scholarly journals COVID-19 and the Restructuring Collective Solidarity: The Case of Volunteer Activity in Québec

Author(s):  
Diane ALALOUF-HALL ◽  
David Grant-Poitras

Drawing on a combination of survey data, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis, this article explores the main forms of restructuring that have taken place within Québec’s voluntary sector in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It centres on three main shifts: the designation of certain voluntary activities as “essential services” by politicians; the im- plementation of new approaches to soliciting, matching, and retaining volunteers; and the institutionalization of a new health-centric rationality within the supervision of volunteer work. The article concludes by calling for recognition, in theory and practice, of the essential role that volunteering plays with regard to socio-territorial resilience. RÉSUMÉ Mobilisant les données d’un travail de veille portant sur l’impact de la pandémie de COVID-19 sur le secteur de bienfai- sance au Québec, cet article explore les principales restructurations qui se sont opérées au sein du secteur bénévole. Nos enquêtes nous ont permis d’en dégager trois : la qualification, par le politique, de certaines activités bénévoles en « services essentiels » ; la mise en œuvre de nouvelles approches en matière de sollicitation, de jumelage et de rétention des bénévoles ; l’obligation pour les organismes d’encadrer le travail des bénévoles en fonction d’une « rationalité sanitaire ». L’article se clore avec une discussion où nous appelons à reconnaître, tant en théorie qu’en pratique, le rôle incontournable du bénévolat en matière de résilience socio-territoriale.  

Mousaion ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mpilo Siphamandla Mthembu ◽  
Dennis Ngong Ocholla

Public libraries play a crucial role in the information and knowledge society. Their access and services in the fourth industrial revolution require review as well as the knowledge of the competency requirements for Library and Information Science (LIS) graduates to offer professional services. This paper presents the competencies LIS graduates require for work. It also seeks to examine the challenges they encounter in public libraries. The study is driven by the notion that a skills gap and a lack of training for LIS professionals are still daunting challenges in most public libraries. The post-positivism paradigm was employed through the triangulation of both qualitative and quantitative methodologies in data collection and analysis. Content analysis and a survey were employed as research methods. The study scanned job advertisements in four newspapers spanning a three-year period (from January 2015 to December 2017). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with assistant directors and structured questionnaires were administered to LIS graduates. Grade 12, one to three years of work experience, computer literacy and communication skills are the most required competencies to work at public libraries. There seems to be no balance between theory and practice offered in most LIS schools, which suggests the need for curricula revision. Employed LIS graduates are facing several challenges, which include lack of practical exposure or knowledge, lack of qualification recognition and individual promotions, and lack of ICT skills and knowledge.


2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 346-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Evans ◽  
Basil Phillip Tucker

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the ways in which both formal and informal control, operating as a package, are implicated in responding to organisational change arising from the introduction of the Australian Federal Government’s Clean Energy Act (2011). Design/methodology/approach – This investigation is based on a review of archival data, and semi-structured interviews conducted with 15 staff at different hierarchical levels within an Australian renewable energy company. Findings – Although formal management control systems and informal control both played important roles in the organisation’s reorientation to organisational change, it was the latter form of control that predominated over the former. The influence of the prevailing organisational culture, however, was pivotal in orchestrating both formal and informal control efforts within this organisation. Originality/value – This study contributes to management control theory and practice in two ways: first, it provides much needed empirical evidence about the ways in which management controls act as a package; second, it offers insights into the relative importance of the components of a management control package in the context of a particular organisational change. In addition, it responds to Laughlin’s (1991) call for empirical “flesh” to be added to the skeletal framework he advocates to make this conceptualisation of organisational change, “more meaningful”.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
H Vilaça

Abstract The Regulation responds to legislation failures in the European regulatory framework on medical devices (MD), which in turn led to public health issues. Two media scandals triggered the final actions on the elaboration of this EU Regulation, which was already being thought off in a context of fast MD development, and on the commitment of member-states to harmonize legislation in order to better manage resources. This Regulation is expected to address detected gaps, and contribute to the protection of European citizens' health by ensuring high quality and safety of MD, through advocating for more transparency, vigilance, and traceability. A technique to evaluate policies is the implementation analysis, as it links theory and practice. By understanding it, it is possible to ascertain if, in fact, the Regulation will contribute, as proposed, to improve public health. The implementation analysis framework I developed can be used in other countries affected by this Regulation, and may even be extrapolated to other scenarios. Entry into force 25/05/17.Full application 05/20. This qualitative study uses document analysis and semi-structured interviews to collect data, and literature review to frame the situation and to study implementation analysis. The questions are: identify the facilitators and resistance points of the implementation; explore perceptions of the Portuguese MD distributors; understand the policy implementation pathway; and have a picture of the implementation status in Portugal. The results can be summarized as: implementers are interested in complying with the Regulation; there is stakeholder involvement in policy making and throughout the implementation process; the main points of resistance, difficulties and the facilitators are identified; and the Regulation is being implemented according to the timelines. The public health action brought by the policy is that each economic operator is an active actor on vigilance and patient safety across MD lifecycle. Key messages If we are interested in the extent to which a particular polity is able to solve the problems with which it is confronted, we need to study the way in which the law is executed in practice. Focus on the effective implementation of the new regulatory framework on medical devices to protect patients and ensure it addresses new and emerging challenges.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Carolina Bender ◽  
Manuela Guerreiro ◽  
Bernardete Dias Sequeira ◽  
Júlio Mendes

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the hedonic experience and its formation at heritage attractions. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative and exploratory approach was applied, using data from 21 semi-structured interviews and three in-situ focus groups. Findings Findings highlight that senses, imagery and emotions are stimulated by the physical landscape and by triggers of memorable experiences. Research limitations/implications To further explore this topic, a broader range of heritage attractions and perspectives from the diverse stakeholders involved in the management and consumption of these sites is needed. Originality/value Given the scarcity of research dedicated to the hedonic experience at heritage sites, this study provides a contribution by exploring the visitor’s perspective and points out relevant insights. As the hedonic feelings of pleasure, comfort and related affective responses impact the quality of memorable experiences, relevant implications for theory and practice are discussed.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Odirlei Antonio Magnagnagno ◽  
Edimara Mezzomo Luciano ◽  
Rafael Mendes Lübeck

The purpose of this article is to identify mechanisms that may contribute to preserving the privacy of patient information contained in the electronic medical record. The research strategy is exploratory-descriptive, using Document Analysis and Case Study. A set of 20 documents, related to laws, manuals and standards, was analyzed and conducted case studies in two hospitals, preceded by a pilot case study. The cases were studied through semi-structured interviews, analysis of internal documents and occasional observation. In one of the stages of the research we have identification and analysis of regulatory and normative documents. And as a final result, the identification of the mechanisms that the hospitals surveyed use for information privacy. The most used mechanisms are those of processes in relation to the safeguard and those of relationship in relation to the awareness of the collaborators. As contribution, the article shows the need to strengthen the discussion of the theme for the academy. As well, a list of documents and mainly a list of mechanisms that can contribute to the protection of the information in the health area.


Author(s):  
Iryna Maliarenko ◽  
Borys Kedrovskyi ◽  
Yurii Romaskevych ◽  
Olha Koltsova

Professional training assumes the formation of the young generation of spiritual values and ideals, behavioral stereotypes and concrete actions. The purpose of the research was to analyze the directions of using volunteer activity in the formation of professional and social competencies of students of the Faculty of Physical Education and Sports. The realities of the training of specialists allowed us to single out professional and social competencies as a separate species. The graduate should have an understanding and perception of ethical norms of behavior, understand the need to observe the norms of a healthy lifestyle, be creative, sociable, tolerant. In his professional work should provide for the prospects of working with the formation of a system of goals, to design the content of educational and upbringing activities with self–monitoring and self–evaluation of the work performed. It is determined that the pedagogical functions of volunteer activity are the orientation of the individual in social relations; The creation of an educational space; Ensuring the possibility of acquiring the experience of social and communicative interaction. The experience of using volunteer activity testifies to the need to ensure the unity of theoretical knowledge and practical activity, which is represented by the «model of formation» using different forms of organization in the following areas: educational, sports and social component within the framework of the students' practical training of the faculty of physical education and sport. To assess the effectiveness of experimental work on the impact of volunteer work on the formation of professional and social competence, we used quantitative and qualitative assessments, which express the changes in the characteristics of individual students. In terms of readiness of the future teacher to education of students was recorded positive trend: students with low level of readiness was 36,4 % less; middle and high readiness – more by 26,4 and 11,1 % respectively, confirming the effectiveness of educational practice using components of volunteering and its impact on the formation of professional and social competencies. Analyzing the experience of using volunteering at the Faculty of Physical Education and SportsKherson state university note that it promotes the professional experience of moral consciousness; encourages the development of motivational sphere student, his personal qualities, aspiration to self development, to expand professional competence.


2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Santuzza Arreguy Silva VITORINO ◽  
Marly Marques da CRUZ ◽  
Denise Cavalcante de BARROS

ABSTRACT Objective: To describe the modeling stages of food and nutrition surveillance in the Primary Health Care of the Unified Health Care System, considering its activities, objectives, and goals Methods: Document analysis and semi-structured interviews were used for identifying the components, describe the intervention, and identify potential assessment users. Results: The results include identification of the objectives and goals of the intervention, the required inputs, activities, and expected effects. The intervention was then modeled based on these data. The use of the theoretical logic model optimizes times, resources, definition of the indicators that require monitoring, and the aspects that require assessment, identifying more clearly the contribution of the intervention to the results Conclusion: Modeling enabled the description of food and nutrition surveillance based on its components and may guide the development of viable plans to monitor food and nutrition surveillance actions so that modeling can be established as a local intersectoral planning instrument.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Clement Nangpiire ◽  
Joaquim Silva ◽  
Helena Alves

PurposeThe customer as an active and engaged value co-creator raises new challenges for theory and practice, especially in the hospitality industry. However, the connection between engagement and co-creation is little studied in the hotel/tourism literature. This paper proposes a connection between customer engagement (CE) and value co-creation frameworks to ascertain and depict the internal actors' activities and factors that foster or hinder guests' co-creation and destruction of value.Design/methodology/approachThe researchers used qualitative methods (35 in-depth interviews, document analysis and four observation sessions) in seven regions of Ghana to explore the customer's perspective. Data were analyzed with NVivo11 within a thematic analysis framework.FindingsThe findings suggest that positive and negative engagement fosters or hinders guests' interactions, which lead to value co-creation or destruction. The research also discovered that negative interactions occasioned by any factor or actor trigger value destruction at multiple stages of the experience journey.Practical implicationsIndustry players can use the framework developed to assess their businesses, explore and reflect on the proposed value they aim to generate, and thus be more aware of how they can better facilitate value co-creation with their consumers and avoid value destruction.Originality/valueThis research proposes a novel connection between customer interactions, engagement and value co-creation to ascertain and depict the internal actors' activities and factors that foster or hinder customers' experience in the hotel/tourism industry.


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