured around the four research questions outlined. Six teachers and 65 students took part in the study. Data were collected through video-recorded lesson observations, digital screen captures, surveys, and interviews. Standard qualitative protocols for coding results and identifying themes were employed to analyze the results. The results consistently indicated that teachers and students embraced the digital platform offered by Cadenza. The practice log and timer, the real-time annotation tool, the checklists, the lesson summaries, and the commenting features were found to be the most valuable functions, by students and teachers alike. Teachers also reported that students progressed more quickly with Cadenza, and received higher results in examinations than those students who were not using Cadenza. Teachers identified modifications to Cadenza that would make it an even more powerful way to support student learning. These modifications, once implemented, will move the tool well past its traditional notebook uses to new ways of motivating students to practise between lessons and to communicate with teachers about their learning. Improvements to the tool called for by the teachers included the ability to duplicate archived lessons, allowing for split screen viewing, and adding goal setting to the teacher window. In the concluding section, proposed modifications and their implications for self-regulated learning are discussed.

Keywords: digital music technologies, electronic notebooks, self-regulated learning, studio music instruction

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Authors: Isabel Latz, Mark Lusk, Josiah Heyman

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The rise of restrictive U.S. immigration policies and their strengthened enforcement has reportedly caused concerns among providers about their inadvertent effects on service utilization among Latinx and immigrant communities. This study presents perceptions on this issue from twenty service providers in health care, mental health, nutrition assistance, legal assistance, and immigrant advocacy in El Paso, Texas. All participants were experienced professionals, with fifteen in CEO, COO, executive director, or equivalent positions, and based at organizations that provide services for immigrant and/or low-income populations in a bi-national border community. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected by two primary investigators via semi-structured telephone interviews with an average length of 20 minutes. A survey script with closed and open-ended questions inquired about participants’ demographic information and perceptions of impacts of immigration enforcement policies under the current federal administration on their work and patient or client populations. Quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed to produce descriptive statistics and identify salient themes, respectively. Nearly all respondents stated that their work has been negatively (N=13) or both positively and negatively (N=5) affected by current immigration enforcement policies. Negative effects were most commonly related to immigration enforcement-related fear and uncertainty among patient or client populations. Positive effects most frequently referred to a sense of increased community organizing and greater cooperation among organizations. Similarly, the majority of service providers either reported an increase (N=8) or decrease (N=6) in service utilization due to changes in immigration enforcement policies. Increased service needs were primarily related to a need for public education about immigration enforcement policy changes, information about how new policies impact individuals’ service eligibility, legal status, and civil rights, as well as a need to correct misinformation. Decreased service utilization was primarily related to fear-related service avoidance. While providers observed changes in service utilization among undocumented immigrants and mixed-immigration status families, in particular, participants also noted ‘spillover’ effects on the larger Latinx community, including legal permanent and temporary residents, refugees or asylum seekers, and U.S. citizens. This study reveals preliminary insights into providers’ widespread concerns about the effects of current immigration enforcement policies on health, social, and legal service utilization among Latinx individuals. Further research is necessary to comprehensively assess impacts of immigration enforcement policies on service utilization in Latinx and immigrant communities. This information is critical to address gaps in service utilization and prevent an exacerbation of health disparities among Latinx, immigrant, and border populations. In a global climate of rising nationalism and xenophobia, it is critical for policymakers to be aware of the consequences of immigration enforcement policies on the utilization of essential services to protect the well-being of minority and immigrant communities.

Keywords: immigration enforcement, immigration policy, provider perceptions, service utilization

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Authors: Shirley S. Ho, Alisius X. L. D. Leong, Jiemin Looi, Agnes S. F. Chuah

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Nuclear energy is a contentious technology that has attracted much public debate over the years. The prominence of nuclear energy in Southeast Asia (SEA) has burgeoned due to the surge of interest and plans for nuclear development in the region. Understanding public perceptions of nuclear energy in SEA is pertinent given the limited number of studies conducted. In particular, five SEA nations – Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam are of immediate interest as that they are amongst the most economically developed or developing nations in the SEA region. High energy demands from economic development in these nations have led to considerations of adopting nuclear energy as an alternative source of energy. This study aims to explore whether differences in the nuclear developmental stage in each country affects public perceptions of nuclear energy. In addition, this study seeks to find out about the type and importance of communication credibility as a judgement heuristic in facilitating message acceptance across these five countries. Credibility of a communication channel is a crucial component influencing public perception, acceptance, and attitudes towards nuclear energy. Aside from simply identifying the frequently used communication channels, it is of greater significance to understand public perception of source and media credibility. Given the lack of studies conducted in SEA, this exploratory study adopts a qualitative approach to elicit a spectrum of opinions and insights regarding the key communication aspects influencing public perceptions of nuclear energy. Specifically, the capitals of each of the abovementioned countries - Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, and Hanoi - were selected, with the exception of Singapore, an island city-state, and Yogyakarta, the most populous island of Indonesia to better understand public perception towards nuclear energy. Focus group discussions were utilized as the mode of data collection to elicit a wide variety of viewpoints held by the participants, which is well-suited for exploratory research. In total, 156 participants took part in the 13 focus group discussions. The participants were either local citizens or permanent residents aged between 18 and 69 years old. Each of the focus groups consists of 8-10 participants, including both male and female participants. The transcripts from each focus group were analysed using NVivo 10, and the text was organised according to the emerging themes or categories. The general public in all the countries was familiar but had no in-depth knowledge with nuclear energy. Four dimensions of nuclear energy communication were identified based on the focus group discussions: communication channels, perceived credibility of sources, circumstances for discussion, and discussion style. The first dimension, communication channels refers to the medium through which participants receive information about nuclear energy. Four types of media emerged from the discussions. They included online and social media, broadcast media, print media, and word-of- mouth (WOM). Collectively, across all five countries, participants were found to engage in different types of knowledge acquisition and information seeking behavior depending on the communication channels used.

Keywords: nuclear energy, public perception, communication, Southeast Asia, source credibility

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Authors: Vangelis Papadimitropoulos

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This paper is part of the research program “Techno-Social Innovation in the Collaborative Economy”, funded by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (H.F.R.I.) for the years 2022-2024. The paper showcases the Open Food Network (OFN) as an open-sourced digital platform supporting short food supply chains in local agricultural production and consumption. The paper outlines the research hypothesis, the theoretical framework, and the methodology of research as well as the findings and conclusions. Research hypothesis: The model of open cooperativism as a vehicle for systemic change in the agricultural sector. Theoretical framework: The research reviews the OFN as an illustrative case study of the three-zoned model of open cooperativism. The OFN is considered a paradigmatic case of the model of open cooperativism inasmuch as it produces commons, it consists of multiple stakeholders including ethical market entities, and it is variously supported by local authorities across the globe, the latter prefiguring the mini role of a partner state. Methodology: Research employs Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe’s discourse analysis -elements, floating signifiers, nodal points, discourses, logics of equivalence and difference- to analyse the breadth of empirical data gathered through literature review, digital ethnography, a survey, and in-depth interviews with core OFN members. Discourse analysis classifies OFN floating signifiers, nodal points, and discourses into four themes: value proposition, governance, economic policy, and legal policy. Findings: OFN floating signifiers align around the following nodal points and discourses: “digital commons”, “short food supply chains”, “sustainability”, “local”, “the elimination of intermediaries” and “systemic change”. The current research identifies a lack of common ground of what the discourse of “systemic change” signifies on the premises of the OFN’s value proposition. The lack of a common mission may be detrimental to the formation of a common strategy that would be perhaps deemed necessary to bring about systemic change in agriculture. Conclusions: Drawing on Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory of hegemony, research introduces a chain of equivalence by aligning discourses such as “agro-ecology”, “commons-based peer production”, “partner state” and “ethical market entities” under the model of open cooperativism, juxtaposed against the current hegemony of neoliberalism, which articulates discourses such as “market fundamentalism”, “privatization”, “green growth” and “the capitalist state” to promote corporatism and entrepreneurship. Research makes the case that for OFN to further agroecology and challenge the current hegemony of industrial agriculture, it is vital that it opens up its supply chains into equivalent sectors of the economy, civil society, and politics to form a chain of equivalence linking together ethical market entities, the commons and a partner state around the model of open cooperativism.

Keywords: sustainability, the digital commons, open cooperativism, innovation

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Authors: Shelley Jones

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Assumptions abound that education for girls will, as a matter of course, lead to their economic empowerment as women; yet. little is known about the ways in which schooling for girls, who traditionally/historically would not have had opportunities for post-primary, or perhaps even primary education – such as the participants in this study based in rural Uganda - in reality, impacts their economic situations. There is a need forlongitudinal studies in which women share experiences, understandings, and reflections of their lives that can inform our knowledge of this. In response, this paper reports on stage four of a longitudinal case study (2004-2018) focused on education and empowerment for girls and women in rural Uganda, in which 13 of the 15 participants from the original study participated. This paper understands empowerment as not simply increased opportunities (e.g., employment) but also real gains in power, freedoms that enable agentive action, and authentic and viable choices/alternatives that offer ‘exit options’ from unsatisfactory situations. As with the other stages, this study used a critical, postmodernist, global feminist ethnographic methodology, multimodal and qualitative data collection. Participants participated in interviews, focus group discussions, and a two-day workshop, which explored their understandings of how/if they understood post-primary education to have contributed to their economic empowerment. A constructivist grounded theory approach was used for data analysis to capture major themes. Findings indicate that although all participants believe that post-primary education provided them with economic opportunities they would not have had otherwise, the parameters of their economic empowerment were severely constrained by historic and extant sociocultural, economic, political, and institutional structures that continue to disempower girls and women, as well as additional financial responsibilities that they assumed to support others. Even though the participants had post-primary education, and they were able to obtain employment or operate their own businesses that they would not likely have been able to do without post-primary education, the majority of the participants’ incomes were not sufficient to elevate them financially above the extreme poverty level, especially as many were single mothers and the sole income earners in their households. Furthermore, most deemed their working conditions unsatisfactory and their positions precarious; they also experienced sexual harassment and abuse in the labour force. Additionally, employment for the participants resulted in a double work burden: long days at work, surrounded by many hours of domestic work at home (which, even if they had spousal partners, still fell almost exclusively to women). In conclusion, although the participants seem to have experienced some increase in economic empowerment, largely due to skills, knowledge, and qualifications gained at the post-primary level, numerous barriers prevented them from maximizing their capabilities and making significant gains in empowerment. There is need, in addition to providing education (primary, secondary, and tertiary) to girls, to address systemic gender inequalities that mitigate against women’s empowerment, as well as opportunities and freedom for women to come together and demand fair pay, reasonable working conditions, and benefits, freedom from gender-based harassment and assault in the workplace, as well as advocate for equal distribution of domestic work as a cultural change.

Keywords: girls' post-primary education, women's empowerment, uganda, employment

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Authors: Hsueh Ping Peng

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End-stage renal disease most commonly occurs in the elderly population. Elderly people are approaching the end of their lives, and when facing major life-threatening situations, apart from aggressive medical treatment, they can also choose treatment methods such as hospice care to improve their quality of life. The purpose of this study was to investigate factors associated with the awareness and willingness to sign hospice and palliative care consent forms in elderly with end-stage renal disease. This study used both quantitative, cross-sectional study designs. In the quantitative section, 110 elderly patients (aged 65 or above) with end-stage renal disease receiving conventional hemodialysis were recruited as study participants from a medical center in Taipei City. Data were collected using structured questionnaires. Study tools included basic demographic data, questionnaires on the awareness and perception of hospice and palliative care, etc. After collecting the data, data analysis was conducted using SPSS 20.0 statistical software, including descriptive statistics, chi-square test, logistic regression, and other inferential statistics. The results showed that the average age of participants was 71.6 years old, more males than females, average years of dialysis was 6.1 years and most subjects rated their self-perceived health status as fair. Results of the study are summarized as follows: Elderly people with end-stage renal disease did not have sufficient knowledge and awareness about hospice and palliative care. Influencing factors included level of education, marital status, years of dialysis and age, etc. Demographic factors influencing the signing of consent forms included gender, marital status, and age, which all showed significant impacts. Factors taken into consideration when signing consent forms included awareness of hospice care, understanding the relevant definitions of hospice care, and understanding that consent may be modified or cancelled at any time; it was predicted that people who knew more about ways to receive hospice care or more related definitions were more willing to sign the consent forms. In the qualitative study section, 10 participants who signed the consent form, five male, and 5 female, between the ages of 65-90, have completed the semi-structured interviews. Analysis of the interviews revealed six themes: (1) passing away peacefully, (2) autonomy on arrangements of life and death, (3) unwillingness to increase family and social burden, (4) friends and relatives’ experience influencing the decision to give consent, (5) sharing information to facilitate the giving of consent, (6) facing each day with ease, to reflect the experience and factors of consideration for elderly with end-stage renal disease when signing consent forms. The results of this study provides the awareness, thoughts and feelings of elderly with end-stage renal disease on signing consent forms, and serve as a future reference for the dialysis unit to enhance the promotion of hospice and palliative care and related caregiving measures, thereby improving the quality of life and care for elderly people with end-stage renal disease.

Keywords: end-stage renal disease, hemodialysis, hospice and palliative care, awareness, willingness

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Authors: Roxana D. Maiorescu-Murphy

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In the US, corporations have recently embraced political stances in an attempt to respond to the external pressure exerted by activist groups. To date, research in this area remains in its infancy, and few studies have been conducted on the way stakeholder groups respond to corporate political advocacy in general and in the immediacy of such a corporate announcement in particular. The current study aims to fill in this research void. In addition, the study contributes to an emerging trajectory in the field of crisis management by focusing on the delineation between crises (unexpected events related to products and services) and scandals (crises that spur moral outrage). The present study looked at online reactions in the aftermath of Elon Musk’s endorsement of the Republican party on Twitter. Two data sets were collected from Twitter following two political endorsements made by Elon Musk on May 18, 2022, and June 15, 2022, respectively. The total sample of analysis stemming from the data two sets consisted of N=1,374 user comments written as a response to Musk’s initial tweets. Given the paucity of studies in the preceding research areas, the analysis employed a case study methodology, used in circumstances in which the phenomena to be studied had not been researched before. According to the case study methodology, which answers the questions of how and why a phenomenon occurs, this study responded to the research questions of how online users perceived Tesla and why they did so. The data were analyzed in NVivo by the use of the grounded theory methodology, which implied multiple exposures to the text and the undertaking of an inductive-deductive approach. Through multiple exposures to the data, the researcher ascertained the common themes and subthemes in the online discussion. Each theme and subtheme were later defined and labeled. Additional exposures to the text ensured that these were exhaustive. The results revealed that the CEO’s political endorsements triggered moral outrage, leading to Tesla’s facing a scandal as opposed to a crisis. The moral outrage revolved around the stakeholders’ predominant rejection of a perceived intrusion of an influential figure on a domain reserved for voters. As expected, Musk’s political endorsements led to polarizing opinions, and those who opposed his views engaged in online activism aimed to boycott the Tesla brand. These findings reveal that the moral outrage that characterizes a scandal requires communication practices that differ from those that practitioners currently borrow from the field of crisis management. Specifically, because scandals flourish in online settings, practitioners should regularly monitor stakeholder perceptions and address them in real-time. While promptness is essential when managing crises, it becomes crucial to respond immediately as a scandal is flourishing online. Finally, attempts should be made to distance a brand, its products, and its CEO from the latter’s political views.

Keywords: crisis management, communication management, Tesla, corporate political activism, Elon Musk

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Authors: Carly Madge, Melanie Zurba, Ryan Bullock

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The Boreal Forest has experienced some of the most drastic climate change-induced temperature rises in Canada, with average winter temperatures increasing by 3°C since 1948. One of the main concerns of the province of Saskatchewan, and particularly wildfire managers, is the increased risk of wildfires due to climate change. With these concerns in mind Sakaw Askiy Management Inc., a forestry corporation located in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan with operations in the Boreal Forest biome, is developing wildfire risk reduction strategies that are supported by the shareholders of the corporation as well as the stakeholders of the Prince Albert Forest Management Area (which includes citizens, hunters, trappers, cottage owners, and outfitters). In the past, wildfire management strategies implemented through harvesting have been received with skepticism by some community members of Prince Albert. Engagement of the stakeholders of the Prince Albert Management Area through the development of the wildfire risk reduction strategies aims to reduce this skepticism and rebuild some of the trust that has been lost between industry and community. This research project works with the framework of social learning, which is defined as the learning that occurs when individuals come together to form a group with the purpose of understanding environmental challenges and determining appropriate responses to them. The project evaluates the social learning processes that occur through the development of the risk reduction strategies and how the learning has allowed Sakaw to work towards implementing the strategies into their forest harvesting plans. The incorporation of wildfire risk reduction strategies works to increase the adaptive capacity of Sakaw, which in this case refers to the ability to adjust to climate change, moderate potential damages, take advantage of opportunities, and cope with consequences. Using semi-structured interviews and wildfire workshop meetings shareholders and stakeholders shared their knowledge of wildfire, their main wildfire concerns, and changes they would like to see made in the Prince Albert Forest Management Area. Interviews and topics discussed in the workshops were inductively coded for themes related to learning, adaptive capacity, areas of concern, and preferred methods of wildfire risk reduction strategies. Analysis determined that some of the learning that has occurred has resulted through social interactions and the development of networks oriented towards wildfire and wildfire risk reduction strategies. Participants have learned new knowledge and skills regarding wildfire risk reduction. The formation of wildfire networks increases access to information on wildfire and the social capital (trust and strengthened relations) of wildfire personnel. Both factors can be attributed to increases in adaptive capacity. Interview results were shared with the General Manager of Sakaw, where the areas of concern and preferred strategies of wildfire risk reduction will be considered and accounted for in the implementation of new harvesting plans. This research also augments the growing conceptual and empirical evidence of the important role of learning and networks in regional wildfire risk management efforts.

Keywords: adaptive capacity, community-engagement, social learning, wildfire risk reduction

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Authors: Sandra Hartl, Meena Chavan

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This paper presents the outcome of a four year Ph.D. research on cross-cultural conflict management in transnational business relationships. An important and complex problem about managing conflicts that arise across cultures in business relationships is investigated, and conflict resolution strategies are identified. This paper particularly focuses on transnational relationships within a Chinese, German and Middle Eastern framework. Unlike many papers on this issue which have been built on experiments with international MBA students, this research provides real-life cases of cross-cultural conflicts which are not easy to capture. Its uniqueness is underpinned as the real case data was gathered by interviewing top executives at management positions in large multinational corporations through a qualitative case study method approach. This paper makes a valuable contribution to the theory of cross-cultural conflicts, and despite the sensitivity, this research primarily presents real-time business data about breaches of contracts between two counterparties engaged in transnational operating organizations. The overarching aim of this research is to identify the degree of significance for the cultural factors and the communication factors embedded in cross-cultural business conflicts. It questions from a cultural perspective what factors lead to the conflicts in each of the cases, what the causes are and the role of culture in identifying effective strategies for resolving international disputes in an increasingly globalized business world. The results of 20 face to face interviews are outlined, which were conducted, recorded, transcribed and then analyzed using the NVIVO qualitative data analysis system. The outcomes make evident that the factors leading to conflicts are broadly organized under seven themes, which are communication, cultural difference, environmental issues, work structures, knowledge and skills, cultural anxiety and personal characteristics. When evaluating the causes of the conflict it is to notice that these are rather multidimensional. Irrespective of the conflict types (relationship or task-based conflict or due to individual personal differences), relationships are almost always an element of all conflicts. Cultural differences, which are a critical factor for conflicts, result from different cultures placing different levels of importance on relationships. Communication issues which are another cause of conflict also reflect different relationships styles favored by different cultures. In identifying effective strategies for solving cross-cultural business conflicts this research identifies that solutions need to consider the national cultures (country specific characteristics), organizational cultures and individual culture, of the persons engaged in the conflict and how these are interlinked to each other. Outcomes identify practical dispute resolution strategies to resolve cross-cultural business conflicts in reference to communication, empathy and training to improve cultural understanding and cultural competence, through the use of mediation. To conclude, the findings of this research will not only add value to academic knowledge of cross-cultural conflict management across transnational businesses but will also add value to numerous cross-border business relationships worldwide. Above all it identifies the influence of cultures and communication and cross-cultural competence in reducing cross-cultural business conflicts in transnational business.

Keywords: business conflict, conflict management, cross-cultural communication, dispute resolution

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Authors: Khulud Alhussain, Anna Gavine, Stephen Macgillivray, Sushila Chowdhry

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Background: Estimates show that by the year 2030, mental illness will account for more than half of the global economic burden, second to non-communicable diseases. Often, the perinatal period is characterised by psychological ambivalence and a mixed anxiety-depressive condition. Maternal mental disorder is associated with perinatal anxiety and depression and affects breastfeeding behaviors. Studies also indicate that maternal mental health can considerably influence a baby's health in numerous aspects and impact the newborn health due to lack of adequate breastfeeding. However, studies reporting factors associated with breastfeeding behaviors are predominantly quantitative. Therefore, it is not clear what literature is available to understand the factors affecting breastfeeding and perinatal women’s perspectives and experiences. Aim: This review aimed to explore the perceptions and experiences of women with perinatal anxiety and depression, as well as how these experiences influence their breastfeeding behaviours. Methods: A systematic literature review of qualitative studies in line with the Enhancing Transparency in Reporting the Synthesis of Qualitative Research (ENTREQ). Four electronic databases (CINAHL, PsycINFO, Embase, and Google Scholar) were explored for relevant studies using a search strategy. The search was restricted to studies published in the English language between 2000 and 2022. Findings from the literature were screened using a pre-defined screening criterion and the quality of eligible studies was appraised using the Walsh and Downe (2006) checklist. Findings were extracted and synthesised based on Braun and Clark. The review protocol was registered on PROSPERO (Ref: CRD42022319609). Result: A total of 4947 studies were identified from the four databases. Following duplicate removal and screening 16 studies met the inclusion criteria. The studies included 87 pregnant and 302 post-partum women from 12 countries. The participants were from a variety of economic, regional, and religious backgrounds, mainly from the age of 18 to 45 years old. Three main themes were identified: Barriers to breastfeeding, breastfeeding facilitators, emotional disturbance, and breastfeeding. Seven subthemes emerged from the data: expectation versus reality, uncertainly about maternal competencies, body image and breastfeeding, lack of sufficient breastfeeding support for family and caregivers’ support, influences positive breastfeeding practices, breastfeeding education, and causes of mental strain among breastfeeding women. Breastfeeding duration is affected in women with mental health disorders, irrespective of their desire to breastfeed. Conclusion: There is significant empirical evidence that breastfeeding behaviour and perinatal mental disturbance are linked. However, there is a lack of evidence to apply the findings to Saudi women due to lack of empirical qualitative information. To improve the psychological well-being of mothers, it is crucial to explore and recognise any concerns with their mental, physical, and emotional well-being. Therefore, robust research is needed so that breastfeeding intervention researchers and policymakers can focus on specifically what needs to be done to help mentally distressed perinatal women and their new-born.

Keywords: pregnancy, perinatal period, anxiety, depression, emotional disturbance, breastfeeding

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Authors: Anshu Anshu

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In the red corridor famed for the Left Wing Extremism, lies small district of Jamui in Bihar, India. The district lies at 24º20´ N latitude and 86º13´ E longitude, covering an area of 3,122.8 km2 The undulating topography, with widespread forests provides pristine environment for invigorating experience of tourists. Natural landscape in form of forests, wildlife, rivers, and cultural landscape dotted with historical and religious places is highly purposive for tourism. The study is primarily related to the identification of potential ecotourism sites, using Geographic Information System. Data preparation, analysis and finally identification of ecotourism sites is done. Secondary data used is Survey of India Topographical Sheets with R.F.1:50,000 covering the area of Jamui district. District Census Handbook, Census of India, 2011; ERDAS Imagine and Arc View is used for digitization and the creation of DEM’s (Digital Elevation Model) of the district, depicting the relief and topography and generate thematic maps. The thematic maps have been refined using the geo-processing tools. Buffer technique has been used for the accessibility analysis. Finally, all the maps, including the Buffer maps were overlaid to find out the areas which have potential for the development of ecotourism sites in the Jamui district. Spatial data - relief, slopes, settlements, transport network and forests of Jamui District were marked and identified, followed by Buffer Analysis that was used to find out the accessibility of features like roads, railway stations to the sites available for the development of ecotourism destinations. Buffer analysis is also carried out to get the spatial proximity of major river banks, lakes, and dam sites to be selected for promoting sustainable ecotourism. Overlay Analysis is conducted using the geo-processing tools. Digital Terrain Model (DEM) generated and relevant themes like roads, forest areas and settlements were draped on the DEM to make an assessment of the topography and other land uses of district to delineate potential zones of ecotourism development. Development of ecotourism in Jamui faces several challenges. The district lies in the portion of Bihar that is part of ‘red corridor’ of India. The hills and dense forests are the prominent hideouts and training ground for the extremists. It is well known that any kind of political instability, war, acts of violence directly influence the travel propensity and hinders all kind of non-essential travels to these areas. The development of ecotourism in the district can bring change and overall growth in this area with communities getting more involved in economically sustainable activities. It is a known fact that poverty and social exclusion are the main force that pushes people, resorting towards violence. All over the world tourism has been used as a tool to eradicate poverty and generate good will among people. Tourism, in sustainable form should be promoted in the district to integrate local communities in the development process and to distribute fruits of development with equity.

Keywords: buffer analysis, digital elevation model, ecotourism, red corridor

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Authors: Janet Ige, Paul Pilkington, Selena Gray, Jane Powell

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Older adults from socially disadvantaged groups and Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) groups experience a higher burden of physical inactivity. Physical inactivity among BME groups is associated with the disproportionately higher level of health inequalities. People from minority ethnic groups encounter more barriers to physical activity. However, this is not often reported. There is very limited review-level evidence on the barriers and facilitators of physical activity among older adults from BME groups in the UK. This study aims to answer the following research question: what are the barriers and facilitators of physical activity participation among adults and older adults from BME background in the UK? To address this, we conducted a review of qualitative studies investigating the barriers and opportunities for physical activity among of BME adults and older adults in the UK. Method: This study is nested in an interpretive paradigm of meta-ethnography. A structured search for published literature was conducted on 6 electronic databases (MEDLINE, PsychINFO, Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Allied and Complementary Medicine) from January 2007 to July 2017. Hand searching of the reference list of publications was performed in addition to a search conducted on Google Scholar to identify grey literature. Studies were eligible provided they employed any qualitative method and included participants identified as being BME, aged 50 and above, living in any community within the UK. In total, 1036 studies were identified from the structured search for literature, 718 studies were screened by titles after duplicates were removed. On applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, a final selection of 10 studies was considered eligible for synthesis. Quality assessment was performed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tool. Logic maps were used to show the relationship between factors that impact on physical activity participation among adults and older adults Result: Six key themes emerged from the data: awareness of the links between physical activity and health, interaction, and engagement with health professionals, cultural expectations and social responsibilities, appropriate environment, religious fatalism and practical challenges. Findings also showed that the barriers and facilitators of physical activity exist at the individual, community, and socio-economic, cultural and environmental level. There was a substantial gap in research among Black African groups. Findings from the review also informed the design of an ongoing survey investigating the experience and attitude of adults from Somali backgrounds towards physical activity in the UK. Conclusion: Identifying the barriers and facilitators of physical activity among BME groups is a crucial step in addressing the widening inequality gap. Findings from this study highlight the importance of engaging local BME residents in the design of exercise facilities within the community. This will ensure that cultural and social concerns are recognized and properly addressed.

Keywords: BME, UK, meta-ethnographic, adults

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Authors: Sylvia Chan-Olmsted, Lisa-Charlotte Wolter

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With the continuous proliferation of media platforms, there have been tremendous changes in media consumption behaviors. From the perspective of sports sponsorship, while there is now a multitude of platforms to create brand associations, the changing media landscape and shift of message control also mean that sports sponsors will have to take into account the nature of and consumer responses toward these emerging digital media to devise effective marketing strategies. Utilizing the personal interview methodology, this study is qualitative and exploratory in nature. A total of 18 experts from European and American academics, sports marketing industry, and sports leagues/teams were interviewed to address three main research questions: 1) What are the major changes in digital technologies that are relevant to sports sponsorship; 2) How have digital media influenced the channels and platforms of sports sponsorship; and 3) How have these technologies affected the goals, strategies, and measurement of sports sponsorship. The study found that sports sponsorship has moved from consumer engagement, engagement measurement, and consequences of engagement on brand behaviors to micro-targeting one on one, engagement by context, time, and space, and activation and leveraging based on tracking and databases. From the perspective of platforms and channels, the use of mobile devices is prominent during sports content consumption. Increasing multiscreen media consumption means that sports sponsors need to optimize their investment decisions in leagues, teams, or game-related content sources, as they need to go where the fans are most engaged in. The study observed an imbalanced strategic leveraging of technology and digital infrastructure. While sports leagues have had less emphasis on brand value management via technology, sports sponsors have been much more active in utilizing technologies like mobile/LBS tools, big data/user info, real-time marketing and programmatic, and social media activation. Regardless of the new media/platforms, the study found that integration and contextualization are the two essential means of improving sports sponsorship effectiveness through technology. That is, how sponsors effectively integrate social media/mobile/second screen into their existing legacy media sponsorship plan so technology works for the experience/message instead of distracting fans. Additionally, technological advancement and attention economy amplify the importance of consumer data gathering, but sports consumer data does not mean loyalty or engagement. This study also affirms the benefit of digital media as they offer viral and pre-event activations through storytelling way before the actual event, which is critical for leveraging brand association before and after. That is, sponsors now have multiple opportunities and platforms to tell stories about their brands for longer time period. In summary, digital media facilitate fan experience, access to the brand message, multiplatform/channel presentations, storytelling, and content sharing. Nevertheless, rather than focusing on technology and media, today’s sponsors need to define what they want to focus on in terms of content themes that connect with their brands and then identify the channels/platforms. The big challenge for sponsors is to play to the venues/media’s specificity and its fit with the target audience and not uniformly deliver the same message in the same format on different platforms/channels.

Keywords: digital media, mobile media, social media, technology, sports sponsorship

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Authors: Leen Al Kassab, Sarah Johns, Helen Noble, Nawal Nour, Elizabeth Janiak, Sarrah Shahawy

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Introduction: Immigrant and refugee women experience disparities in sexual and reproductive health (SRH) outcomes, partially as a result of barriers to SRH literacy and to regular healthcare access and engagement. Despite the existing data highlighting growing needs for culturally relevant and structurally competent care, interventions are scarce and not well-documented. Methods: In this IRB-approved study, we used a community-based participatory research approach, with the assistance of a community advisory board, to conduct a qualitative needs assessment of SRH knowledge and service engagement with immigrant and refugee women from Africa or the Middle East and currently residing in Boston. We conducted a total of nine focus group discussions (FGDs) in partnership with medical, community, and religious centers, in six languages: Arabic, English, French, Somali, Pashtu, and Dari. A total of 44 individuals participated. We explored migrant and refugee women’s current and evolving SRH care needs and gaps, specifically related to the development of interventions and clinical best practices targeting SRH literacy, healthcare engagement, and informed decision-making. Recordings of the FGDs were transcribed verbatim and translated by interpreter services. We used open coding with multiple coders who resolved discrepancies through consensus and iteratively refined our codebook while coding data in batches using Dedoose software. Results: Participants reported immigrant adaptation experiences, discrimination, and feelings of trust, autonomy, privacy, and connectedness to family, community, and the healthcare system as factors surrounding SRH knowledge and needs. The context of previously learned SRH knowledge was commonly noted to be in schools, at menstruation, before marriage, from family members, partners, friends, and online search engines. Common themes included empowering strength drawn from religious and cultural communities, difficulties bridging educational gaps with their US- born daughters, and a desire for more SRH education from multiple sources, including family, health care providers, and religious experts & communities. Regarding further SRH education, participants’ preferences varied regarding ideal platform (virtual vs. in-person), location (in religious and community centers or not), smaller group sizes, and the involvement of men. Conclusions: Based on these results, empowering SRH initiatives should include both community and religious center-based, as well as clinic-based, interventions. Interventions should be composed of frequent educational workshops in small groups involving age-grouped women, daughters, and (sometimes) men, tailored SRH messaging, and the promotion of culturally, religiously, and linguistically competent care.

Keywords: community, immigrant, religion, sexual & reproductive health, women's health

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Authors: Oluwaseun Adeleke, Samuel Ikan, Anthony Nwala, Mopelola Raji, Fidelis Edet

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Background: The risks associated with each pregnancy is carried almost entirely by a woman; however, the decision about whether and when to get pregnant is a subject that several others contend with her to make. The self-care concept offers women of reproductive age the opportunity to take control of their health and its determinants with or without the influence of a healthcare provider, family, and friends. DMPA-SC Self-injection (SI) is becoming the cornerstone of contraceptive self-care and has the potential to expand access and create opportunities for women to take control of their reproductive health. Methodology: To obtain insight into the influences that interfere with a woman’s capacity to make contraceptive choices independently, the Delivering Innovations in Selfcare (DISC) project conducted two intensive rounds of qualitative data collection and triangulation that included provider, client, and community mobilizer interviews, facility observations, and routine program data collection. Respondents were sampled according to a convenience sampling approach and data collected analyzed using a codebook and Atlas-TI. The research team members came together for participatory analysis workshop to explore and interpret emergent themes. Findings: Insights indicate that women are increasingly finding their voice and independently seek services to prevent a deterioration of their economic situation and achieve personal ambitions. Women who hold independent decision-making power still prefer to share decision making power with their male partners. Male partners’ influence on women’s use of family planning and self-inject was most dominant. There were examples of men’s support for women’s use of contraception to prevent unintended pregnancy, as well as men withholding support. Other men outrightly deny their partners from obtaining contraceptive services and their partners cede this sexual and reproductive health right without objection. A woman’s decision to initiate family planning is affected by myths and misconceptions, many of which have cultural and religious origins. Some tribes are known for their reluctance to use contraception and often associate stigma with the pursuit of family planning (FP) services. Information given by the provider is accepted, and, in many cases, clients cede power to providers to shape their SI user journey. A provider’s influence on a client’s decision to self-inject is reinforced by their biases and concerns. Clients are inhibited by the presence of peers during group education at the health facility. Others are motivated to seek FP services by the interest expressed by peers. There is also a growing trend in the influence of social media on FP uptake, particularly Facebook fora. Conclusion: The convenience of self-administration at home is a benefit for those that contend with various forms of social influences as well as covert users. Beyond increasing choice and reducing barriers to accessing Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) services, it can initiate the process of self-discovery and agency in the contraceptive user journey.

Keywords: selfcare, self-empowerment, agency, DMPA-SC, contraception, family planning, influences

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Authors: Shawn Baker-Garcia, Janna O. Schaeffer

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As the global and national communities and governments strive to address ongoing and evolving threats to humanity and pervasive or emerging “shared” global priorities on environmental, economic, political, and security, it is more urgent than ever before to understand each other, communicate effectively with one another, identify models of cooperation that yield improved, mutually reinforcing outcomes across and within cultures. It is within the backdrop of this reality that the presentation examines whether cultural training as we have approached it in recent decades is sufficiently meeting our current needs and what changes may be applied to foster better and more productive and sustainable intercultural interactions. Domestic and global relations face multiple challenges to peaceable cooperation. The last two years, in particular, have been defined by a travel-restricted COVID-19 pandemic yielding increased intercultural interactions over virtual platforms, polarized politics dividing nations and regions, and the commensurate rise in weaponized social and traditional media communication. These societal and cultural fissures are noticeably challenging our collective and individual abilities to constructively interact both at home and abroad. It is within this pressure cooker environment that the authors believe it is time to reexamine existing and broadly accepted inter- and cross- cultural training approaches and concepts to determine their level of effectiveness in setting conditions for optimal human understanding and relationships both in the national and international context. In order to better understand the amount and the type of intercultural training practitioners professionally engaging in international partnership building have received throughout their careers and its perceived effectiveness, a survey was designed and distributed to US and international professionals presently engaged in the fields of diplomacy, military, academia, and international business. The survey questions were deigned to address the two primary research questions investigators posed in this exploratory study. Research questions aimed to examine practitioners’ view of the role and effectiveness of current and traditional cultural training and education as a means to fostering improved communication, interactions, understanding, and cooperation among inter, cross, or multi-cultural communities or efforts.Responses were then collected and analyzed for themes present in the participants’ reflections. In their responses, the practitioners identified the areas of improvement and desired outcomes in regards to intercultural training and awareness raising curricular approaches. They also raised issues directly and indirectly pertaining to the role of foreign language proficiency in intercultural interactions and a need for a solid grasp on cultural and regional issues (regional expertise) to facilitate such an interaction. Respondents indicated knowledge, skills, abilities, and capabilities that the participants were not trained on but learned through ad hoc personal and professional intercultural interactions, which they found most valuable and wished they had acquired prior to the intercultural experience.

Keywords: cultural training, improved communication, intercultural competence, international cooperation

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Authors: Hasti Ebrahimi

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This study sheds light on the challenges and difficulties caused by the Iranian clerical system’s intervention in the country’s school education during the COVID-19 pandemic, when schools remained closed for almost two years. The pandemic brought Iranian elementary school education to a standstill for almost 6 months before the country developed a nationwide learning platform – a customized television network. While the initiative seemed to have been welcomed by the majority of Iranian parents, it resented some of the more traditional strata of the society, including the influential Friday Prayer Leaders who found the televised version of the elementary education ‘less spiritual’ and ‘more ‘material’ or science-based. That prompted the Iranian Channel of Education, the specialized television network that had been chosen to serve as a nationally televised school during the pandemic, to try to redefine much of its online elementary school educational content within the religious ideology of the Islamic Republic of Iran. As a result, young clergies appeared on the television screen as preachers of Islamic morality, religious themes and even sociology, history, and arts. The present research delves into the consequences of such an intervention, how it might have impacted the infrastructure of Iranian elementary education and whether or not the new ideology-infused curricula would withstand the opposition of students and mainstream teachers. The main methodology used in this study is Critical Discourse Analysis with a cognitive approach. It systematically finds and analyzes the alternative ideological structures of discourse in the Iranian Channel of Education from September 2021 to July 2022, when the clergy ‘teachers’ replaced ‘regular’ history and arts teachers on the television screen for the first time. It has aimed to assess how the various uses of the alternative ideological discourse in elementary school content have influenced the processes of learning: the acquisition of knowledge, beliefs, opinions, attitudes, abilities, and other cognitive and emotional changes, which are the goals of institutional education. This study has been an effort aimed at understanding and perhaps clarifying the relationships between the traditional textual structures and processing on the one hand and socio-cultural contexts created by the clergy teachers on the other. This analysis shows how the clerical portion of elementary education on the Channel of Education that seemed to have dominated the entire televised teaching and learning process faded away as the pandemic was contained and mainstream classes were restored. It nevertheless reflects the deep ideological rifts between the clerical approach to school education and the mainstream teaching process in Iranian schools. The semantic macrostructures of social content in the current Iranian elementary school education, this study suggests, have remained intact despite the temporary ideological intervention of the ruling clerical elite in their formulation and presentation. Finally, using thematic and schematic frameworks, the essay suggests that the ‘clerical’ social content taught on the Channel of Education during the pandemic cannot have been accepted cognitively by the channel’s target audience, including students and mainstream teachers.

Keywords: televised elementary school learning, Covid 19, critical discourse analysis, Iranian clerical ideology

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Authors: Suzanne Phibbs, Christine Kenney, Robyn Richardson

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The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction called for the inclusion of indigenous people in the design and implementation of all hazard policies, plans, and standards. Ensuring that indigenous knowledge practices were included alongside scientific knowledge about disaster risk was also a key priority. Indigenous communities have specific knowledge about climate and natural hazard risk that has been developed over an extended period of time. However, research within indigenous communities can be fraught with issues such as power imbalances between the researcher and researched, the privileging of researcher agendas over community aspirations, as well as appropriation and/or inappropriate use of indigenous knowledge. This paper documents the process of working alongside a Māori community to develop a successful community-led research project. Research Design: This case study documents the development of a qualitative community-led participatory project. The community research project utilizes a kaupapa Māori research methodology which draws upon Māori research principles and concepts in order to generate knowledge about Māori resilience. The research addresses a significant gap in the disaster research literature relating to indigenous knowledge about collective hazard mitigation practices as well as resilience in rurally isolated indigenous communities. The research was designed in partnership with the Ngāti Raukawa Northern Marae Collective as well as Ngā Wairiki Ngāti Apa (a group of Māori sub-tribes who are located in the same region) and will be conducted by Māori researchers utilizing Māori values and cultural practices. The research project aims and objectives, for example, are based on themes that were identified as important to the Māori community research partners. The research methodology and methods were also negotiated with and approved by the community. Kaumātua (Māori elders) provided cultural and ethical guidance over the proposed research process and will continue to provide oversight over the conduct of the research. Purposive participant recruitment will be facilitated with support from local Māori community research partners, utilizing collective marae networks and snowballing methods. It is envisaged that Māori participants’ knowledge, experiences and views will be explored using face-to-face communication research methods such as workshops, focus groups and/or semi-structured interviews. Interviews or focus groups may be held in English and/or Te Reo (Māori language) to enhance knowledge capture. Analysis, knowledge dissemination, and co-authorship of publications will be negotiated with the Māori community research partners. Māori knowledge shared during the research will constitute participants’ intellectual property. New knowledge, theory, frameworks, and practices developed by the research will be co-owned by Māori, the researchers, and the host academic institution. Conclusion: An emphasis on indigenous knowledge systems within the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction risks the appropriation and misuse of indigenous experiences of disaster risk identification, mitigation, and response. The research protocol underpinning this project provides an exemplar of collaborative partnership in the development and implementation of an indigenous project that has relevance to policymakers, academic researchers, other regions with indigenous communities and/or local disaster risk reduction knowledge practices.

Keywords: community resilience, indigenous disaster risk reduction, Maori, research methods

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Authors: Melanie Girdharilall, Anjli Himraj, Shivan Bhagwandin, Marike Venter De Villiers

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The allure of luxury has long been attractive, fashionable, mystifying, and complex. As globalisation and the popularity of social media continue to evolve, consumers are seeking status products. However, in emerging economies like South Africa, where 60% of the country lives in poverty, this desire is often far-fetched and out of reach to most of the consumers. As a result, luxury brands are introducing masstige products: products that are associated with luxury and status but within financial reach to the middle-class consumer. The biggest challenge that this industry faces is the lack of knowledge and expertise on black female’s hair composition and offering products that meet their intricate requirements. African consumers have unique hair types, and global brands often do not accommodate for the complex nature of their hair and their product needs. By gaining insight into this phenomenon, global cosmetic brands can benefit from brand expansion, product extensions, increased brand awareness, brand knowledge, and brand equity. The purpose of this study is to determine how cosmetic brands can leverage the concept of masstige products to cater to the needs of middle-income black African woman. This study explores the 18- to 35-year-old black female cohort, which comprises approximately 17% of the South African population. The black hair care industry in Africa is expected a 6% growth rate over the next 5 years. The study is grounded in Paul’s (2019) 3-phase model for masstige marketing. This model demonstrates that product, promotion, and place strategies play a significant role in masstige value creation and the impact of these strategies on the branding dimensions (brand trust, brand association, brand positioning, brand preference, etc.).More specifically, this theoretical framework encompasses nine stages, or dimensions, that are of critical importance to companies who plan to infiltrate the masstige market. In short, the most critical components to consider are the positioning of the product and its competitive advantage in comparison to competitors. Secondly, advertising appeals and use of celebrities, and lastly, distribution channels such as online or in-store while maintain the exclusivity of the brand. By means of an exploratory study, a qualitative approach was undertaken, and focus groups were conducted among black African woman. The focus groups were voice recorded, transcribed, and analysed using Atlas software. The main themes were identified and used to provide brands with insight and direction for developing a comprehensive marketing mix for effectively entering the masstige market. The findings of this study will provide marketing practitioners with in-depth insight into how to effectively position masstige brands in line with consumer needs. It will give direction to both existing and new brands aiming to enter this market, by giving a comprehensive marketing mix for targeting the growing black hair care industry in Africa.

Keywords: africa, masstige, cosmetics, hard care, black females

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Authors: Carlu Van Der Westhuizen

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The South African Agricultural Sector is of major socio-economic importance to the country due to its contribution in maintaining stability in food production and food security, providing labour opportunities, eradicating poverty and earning foreign currency. Against this reality, this paper investigates within the Agricultural Sector in South Africa the changes in Land Policies that the new democratically elected government (African National Congress) brought about since their takeover in 1994. The change in the agricultural environment is decidedly dualistic, with 1) a commercial sector, and 2) a subsistence and emerging farmer sector. The future demands and challenges are mostly identified as those of land redistribution and social upliftment. Opportunities that arose from the challenge of change are, among others, the small-holder participation in the value chain, while the challenge of change in Agriculture and the opportunities that were identified could serve as a yardstick against which the Sectors’ (Agriculture) Performance could be measured in future. Unfortunately, despite all Governments’ Policies, Programmes and Projects and inputs of the Private Sector, the outcomes are, to a large extend, unsuccessful. The urgency with the Land Redistribution Programme is that, for the period 1994 – 2014, only 7.5% of the 30% aim in the redistribution of land was achieved. Another serious aspect of concern is that 90% of the Land Redistribution Projects are not in a state of productive use by emerging farmers. Several reasons may be offered for these failures, amongst others the uncoordinated way in which different stakeholders are involved in a specific farming project. These stakeholders could generally in most cases be identified as: - The Government as the policy maker; - The Private Sector that has the potential to contribute to the sustainable pre- and post-settlement stages of the Programme by cooperating the supporting services to Government; - Inputs from the communities in rural areas where the settlement takes place; - The landowners as sellers of land (e.g. a Traditional Council); and - The emerging beneficiaries as the receivers of land. Mentorship is mostly the medium with which the support are coordinated. In this paper focus will be on three scenarios of different types of mentorship (or management support) namely: - The Taung Irrigation Scheme (TIS) where multiple new land beneficiaries were established by sharing irrigation pivots and receiving mentorship support from commodity organisations within a traditional land sharing system; - Projects whereby the mentor is a strategic partner (mostly a major agricultural 'cooperative' which is also providing inputs to the farmer and responsible for purchasing/marketing all commodities produced); and - An individual mentor who is a private person focussing mainly on farm management mentorship without direct gain other than a monthly stipend paid to the mentor by Government. Against this introduction the focus of the study is investigating the process for the sustainable implementation of Governments’ Land Redistribution in South African Agriculture. To achieve this, the research paper is presented under the themes of problem statement, objectives, methodology and limitations, outline of the research process, as well as proposing possible solutions.

Keywords: land reform, role-players, failures, mentorship, management models

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Authors: Merve Palanci

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This paper aims to reveal and analyze methodology debates on Qur’an Commentary in Turkish Scholarship and to make sound inductions on the current situation, with reference to the literature evolving around the credibility of Hermeneutics when the case is Qur’an commentary and methodological connotations related to it, together with the other modern approaches to the Qur’an. It is fair to say that Tafseer, constituting one of the main parts of basic Islamic sciences, has drawn great attention from both Muslim and non-Muslim scholars for a long time. And with the emplacement of an acute junction between natural sciences and social sciences in the post-enlightenment period, this interest seems to pave the way for methodology discussions that are conducted by theology spheres, occupying a noticeable slot in Tafseer literature, as well. A panoramic glance at the classical treatise in relation to the methodology of Tafseer, namely Usul al-Tafseer, leads the reader to the conclusion that these classics are intrinsically aimed at introducing the Qur’an and its early history of formation as a corpus and providing a better understanding of its content. To illustrate, the earliest methodology work extant for Qur’an commentary, al- Aql wa’l Fahm al- Qur’an by Harith al-Muhasibi covers content that deals with Qur’an’s rhetoric, its muhkam and mutashabih, and abrogation, etc. And most of the themes in question are evident to share a common ground: understanding the Scripture and producing an accurate commentary to be built on this preliminary phenomenon of understanding. The content of other renowned works in an overtone of Tafseer methodology, such as Funun al Afnan, al- Iqsir fi Ilm al- Tafseer, and other succeeding ones al- Itqan and al- Burhan is also rich in hints related to preliminary phenomena of understanding. However, these works are not eligible for being classified as full-fledged methodology manuals assuring a true understanding of the Qur’an. And Hermeneutics is believed to supply substantial data applicable to Qur’an commentary as it deals with the nature of understanding itself. Referring to the latest tendencies in Tafseer methodology, this paper envisages to centralize hermeneutical debates in modern scholarship of Qur’an commentary and the incentives that lead scholars to apply for Hermeneutics in Tafseer literature. Inspired from these incentives, the study involves three parts. In the introduction part, this paper introduces key features of classical methodology works in general terms and traces back the main methodological shifts of modern times in Qur’an commentary. To this end, revisionist Ecole, scientific Qur’an commentary ventures, and thematic Qur’an commentary are included and analysed briefly. However, historical-critical commentary on the Quran, as it bears a close relationship with hermeneutics, is handled predominantly. The second part is based on the hermeneutical nature of understanding the Scripture, revealing a timeline for the beginning of hermeneutics debates in Tafseer, and Fazlur Rahman’s(d.1988) influence will be manifested for establishing a theoretical bridge. In the following part, reactions against the application of Hermeneutics in Tafseer activity and pro-hermeneutics works will be revealed through cross-references to the prominent figures of both, and the literature in question in theology scholarship in Turkey will be explored critically.

Keywords: hermeneutics, Tafseer, methodology, Ulum al- Qur’an, modernity

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Authors: A. Abubakar, A. Parsa, S. Walker

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Despite advances made in the diagnosis and management of drug-sensitive tuberculosis (TB) over the past decades, treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) remains challenging and complex particularly in high burden countries including Nigeria. Treatment of MDR-TB is cost-prohibitive with success rate generally lower compared to drug-sensitive TB and if care is not taken it may become the dominant form of TB in future with many treatment uncertainties and substantial morbidity and mortality. Addressing these challenges requires collaborative efforts thorough sustained researches to evaluate the current treatment guidelines, particularly in high burden countries and prevent progression of resistance. To our best knowledge, there has been no research exploring the acceptability, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of community-based-MDR-TB treatment model in Nigeria, which is among the high burden countries. The previous similar qualitative study looks at the home-based management of MDR-TB in rural Uganda. This research aimed to explore patient’s views and acceptability of community-based-MDR-TB treatment model and to evaluate and compare the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of community-based versus hospital-based MDR-TB treatment model of care from the Nigerian perspective. Knowledge of patient’s views and acceptability of community-based-MDR-TB treatment approach would help in designing future treatment recommendations and in health policymaking. Accordingly, knowledge of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness are part of the evidence needed to inform a decision about whether and how to scale up MDR-TB treatment, particularly in a poor resource setting with limited knowledge of TB. Mixed methods using qualitative and quantitative approach were employed. Qualitative data were obtained using in-depth semi-structured interviews with 21 MDR-TB patients in Nigeria to explore their views and acceptability of community-based MDR-TB treatment model. Qualitative data collection followed an iterative process which allowed adaptation of topic guides until data saturation. In-depth interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. Quantitative data on treatment outcomes were obtained from medical records of MDR-TB patients to determine the effectiveness and direct and indirect costs were obtained from the patients using validated questionnaire and health system costs from the donor agencies to determine the cost-effectiveness difference between community and hospital-based model from the Nigerian perspective. Findings: Some themes have emerged from the patient’s perspectives indicating preference and high acceptability of community-based-MDR-TB treatment model by the patients and mixed feelings about the risk of MDR-TB transmission within the community due to poor infection control. The result of the modeling from the quantitative data is still on course. Community-based MDR-TB care was seen as the acceptable and most preferred model of care by the majority of the participants because of its convenience which in turn enhanced recovery, enables social interaction and offer more psychosocial benefits as well as averted productivity loss. However, there is a need to strengthen this model of care thorough enhanced strategies that ensure guidelines compliance and infection control in order to prevent the progression of resistance and curtail community transmission.

Keywords: acceptability, cost-effectiveness, multidrug-resistant TB treatment, community and hospital approach

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Authors: Elena Selezneva

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Over the last two decades, an unprecedented growth in uncertainty and volatility in all aspects of the business environment has caused major global supply chain disruptions and malfunctions. The effects of one failed company in a supply chain can ripple up and down the chain, causing a number of entities or an entire supply chain to collapse. The complicating factor is that an increasingly unstable and unpredictable business environment fuels the growing complexity of global supply chain networks. That makes supply chain operations extremely unpredictable and hard to manage with the established methods and strategies. It has caused the premature demise of many companies around the globe as they could not withstand or adapt to the storm of change. Solutions to this problem are not easy to come by. There is a lack of new empirically tested theories and practically viable supply chain resilience strategies. The mainstream organizational approach to managing supply chain resilience is rooted in well-established theories developed in the 1960-1980s. However, their effectiveness is questionable in currently extremely volatile business environments. The systems thinking approach offers an alternative view of supply chain resilience. Still, it is very much in the development stage. The aim of this explorative research is to investigate supply chain management strategies that are successful in taming complexity in volatile business environments and creating resilience in supply chains. The design of this research methodology was guided by an interpretivist paradigm. A literature review informed the selection of the systems thinking approach to supply chain resilience. Therefore, an explorative single case study of Ventilator Challenge UK was selected as a case study for its extremely resilient performance of its supply chain during a period of national crisis. Ventilator Challenge UK is intensive care ventilators supply project for the NHS. It ran for 3.5 months and finished in 2020. The participants moved on with their lives, and most of them are not employed by the same organizations anymore. Therefore, the study data includes documents, historical interviews, live interviews with participants, and social media postings. The data analysis was accomplished in two stages. First, data were thematically analyzed. In the second stage, pattern matching and pattern identification were used to identify themes that formed the findings of the research. The findings from the Ventilator Challenge UK case study supply management practices demonstrated all the features of an adaptive dynamic system. They cover all the elements of supply chain and employ an entire arsenal of adaptive dynamic system strategies enabling supply chain resilience. Also, it is not a simple sum of parts and strategies. Bonding elements and connections between the components of a supply chain and its environment enabled the amplification of resilience in the form of systemic emergence. Enablers are categorized into three subsystems: supply chain central strategy, supply chain operations, and supply chain communications. Together, these subsystems and their interconnections form the resilient supply chain system framework conceptualized by the author.

Keywords: enablers of supply chain resilience, supply chain resilience strategies, systemic approach in supply chain management, resilient supply chain system framework, ventilator challenge UK

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