scholarly journals Translating Research into Action: involving older people in co-producing knowledge about age-friendly neighbourhood interventions

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patty Doran ◽  
Tine Buffel

Purpose Developing what has been termed “age-friendly” cities has become a significant issue for public policy. To date, however, there is limited knowledge about how older people can be involved in the co-production of age-friendly initiatives. The Translating Research into Action project worked with a group of older co-researchers who examined the age-friendliness of their neighbourhood, with the aim of translating the findings into practice and policy recommendations that can help improve the quality of life of older people in urban neighbourhoods. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach This paper synthetises the data collected through focus groups, interviews conducted by co-researchers and a public dissemination event. The analysis focussed on identifying the suggestions for action and change that could improve the social and physical environment for older people in urban neighbourhoods. Findings Physical and social issues were found to be contingent on each other and mutually reinforcing, and should therefore not be considered in isolation. However, the findings highlighted physical environmental issues as a major concern; transport was a dominant overarching theme. Research limitations/implications Three key areas in need of improvement when developing local level age-friendly policies and practices are discussed: improving and diversifying communication and information; promoting accessibility; and, ensuring a range of meeting opportunities for different groups. Originality/value The paper illustrates how co-produced research can be translated into age-friendly interventions, and will be of interest to a wide range of local and (inter)national organisations wishing to research and provide advocacy to older people.

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 434-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelo Jonas Imperiale ◽  
Frank Vanclay

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reflect on what can be learned about disaster risk reduction (DRR) from the L’Aquila trial of scientists. The court case was initiated because of a controversial meeting on 31 March 2009 of the Major Risks Committee (MRC), held under the auspices of the Italian Department of Civil Protection. The purpose of the meeting was to consider (prior to the fatal earthquake of 6 April 2009) disaster risk in the L’Aquila area, which was being affected by an earthquake swarm since October 2008. Design/methodology/approach The authors undertook a document analysis of trial materials, and a review of academic and media commentary about the trial. Findings The legal process revealed that disaster governance was inadequate and not informed by the DRR paradigm or international guidelines. Risk assessment was carried out only in a techno-scientific manner, with little acknowledgement of the social issues influencing risks at the local community level. There was no inclusion of local knowledge or engagement of local people in transformative DRR strategies. Originality/value Most previous commentary is inadequate in terms of not considering the institutional, scientific and social responsibilities for DRR as exposed by the trial. This paper is unique in that it considers the contents of the MRC meeting as well as all trial documents. It provides a comprehensive reflection on the implications of this case for DRR and the resilience of peoples and places at risk. It highlights that a switch from civil protection to community empowerment is needed to achieve sustainable outcomes at the local level.


2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 265
Author(s):  
Redyanto Noor

Popular literature is not bad literature, its standard does not lie in its inability to meet the demands of criticism, but on what benefits it gives to the reader. The study of popular literary structures is not important and interesting because the formulas of popular literary structures have definite and consistent criteria. However, popular sociological literary research provides another important and interesting possibility. The sociological facets of popular literature both inside and outside of the text are vast areas of literary research and have a wide range of issues. The production, distribution, and reception aspects are the areas of popular literary research outside the text whose phenomenon is constantly evolving. The social aspect in the text is the area of literary research that has unlimited problems as the object of research material, in line with the productivity of popular literature writing which is very high and fast. Popular literature as an object of research is very rich in materials and data, especially sociological materials and data that are closely related to social issues, both in the text and outside the text. The quality of literary research is actually not determined by the object of research material, but is determined by the formal object and the proper cultivation of its research and the use of appropriate theories and methods so as to produce original, important, and useful findings for the sciences and society.


2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nisachon Bubpa ◽  
Khanitta Nuntaboot

Purpose Due to the increasing population and diverse lifestyles of aging people in Thailand, close examination of their needs and health care problems is required. Availability and accessibility of food affects the health and well-being of aging people in the community; therefore, to enhance their quality of life, community nurses and health care personnel must understand the variety of foods in their diet, in order to provide suitable and culturally acceptable nutrition for the elderly. The purpose of this paper is to explore the diversity of foods eaten by older people and the social, economic, environmental, and cultural contexts in which they live in the Northern region of Thailand. This is a part of a larger research project of community food management systems for the care of older people. Design/methodology/approach Critical ethnographic research was employed during the study. The data were collected from 41 primary elderly informants and family members. The researcher collected data by conducting individual in-depth interviews, observation of activities, and focus group discussions. The text data were analyzed by content analysis. Findings Information gathered from this research reveal nine categories of food which older people are associated with and which include: favorite foods; food provided by others; foodstuffs which should be eaten due to chronic diseases (recommended by doctor); foods to be avoided; snacks; food eaten with others (eating when socializing); food for festivals and cultural traditions; food offered for making merit; and food donated to others. Originality/value Utilization of health data, specifically regarding individual dietary diversity, can guide community nurses and health care personnel to provide and promote health that will suit individuals and their families. Community nurses and health care personnel should be aware of the variety of older persons’ diets and the importance of being able to manage and sustain their own nutritional needs. Appropriate nutrition, which is one of the social determinants of health, could improve the quality of the well-being of aging members in the community.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eliada Pampoulou ◽  
Donald R. Fuller

PurposeWhen the augmentative and alternative communication (ACC) model (Lloyd et al., 1990) was proposed, these components of symbols were not considered, nor were they contemplated when superordinate (Lloyd and Fuller, 1986) and subordinate levels (Fuller et al., 1992) of AAC symbol taxonomy were developed. The purpose of this paper is to revisit the ACC model and propose a new symbol classification system called multidimensional quaternary symbol continuum (MQSC)Design/methodology/approachThe field of AAC is evolving at a rapid rate in terms of its clinical, social, research and theoretical underpinnings. Advances in assessment and intervention methods, technology and social issues are all responsible to some degree for the significant changes that have occurred in the field of AAC over the last 30 years. For example, the number of aided symbol collections has increased almost exponentially over the past couple of decades. The proliferation of such a large variety of symbol collections represents a wide range of design attributes, physical attributes and linguistic characteristics for aided symbols and design attributes and linguistic characteristics for unaided symbols.FindingsTherefore, it may be time to revisit the AAC model and more specifically, one of its transmission processes referred to as the means to represent.Originality/valueThe focus of this theoretical paper then, is on the current classification of symbols, issues with respect to the current classification of symbols in terms of ambiguity of terminology and the evolution of symbols, and a proposal for a new means of classifying the means to represent.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon10.1108/JET-04-2021-0024


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosa Fontes ◽  
Margarita Pino-Juste

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to look at recent trends in scientific literature on the portrayal of autism in published and broadcast media and social awareness of the subject. Design/methodology/approach A bibliometric analysis of content of such publications was performed. Findings Results show that portrayals of autism from books, newspapers, news broadcasts, films and TV series are being scrutinized. Research focuses on the social categories of resulting stereotypes, the quality of such depictions, the benefits and downsides, stigmatization of individuals (with autism) and how society responds to these portrayals. Originality/value It is important to understand if media portrayals of autism are creating a realistic and constructive awareness of autism in society.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Egor Bunov

The monograph contains a theoretical analysis of the social effectiveness of the internal affairs bodies as the degree of satisfaction of the population with the quality of law enforcement activities to protect their interests, rights and freedoms. The results of a multidimensional analysis of empirical studies of the influence of macro - and microsocial factors on the effectiveness of interaction between the population and law enforcement agencies are presented. The article substantiates the criteria for social assessment of the activities of the internal affairs bodies, the use of which allows for practical adjustment of the forms and methods of the management system. For a wide range of readers interested in the practice of applying legal measures of law enforcement.


Author(s):  
Josep Burch ◽  
Modest Fluvià ◽  
Ricard Rigall ◽  
Albert Saló ◽  
Gabriel Alcalde

Purpose The Roses Citadel is a bastioned fortification that has archaeological remains from the Greek, Roman and medieval periods in its interior. Currently, the area inside the Citadel is used for a wide range of activities; some directly related with the heritage item, others associated with its use as a public space for the town. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the economic interest of charging an entrance fee vs the alternative of free access and offers a framework to address this issue. Design/methodology/approach The proposal is to consider the marginal cost of increasing the number of users and to carry out a travel cost analysis. It is vital to take into account the results of specifically economic analyses, but the evaluations of social policies should also be considered, and should have a considerable weight in decision making. Findings It is proposed that free entry would bring about an increase in the number of visitors and users of Roses Citadel. In turn, this increase would lead to a greater social use of this heritage asset, and a chance for the least privileged sectors of society to use the site more. Financial resources for the maintenance of the asset would not be raised through entry fees, but through contributions relating to the increase in the social consideration of the site. Originality/value In the context of a discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of paying an entry fee for heritage assets, the example of Roses Citadel provides several factors for consideration. It shows that payment of an entry fee affects use of the site by society, and particularly by the local community, whereas free access leads to a wide range of opportunities for use.


2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (8) ◽  
pp. 1270-1293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Mark Linsley ◽  
Alexander Linsley ◽  
Matthias Beck ◽  
Simon Mollan

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose Neo-Durkheimian institutional theory, developed by the Durkheimian institutional theory, as developed by anthropologist Mary Douglas, as a suitable theory base for undertaking cross-cultural accounting research. The social theory provides a structure for examining within-country and cross-country actions and behaviours of different groups and communities. It avoids associating nations and cultures, instead contending any nation will comprise four different solidarities engaging in constant dialogues. Further, it is a dynamic theory able to take account of cultural change. Design/methodology/approach The paper establishes a case for using neo-Durkheimian institutional theory in cross-cultural accounting research by specifying the key components of the theory and addressing common criticisms. To illustrate how the theory might be utilised in the domain of accounting and finance research, a comparative interpretation of the different experiences of financialization in Germany and the UK is provided drawing on Douglas’s grid-group schema. Findings Neo-Durkheimian institutional theory is deemed sufficiently capable of interpreting the behaviours of different social groups and is not open to the same criticisms as Hofstede’s work. Differences in Douglasian cultural dialogues in the post-1945 history of Germany and the UK provide an explanation of the variations in the comparative experiences of financialization. Originality/value Neo-Durkheimian institutional theory has been used in a wide range of contexts; however, it has been little used in the context of accounting research. The adoption of the theory in future accounting research can redress a Hofstedian-bias in accounting research.


Author(s):  
Mohannad Alahmadi ◽  
Peter Pocta ◽  
Hugh Melvin

Web Real-Time Communication (WebRTC) combines a set of standards and technologies to enable high-quality audio, video, and auxiliary data exchange in web browsers and mobile applications. It enables peer-to-peer multimedia sessions over IP networks without the need for additional plugins. The Opus codec, which is deployed as the default audio codec for speech and music streaming in WebRTC, supports a wide range of bitrates. This range of bitrates covers narrowband, wideband, and super-wideband up to fullband bandwidths. Users of IP-based telephony always demand high-quality audio. In addition to users’ expectation, their emotional state, content type, and many other psychological factors; network quality of service; and distortions introduced at the end terminals could determine their quality of experience. To measure the quality experienced by the end user for voice transmission service, the E-model standardized in the ITU-T Rec. G.107 (a narrowband version), ITU-T Rec. G.107.1 (a wideband version), and the most recent ITU-T Rec. G.107.2 extension for the super-wideband E-model can be used. In this work, we present a quality of experience model built on the E-model to measure the impact of coding and packet loss to assess the quality perceived by the end user in WebRTC speech applications. Based on the computed Mean Opinion Score, a real-time adaptive codec parameter switching mechanism is used to switch to the most optimum codec bitrate under the present network conditions. We present the evaluation results to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach when compared with the default codec configuration in WebRTC.


2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Manohar Pawar

The Asia-Pacific region has experienced major disasters, both natural and man-made, in the recent past. Hundreds of families and communities, and several governments, non-government organisations, international organisations and aid agencies have been engaged in relief, rebuilding and rehabilitation activities with varying degrees of effectiveness and success. This article aims to reflect on some of these post-disaster reconstruction experiences; exploring how a social development approach can be employed for the post-disaster social reconstruction; and suggest regional social policies and strategies for multi-stakeholder cooperation to effectively address post-disaster issues at the local level. Although efforts made by several agencies in very challenging contexts are commendable, there are few examples to show the application of the social development approach. By discussing the social development approach, the paper argues that the conscious use of such an approach facilitates a better planning and preparation for anticipated disasters, rehabilitation processes and the comprehensive development of disaster affected areas, including environmental and psycho-social issues. Towards this end, it underscores the role of regional social policies and multi-stake-holder cooperation. The discussion has implications for local and international communities, which are engaged in pre-planning and preparation for disasters and post-disaster reconstruction.


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