Enhancing the benefits of group involvement in research

Research can facilitate mutual learning, allow participants’ voices to be heard, increase practical usefulness of studies and foster empowerment. This paper discusses ways that groups can take part in research, outlines advantages and limits of each and explores strategies for enhancing benefits. This content is illustrated with brief examples from recent research publications and from two longer case studies. Groups and members can be involved as participants or co-producers of research. As participants, they either act as research subjects by contributing data, or as collaborators who are consulted at various times to help keep a study relevant to community issues. Being a subject offers an opportunity to reflect and share views, while collaborators and researchers can learn from working together. Though collaborators can exert influence, they have little control over decisions around focus, design, methods or dissemination of a study. Co-producing knowledge offers community groups more power, learning and empowerment but requires high levels of mutual trust, commitment and persistence. Potential gains and risks increase as involvement intensifies. However, researchers can enhance benefits at any level, by keeping this goal in mind when planning studies.

Stakeholder Involvement in Evaluation: Does it Affect Observers’ Perceptions of an Evaluation? And Which Stakeholder Group(s) Do People Think Should to Participate?

Background Stakeholders are often involved in evaluation, such as in the selection of specific research questions and the interpretation of results. Except for the topic of whether stakeholder involvement increases use, a paucity of research exists to guide practice regarding stakeholders. Objectives We address two questions: (1) If a third-party observer knows stakeholders were involved in an evaluation, does that affect the perceived credibility, fairness, and relevance of the evaluation? (2) Among individuals with a possible stake in an evaluation, which stakeholder group(s) do they want to see participate; in particular, do they prefer that multiple stakeholder groups, rather than a single group, participate? Research Design Six studies are reported. All studies address the former question, while Studies 3 to 5 also focus on the latter question. To study effects of stakeholder involvement on third-party views, participants read summaries of ostensible evaluations, with stakeholder involvement noted or not. To examine a priori preferences among potential stakeholders, participants completed a survey about alternative stakeholder group involvement in an evaluation in which they would likely have an interest. Results and Conclusions Across studies, effects of reported stakeholder participation on third-parties’ views were not robust; however, small effects on perceived fairness sometimes, but not always, occurred after stakeholder involvement and its rationales had been made salient. All surveys showed a large preference for the involvement of multiple, rather than single stakeholder groups. We discuss implications for research and practice regarding stakeholder involvement, and for research on evaluation more generally.

Forms of Group Involvement: Alternatives to the Standard Question

Deciding whether Americans have become decreasingly involved in group life entails a methodological issue: Does the standard question about the associations to which respondents belong, asked for decades by the General Social Survey (GSS) and many others, miss newer and more diverse forms of group involvement? Following on Paxton and Rap, we mine a recent panel survey, UCNets, that provides several different means for allowing respondents to describe their group involvement. We observe more and much more varied kinds of group involvement than those elicited by the last GSS administration of the standard question in 2004. (Analyses in the Supplement of a few additional surveys confirm this diversity.) These results lead to suggestions for how to better measure involvement in groups, in particular being more sensitive to many axes of difference in the general population. The results have implications for the larger debate as well.

Tinjauan Model Penta Helix pada Ketahanan Pangan: Lumbung Padi Kabupaten Lingga

This paper explains the condition of food security in the archipelago during the COVID 19 pandemic in the Riau Islands Province, one of which is the Lingga Regency. Researchers use the Penta helix model to analyze the extent to which actors are involved in the development of the food security sector, especially in the Rice Granary program. The research method used is descriptive qualitative which is then analyzed in-depth using existing secondary data. The results show that the analysis uses the Penta Helic model which consists of five elements, namely the government as a policymaker, industrial cooperation, community group involvement, studies from universities and the media as information and publications on food security which have a very interrelated role in the food security sector especially in the rice barn program in Lingga Regency, however, it should be noted that the involvement of stakeholders must pay attention to rules and regulations in an effort to maintain food security stability in rice barns in terms of quality and quantity of production amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Keywords: Food Security, Penta Helix, Rice Granary, Lingga Regency

The Effect of Social Activities on the Life Satisfaction of Korean Older Adults

As life expectancy increases, older adults need to find ways to occupy their time for 20-30 years. For Korean older adults, social activities such as having relationships with others as well as, involvement in organizations and volunteer work, are important for their social identity. Social activities are one of the categories of Rowe and Kahn’s successful aging, this study examined the effect of having relationships, involvement in organizations and volunteering on the life satisfaction of older adults. This study used the 6th additional wave of the Korean Retirement and Income Study (2016). The target population was older adults (50~59, 60~74, 75+). The sample size was 1,921, 2,344 and 962 respectively. For data analysis, ANOVA and multiple regressions were used. The demographic variables were controlled. As for independent variables, having relationships, involvement in organizations, and volunteering were used. For the dependent variable, life satisfaction was used. Having relationships, involvement in organizations and volunteering were significantly different by age group. For each age group, the factors affecting life satisfaction differ. For the middle aged group, involvement in organizations and volunteering were significant factors affecting life satisfaction. For young-old adults, volunteering had the most significant effect on life satisfaction. Finally, for old-old adults, both having human relations and involvement in organizations were significant. These findings imply that social activities differ by age group. Also, the kind of activities affecting life satisfaction differ by age group. These findings imply that it is important for older adults to be involved in society, in various ways.

Nigeria's north-west violence will intensify further

Significance Still largely driven by a combination of criminal banditry and 'farmer-herder' conflicts but with hints of growing jihadist group involvement, the scope of insecurity has surpassed any hope of a military-led pacification campaign. Meanwhile, the pandemic and various pressing political challenges have sapped the will of President Muhammadu Buhari’s government to find political solutions to the underlying drivers. Impacts A lack of political will, insufficient local intelligence and limited manpower will impede Operation Sahel Sanity’s effectiveness. Pervasive violence and displacement across the north-west will hamper regional anti-COVID efforts and create widespread economic distress. Eased domestic travel restrictions may lead to a surge in criminal attacks and kidnappings.

Analysis of Pregnancy Anti-Discrimination Policy in Kentucky: Application of Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Framework

While several federal laws including the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, Family Medical Leave Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act provide some freedom from discrimination due to pregnancy and breastfeeding-related conditions, many pregnant workers in Kentucky were not covered under these existing laws. The intent of Senate Bill 18, the Kentucky Pregnant Workers Act, was to provide clarity to employers about the protections afforded to pregnant workers by law as well as the need for employers to provide the same level of accommodations for pregnant workers that are available for those who are disabled. Similar bills had been filed during the 2015 to 2018 legislative sessions, and in 2019, Senate Bill 18 passed 87-5 and was signed by the Governor on April 9, 2019. The purpose of this article is to analyze a pregnancy anti-discrimination bill that passed during the 2019 Kentucky General Assembly utilizing Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Framework. This article also contains multiple policy alternatives, interest group involvement related to pregnancy anti-discrimination policy, unintended consequences of policy implementation as well as potential issues with enforcement of the Kentucky Pregnant Workers Act.

Effect of persuasion via social media on attitude toward elite sport policies

We examined the effect of different persuasion interventions in social media (central route vs. peripheral route vs. no persuasion) on attitude toward elite sport policies. We conducted 2 experimental studies with a college student sample (Study I) and a sample drawn from the general public (nonstudent sample, Study II). Results indicated that in the student sample, attitude of the peripheral-route-persuasion group toward elite sport policies was significantly more positive than that of either the no-persuasion group or the central-route-persuasion group. However, results from the nonstudent sample suggested that both the central-route-persuasion and peripheral-route-persuasion groups had more positive attitude toward elite sport policies than did the nopersuasion group. Involvement did not moderate the persuasion–attitude relationship in either the student or nonstudent sample. The findings from this research indicate that a more concise way of communication (peripheral route) is more effective for persuading college students. Government agents may adopt the findings from this research to customize persuasion interventions to influence their target audience effectively.