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1 – 10 of over 161000Quoc Dinh Hoang, Thomas Bernhard Dufhues and Gertrud Buchenrieder
– The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effects of network-based individual social capital on the access of rural households to services.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effects of network-based individual social capital on the access of rural households to services.
Design/methodology/approach
In the context of development economics, an innovative data collection approach is used to determine network-based social capital. The approach originates from the field of sociology and entails a personal network survey. The authors define four social capital variables according to tie strength and social distance between the respondent and his/her network member.
Findings
Social network ties are not homogeneous. The econometric results suggest that social capital with weaker ties in combination with socially distant ties can potentially improve households’ access to rural services.
Research limitations/implications
The empirical survey focusses on a single province in Northern Vietnam. Thus, the main limitation of the micro-study is its regional focus. A more representative sample of the whole country would be desirable to backup the policy recommendation.
Originality/value
The results indicate that access to services in rural Vietnam it still too personalized and subjective. Thus, a thorough review of the access procedures and making them more objective would be better choice. This would also root out a potential alley for corruption and nepotism.
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Lorcan Dempsey, Rosemary Russell and Robin Murray
The management of autonomous, heterogeneous network resources and services provides new challenges which libraries are now addressing. This paper outlines an approach based on the…
Abstract
The management of autonomous, heterogeneous network resources and services provides new challenges which libraries are now addressing. This paper outlines an approach based on the construction of broker services which mediate access to resources. It outlines a framework – the MODELS Information Architecture – for thinking about the components of broker services and their logical arrangement. It describes several development projects and services which show how brokers are developing. It uses examples drawn from the serials environment to describe some of the issues. Technologists understand that they must build more stable and unobtrusive media. They must establish more coherent contexts into which the technology may disappear.
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While governments have invested in broadband infrastructure to ensure universal access, researchers argue that infrastructure alone does not guarantee internet use. The purpose of…
Abstract
Purpose
While governments have invested in broadband infrastructure to ensure universal access, researchers argue that infrastructure alone does not guarantee internet use. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of one such government initiative on households’ internet adoption and use.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used data from 2002 to 2014, including two choice experiment surveys and broadband access and subscription data.
Findings
The results of Survey 1 show that urban households valued existing e-services more than rural households, indicating the importance of government investment in broadband access. The results of Survey 2 show that when a publicly funded new broadband network equalized access costs, rural households valued overall e-services more than urban households, highlighting the dual role of access to e-services and their perceived benefits. Importantly, these results suggest that rural households resist social change, which lowers their valuation of certain new publicly funded e-services.
Research limitations/implications
These findings extend the digital divide literature by providing empirical support for the applicability of the global village vs urban leadership framework in households’ valuations of e-services.
Practical implications
While the government has worked diligently to enhance access, it also needs to focus on the types of content and services and better communication with communities.
Originality/value
Recent research has focused on inequities in skills and usage, not internet access. Furthermore, the authors examined the inequality in benefits of access to meaningful e-services and better communication with beneficiaries.
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Tamara Nadine Sancho and Michael Larkin
Undergraduates are highly susceptible to the development of mental health difficulties. Afro-Caribbean students are particularly vulnerable to the pressures of university yet are…
Abstract
Purpose
Undergraduates are highly susceptible to the development of mental health difficulties. Afro-Caribbean students are particularly vulnerable to the pressures of university yet are less likely than other ethnic groups to receive early intervention. This paper aims to understand the barriers and facilitators that Afro-Caribbean undergraduates perceive towards accessing mental health services in the UK.
Design/methodology/approach
Critical Incident Technique was used as the qualitative method because it explores the critical factors that contribute to or detract from a specific experience. Seventeen Afro-Caribbean undergraduates participated in five focus groups. This involved engaging in a novel psychosocial activity that incorporated vignettes to encourage the identification of barriers and facilitators to service access. The data were analysed thematically to generate categories of critical incidents and wish-list items.
Findings
Analysis revealed rich data from a sub-group rarely researched within UK literature. Fifteen barriers, eleven facilitators and five wish-list items were identified. The importance of mental health literacy, social networks, cultural sensitivity and concerns surrounding services underpinned many categories.
Originality/value
Findings provide a new perspective on barriers reported in previous literature. Novel facilitators were highlighted where, although psychological and sociocultural factors were deemed valuable, structural changes were most desired. Recommended changes illustrate innovative interventions that could make services accessible for young adult Afro-Caribbean populations. Future research should explore the barriers and facilitators identified by Afro-Caribbean undergraduates across various universities who have successfully accessed and engaged with services. This could provide a holistic perspective on viable facilitators enabling access despite the presence of barriers.
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The current approach to universal service involving the provision of specific services (such as fixed voice, public payphones, ability to make emergency calls, etc.) needs…
Abstract
Purpose
The current approach to universal service involving the provision of specific services (such as fixed voice, public payphones, ability to make emergency calls, etc.) needs re‐thinking in a convergent, NGN environment. This paper seeks to be part of that re‐thinking.
Design/methodology/approach
Questions addressed include: Should we move to a focus on universal access to communications infrastructure, allowing consumers to dictate preferred services? Since access to the full range of NGN services, including VoIP, requires broadband connection, should the scope of USOs be “upgraded” to include broadband?
Findings
A shift towards universal network access seems sensible provided that a number of conditions exist. One is that traditional services defined under universal service obligations (USOs), remain available. In particular, a shift to VoIP raises questions about whether present features of universal service (quality, ability to make emergency calls, etc) can be sustained. Another condition is widespread access to broadband. Another condition is that consumers are empowered to exercise the increased choice of services that will be available in an NGN environment. Such consumer empowerment requires that market power, information asymmetry, barriers to “switching”, as well as “systematic bias” in consumer decisions be effectively addressed.
Originality/value
Stimulates the policy reconsideration that is needed in regard to universal service in an NGN environment.
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N. Ela Gokalp Aras, Sertan Kabadayi, Emir Ozeren and Erhan Aydin
This paper aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of factors that contribute to refugees’ exclusion from health-care services. More specifically, using institutional…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of factors that contribute to refugees’ exclusion from health-care services. More specifically, using institutional theory, this paper identifies regulative pillar-, normative pillar- and cultural/cognitive pillar-related challenges that result in refugees having limited or no access to health-care services.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on both secondary research and empirical insights from two qualitative fieldwork studies totaling 37 semi-structured meso-level interviews, observations and focus groups in three Turkish cities (Izmir, Ankara and Edirne), as well as a total of 42 micro-level, semi-structured interviews with refugees and migrants in one large city (Izmir) in Turkey.
Findings
This study reveals that systematically stratified legal statuses result in different levels of access to public health-care services for migrants, asylum seekers or refugees based on their fragmented protection statuses. The findings suggest access to health-care is differentiated not only between local citizens and refugees but also among the refugees and migrants based on their legal status as shaped by their country of origin.
Originality/value
While the role of macro challenges such as laws and government regulations in shaping policies about refugees have been examined in other fields, the impact of such factors on refugee services and well-being has been largely ignored in service literature in general, as well as transformative service research literature in particular. This study is one of the first attempts by explicitly including macro-level factors to contribute to the discussion on the refugees’ access to public health-care services in a host country by relying on the institutional theory by providing a holistic understanding of cognitive, normative and regulative factors in understanding service exclusion problem.
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Madeleine Claire Valibhoy, Josef Szwarc and Ida Kaplan
The purpose of this paper is to examine barriers to accessing mental health services, from the perspective of young people of refugee background who have been service users, and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine barriers to accessing mental health services, from the perspective of young people of refugee background who have been service users, and to suggest strategies to improve access to mental health services.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative study was conducted with 16 young people (aged 18-25), who had been refugees and who had attended mental health professionals in Australia. Interview transcripts were analysed thematically to examine participants’ perspectives on what hinders initial access to mental health services.
Findings
Stigma about mental health problems was particularly prominent. Many believed a high level of disturbance was the threshold for entering services, and for some there was no knowledge of such services’ existence. Options for assistance other than mental health services were often preferred, according to young people’s explanatory models. Apprehension was expressed that sessions would be uncomfortable, distressing or ineffective. The desire to be self-reliant functioned as a further barrier. Finally, structural obstacles and social exclusion deterred some young refugees from accessing services.
Practical implications
Implications include the need for service providers to be equipped to provide culturally sensitive, responsive services that ideally offer both practical and psychological assistance. Potential referrers, including health professionals and community leaders, could facilitate increased access if trained to recognise and address barriers. Finally, findings indicate potential content for awareness-raising initiatives for young refugees about mental health problems and services.
Originality/value
This paper is original in its sample, method, topic and findings; being drawn from the first known qualitative research exploring views of young mental health service users who have been refugees about barriers to accessing mental health services.
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Joel L. Hartman and Ellen I. Watson
The Bradley Library Information Support System (BLISS) is a comprehensive local area network designed to provide library users with an array of electronic information access and…
Abstract
The Bradley Library Information Support System (BLISS) is a comprehensive local area network designed to provide library users with an array of electronic information access and management services to support Bradley University's curriculum, research, and scholarly activities. The LAN is designed in a client/server architecture, with function‐specific Unix servers operating over an Ethernet network, to support a range of services both within the library and campuswide. BLISS workstations are available to both patrons and staff and located throughout the library; some BLISS resources are network‐accessible to the general campus community. A menu interface lists the resources available and establishes a transparent connection between the user and the selected resource. BLISS is a joint project of the library and computing services, providing a platform for the development of cohesive electronic information services and for the training, documentation, and mediation serices necessary to effectively use them.
Nixon Kamukama and Bazinzi Natamba
The paper examined the mediating effect of social capital in the relationship between social intermediation and financial services in Ugandan micro finance industry. The purpose…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper examined the mediating effect of social capital in the relationship between social intermediation and financial services in Ugandan micro finance industry. The purpose of this paper is to establish the role of social capital in the relationship between social intermediation and financial services access.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper adopted the MedGraph program, Sobel tests and Kenny and Baron approach to test for mediation effects.
Findings
It is clear that the true drivers of access to financial services in the micro finance industry are social intermediation and social capital. However, social capital exhibits partial form of mediation in the relationship between social intermediation and access to financial services.
Research limitations/implications
A single research methodological approach was employed in the study. Owing to limitations associated therein, future research through interviews could be undertaken to triangulate.
Practical implications
Since social capital is found to be a causal chain in the relation between social intermediation and financial serves access in this study, managers in the micro finance industry should endeavor to reinforce agents of social capital (i.e. trust and social networks) since the lending relationships between the micro‐finance operators and marginalized communities are driven by social collateral.
Originality/value
This is the first study that focuses on testing the mediating effect of social capital in the relationship between social intermediation and financial services access in the Ugandan microfinance industry.
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Spyros E. Polykalas, George N. Prezerakos and Nikos Th. Nikolinakos
The paper aims to explore the “build or lease” dilemma that a new operator faces when it plans to enter a liberalized telecom market. The “build” decision requires the operator to…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to explore the “build or lease” dilemma that a new operator faces when it plans to enter a liberalized telecom market. The “build” decision requires the operator to invest in new network infrastructure. The “lease” part involves obtaining access to the subscriber by leasing the access part of the network via local loop unbundling (LLU) and/or by implementing wholesale broadband access (WBA) (also known as bitstream access). Which are the factors that an operator should take into account when it designs a broadband strategy based on LLU and/or WBA? Are there regulatory measures that can affect the outcome of such a strategy? The paper aims to provide specific answers to both questions.
Design/methodology/approach
Initially the paper establishes the case that LLU as well as WBA can indeed be considered as a useful instrument during the initial stages of broadband development. Consequently, the paper explores the “build or lease” dilemma by using a cost model created from actual market data that, first, identifies the most crucial parameters for the provision of broadband services via LLU, and, second, analyzes the relation between the operators' cost for full/shared LLU and the relevant cost for WBA deployment. The model is used in several scenarios that examine physical vs distant collocation, number of customers, bandwidth, backhaul links and full/shared unbundling access versus WBA, among other factors.
Findings
The cost model shows that there are several factors that should be examined when new entrants design their broadband deployment strategy. In such a case, as an operator establishes market presence, LLU becomes progressively more and more attractive. The paper also discusses how this process can be further accelerated if governments, regulators and operators adopt several additional guidelines with respect to broadband deployment based on LLU and WBA.
Practical implications
The results of the paper guide an operator in the design of a successful broadband strategy based on LLU and WBA.
Originality/value
As far as the authors know, such a cost model is not publicly available in the form of a research paper or otherwise.
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