Search results

The study aims to have adults discuss experiences, practices needs and feelings related to health management, diet and food security.

A total of 22 immigrants were recruited from the Open School of Immigrants in Piraeus, Attica, Greece, to participate in focus group discussions. The discussions were audio recorded and thematically analyzed. Three major themes were developed: pathways to health care, nutrition management and experiences related to food shortages.

Most of the participants identified internet as the most commonly used way to obtain health advice; they also stated that unexpected ill-health is usually accompanied by feelings of fear, anxiety and loneliness. Immigrants, who had visited a public hospital in Greece, identified the language barrier as the most challenging issue, followed by the long waiting lists. Fear and anxiety of hospital visits was an important factor in their decision to vaccinate against COVID-19. Lack of time, high cost of healthy food and lack of knowledge were the most common obstacles to a healthy diet. One in two immigrants reported that they have faced food insecurity issues in the past. Stress, psychological distress and irritation were reported, due to food shortages, especially during the first few years of arriving in Greece. The exclusion of some foods, reduced portion sizes and buying cheaper foods were among the coping strategies to address food shortages.

The study offers an insight into immigrant’s experiences, practices and feelings about managing health issues and could be useful for health-care practitioners, researchers and policymakers.

The purpose of this study is to examine how informational faultlines on a board affect the management of knowledge owned by directors and the consequences on organizational performance. In this study, informational faultlines are defined as hypothetical lines that divide a group into relatively homogeneous subgroups based on the alignment of several informational attributes among board members.

The study uses unique hand-collected panel data covering 7,247 board members at 106 publicly traded firms to provide strong support for the hypothesized U-shaped relationship. The authors use a fixed effects approach and a system generalized method of moments approach to test the hypothesis.

The study finds that the relationship between informational faultlines on a board and organizational performance is U shaped, with the least optimal organizational performance experienced when boards have moderate informational faultlines. More specifically, informational faultlines within boards are negatively related to organizational performance across the weak-to-moderate range of informational faultlines and positively related to organizational performance across the moderate-to-strong range.

By explaining the mechanisms through which informational faultlines are related to organizational performance, the authors contribute to the literature in a number of ways. By conceptualizing how the management of knowledge plays an important role in the particular setting of corporate boards, the authors add not only to literature on knowledge management but also to the faultline and corporate governance literature.

This study offers a rationale for prior mixed findings by providing an alternative theoretical basis to explain the effect of informational faultlines within boards on organizational performance. To advance the field, the authors build on the concept of knowledge demonstrability to illuminate how informational faultlines affect the management of knowledge within boards, which will translate to organizational performance.

The interplay between individual and collective creativity and its translation into innovation is a critical yet complex challenge in the ever-evolving innovation landscape. This study delves into the intricate relationship between managerial ability, intellectual property rights (IPRs) and research and development (R&D) investments contextualized within the dynamics of leverage, firm life stages and tangibility for pharmaceutical firms in the Asia-Pacific region. By exploring how micro-level factors influence macro-level innovation processes, this study aims to contribute to the broader understanding of creativity and innovation, a theme at the heart of addressing contemporary global challenges.

Econometric methodologies were used to analyse a data set comprising 2,660 firm-year observations spanning the decade from 2011 to 2020.

A key finding was that companies with lower managerial prowess strategically leverage R&D intensity to signal their value to the market and accrue reputational currency. The research unearths a significant positive relationship between managerial ability, IPRs and R&D investment. In environments characterized by strong managerial acumen and robust IPR safeguards, firms exhibit a heightened propensity to allocate resources to R&D endeavours. This underscores the role of intellectual leadership and legal protections in shaping R&D strategies within the pharmaceutical domain. Incorporating firm life stages as a moderating factor reveals that firm maturity fundamentally influences the interplay between managerial ability, IPRs and R&D expenditure.

These findings’ implications resonate profoundly within policy-making circles and pharmaceutical firms’ day-to-day operational strategies, underscoring the pivotal role of intellectual capital and legal safeguards in shaping the future of innovation in the Asia-Pacific pharmaceutical sector.

In this chapter, the authors argue that technology can be advantageous to children and young people’s mental health. The authors argue that social media platforms can foster social connection, social support and access to important information to support mental health. The authors also highlight the risks, particularly the research which links technology to mental ill-health. The authors argue that the digital curriculum in schools should develop young people’s knowledge of digital literacy, digital citizenship and digital resilience. Finally, the authors explore the potential role that technological applications (apps) can play in supporting children and young people’s mental health. The authors argue that although research is in its infancy, some studies have produced promising results.

In educational settings, intersectional factors such as neurodiversity, structural inequalities and social isolation have resulted in additional complexity in meeting young people’s mental health needs. The specific phenomenon of voice-hearing can be linked to these complexities and stigma has been shown to further marginalise young people following disclosure. Educational staff report a lack of confidence and specialist training in this area. This chapter outlines the current understanding around the experience of voice-hearing and identifies examples of good practice by considering the lived experiences of individuals that have made a disclosure of this nature in school. Barriers to disclosure and what was helpful about the experience are discussed. Developing a trauma-informed ethos and compassion-focussed principles are highlighted as whole-setting approaches to support and benefit both young people with these presentations and education staff. Recommendations of relevant organisations and training initiatives in schools are provided with guidance on developing and implementing best practices.

The Mental Health of Children and Young People in England survey (National Health Service Digital, 2020) found that 1 in 6 children aged 5–16 have a probable mental health disorder. This represents 16% of children in that age group and is an increase from 1 in 9 in 2017 (Public Health England, 2021). Evidence suggests that some children and young people, particularly those who are economically disadvantaged, females and those with pre-existing mental health needs appear to have experienced greater negative impacts on their mental health and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic (Public Health England, 2021) and schools and colleges therefore play an important role in continuing to support children and young people’s mental health. Evidence from the national charity, Education Support (2022), also indicates that the mental health of staff working in education has deteriorated, leading to adverse effects on job satisfaction, burnout and retention. This chapter explores the latest evidence relating to Children and Young People’s (CYP) mental health and the whole school approach to mental health, including the mental health of staff who work in the education sector. It makes a case for implementing a mental health curriculum in schools. It addresses the concept of mental health literacy and approaches for working in partnership with children and young people. It makes an argument for universal screening and outlines approaches for working in partnership with parents, carers and other agencies. Theoretical perspectives are considered and applied to school contexts.

Young graduates in Morocco are encountering an increasingly challenging labor market environment. Confronted with intense competition, job insecurity, and unclear career trajectories, many find themselves in low-skilled positions despite possessing relevant qualifications. This issue is particularly pronounced among vocational training graduates, who experience professional downgrading at a rate three times higher (33.6%) compared to their peers from general education (11.6%) (HCP, 2018). Our study aims to investigate professional downgrading among young vocational training graduates in Morocco, focusing on the factors contributing to this phenomenon and identifying potential solutions to address it.

Our study is based on the insertion and career path survey conducted by the Department of Professional Training with graduates of professional training programs in Morocco. For this edition, the survey was conducted in 2020, encompassing all 31,498 graduates of the 2016 professional training programs. The Heckman self-selection model is employed to analyze and explore various dimensions of downgrading. Factors such as gender, age, marital status, parental education, and the choice of vocational training field are scrutinized to understand their influence on downgrading.

The study reveals several key findings: Women exhibit a lower probability of professional downgrading compared to men. Young graduates are more vulnerable to downgrading, emphasizing the necessity for career guidance and mentorship programs to facilitate their entry into the job market. Marital status plays a role, with married individuals having a higher likelihood of downgrading. Parental education, particularly that of mothers, proves critical in preventing subjective downgrading of vocational training graduates, highlighting the need for adult literacy and education programs. The effectiveness of the National Agency for the Promotion of Employment and Competencies (ANAPEC) programs in preventing downgrading among vocational training graduates is questioned, suggesting the need for program revisions tailored to this population. The choice of vocational training field significantly impacts downgrading, with graduates of technical training programs experiencing advantages. This emphasizes the importance of diversifying training fields and aligning them with market demands.

This study provides valuable insights into the phenomenon of professional downgrading among young vocational training graduates in Morocco. The findings emphasize the need for targeted policy interventions. Recommendations include supporting young graduates, reassessing programs offered by the ANAPEC, and enhancing technical training to better align with the evolving demands of the labor market.

Understanding behavior toward sustainable consumption remains among the most challenging contemporary topics and requires continual investigation. The aim of this paper is to explore young Bahraini women’s level of awareness of sustainable consumption while also considering their attitudes, motivations and behavior as key elements in the study.

A qualitative approach was used to collect the data. More specifically, 46 semi-structured interviews with young Bahraini women took place and the results were produced using thematic analysis.

Results reveal that consumers’ awareness levels toward sustainable consumption have been growing but awareness remains variable among consumers. In turn, motivation toward supporting sustainability is more associated with environmental reasons than cultural or economic ones. The attitude toward sustainable consumption is generally positive among young consumers. Moreover, sustainable consumption has been found to be present through various means in the purchase decisions of young Bahraini women.

This study exclusively explores the awareness levels of young Bahraini women regarding sustainable consumption with a focus on the elements of the behavioral process, namely, “awareness, attitude, motivation, and behavior”, as central research pillars.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of the financial structure on innovation.

We utilize the matched firm-level data from two sources: the World Bank Enterprise Survey and the Innovation Follow-Up Survey. A total of 3,664 firms from 11 African countries are included.

The authors find a financially constrained and low technology-intensive firm that uses internal finance more than its peers is less likely to innovate. Our results also show that a firm that uses new equity and debt finance more than its peers is more likely to innovate. The results particularly suggest the significant effect of bank and trade credit finance on firms’ innovation. The extent and, in some cases, the direction of the effect of dependence on internal finance, new equity finance and debt finance on innovation vary due to the heterogeneity in firm size, age and ownership status. Corporate innovation is also associated with firm size, R&D, cooperation, staff training, public support, exportation and group membership.

The management of companies, particularly financially constrained firms, should reduce their dependence on internal finance, which negatively affects their innovation. As a remedy, they could improve their reliance on new equity finance and debt finance, especially bank finance and trade credit finance, which positively affect their innovativeness.

A pending policy task for African business leaders is to design and evaluate reforms that help create strong financial sectors willing to provide capital to a broad range of firms, particularly small and young firms.

This study adds new evidence to the recent surge of debate on the trade-off between going public, using debt or heavily using internal sources to finance innovative projects, and which of these is more important in promoting firm-level innovation.