scholarly journals Researchers working with city administrations: Reflecting on transdisciplinary collaboration under conditions of shared goals but different constraints

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Home ◽  
Nicole Bauer

AbstractAcademics and city administrations generally agree that environmental management decisions should be science based, which suggests the value of collaboration between city officials and researchers. Such collaboration, termed “ecology with cities”, is an example of translational ecology that should integrate ecological and social sciences to inform decision-makers. However, there has been insufficient reflection on whether ecology with cities achieves the expected development of practical social-ecological knowledge for the common good. We addressed this gap by asking city officials and researchers, in Switzerland and with whom we have collaborated in the past, about their motivations for, and experiences with, transdisciplinary collaboration. The respondents reported largely overlapping goals and an awareness of the mutual benefits of accessing the skills and resources of the other group. However, the reflections also unearthed latent tensions related to insufficient mutual awareness of institutional boundaries and limitations. We conclude that researchers should try to include collaboration partners who have experience in translational ecology practice and should establish learning processes early in a collaboration. Building good working relationships with city administrations and establishing such processes would facilitate the creation of realistic mutual expectations in which institutional limitations are considered so that common goals of maintaining or improving the ecological quality of cities can be amicably reached.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Home ◽  
Nicole Bauer

Abstract Academics and city administrations generally agree that environmental management decisions should be science based, which suggests the value of collaboration between city officials and researchers. Such collaboration, termed “ecology with cities”, is an example of translational ecology that should integrate ecological and social sciences to inform decision-makers. However, there has been insufficient reflection on whether ecology with cities achieves the expected development of practical social-ecological knowledge for the common good. We addressed this gap by asking city officials and researchers, in Switzerland and with whom we have collaborated in the past, about their motivations for, and experiences with, transdisciplinary collaboration. The respondents reported largely overlapping goals and an awareness of the mutual benefits of accessing the skills and resources of the other group. However, the reflections also unearthed latent tensions related to insufficient mutual awareness of institutional boundaries and limitations. We conclude that researchers should try to include collaboration partners who have experience in translational ecology practice and should establish learning processes early in a collaboration. Building good working relationships with city administrations and establishing such processes would facilitate the creation of realistic mutual expectations in which institutional limitations are considered so that common goals of maintaining or improving the ecological quality of cities can be amicably reached.


2021 ◽  

The root causes of conflict and violence, such as injustice, inequalities and decline in the quality of democracies, rarely emerge and remain within the national borders of a single country: they increasingly spill over into surrounding regions, compelling a regional response. Regional action on peace, justice and inclusion should cut across social, economic and political agendas and be sustained through partnerships with those most impacted by conflict and inequalities, including local communities, grassroots organizations, and Indigenous groups. Aimed at key decision-makers and key stakeholders, including government agencies, regional organizations and civil society organizations, the purpose of the Policy Brief is to contribute to the ongoing conversation around the achievement of peace, justice, and strong institutions worldwide. The aspiration is that the recommendations and information included in this analysis will complement ongoing efforts, motivate collective action, inspire decision-making and promote multisectoral engagement to achieve common goals based on successful experiences and best practices such as those outlined in this brief.


Author(s):  
Della Jacobsen

Responsibility for a corporate Internet programme will typically go to an individual within the information services or computer resources group. The information professional given this responsibility must have the communication skills needed to forge effective relationships between a diverse array of individuals, functional work groups, and departments. The opportunity to establish effective working relationships is realized when common goals are shared, roles are defined, information is communicated, and conflicts are resolved.


Politics ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 026339572199148
Author(s):  
Anthony Costello

On the 25 March 2017, leaders of the EU27 and European Union (EU) institutions ratified the Rome Declaration. They committed to invite citizens to discuss Europe’s future and to provide recommendations that would facilitate their decision-makers in shaping their national positions on Europe. In response, citizens’ dialogues on the future of Europe were instituted across the Union to facilitate public participation in shaping Europe. This paper explores Ireland’s set of dialogues which took place during 2018. Although event organisers in Ireland applied a relatively atypical and more systematic and participatory approach to their dialogues, evidence suggests that Irelands’ dialogues were reminiscent of a public relations exercise which showcased the country’s commitment to incorporating citizens into the debate on Europe while avoiding a deliberative design which could have strengthened the quality of public discourse and the quality of public recommendations. Due to an absence of elite political will for a deliberative process, as well as structural weaknesses in design, participants’ recommendations lacked any clear and prescriptive direction which could shape Ireland’s national position on the future of Europe in any constructive or meaningful way.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Venugopal Prabhakar Gantasala ◽  
Swapna Bhargavi Gantasala ◽  
Tareq Na'el Al Tawil ◽  
Prerana Prasad

PurposeThe intention for this study was to explore any relationship that might exist between quality of learning experience (QLE), the second construct student satisfaction (SS) and the third construct perceived overall experience (POE) among undergraduate students within the higher education context. This study also attempts to explain the path direction between QLE, SS and POE.Design/methodology/approachThe researchers utilized structural equation modeling to analyze the variables considered for this study – QLE, SS and POE and for hypotheses testing. Respondents for this study were medical students' coordinators of the undergraduate level of medical colleges in the 28 states of India. Data collected for the study were possible by utilizing a questionnaire that was emailed to these student coordinators. The emailing effort returned 198 (n) filled questionnaires (complete) representing 198 institutions offering undergraduate-level medical programs out of a total of 542 institutions that offer undergraduate medical programs.FindingsFindings from this study confirm the relationship between QLE with SS, and PLE. Interestingly, the findings established a significant relationship between SS and POE.Practical implicationsDecision-makers and administrators of higher education institutions (HEIs) can utilize the findings from this study to focus on strengthening important elements of QLE in ways that positively impact SS and POE of students taking online courses and program offerings. The study reiterates the importance of course content, course structure, lecture-delivery quality, instructor mentoring and student-instructor interactions on SS and POE. The role of SS in reinforcing confirmation, perceived usefulness, perceived openness of the online courses and the perceived reputation was established. This relationship is key to administrators while they focus on improving SS and building on the institutions' reputation in addition to their efforts to support marketing and enrollments during the pandemic.Originality/valueResearchers in the past have examined the relationships between QLE and another construct of this study – SS. Past research has also examined the relationship between QLE and POE. However, there is not enough research exploring the relationship between SS and POE. This study establishes the relationship between SS and POE that benefits decision-makers in higher education.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-38
Author(s):  
Hailie Suk ◽  
Ayushi Sharma ◽  
Anand Balu Nellippallil ◽  
Ashok Das ◽  
John Hall

Abstract The quality of life (QOL) in rural communities is improved through electrification. Microgrids can provide electricity in areas where grid access to electricity is infeasible. Still, insufficient power capacity hinders the very progress that microgrids promote. Therefore, we propose a decision-making framework to manage power distribution based on its impact on the rural QOL. Parameters are examined in this paper to represent the QOL pertaining to water, safety, education, and leisure/social activities. Each parameter is evaluated based on condition, community importance, and energy dependence. A solution for power allocation is developed by executing the compromise decision support problem (cDSP) and exploring the solution space. Energy loads, such as those required for powering water pumps, streetlamps, and household devices are prioritized in the context of the QOL. The technique also allows decision-makers to update the power distribution scheme as the dynamics between energy production and demand change over time. In this paper, we propose a framework for connecting QOL and power management. The flexibility of the approach is demonstrated using a problem with varying scenarios that may be time-dependent. The work enables sustainable energy solutions that can evolve with community development.


Author(s):  
Yannis Theocharis ◽  
Joost de Moor

Creative participation refers to citizens’ invention of, and engagement in, new action forms that aim to influence, or take responsibility for, the common good in society. By definition, these action forms are constantly evolving and cannot be listed or summarized. Yet some, like guerrilla gardening, have over time become more established in political repertoires, and specific arenas are known to be particularly productive sites for their development. These include in particular the Internet, and lifestyles and consumption. The constant changes in how citizens become active represented by creative participation present considerable challenges for scholars of political participation—both in terms of theory and methodology. In particular, such forms test our ability to distinguish political from nonpolitical activities. However, how political creative participation is, is often subtle and implicit, and therefore hard to establish. Yet being able to do so is essential for an ongoing assessment of the quality of participatory democracy. With conventional forms of participation declining and creative participation becoming more common, scholars must be able to agree on definitions and operationalizations that allow for the comparison of participatory trends. For instance, a key concern has been whether creative forms of participation crowd out more conventional ones, like voting or lobbying politicians. Developments in survey research have been able to show that this is not the case and that creative participation may in fact increase conventional participation. In addition, qualitative research methods like focus groups and ethnography, allow for more open-ended explorations of this elusive research topic. As to who participates, creative participation has enabled traditionally underrepresented groups like women and young people to catch up with, and sometimes overtake, those older men who have long dominated conventional political participation. Still, education remains a key obstacle even to creative participation. The COVID-19 crisis that took hold of the world in 2020 has compromised access to collective action and public space. It has thereby once more put the onus on citizens to engage creatively with ways to influence, and take responsibility for, society. At the same time, the crisis presents a need and opportunity for political participation scholarship to engage more deeply with theoretical debates about what it means to be political or to participate.


2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (7) ◽  
pp. 1581-1599
Author(s):  
Semen Yu. BOGATYREV

Subject. The study deals with heuristics as measures of the emotional impact of people who judge about the value and the final result of the valuation. I review ranges of the value variance when influenced by irrational factors. From psychological perspectives, some phenomena are explained with a set of heuristics that exist as part of behavioral finance. Objectives. Referring to the completed studies, I implement elements of behavioral finance, such as heuristics into the method for assessing how financial decision-makers and their emotions influence the value. Methods. The article is based on methods of induction and deduction to process survey results. Results. The article reveals the content of key methods for measuring emotions of financial decision-maker, which conclude on the value, being influenced by heuristics. I demonstrate tools for implementing psychological measurement methods as part of valuation. Conclusions and Relevance. Considering heuristics of value decision-makers, the appraiser and the cost analyst approximate the valuation result to the real conditions, when market actors are irrational. Doing so, they contribute to the quality of the result of appraisal. The findings are applicable to the practice of appraisers, cost analysts, fundamental analysts. Heuristics enrich and expands the classical apparatus of valuation and increases its quality.


2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 416-422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Petrinec

Background Family members of critically ill patients experience indications of post–intensive care syndrome, including anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Despite increased use of long-term acute care hospitals for critically ill patients, little is known about the impact of long-term hospitalization on patients’ family members. Objectives To examine indications of post–intensive care syndrome, coping strategies, and health-related quality of life among family decision makers during and after patients’ long-term hospitalization. Methods A single-center, prospective, longitudinal descriptive study was undertaken of family decision makers of adult patients admitted to long-term acute care hospitals. Indications of post–intensive care syndrome and coping strategies were measured on the day of hospital admission and 30 and 60 days later. Health-related quality of life was measured by using the Short Form-36, version 2, at admission and 60 days later. Results The sample consisted of 30 family decision makers. On admission, 27% reported moderate to severe anxiety, and 20% reported moderate to severe depression. Among the decision makers, 10% met criteria for a provisional diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder. At admission, the mean physical summary score for quality of life was 47.8 (SD, 9.91) and the mean mental summary score was 48.00 (SD, 10.28). No significant changes occurred during the study period. Problem-focused coping was the most frequently used coping strategy at all time points. Conclusion Family decision makers of patients in long-term acute care hospitals have a significant prevalence of indications of post–intensive care syndrome.


2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 62-66
Author(s):  
Krystyna Klimaszewska ◽  
Mariola Bartusek

Abstract Introduction. Urinary incontinence, meaning irrespective of will leakage of urine, is a serious health problem, and has the status of social disease basing on the epidemiological data concerning number of affected populations suffering from it Taking into consideration the chronic character of the disease and increasing social discomfort including social exclusion, the costs of treatment and rehabilitation should be lower so patients could improve the quality of their lives in other aspects. That is why it is important to deeply analyze the costs of urinary incontinence in terms of diagnostics, treatment and rehabilitation. Aim. Costs analysis related to diagnostics and treatment of urinary incontinence incurred by patient, or co-financed/funded by the National Health Fund on the basis of the literature review. Summary. The few but regularly prepared reports show that there is a clear need for changes in the funding of services provided to patients with health needs. Both the social and economic aspects are important for each patient and should be deeply analysed by public funds decision makers. It would be much easier to take an action if the probability of complete cure was high.


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