scholarly journals How does policy alienation develop? Exploring street-level bureaucrats’ agency in policy context shift in UK telehealthcare

2021 ◽  
pp. 001872672110036
Author(s):  
Danielle A Tucker ◽  
Jane Hendy ◽  
Theopisti Chrysanthaki
Keyword(s):  
Policy Implementation ◽  
Health Management ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Psychological State ◽  
Front Line ◽  
Frontline Staff ◽  
Policy Context ◽  
Context Shift ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Improve Health

Policies can fail when frontline staff feel they have limited influence on policy implementation (powerlessness) or that policy has little or no personal meaning (meaninglessness) – they become alienated from the policy – but how does this alienation develop? In this article we ask whether policy alienation might be viewed as a process that develops over time: a process that ebbs and flows, interacting with the policy landscape as it shifts, rather than a psychological state. Feelings of alienation can be shared across groups of actors, as they collectively shift and initiate change. This study uses participant observation and interviews with front-line employees as they navigate a UK government policy introducing telehealthcare to improve health management of patients with chronic conditions. We find that: (i) cumulative misalignment between different policy implementation contexts allows policy alienation to develop over time; (ii) the shared experience of alienation in co-worker groups contributes to further misalignment; and (iii) front-line staff use their discretion to respond to policy alienation, which has the power to enhance or destroy policy implementation. We offer an alternative perspective for understanding how policy alienation can be prevented and policy implementation can be enhanced.

An Anthropological Analysis of Evil Eye, Evil Spirits, and Ancestral Spirits Afflictions: Parengi Porja Tribal Women Views About Illness Etiologies and Its Treatment Practices

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-283
Author(s):  
Srividhya Samakya V. ◽  
T. Subramanyam Naidu
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Health Management ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Semistructured Interview ◽  
Tribal Population ◽  
Data Types ◽  
Focus Group Discussions ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Treatment Practices ◽  
Tribal Women

This article aims to understand the perception of Parengi Porja’s ways of illness treatments and health management. The Parengi Porja is a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Population (PVTG), inhabiting the hilly regions of Visakhapatnam district, Andhra Pradesh, India. They strongly believe in supernatural agents as being the cause of illness. For this study, the Parengi Porja tribal mothers were purposively selected from five villages situated in the study district. We used participant observation, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, case studies, and semistructured interview schedules. We conducted five focus group discussions (FGDs) to understand the reasons for illness, and its diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. Data types include demographic variables, incidences of illnesses, and their management. The study shows that this tribal population has its own understanding about the illness etiology and management strategy to regain healthy life.

Improving lives? Child poverty and social exclusion

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gill Main ◽  
Jonathan Bradshaw
Keyword(s):  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Child Poverty ◽  
Policy Context ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Over Time

This chapter details findings on child poverty and social exclusion from the 2012 UK Poverty and Social Exclusion Survey (PSE2012).It details the turbulent policy context in relation to child poverty in the years between the PSE1999 and PSE2012.It details the stability in perceptions of child necessities over time, and adult perspectives on children’s needs in 2012.The use of adult respondents in research on child poverty, and the implications of this in relation to how data can be interpreted, are detailed – and we recommend the inclusion of children in future similar studies.Findings indicate disturbingly high levels of child poverty in the UK, within a policy context which is likely to exacerbate this even further.Contrary to policy and popular rhetoric, we find no support for the idea that parental behaviours rather than ‘genuine’ poverty are the cause of children going without.Rather, parents are making substantial and personally detrimental sacrifices to ensure that their children are provided for.

Nostalgia, the Fleeting, and the Rare in Chilean Relationships to Nature and Nonhuman Species

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 560-579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meredith Root-Bernstein
Keyword(s):  
Participant Observation ◽  
Social Value ◽  
Public Realm ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Central Chile ◽  
The Public ◽  
Dominant Discourse ◽  
Mediterranean Habitat ◽  
Nonhuman Species ◽  
Over Time

Semi-structured interviews and participant observation were used to understand how urban Chileans form relationships with nature and nonhuman species in central Chile. Most informants expressed dislike of the typical mediterranean-habitat landscape, characterizing it as dry, poor, and empty. Yet many people expressed nostalgic attachment to specific places, species, and activities that they had experienced, often as children. Most of the reminisced-about interactions were fleeting or had been lost over time. In the dominant discourse, nature in the mediterranean zone of Chile is closely associated with poverty, and it is considered to lack beauty, biodiversity, culture, and history. Appeals to personal nostalgia may break through this discourse to form private assemblages of value. Chileans also attributed social value to interactions with species who are rare or who are found “exclusively” in Chile. Appeals to nostalgia, rarity, and exclusivity help to draw these private discourses into the public realm.

scholarly journals Lactic Acid Bacteria Co-Encapsulated with Lactobionic Acid: Probiotic Viability during In Vitro Digestion

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (23) ◽  
pp. 11404
Author(s):  
Sara Sáez-Orviz ◽  
Francesca Passannanti ◽  
Marianna Gallo ◽  
Rosa Colucci Cante ◽  
Federica Nigro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lactic Acid ◽  
Saline Solution ◽  
Lactic Acid Production ◽  
In Vitro Digestion ◽  
Lactobionic Acid ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Stability Time ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Improve Health

Synbiotic products are a type of functional food with great potential due to consumer interest in foods that improve health and/or reduce the risk of certain diseases. In this study, synbiotic macrocapsules were developed using Lactobacillus paracasei CBA L74 as probiotic and lactobionic acid (LBA) as prebiotic. Firstly, the probiotic was proven to be able to use LBA as the only substrate source checking their growth and lactic acid production. Then, four different types of capsules were produced using sodium alginate as matrix and different hardener solutions (CaCl2 and chitosan). The macrocapsules were characterised regarding their strength, and the best performing ones were used for further analysis. In order to obtain a synbiotic capsule characterized by a longer stability time due to low water activity, the capsules were dried using freeze and thermal drying. Successively, to revitalize the microorganisms, the capsules were rehydrated in two different media (saline solution and yogurt), subjected to simulated in vitro digestion tests and visually characterised. In addition, their viability over time was assessed. As a result, L. paracasei was able to grow using LBA as the only source of carbon with better production of lactic acid for prolonged periods. The more resistant freeze- and thermal-dried capsules showed differences in rehydration kinetics, and visual changes were also observed. In simulated in vitro digestion tests, capsules rehydrated in yogurt showed the best results in terms of survival. Regarding their viability over time, the importance of the use of chitosan was noted.

Personal Interpretation Starts with the Interpreter: How Do Outcome Priorities Change Over Time among Interpretive Staff?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clara-Jane Blye ◽  
Glen Hvenegaard ◽  
Elizabeth Halpenny
Keyword(s):  
Key Management ◽  
Organizational Factors ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Strategic Decisions ◽  
Front Line ◽  
Change Over Time ◽  
Agency Support ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Positive Memories ◽  
Over Time

Personal interpretation is a key management tool to help visitors discover, value, and enjoy parks. Goals and objectives for personal interpretation should be consistent among staff to ensure that planning and delivery are effective in achieving targeted outcomes. The aim of this study was to assess how the outcome priorities for, and resources used by, front-line interpreters (employees who deliver personal interpretation programs) changed over the course of one season. Staff goals are also influenced by agency goals and agency support. We were interested in how park agency legislation and management goals were aligned with front-line staff goals and how the agency supported (or did not support) staff in achieving those outcomes. Front-line interpreters from Alberta Parks completed in-person questionnaires during May 2018 (time 1), describing their priorities for interpretive outcomes, perceived trends, resources used, opportunities, barriers, and demographics. Following the delivery of personal interpretation in 11 provincial parks across Alberta during the May to September 2018 park visitation season, the same interpreters completed a follow-up survey between October 2018 and January 2019 (time 2) to understand if and why those responses changed. Respondents were asked to rate their priorities for six main outcomes of personal interpretation. The top outcomes at time 1 were visitor enjoyment, connections to place, and learning. At time 2, learning and enjoyment priorities declined; attitudes, behavioral change, connections to place, and positive memories did not change as desired outcomes. When asked which of the six outcomes were most important, respondents indicated connections to place, positive memories, and enjoyment most often (but there were no changes from time 1 to time 2). As for resources used in guiding content and strategic decisions in delivering personal interpretation programs, the importance of park legislation and park finances declined; the importance of the other resources did not change. When asked what organizational factors helped them be successful (or unsuccessful), staff relied overwhelmingly on their immediate team, including their supervisors and fellow interpreters. However, responses from time 2 suggested that respondents felt in need of more training, more time to prepare new and innovative programs, and more support from upper-level managers and their agency. This research can help inform park practitioner efforts to understand how interpretive priorities change over time and what resources are important for interpreters. Park agency managers can use these results to hire, train, and nurture front-line interpreters, with a goal of improving the impact of personal interpretation programs.

How does changing the feeding bin affect cows’ behaviour?

2019 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-47
Author(s):  
Maria Soonberg ◽  
Tanel Kaart ◽  
David Richard Arney
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Index Number ◽  
Dry Period ◽  
Health Records ◽  
Activity Monitors ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Group Change ◽  
The Right ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Improve Health

AbstractIn a system in which cows are grouped and given differential access to feeding bins with different rations, and where these groups change over time, it is important to find out how a change in the ration (and hence feeding bin) affects the cow's feeding behaviour. Monitoring the locomotion of cows can be used to predict oestrus and improve health (lameness diagnosis), but activity monitors can also be used to estimate both activity and numbers of feeding visits by cows. Ice tag activity monitors were attached to the right hind legs of ten cows. Walking, standing, lying data and health records were used to record changes before and after a change in each cow's feeding bin. Results comparing activity before and after feeding bin change revealed significant increases in motion index, number of steps taken per minute and number of lying bouts per minute (all P < 0.001). Comparing the behaviours of cows subsequently followed during the dry period showed significant differences in motion indices and number of steps taken per minute (P < 0.001) in the dry period. The results indicate that cows are affected by feeding bin change and group change, which can lead to an increase in behaviour associated with the stress response, especially in heifers.

scholarly journals Self-Tracking Health Over Time: From the Use of Instagram to Perform Optimal Health to the Protective Shield of the Digital Detox

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 205630512094069
Author(s):  
Rachael Kent
Keyword(s):  
Role Model ◽  
Health Management ◽  
The Body ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Related Data ◽  
Protective Shield ◽  
Optimal Health ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Over Time

Instagram and self-tracking technologies enable multiple ways to perform and represent the body and health. No research has yet explored how self-tracking technologies and self-representations of health identity on social media, in particular Instagram, influence health “sharing” online and individual health management offline. To enable a thorough investigation of how self-tracking mediations of identity construction work in practice, through a textual and thematic analysis of empirical ethnographic data from online content, reflexive diaries and semi-structured interviews with 14 participants, this research examines the use of these converged technologies to share health-related data on Instagram in the performance of optimal health identities. Participants identified pressures that arose from this continual performative identity of being a healthy role model under persistent self- and community surveillance, which also led to the development of powerful compulsions to use these technologies to document and share many aspects of health and lifestyle. Over time, the participants attempted to disengage and detox either temporarily or permanently from Instagram, to enable a protective shield from the pervasive, normalized surveillance and community practices. Most interestingly, even when they removed these technologies and platforms from their daily lives, participants still felt neglectful to their devices, to themselves, and to their communities online in their abstinence and resistance to perform optimal health practices.

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