scholarly journals Can Social Innovation Make a Change in European and Mediterranean Marginalized Areas? Social Innovation Impact Assessment in Agriculture, Fisheries, Forestry, and Rural Development

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1823
Author(s):  
Elisa Ravazzoli ◽  
Cristina Dalla Torre ◽  
Riccardo Da Re ◽  
Valentino Marini Govigli ◽  
Laura Secco ◽  
...  

Social innovation (SI) impacts are long-term changes that affect different dimensions of territorial capital (i.e., economy, society, environment, governance) for the territory in which SI occurs. Yet, systematic empirical evidence and theoretically sound assessments of the impacts of SI are scarce. This paper aims to fill the gap and assess the different aspects of SI’s impacts in European and Mediterranean areas that are characterized by marginalization processes. To assess the impacts of SI in marginalized areas, we use the evaluation framework developed within the Social Innovation in Marginalized Rural Areas (SIMRA) Horizon 2020 project and apply it to nine SI initiatives related to the fields of agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and rural development. Our findings show that SI produces cross-sectoral (societal, economic, environmental, and governmental) and multi-level impacts (on individuals, community, and society), which have improved the societal well-being, and contributed to the reduction of certain forms of marginality, mainly inside the territory in which SI occurred.

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 193
Author(s):  
Evgenia Anastasiou ◽  
Stella Manika ◽  
Konstantina Ragazou ◽  
Ioannis Katsios

Rural areas are significantly affected by spatial vulnerability, the digital gap, depopulation, and population ageing. Marginalized populations are seeking collective well-being, social inclusion, and local development in smart villages, an increasingly important area of interest for scholars and practitioners as well as rural areas and communities. This article attempts to highlight the dominant trends in smart villages planning and depict the characteristics of Greek rural areas and populations alongside the implemented localized smart actions. To achieve this aim, the research utilized the existing literature through bibliometric analysis by extracting data from the Web of Science database. Building upon the bibliometrics, the research focused on identifying localized implemented interventions in the Greek rural areas. The results suggest that innovation, knowledge, growth, and management appear to impact rural smart planning, while the limited interventions of smart villages in Greece focus on social innovation and local development. The study argues that in Greece, a single holistic smart villages model cannot be proposed, due to the country’s geographical and demographical variability. The proposed trends, though, can be implemented locally to encourage rural development and population inclusion; therefore it is recommended to increase local stakeholders’ awareness and active engagement.


2021 ◽  
pp. 002076402110175
Author(s):  
Roberto Rusca ◽  
Ike-Foster Onwuchekwa ◽  
Catherine Kinane ◽  
Douglas MacInnes

Background: Relationships are vital to recovery however, there is uncertainty whether users have different types of social networks in different mental health settings and how these networks may impact on users’ wellbeing. Aims: To compare the social networks of people with long-term mental illness in the community with those of people in a general adult in-patient unit. Method: A sample of general adult in-patients with enduring mental health problems, aged between 18 and 65, was compared with a similar sample attending a general adult psychiatric clinic. A cross-sectional survey collected demographic data and information about participants’ social networks. Participants also completed the Short Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale to examine well-being and the Significant Others Scale to explore their social network support. Results: The study recruited 53 participants (25 living in the community and 28 current in-patients) with 339 named as important members of their social networks. Both groups recorded low numbers in their social networks though the community sample had a significantly greater number of social contacts (7.4 vs. 5.4), more monthly contacts with members of their network and significantly higher levels of social media use. The in-patient group reported greater levels of emotional and practical support from their network. Conclusions: People with serious and enduring mental health problems living in the community had a significantly greater number of people in their social network than those who were in-patients while the in-patient group reported greater levels of emotional and practical support from their network. Recommendations for future work have been made.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 942-943
Author(s):  
Shannon Freeman ◽  
Aderonke Abgoji ◽  
Alanna Koopmans ◽  
Christopher Ross

Abstract A consequence of the strict visitor restrictions implemented by many Long-term Care Facilities (LTCFs), during the COVID-19 pandemic, was the exacerbation of loneliness and social isolation felt by older adult residents. While there had been a shift by some persons to utilize digital solutions to mitigate the effects of the imposed social isolation, many facilities did not have sufficient information regarding available solutions to implement institutional strategies to support social connectedness through digital solutions. To support our partners in evidence-based policy-making we conducted a scoping review to identify existing virtual technology solutions, apps, and platforms feasible to promote social connectedness among persons residing in a long-term care facility context during times of lockdown such as experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Initial identification of relevant literature involved a combination of keywords and subject headings searches within 5 databases (PubMed, CINAHL EBSCO, PsychINFO EBSCO, Embase OVIDSP, and Web of Science ISI). DistillerSR was used to screen, chart and summarize the data. There is growth in the availability of technologies focused on promoting health and well-being in later life for persons in long-term care facilities however a gap remains in widespread uptake. We will describe the breadth of technologies identified in this review and discuss how they vary in utility in smaller scale facilities common in rural areas. Of the technologies that can be used to mitigate the impacts of social isolation felt by long-term care residents, many “solutions” depend on stable highspeed internet, which remains a challenge in rural and northern areas.


2021 ◽  
pp. 8-21
Author(s):  
Kh. B. Dusaev ◽  
A. Kh. Dusaeva

The article analyzes the number, employment and dynamics of monetary income of the population of the Orenburg region for a long-term period. The production of social and engineering arrangement of rural territories of the region for a number of years is analyzed in detail. Negative destructive changes and trends in employment and social development of rural areas are revealed. The directions of improvement and dynamic development of agricultural production, rural areas, and employment of the rural population are proposed.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Susie Riva-Mossman ◽  
Henk Verloo

The transformative process of investigating life stories and their impact on healthy aging has only recently been explored. The relationship between hope and individual healthy aging strategies is still an under-researched area. This study contributes to filling the knowledgeability gap. The authors examine senior stories of hope and the experience of self-determination and well-being. The study documents the social learning processes of older people as they narratively search for solutions and imagine a hopeful future of healthy aging. A group of four older women participated in a semi-structured filmed interview, questioned by an academic expert. Healthy aging emerged as an important concern among all participants, confirming the need to actively learn how to age well. This exploratory research brought forth thematic clusters, orienting shared value solutions to demographic change. Qualitative research methods reinforce lifelong, collaborative learning processes that not only produce scientific literature, but also put in place relational networks that can grow and endure over time, generating social innovation. The film documented the role of hope and resilience in healthy aging.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 29-41
Author(s):  
Shivangi Nigam ◽  
Niranjana Soperna

Violence against women is linked to their disadvantaged position in the society. It is rooted in unequal power relationships between men and women in society and is a global problem which is not limited to a specific group of women in society. An adolescent girl’s life is often accustomed to the likelihood of violence, and acts of violence exert additional power over girls because the stigma of violence often attaches more to a girl than to the  perpetrator. The experience of violence is distressing at the individual emotional and physical level. The field of research and programmes for adolescent girls has traditionally focused on sexuality, reproductive health, and behaviour, neglecting the broader social issues that underpin adolescent girls’ human rights, overall development, health, and well-being. This paper is an endeavour to address the understated or disguised form of violence which the adolescent girls experience within the social contexts. The parameters exposed under this research had been ignored to a large extent when it comes to studying the dimension of violence under the social domain. Hence, the researchers attempted to explore this camouflaged form of violence and discovered some specific parameters such as: Diminished Self Worth and Esteem, Verbal Abuse, Menstruation Taboo and Social Rigidity, Negligence of Medical and Health Facilities and Complexion- A Prime Parameter for Judging Beauty. The study was conducted in the districts of Haryana (India) where personal interviews were taken from both urban and rural adolescent girls (aged 13 to 19 years) based on  a structured interview schedule. The results revealed that the adolescent girls, both in urban as well as rural areas were quite affected with the above mentioned issues. In urban areas, however, due to the higher literacy rate, which resulted in more rational thinking, the magnitude was comparatively smaller, but the difference was still negligible.  


2021 ◽  
Vol 101 (4) ◽  
pp. 422-435
Author(s):  
Maylee Inga-Hancco ◽  
Adamari Indigoyen-Porras ◽  
Sergio Parra-Alarcón ◽  
Juan Cerrón-Aliaga ◽  
Wagner Vicente-Ramos

The present study describes the methodological process proposed by the Social Progress Imperative Global Organization to calculate the Social Progress Index in urban and rural areas of the province of Huancayo, Peru, in 2020. The survey was based on 229 observations regarding basic human needs, foundations of well-being and opportunities. The result produced an index of 56.04 for urban areas and 53.98 for rural areas; results that are in the low and low middle range respectively, identifying deficiencies in the quality of economic policies, with respect to the sanitation service, where more than 30% do not have access to drinking water, and others. It was concluded that the index showed no improvement with respect to 2019, likewise the social gaps still persist and the well-being of the aforementioned population was not increased.


Author(s):  
У.А. Винокурова ◽  
О.Д. Романова ◽  
К.Д. Барашкова

В данной статье представлены результаты социологического исследования сельских якутских семей. Актуальность статьи обусловлена растущим кризисом семьи, репродуктивного поведения, трансформацией гендерных аспектов современных форм семьи и их последствиях, что свидетельствует о культурном повороте целостного жизненного мира от ценностей совместимости, взаимопомощи в сторону индивидуализма, ослабления межличностных и межпоколенных взаимодействий, влияющих на социальное благополучие всех поколений. Авторами статьи выявлены современный уклад жизни, хозяйственной деятельности, размеры семьи, проживающей в их традиционном месте поселения, межпоколенческие связи. Предпринята классификация типов современных якутских семей, проживающих в сельской местности, по критериям пространственной локализации, уклада семьи, экономического состояния, социального статуса, ведущих нравственных ценностей, состава семьи. Выявлено 85 типов семей, сгруппированных по 6 критериям, характеризующим ведущие основы якутского этнического семьеведения. Исследование актуально тем, что на основе выявленной экосистемы семьи разработан социальный проект конструирования позитивных семейных ценностей в сельском социуме. This article presents the results of a sociological study of rural Yakut families. The relevance of the article is due to the growing crisis of the family, reproductive behavior, the transformation of gender aspects of modern family forms and their consequences, which indicates a cultural turn of the integral life world from the values of compatibility, mutual assistance towards individualism, and the weakening of interpersonal and intergenerational interactions that affect the social well-being of all generations. The authors of the article revealed the modern way of life, economic activity, family size, living in their traditional place of settlement, intergenerational ties. The classification of types of modern Yakut families living in rural areas according to the criteria of spatial localization, family structure, economic status, social status, leading moral values, and family composition is undertaken. 85 types of families were identified, grouped according to 6 criteria that characterize the leading foundations of Yakut ethnic family studies. The study is relevant because on the basis of the identified family ecosystem, a social project for constructing positive family values in rural society has been developed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 2657 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Courtney ◽  
John Powell

The quest for innovation lies at the heart of European rural development policy and is integral to the Europe 2020 strategy. While social innovation has become a cornerstone of increased competitiveness and the rural situation legitimizes public intervention to encourage innovation, the challenges of its effective evaluation are compounded by the higher ‘failure’ rate implied by many traditional performance measures. Social Return on Investment (SROI) is employed to assess the social innovation outcomes arising from implementation of Axes 1 and 3 of the 2007-13 Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE). Analysis of primary data gathered through structured face-to-face interviews from a weighted sample of 196 beneficiaries reveal that social innovation outcomes generate a total of £170.02 million of benefits from Axis 1 support measures, compared to £238.1 million of benefits generated from innovation outcomes from Axis 3 measures. Benefits are generated through four social innovation outcome categories: individual, operational, relational, and system; and range from changes in attitudes and behaviour to institutional change and new ways of structuring social relations. The paper calls for more comprehensive evaluation approaches that can capture, and value, the multiple benefits arising from social innovation, and further bespoke applications of SROI to help develop and legitimise innovation indicators that will enable stronger linkages back into the policy process.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhenhua Zheng ◽  
Hong Chen

Abstract Background Although social network is a known determinant of the elderly’s well-being, it is not clear, in urban-rural and age-comparison, what its structural characteristics are and how it works for well-being. The research aims to discuss the features of the elderly’s social network and the social network efficacies on the well-being of older adults in China’s urban and rural areas as well as revealing the urban-rural disparities among the elderly of different age groups. Methods In this study, descriptive statistical analysis and structural equation Modeling (SEM) were used to make a group comparison between the urban and rural elderly of different age groups. All data are quoted from 2014 China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (CLASS). The survey adopted the multi-stage probability sampling method, targeting Chinese senior citizens aged 60 and above, the ultimate samples totaled 11,511. Results The social network of the elderly in China feature a “reverse structure” in age sequences: with ageing, family network of the elderly expand while their friend network shrink; also, the expansion scale of the rural elderly’s family network is significantly larger than that of the city’s while the shrinkage scale of their friend network is smaller compared with its urban counterpart. The effect of family network on the rural elderly’s well-being shows a remarkable increase with age. However, there is no noticeable change in urban elderly groups of different ages. Conclusion The social network characteristics of the Chinese elderly are different between different age stages. Namely, the family network and the friend network have the “reverse structure “ in age sequences. Meanwhile, the family network and the friend network have different efficacies on the well-being of the elderly in China, and the differences between urban and rural areas are even more obvious. For rural elderly, family network has very important effects on their well-being. Moreover, With the increase of age, family network’s efficacies increase gradually. For urban elderly, comparatively, family network is just as important as friend network.


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