Meaningfulness and Impact of Academic Research: Bringing the Global South to the Forefront

Alongside scholarly and societal dimensions of research impact, the meaningfulness of research, emerging from the link to context, is crucial. Authentic inclusion of Global South scholars based in the Global South aids these objectives.

Concept Creep and Psychiatrization

Some aspects of psychiatrization can be understood as forms of concept creep, the progressive expansion of concepts of harm. This article compares the two concepts and explores how concept creep sheds light on psychiatrization. We argue that although psychiatrization is in some respects a broader concept than concept creep, addressing institutional and societal dimensions of the expanding reach of psychiatry in addition to conceptual change, concept creep is broader in other respects, viewing the expansion of psychiatric concepts as examples of the broadening of a more extensive range of harm-related concepts. A concept creep perspective on psychiatrization clarifies the different forms of expansion it involves, the centrality of harm to it, its benefits as well as its costs, its variations across individuals and groups, and the drivers of psychiatrization in the general public and in fields beyond psychiatry.

The Case of Pakistan

This article represents a qualitative investigation of the vulnerabilities of displaced households in Pakistan caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The analyses are conducted through the lens of social quality theory and the social quality approach according to four societal dimensions that condition household life chances. Our findings reveal that these households reflect a reversal of the sustainable development cycle. They are at risk of being economically unstable, being unable to gain new skills, falling into absolute poverty, increased morbidity rates, and disrupted education. The most severe form of deprivation is the disruption of their networks of social cohesion, leading to greater isolation and marginalization; this is especially true for women and children. The Pakistani government must take immediate and substantive action to improve the situations of these most vulnerable of households.

Book Review Analysis

Opening Doors to Diversity in Leadership is a hard-hitting look at systemic racism in the workplace. The author provides eye-opening insights into the barriers that those who are marginalized must face when establishing respect and authority in leadership roles. This eight-chapter book examines the plight of four uniquely disadvantaged groups of individuals. These groups include Indigenous populations, women, persons with disabilities, and racialized minorities. These groups were examined with particular interest given the fact that on January 1, 2020, amendments to the Canada Business Corporations Act went into effect and required a greater level of diversity amongst the aforementioned populations (p. 299). Issues within the context of building diversity into the workplace were approached from a triangular perspective, looking at the interplaying dynamics between the psychological, organizational, and cultural/societal dimensions. The author makes it clear that for real and lasting change to take effect, there must be sweeping overhauls within each of the three categories discussed.

Leisure and Tourism in the Health Concept of Women and Their Health Misconceptions

The pursuit of good health continues to be a popular pursuit in the 21st century, however not everyone understands it in the holistic sense which encompasses physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, social, and societal dimensions. Further, many do not understand how these dimensions influence their health, which leads to misconceptions and making faulty choices in healthy lifestyle practices. Leisure is strongly correlated to health and leisure activities which have been shown to have both direct and indirect effects on one’s health. Research also indicates gender inequalities in leisure disadvantage women disproportionately. This paper first summarizes the understandings of misconceptions, health, leisure, tourism, and their intersections, then introduces a small sample pilot study on the health concepts and misconceptions of female university students in Hungary.

Terrorism as a Major Threat to Societal Peace: The Case of Pakistan

Purpose: The central objective of this research is to look at causes behind the phenomenon of terrorism faced by Pakistan. In the contemporary era, Pakistan is facing and suffering from the destructive and gravest issue of terrorism. It has become a major problem not only for the federation as well as for the citizens of Pakistan. Terrorism has made the Pakistani society, where people do not feel secure, a society that lacks a responsible system. The factors that caused terrorism are societal despotism, economic inconsistency, political uncertainty, religious dogmatism as well as foreign intervention or international stratagem. Design/Methodology/Approach: Qualitative method has been used in this study. Secondary sources including newspapers and research articles have been used to evaluate reasons as well as the dynamics of the phenomenon of terrorism which has severely damaged social fabric of the Pakistani society. Findings: The article has evaluated the major causes of multiple societal dimensions of terrorism and found that unsystematic government set-up, non-democratic system, absence of law and order and frustration and collapse of law enforcement organizations, incursion, and ingress of refugees, weaponization as well as talibanization. It has also revealed that role of religious institutions, madrassas and religious sermons delivered on the occasion of daily life religious rituals are major reasons of the extremism prevailing in the Pakistani society. Implications/Originality/Value: So, it is concluded that the major causes of multiple societal dimensions of terrorism are religious institutions, hate-speeches delivered at different ceremonies of religious and social rituals.

The Human Factor of Cybercrime

This volume highlights the central role of the human factor in cybercrime and the need to develop a more interdisciplinary research agenda to understand better the constant evolution of online harms and craft more effective responses. The term “human factor” is understood very broadly and encompasses individual, institutional, and societal dimensions. It covers individual human behaviors and the social structures that enable collective action by groups and communities of various sizes, as well as the different types of institutional assemblages that shape societal responses. This volume is organized around three general themes whose complementary perspectives allow us to map the complex interplay between offenders, machines, and victims, moving beyond static typologies to offer a more dynamic analysis of the cybercrime ecology and its underlying behaviors. The contributions use quantitative and qualitative methodologies and bring together researchers from the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark, Australia, and Canada.

Understanding the Uptake of Big Data in Health Care: Protocol for a Multinational Mixed-Methods Study

Background Despite the high potential of big data, their applications in health care face many organizational, social, financial, and regulatory challenges. The societal dimensions of big data are underrepresented in much medical research. Little is known about integrating big data applications in the corporate routines of hospitals and other care providers. Equally little is understood about embedding big data applications in daily work practices and how they lead to actual improvements for health care actors, such as patients, care professionals, care providers, information technology companies, payers, and the society. Objective This planned study aims to provide an integrated analysis of big data applications, focusing on the interrelations among concrete big data experiments, organizational routines, and relevant systemic and societal dimensions. To understand the similarities and differences between interactions in various contexts, the study covers 12 big data pilot projects in eight European countries, each with its own health care system. Workshops will be held with stakeholders to discuss the findings, our recommendations, and the implementation. Dissemination is supported by visual representations developed to share the knowledge gained. Methods This study will utilize a mixed-methods approach that combines performance measurements, interviews, document analysis, and cocreation workshops. Analysis will be structured around the following four key dimensions: performance, embedding, legitimation, and value creation. Data and their interrelations across the dimensions will be synthesized per application and per country. Results The study was funded in August 2017. Data collection started in April 2018 and will continue until September 2021. The multidisciplinary focus of this study enables us to combine insights from several social sciences (health policy analysis, business administration, innovation studies, organization studies, ethics, and health services research) to advance a holistic understanding of big data value realization. The multinational character enables comparative analysis across the following eight European countries: Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Given that national and organizational contexts change over time, it will not be possible to isolate the factors and actors that explain the implementation of big data applications. The visual representations developed for dissemination purposes will help to reduce complexity and clarify the relations between the various dimensions. Conclusions This study will develop an integrated approach to big data applications that considers the interrelations among concrete big data experiments, organizational routines, and relevant systemic and societal dimensions. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/16779

Understanding the Uptake of Big Data in Health Care: Protocol for a Multinational Mixed-Methods Study (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Despite the high potential of big data, their applications in health care face many organizational, social, financial, and regulatory challenges. The societal dimensions of big data are underrepresented in much medical research. Little is known about integrating big data applications in the corporate routines of hospitals and other care providers. Equally little is understood about embedding big data applications in daily work practices and how they lead to actual improvements for health care actors, such as patients, care professionals, care providers, information technology companies, payers, and the society. OBJECTIVE This planned study aims to provide an integrated analysis of big data applications, focusing on the interrelations among concrete big data experiments, organizational routines, and relevant systemic and societal dimensions. To understand the similarities and differences between interactions in various contexts, the study covers 12 big data pilot projects in eight European countries, each with its own health care system. Workshops will be held with stakeholders to discuss the findings, our recommendations, and the implementation. Dissemination is supported by visual representations developed to share the knowledge gained. METHODS This study will utilize a mixed-methods approach that combines performance measurements, interviews, document analysis, and cocreation workshops. Analysis will be structured around the following four key dimensions: performance, embedding, legitimation, and value creation. Data and their interrelations across the dimensions will be synthesized per application and per country. RESULTS The study was funded in August 2017. Data collection started in April 2018 and will continue until September 2021. The multidisciplinary focus of this study enables us to combine insights from several social sciences (health policy analysis, business administration, innovation studies, organization studies, ethics, and health services research) to advance a holistic understanding of big data value realization. The multinational character enables comparative analysis across the following eight European countries: Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Given that national and organizational contexts change over time, it will not be possible to isolate the factors and actors that explain the implementation of big data applications. The visual representations developed for dissemination purposes will help to reduce complexity and clarify the relations between the various dimensions. CONCLUSIONS This study will develop an integrated approach to big data applications that considers the interrelations among concrete big data experiments, organizational routines, and relevant systemic and societal dimensions. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT DERR1-10.2196/16779