The 1966 Tashkent earthquake and the people of Tashkent

In this article, the authors examine and analyze the memories of eyewitnesses of the Tashkent earthquake of April 26, 1966 and its details, consequences and situation using the method of "oral history" from a sociological point of view. This topic, which is one of the few studies conducted in Uzbekistan on the basis of the "oral history" method, focuses on the development and transformation of modern urban planning in the country. In the process of writing the article, the results of observation, document analysis, in-depth interviews and focus group research were also addressed.

Is “Culture” Needed in Aboriginal Elder Care Station? An Study from the Perspective of Service Providers

Many studies show that cultural perspective is an important factor in caring for elderly tribal adults. To understand the level of attention that the Cultural Health Station of Indigenous People attaches to culture during its operation, this study selected Taitung County as the region of study. A qualitative focus group research method and quantitative questionnaire, we try to understand “What are the demands of elderly tribal adults?” “Do services provided by the Tribal Cultural Health Station satisfy the demands of elderly tribal adults?” and “What are the gaps between the service demands and provided to elderly tribal adults?” The results showed that service providers believe that culture is markedly important to elderly tribal adults, that culture-based care designs offered by the Tribal Cultural Health Station is currently insufficient, and that to enhance the capacity of the multiethnic Tribal Cultural Health Station, the cognition and understanding of policy makers and enforcers must be elevated.

SWOT Analysis of a Didactic Program in Dietetics: Results from Focus Group Research

This study utilized focus group research to understand the experiences of students in a Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) at a large, public university. Students participating in the focus group reflected on and discussed the strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats of the program. The participants stated that faculty support, hands-on learning, and opportunities to participate in clubs were strengths of the program. Students would like more opportunity to do research with faculty. They also indicated that there are program weaknesses such as access to common space, limits in course availability, roadblocks in curriculum, and limited access to necessary tools. Program opportunities, such as the upcoming accreditation visit, will express the student’s concerns and therefore focus administration’s attention on much needed financial support for the program. Although not a specific threat, changes in the credentialing for Registered Dietitian Nutritionists were also discussed by the students. Data were collected in preparation for an accreditation visit. However, the results can be used to advise department and university administrators about what items make students successful in their programs.

Joining the Dots—Understanding the Value Generation of Creative Networks for Sustainability in Local Creative Ecosystems

In recent years, the ecological shift from an economically driven model of arts and culture to that of an ecosystem in the creative industries determined the emergence of a range of new bottom-up, place-based networks herewith referred to as “creative networks”. This article explores how these networks can generate sustainability for local creative ecosystems through a value network approach. Building on the quadruple helix model to identify the actors in these networks, this study explores the relationships and value flows between the actors of 22 identified creative networks across the UK. It then maps these relationships using data gathered through a mixed methodology that includes survey data and focus group research. Our findings show that creative networks operate as central nodes of the local creative ecosystem, functioning as a ‘glue’ inside the otherwise very heterogenous creative industries. From this position, creative networks can act as catalysts for sustainability. However, the economic, cultural, and social value created by creative networks is often overshadowed by other challenges including a lack of funding and a lack of understanding from policy makers or the public.

Valuing Warm Homes - Exploring New Zealanders' Home Heating Choices

<p>New Zealand homes have a record of being poorly heated and inadequately energy efficient. While policy makers increasingly recognise the many benefits associated with energy efficient warm homes, there is currently a lack of understanding of how New Zealanders make choices about space heating. This thesis takes a mixed method approach in order to 1) understand how New Zealanders value energy efficient heating and 2) further explore how people make decisions about home heating. Capturing the economic value of the range of benefits associated with home heating is investigated through analysing a contingent valuation study undertaken by the Housing, Heating and Health Study (University of Otago). Participants show 'willingness to pay' and related values below heater market prices. It is argued that there is some indication of split incentives issues and income constraint, and increased familiarisation with space heaters may increase willingness to pay. Evidence from focus group research suggests that while attitudes and norms are conducive to efficiently heated homes, other market and non-market factors impede pro-environmental choices. The widely recognised Kiwi stoicism of living in cold homes is not evidenced; choosing to go cold in the home may instead be rationalised as mitigating the environmental impacts associated with heating. This analysis sheds light on how intervention and how provision of information to fill the 'energy efficiency gap' could move outside the 'rational person' model of how New Zealanders make home heating choices.</p>

Valuing Warm Homes - Exploring New Zealanders' Home Heating Choices

<p>New Zealand homes have a record of being poorly heated and inadequately energy efficient. While policy makers increasingly recognise the many benefits associated with energy efficient warm homes, there is currently a lack of understanding of how New Zealanders make choices about space heating. This thesis takes a mixed method approach in order to 1) understand how New Zealanders value energy efficient heating and 2) further explore how people make decisions about home heating. Capturing the economic value of the range of benefits associated with home heating is investigated through analysing a contingent valuation study undertaken by the Housing, Heating and Health Study (University of Otago). Participants show 'willingness to pay' and related values below heater market prices. It is argued that there is some indication of split incentives issues and income constraint, and increased familiarisation with space heaters may increase willingness to pay. Evidence from focus group research suggests that while attitudes and norms are conducive to efficiently heated homes, other market and non-market factors impede pro-environmental choices. The widely recognised Kiwi stoicism of living in cold homes is not evidenced; choosing to go cold in the home may instead be rationalised as mitigating the environmental impacts associated with heating. This analysis sheds light on how intervention and how provision of information to fill the 'energy efficiency gap' could move outside the 'rational person' model of how New Zealanders make home heating choices.</p>

The existential mindset for corporate survival and growth: innovation and resilience

Purpose The author addresses the looming question in the digital era: Can long-established firms adopt an existential mindset that enables them to survive and prosper? Design/methodology/approach Disruptors take advantage of significant changes in the traditional value drivers in an existing market. The success of long-established companies often inhibits innovation, and most mature organizations struggle to excel. Findings Greater reliance on controlled experiments can mitigate the failures of innovation based primarily on focus group research. Practical/implications Competitors can be transformed into collaborators in many parts of the value chain, and alliances are outperforming the more conventional business development approaches. Originality/value The author’s powerful message: Today’s leaders must adopt a new mindset in which bureaucracy is repudiated and responsiveness and adaptability are rewarded.

Converting Access Microbiology to an open research platform: community survey results

Following the Microbiology Society’s successful bid for a Learned Society Curation Award from the Wellcome Trust and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Society is converting our sound science, open access journal, Access Microbiology, to an open research platform. As part of this, we conducted a survey of our community to gauge current attitudes towards the platform and here we present some of these results. The majority of respondents (57 %) said they would always or sometimes want to remain anonymous on their peer review report, whilst 75 % of respondents said that as an author they would be happy to make the data underlying their research open. There was a clear desire for a range of research types that are often seen with sound science publications and rigorous research. An encouraging 94 % of respondents stated that the platform is somewhere they would consider publishing, demonstrating the enthusiasm in these respondents for a new publishing platform for their community. Given this data and that from our previous focus group research, the platform will launch as outlined in the original project proposal and adopt a transparent peer review model with an open data policy.

Women’s Preferences and Design Recommendations for a Postpartum Depression Psychoeducation Intervention: A Mixed-Methods Approach (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Postpartum depression (PPD) is one of the leading causes of maternal morbidity, affecting up to 18% of Canadian new mothers. Yet, PPD often remains untreated due to numerous barriers in access to care, including location and cost. Development of eHealth interventions in collaboration with patient partners offers an exciting opportunity to fill this care gap and provide effective and affordable care to new parents across British Columbia (BC). OBJECTIVE Our aim was to determine the content and design preferences of women previously diagnosed with PPD to inform changes to the development of a web-enabled intervention for education and management of PPD. METHODS Webpage prototypes were created to mimic the web-enabled resource using findings from completed focus group research that assessed what women want in a web-enabled support resource for PPD. A convenience sample of women >18 years, previously diagnosed with PPD was recruited. Feedback was collected on the content and design of the prototypes via semi-structured interviews and online surveys. Qualitative, inductive analytic and quantitative methods were used. RESULTS A total of nine women (mean age 37.2 years, SD 4.8) completed the interview and a majority of the survey. A total of six themes were identified: inefficacy of text-heavy layouts; highlighting key information; clarity/understandability of the language; finding support groups; validation and immediate help for feelings of isolation; helpfulness and accessibility of the resource. Each theme identified elements of content or design that were either effective or may be improved upon. Most women (N=8, 89%) favored content relating to foundational knowledge of PPD, such as symptoms and management options. The layout, language, a¬nd content were found to be generally easy to understand, clear, trustworthy, and helpful. CONCLUSIONS Six key areas were identified by women previously diagnosed with PPD as requiring focus in a web-enabled psychoeducation program. Consistent with past research, this study also found support and enthusiasm for web-enabled programs to support PPD management as an adjunct to other evidence-based treatments.

Organizational Dynamics of the Rise of Telework as an Adaptive Response to a Global Pandemic

The use of remote working options has saved jobs and reduced health risks inherent to the rise of COVID-19. The opportunity to use telework has allowed organizations to engage in operational activities by leveraging virtual teams’ potential. Organizations offering workers to work remotely have become financial salvation for many workers during the pandemic, significantly since the pandemic impacted the U.S. economy so severely that more than since more than 57 million American workers have filed for unemployment government benefits in just 2020. While having a telework option is an assurance of organizational sustainability or continual employment, it represents a unique opportunity for exploration for employees, supervisors, and organizations attempting to adapt to this evolving level of complex change. This paper uses applied qualitative focus group research from a process consulting to explore the values and barriers that telework for a real estate title organization called XRO.