scholarly journals EVALUATION OF THE EU SUPPORT FOR RURAL RESIDENTS OF LITHUANIA: RURAL ELDERS APPROACH

Author(s):  
Gediminas Kuliešis ◽  
Lina Pareigienė

After joining EU Lithuania started to receive the support for modernization of agricultural production processes, to maintain farmers' income, upgrade rural infrastructure, improve people's quality of life. Farmers, the local authorities, as well as rural communities had to absorb EU support administration procedures, what formed a new culture of communication. That is why it is important to analyze what was the EU support impact on rural residents, especially their social capital, which is one of the sources to improve life quality and well-being. The purpose of this article is to assess the impact of EU support on rural residents’ social capital. To achieve the set goal Lithuanian rural wards’ elders were selected as representatives of the local authorities. Survey results showed that the rural communities residents became more motivated, self-reliant, the number of cultural and other events increased, the residents began to build their leisure. And pay more attention and resources for the maintenance of living environment and rural landscape.

Author(s):  
Govindamal Thangiah ◽  
Mas Ayu Said ◽  
Hazreen Abdul Majid ◽  
Daniel Reidpath ◽  
Tin Tin Su

Quality of life (QOL) is a proxy of health and social well-being. Hence, it is vital to assess QOL as it informs the strategies of policymakers to enhance the living conditions in communities. Rural areas in emerging economies are underserved in terms of modern facilities and technologies, which impact QOL. To address this, this study investigated whether income played a role in the QOL of rural residents within emerging economies using a large survey of Malaysian adults above 18 years old. The study extracted data from a sample of 18,607 respondents of a health and demographic surveillance system survey. A generalized linear model was used to estimate the impact of three income groups, the bottom 40%, middle 40% and top 20%, on perceived QOL, controlling for sociodemographic, chronic disease co-morbidities and mental health status. Results of the study showed a statistically significant association between income and the physical, psychological, social and environmental QOL domains. Using the bottom 40% as a reference category, the middle 40% and top 20% income groups showed a significant and positive association across the four domains of QOL. Hence, intervention programs are necessary to escalate the income levels of rural communities, especially the bottom 40%, to uplift perceived QOL among rural residents.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 109
Author(s):  
Massoomeh Hedayati ◽  
Aldrin Abdullah ◽  
Mohammad Javad Maghsoodi Tilaki

There is continuous debate on the impact of house quality on residents’ health and well-being. Good living environment improves health, and fear of crime is recognised as a mediator in the relationship between physical environment and health. Since minimal studies have investigated the relationship, this study aims to examine the impact of the house quality on fear of crime and health. A total of 230 households from a residential neighbourhood in Malaysia participated in the study. Using structural equation modelling, the findings indicate that housing quality and fear of crime can account for a proportion of the variance in residents’ self-rated health. However, there is no significant relationship between housing quality and fear of crime. Results also show that fear of crime does not mediate the relationship between housing quality and health. This study suggests that the environment-fear relationship should be re-examined theoretically.  


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 44
Author(s):  
Alexander Baranovsky ◽  
Nataliia Tkachenko ◽  
Vladimer Glonti ◽  
Valentyna Levchenko ◽  
Kateryna Bogatyrova ◽  
...  

Traditionally, public procurement has been associated with the measurement of achieving savings. However, recent research shows that the economic impact of public procurement is not limited only to savings, but by measuring the impact of four capitals—natural, human, social, and economic—on sustainable well-being over time. Ukraine is a country with a very low gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, which exacerbates the problem of the impact of public procurement results on the population’s welfare. Ukrainian public procurement legislation allows customers to apply non-price criteria (the share of non-price criteria cannot be more than 70%), which, together, are taken into account in the formula of the quoted price. The studies show that the effect of the use of non-price criteria depends on the relevance of the method of the evaluation of non-price criteria. The most important non-price criteria for Ukrainian customers by product categories and the methods of their evaluation are analyzed according to the Bi.prozorro.org analytics module. Therefore, it is concluded that the quoted price method, which is used in Ukrainian practice, is not relevant in comparison with the method used in the EU. A survey of the government buyers on the practice of applying non-price criteria was conducted, and the areas of their use were identified.


Focaal ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 2008 (52) ◽  
pp. 77-91
Author(s):  
Cerasela Voiculescu

This article explores the recent transformations of the Romanian peasantry and critically discusses interpretations of these changes as either indicating the persistence or the disappearance of peasants in Romania. It shows that beyond the labels of depeasantization and repeasantization, which are extensively used to describe rural scenarios under socialism and postsocialism, it is important to take analytic account of the more complex social relations between different actors that are developing under the impact of interacting local and global processes. Given the sharp differences between peasants and the new class of agricultural rentiers, as well as the variations within the latter group, the different rent regimes in which peasants negotiate their control over land and subsistence involve complex relationships and statuses. The article concludes by hypothesizing possible ways in which all of these relationships could be transformed in the long run in the new context of the EU agricultural policy and by discussing two possible scenarios for the Romanian rural landscape, namely, those of peripheral and nonperipheral capitalism.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S637-S638
Author(s):  
Sarah D Holmes ◽  
Elizabeth Galik ◽  
Barbara Resnick

Abstract The assisted living (AL) environment plays an important role in supporting residents’ life satisfaction and helping them to age in place. Guided by ecological theory, the AL environment is multidimensional and has many interrelated components including staffing (e.g. direct care workers, nursing, activity staff), services provided (e.g. medical, mental health, pharmacy), amenities offered at the setting (e.g. beauty salon, computer room, exercise facilities), and built environment features (e.g. walkability). Moreover, evidence suggests that aspects of the AL environment can enhance or detract from the physical function, well-being, social engagement, and behavioral outcomes among residents. The purpose of this study was to develop and test an integrative AL environment measurement model that includes indicators of staffing, services, amenities, and the built environment. Baseline data was used from a study testing the Dissemination and Implementation of Function Focused Care in AL. A total of 54 AL facilities across three states were included in the sample. Settings ranged in size from 31 to 164 beds with an average size of 82.2 (SD=26.2) beds and the majority were for profit facilities (n=41, 74.5%). Structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed model. Results showed that the model fit the data (chi-squared/df=1.86, p<.05; CFI=.858, RMSEA=.126). Having an integrative AL environment measurement model will advance future research that explores the impact of the environment on resident outcomes. In addition, findings from this study can inform interventions and programs designed to modify AL environments to optimize residents’ ability to age in place.


This chapter looks at the purpose and history of the development of good clinical practice (GCP). The international conference on harmonisation (ICH) GCP is the international quality standard for conducting clinical research to ensure the rights and well-being of patients are protected and the resulting data are valid. The cornerstone of ethics in research stems from the Declaration of Helsinki and the chapter looks at the changes in the Declaration and the impact on clinical trials. The development of the ICH process is described and the E, S, Q and M guidelines are discussed, The efficacy guidelines affect the practical aspects of trials and the efficacy guideline number 6 (E6) is on GCP. The content of the E6 guidelines is reviewed including the responsibilities of ethics committees, investigator and sponsor. Documentation requirements including the Protocol and Investigator Brochure as well as all the other documents are outlined. The guidelines are written to be interpreted and companies and institutions have to document their interpretation using standard operating procedures (SOPs). Although ICH GCP is regarded as the world-wide standard it sits alongside countries' legislation. In Europe CTIMPs have to follow the EU Directives and Regulation. Non pharmaceutical/non interventional healthcare research has no legal requirements to adhere to ICH GCP and is carried out under different research governance frameworks (RGF), however they all have their principles based on ICH GCP. The chapter also discusses the definition of an IMP and the decisions and processes that have to be followed when conducting non CTIMP studies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anzhelika Antipova ◽  
Ehsan Momeni

Urban studies related to previous pandemics and impacts on cities focused on vulnerable categories including poor and marginalized groups. We continue this tradition and analyze unemployment outcomes in a context of a multi-dimensional social disadvantage that is unfolding during the ongoing public health crisis. For this, we first propose an approach to identify communities by social disadvantage status captured by several key metrics. Second, we apply this methodology in the study of the effect of social disadvantage on unemployment during the COVID-19 and measure the COVID-19-related economic impact using the most recent data on unemployment. The study focuses upon vulnerable communities in in the southeastern US (Tennessee) with a concentration of high social vulnerability and rural communities. While all communities initially experienced the impact that was both sudden and severe, communities that had lower social disadvantage pre-COVID were much more likely to start resuming economic activities earlier than communities that were already vulnerable pre-COVID due to high social disadvantage with further implications upon community well-being. The impact of social disadvantage grew stronger post-COVID compared with the pre-pandemic period. In addition, we investigate worker characteristics associated with adverse labor market outcomes during the later stage of the current economic recession. We show that some socio-demographic groups have a systematically higher likelihood of being unemployed. Compared with the earlier stages, racial membership, poverty and loss of employment go hand in hand, while ethnic membership (Hispanics) and younger male workers are not associated with higher unemployment. Overall, the study contributes to a growing contemporaneous research on the consequences of the COVID-19 recession. Motivated by the lack of the research on the spatial aspect of the COVID-19-caused economic recession and its economic impacts upon the vulnerable communities during the later stages, we further contribute to the research gap.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maarit Sireni ◽  
Pirjo Pöllänen ◽  
Olga Davydova-Minguet

The rural region of North Karelia is located close to the Finnish-Russian border, and faces challenges due to population decline and labor shortage. However, it has a unique strength which is its proximity to Russia. This paper analyses the perceived role of immigration in enhancing the vitality of North Karelia. It investigates how the impact of immigration is presented in the regional media, and how Russian-speaking immigrant women’s roles as “agents of development” can be interpreted on the basis of their interviews. The analysis is based on text material obtained from the regional newspaper, and ethnographic interviews conducted among Russian-speaking immigrant women. Findings based on the newspaper material indicate that immigrants are valued primarily for their contribution to regional economic development. However, in some of the texts, immigrants are presented as an integral part of the region’s population, who diversify the skills of communities and thus create potential for promoting local resilience. The analysis of the interview data indicates that the proximity of the border, transnational connections, and ethno-cultural capital which is based on immigrants’ national background are important factors that impact on the attractiveness of North Karelia for Russian immigrant women. Everyday transnational multiculturalism encompasses women’s precarious employment which impacts on the well-being of broader communities on both sides of the border. Although Russian immigrant women are a vital part of these communities, they do not themselves participate in the newspaper discussions about the vitality of rural communities. This indicates that Russian women are “invisible” agents of rural development, who are not fully recognized as contributors of resilience in North Karelia.


2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chaminda Nalaka Wickramasinghe ◽  
Nobaya Ahmad

Internet has been recognized as the world largest knowledge depositary. Therefore, there is overwhelming expectation over the Internet to be influenced the social and technological development of marginalized communities of less developed countries. However there were no published studies that investigate the nature of the innovation systems and the impact of internet on the inventors in developing countries. Therefore, the existing knowledge of how the internet usage of influence on social capital, connectedness, success and subjective well-being of inventive community in developing countries is vague. Present study explores the influence of the internet usage on social capital, community connectedness, inventive achievements and subjective well-being of the grassroots level inventive community of Sri Lanka. Findings suggest that internet has been significantly influenced on the social capital, connectedness and subjective well-being of grassroots level inventors in Sri Lanka. However, internet usage is not significantly influence on the objective inventive achievements of the inventors.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Tshegofatso K.J. Sebitloane ◽  
Hendri Coetzee ◽  
Klaus Kellner ◽  
Pieter Malan

AbstractBush encroachment involves a widespread increase in, and abundance of, woody vegetation in grassland and savanna biomes. This phenomenon has a direct impact on the socio-economic well-being of rural communities and affects livestock owners and those who utilise the land for various other purposes. This study set out to evaluate and gain an understanding of how livestock owners and land users in a typical rural village in South Africa’s North West Province perceive bush encroachment and the impact it has on the community’s ecosystem services. A quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional design was used to document the perceptions of the participants regarding bush encroachment and bush control in an attempt to describe characteristics and to find answers to questions related to how local communities are affected by bush encroachment and the control thereof. The results show that encroachment has a significant impact on the socio-economic status of participants. Furthermore, it was found that the vast untapped knowledge of local livestock owners is vital to control bush encroachment, preserve the land for various types of usage and to conserve natural resources. Evaluating participants’ responses and perceptions also contributed significantly to gaining an understanding of how bush encroachment and the control thereof impact rural communities socio-economically. This led the contributors to conclude that raising awareness, actively engaging with the community, imparting skills and offering educational opportunities, creating jobs, merging biophysical activities and promoting active participation are key to the success of programmes aimed at bush control and the resultant improvement of ecosystem services.


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