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21 – 30 of 174
Article
Publication date: 19 March 2024

Anika Christin Bäumel, Alexandra Sauter, Andrea Weber, Michael Leitzmann and Carmen Jochem

Many refugees and asylum seekers in Germany experience a high disease burden and low health literacy. The current study aims to focus on assessing these issues among African…

Abstract

Purpose

Many refugees and asylum seekers in Germany experience a high disease burden and low health literacy. The current study aims to focus on assessing these issues among African refugees and asylum seekers in Bavaria, Germany. The authors evaluated their self-perceived health status and health literacy, and identified barriers and gaps in health care utilization, intending to improve health care services for this group.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study involving 69 refugees and asylum seekers from Ethiopia, Eritrea and Nigeria. The authors performed descriptive and exploratory statistical analyses.

Findings

The authors found a substantial disease burden in the early stages of resettlement in Germany, particularly mental health symptoms (53.6%) and musculoskeletal problems (47.8%). Challenges in health literacy were observed, such as difficulties in understanding health information and managing emergency situations. Access to interpreters was limited, and understanding treatment certificates was more challenging than using electronic health cards, with 18.2% of participants reporting denial of medical treatment.

Practical implications

These findings highlight the need for early and tailored health support for refugees, with a particular focus on mental health. Efforts should be made to reduce language barriers and improve navigational skills within the health-care system, particularly in emergency situations. Addressing the restricted access to health care and bureaucratic obstacles is crucial for improved health outcomes among refugees.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first to specifically explore the self-reported health status and health literacy of African refugees and asylum seekers in Bavaria, Germany, providing valuable insights into the unique healthcare challenges of this often underrepresented and overlooked population.

Details

International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-9894

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 November 2022

Raneesha De Silva, Jane L. Ireland, Philip Birch, Carol A. Ireland, Michael Lewis, Ravindra Dissanayake and Methma Atapattu

The purpose of this study is to explore mental health difficulties, including risk and protective factors, which may impact on symptom severity after exposure to crisis situations…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore mental health difficulties, including risk and protective factors, which may impact on symptom severity after exposure to crisis situations (war, terrorism and/or natural disasters), among first responders from uniformed services.

Design/methodology/approach

Peer-reviewed journal articles published in English between January 2012 and March 2022 were searched in ProQuest, Wiley, Google Scholar and PubMed databases. In total, 12 articles were obtained from an original screening of 94,058 articles. Full article texts were screened for content and quality by two reviewers, with high agreeability.

Findings

Post-traumatic stress disorder and depression were the most common diagnoses. Risk factors identified were pre-deployment factors of overweight, low cognitive ability and social support, existing emotional difficulties, negative childhood experiences and stressful life events; during crisis situations factors of higher frequency and subjective severity of combat, increased rates of combat stress reaction, high levels of concerns for life and family, more stressful mission position, threat of death/severe injury and high rate of killing the enemy; and post-deployment factors, such as low social support and physical health, lack of coping mechanisms and use of avoidance strategies and social stigma. Protective factors increasing resilience and lessening symptom severity were reported as pre-deployment cognitive ability, high social support, stable physical health, effective coping, post-traumatic growth and high levels of perceived adequacy in pre-deployment preparation and training. In addition to main findings, data about author(s), publication type, population, age, type of crisis and evaluation measures were extracted. Key findings and related theories, gaps in literature and recommendations are discussed.

Originality/value

As yet, however, research into the factors that could serve as risk and/or protective factors are not clearly indicated in terms of post-crisis recovery. As per the authors’ knowledge, this study is an initial approach to considering this area.

Details

Mental Health Review Journal, vol. 28 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1361-9322

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 November 2021

Eziacka Mathew Mpelangwa, Jeremia Ramos Makindara, Olav Jull Sørensen and Kenneth Michael-Kitundu Bengesi

Products of medicinal plants play significant roles in management of diseases. Their accessibility through trade plays a key role in health, economic and livelihood improvement…

Abstract

Purpose

Products of medicinal plants play significant roles in management of diseases. Their accessibility through trade plays a key role in health, economic and livelihood improvement. However, the traceability of the production process from their source in Tanzania is lacking. This study aims to depicture the production process of formulated products of medicinal plants.

Design/methodology/approach

The study applied the value chain theory using qualitative data from literature review and survey to practitioners of traditional medicine. Survey data were collected through 15 in-depth interviews and ten focus group discussions in five regions of Tanzania.

Findings

Input to output structure is performed through a five actors' value chain. The raw material is provided by harvesters who collected medicinal plants from wild. The processing is conducted by wholesalers and formulators. The wholesalers add value by drying, milling and bulk packaging of individual medicinal plants. Formulators mix different medicinal plants to create readymade products for specified diseases. Distribution is done by retailers and healers. There were six regulating and two supporting organizations. Private supporters were millers and transporters. Governance structure was deduced to be relational. Relational governance was a result of lack official standards along the value chain.

Originality/value

The described value chain can be used to guide investments in production of products of medicinal plants by improving formulation technology.

Details

African Journal of Economic and Management Studies, vol. 13 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-0705

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 13 August 2020

Alexander Paulsson and Claus Hedegaard Sørensen

The point of departure of this book is that smart mobility will only be developed in a desired direction and fulfil societal objectives if it is steered in that direction. The…

Abstract

The point of departure of this book is that smart mobility will only be developed in a desired direction and fulfil societal objectives if it is steered in that direction. The market, left to itself, will most certainly not deliver on these objectives. This message has been conveyed extensively in recent literature, but this book aims to take this discussion one step further by focussing on what governance of smart mobility looks like today and in the future. In this introductory chapter, the authors provide a framework of different understandings of policy instruments, how they are selected, developed and used. After the array of policy instruments within the transport sector has been extensively discussed, the authors turn to discussing a broader understanding of policy instruments found within political science and political sociology. In doing so, this book contributes to the critical scholarship on policy instruments, while exploring the why, the how and the what of policy instruments in relation to smart mobility. The chapter closes with a brief introduction to the structure of the book as well as a description of the content of each chapter.

Details

Shaping Smart Mobility Futures: Governance and Policy Instruments in times of Sustainability Transitions
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83982-651-1

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 2001

Reinhold Sackmann, Michael Windzio and Matthias Wingens

Suggests that youth unemployment is seen in East Germany as a critical life event because not only may it “scar” individuals’ careers but there is the fear that it may be a cause…

Abstract

Suggests that youth unemployment is seen in East Germany as a critical life event because not only may it “scar” individuals’ careers but there is the fear that it may be a cause of other social problems such as criminal and racist behaviour. Bases the study on event‐history and optimal‐matching analysis. Considers seven hypotheses about the impact of unemployment on social mobility career transitions. Findings suggest that unemployment can raise those chances of upward, downward and lateral mobility.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 21 no. 4/5/6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 23 April 2007

Howard E. Aldrich and Phillip H. Kim

Using a life course perspective, we develop a theoretical model of how parents can influence their children's propensity to enter self-employment. We draw on the sociological…

Abstract

Using a life course perspective, we develop a theoretical model of how parents can influence their children's propensity to enter self-employment. We draw on the sociological, economic, psychological, and behavioral genetics literatures to develop a model in which parental influence occurs in different ways, depending on someone's stage in their life course. We review and summarize existing findings for parental influences on entrepreneurial entry using a three-part life course framework: childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. We also analyze new data from the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics on the extent to which children were involved in their parents’ businesses. From our review, we propose strong effects from genetic inheritances and parenting practice (during childhood); moderate effects from reinforcement of work values and vocational interests (during adolescence); and little influence from financial support but stronger effects from other tangible means of support (during adulthood).

Details

The Sociology of Entrepreneurship
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-498-0

Book part
Publication date: 25 January 2023

Filipa Brandão, Zélia Breda and Carlos Costa

The application of network theory and social network analysis (SNA) to tourism and hospitality is recent. Nonetheless, several authors have been applying the method contributing…

Abstract

The application of network theory and social network analysis (SNA) to tourism and hospitality is recent. Nonetheless, several authors have been applying the method contributing to regional planning, local-level tourism networks, tourism policy and governance, innovation, entrepreneurship, knowledge transfer, and learning. This chapter aims to characterize the use of SNA in tourism and hospitality research. Specifically, it intends to: (i) present the framework of SNA in a methodological perspective; (ii) perform a bibliometric analysis of SNA use in tourism and hospitality research; (iii) systematize the dimensions and metrics that researchers can use to apply SNA, namely the relevance for tourism; and (iv) present a case study analyzing tourism innovation networks. This chapter brings important contributions to tourism and hospitality research and practice, by focusing on the theoretical framework and practical application of SNA, providing relevant conceptual and practical knowledge that will empower researchers to use this method in tourism and hospitality studies.

Details

Cutting Edge Research Methods in Hospitality and Tourism
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80455-064-9

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 8 October 2018

Halvard Vike

In Michael Lipsky’s intriguing analysis of the performance of public bureaucracy – in his classic Street-level Bureaucracy (1980) – he shows, for example, the professional…

Abstract

In Michael Lipsky’s intriguing analysis of the performance of public bureaucracy – in his classic Street-level Bureaucracy (1980) – he shows, for example, the professional discretion they apply may not only involve adapting policy to the individual case, meet real needs in the population, prevent patients, clients, students or users from getting access, etc., but at the same time both have profound policy implications and take very ‘political’ forms. In this chapter, I argue that it is regrettable that Lipsky did not establish a comparative framework for his study. Based on my own ethnographic research in local politics and bureaucratic practice in the municipal world in Norway, I look more closely at the relative autonomy of street-level bureaucracy within the context of universalism – a hallmark of the Nordic welfare state model (Esping-Andersen 1998, 2009) – and explore how it is utilised. The Nordic welfare states are among the most ‘service intense’ states in the Western world, and the personnel working directly with patients, students, clients, etc., play a major role in linking ‘the state’ to the population (Papakostas, 2001, Vike et al., 2002). Thus, the role of the Nordic welfare state’s street-level bureaucracy as a key interface between the state and the population is hard to overestimate (Leira & Sainsbury, 1994). Moreover, as universalism also tends to stimulate what we may call a culture of strong claims (to services) among the population at large, street-level bureaucrats may be able to form strong alliances with other actors, and thus play an important part of the dynamics of power in local politics – where fundamental policy principles such as universalism is at stake.

Details

Bureaucracy and Society in Transition
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78743-283-3

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2003

Georgios I. Zekos

Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some…

86938

Abstract

Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.

Details

Managerial Law, vol. 45 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0558

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 8 October 2018

Michael O’ Regan

The purpose of this paper is to deconstruct the backpacker label by reconstructing it using the historical antecedent of drifting. Following the deconstruction of backpacking’s…

4165

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to deconstruct the backpacker label by reconstructing it using the historical antecedent of drifting. Following the deconstruction of backpacking’s near past, the author build a clearer conceptual foundation for backpacking’s future.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is framed by scenario planning, which demands a critical review of the backpacking and an appreciation of its history in order to understand its future.

Findings

Backpacking, ever evolving, remains difficult to articulate and challenges researchers to “keep up” with its complexity and heterogeneity. This paper argues that researchers must learn more about how backpacking “works” by opening a dialogue with its past, before engaging in further research. The paper finds that a poor conceptualisation of backpacking has led to a codification of backpacker criteria.

Practical implications

Backpacking remains a research topic which draws disparate researchers using criteria that produces disparate results and deviations. By understanding its past, researchers will be better placed to explore the emancipatory impulses that drive backpackers today and in the future.

Originality/value

This papers’ value lies in the retrospection process which explores backpacking’s near past so as to “make sense” of present research and present scenarios for it is the immediate future. The paper re-anchors backpacking by investigating the major historical, social and cultural events leading up to its emergence.

Details

Journal of Tourism Futures, vol. 4 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2055-5911

Keywords

21 – 30 of 174