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1 – 10 of 242As host to over one million Syrian refugees, Lebanon continues to experience challenges addressing the needs of refugee families. This research examined the experiences of Syrian…
Abstract
Purpose
As host to over one million Syrian refugees, Lebanon continues to experience challenges addressing the needs of refugee families. This research examined the experiences of Syrian families with the refugee support system in Lebanon. The purpose of this study was to better understand the strengths and gaps in existing mechanisms of support for these Syrian families, including informal support from family, neighbors and community and more formalized support provided through entities such as nongovernmental organizations and United Nations agencies.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 46 families displaced by the war and living in Lebanon (N = 351 individuals within 46 families). Collaborative family interviews were conducted with parents, children and often extended family.
Findings
The data identified both strengths and gaps in the refugee support system in Lebanon. Gaps in the refugee support system included inadequate housing, a lack of financial and economic support, challenges with a lack of psychosocial support for pregnant women and support for disabled youth. Despite these challenges, families and community workers reported informal community support as a strong mediator of the challenges in Lebanon. Furthermore, the data find that organizations working with Syrian families are utilizing informal community support through capacity building, to create more effective and sustainable support services.
Originality/value
This study provides an overview of strengths and gaps in supports identified by refugees themselves. The research will inform the development and improvement of better support systems in Lebanon and in other refugee–hosting contexts.
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Fitri Rahmafitria and Regan Leonardus Kaswanto
One of the crucial elements of addressing global climate challenges through urban tourism is the continuing existence of urban forests. The reasoning is that the ecological…
Abstract
Purpose
One of the crucial elements of addressing global climate challenges through urban tourism is the continuing existence of urban forests. The reasoning is that the ecological attraction of urban forests can impact visitors’ intention to conduct pro-environmental behavior, including low-carbon actions. Thus, more visitors to urban forests will positively affect enhancing the quality of the urban environment. However, the extent to which ecological attraction can influence pro-environmental behavior warrants further investigation due to the complexity of psychosocial factors that impact behavioral intention. The main objective of this research is to examine the effects of the ecological attractiveness of urban forests on the pro-environmental behavior of visitors by exploring motivation, ecological experience, perceived value and knowledge as mediators. Moreover, whether the nature of the urban forest and facilities attract visitors simultaneously is also studied.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 615 respondents who visited three urban forests in Bandung, the second-most populous city in Indonesia, by five-point Likert questionnaires. As an analytical tool, SEM PLS was applied to establish the effect of the ecological performance of the urban forest on the increase in environmentally conscious behavior among urban forest visitors.
Findings
The findings demonstrate that the attractiveness of an urban forest affects the growth of environmentally responsible behaviors. Nonetheless, the attractiveness of urban forests is dictated more by their infrastructure than their ecological function. On the contrary, the visitors’ knowledge level can improve their motivation, environmental experience and perceived environmental value. These findings show the significance of developing educational programs with an emphasis on the experience of the visitors so that their ecological performance can contribute to improved low-carbon behavior. In conclusion, this work contributes to the management of sustainable urban tourism.
Research limitations/implications
This work also has some limitations. First, the medium R-square on intention behavior to low-carbon action suggests investigating other influential factors to produce a more robust conscious behavior. Mkono and Hughes (2020) mention that many complex factors that cause positive intention do not necessarily lead to environmental action. Thus, many psychosocial variables need to be explored in different models. Second, the convenient sampling used here does not represent the whole population, making generalization difficult. Thus, further work needs to apply more rigorous sampling techniques to validate the findings. Further investigations may also need to be conducted in other urban forests in another Asian country with a similar and different social context for benchmarking, as this study found that the type of attractive urban forest design is a more dense forest, which differs from other studies based in Europe. Exploring more influencing behavioral factors of pro-environmental action in the model is also suggested. Thus, we could contribute more to support recreational activities in urban forests.
Practical implications
As an implication for planning an urban forest to increase its recreational function, the authors illustrate the importance of producing educational programs. Although the improved knowledge of visitors has been shown to strengthen their commitment to perform pro-environmental actions, the mediating role of motivation, experience and perceived value reveals that some activities are required to achieve visitor motivation to actual behavior. Consequently, designing an urban forest requires not only the enhancement of eco-attractions and artificial elements for the convenience of visitors but also the development of an environmental education program that can improve visitors’ environmental experience and perception of ecological value. The designed educational program may use an experiential education approach incorporating objective knowledge of Earth’s current state. The urban forest education program must encourage visitors’ connection and participation with nature. Moreover, knowledge and information about Earth’s environmental quality can increase visitors’ perceived value, ensuring that their activities in the urban forest contribute to improved health, environmental quality and social environment. Thus, with well-managed and provided education, they are encouraged to adopt low-carbon action because it complements their contribution to a better quality environment.
Originality/value
The theoretical contribution of this research is generated through the role of urban forest attractiveness in the intention to conduct low-carbon action, which influences solutions to existing urban environmental problems. This work exhibits that both ecological attractiveness and attractiveness of artificial elements in urban forests can attract visitors and subsequently boost their outdoor recreation motivation, ecological experience and perceived value and then turn them to boost their intention to conduct low-carbon action. The physical characteristics of a site are behavioral stimuli that can increase a person’s motivation, experience and perception of the value of the environment, thereby increasing their intention to engage in low-carbon actions. This environment behavioral construction is fundamental in understanding that urban forests offer ecological benefits and influence the social quality of urban communities. Nevertheless, without visitor activity, urban forests are merely physical entities that become increasingly demanding to maintain. Due to this, an urban forest that is socially active and has an influence on promoting environmentally conscious behavior is needed, and its presence is becoming ever more crucial. This work shows the significance of integrating psychosocial approaches into managing tourism in urban forests.
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E.P. Abdul Azeez, Dandub Palzor Negi, Tanu Kukreja, Kamini C. Tanwar, M. Surya Kumar, V. Kalyani and Darakhshan Harmain
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a prevalent public health issue impacting women’s physical and mental health and psychosocial walks of life across cultures and societies…
Abstract
Purpose
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a prevalent public health issue impacting women’s physical and mental health and psychosocial walks of life across cultures and societies. Despite this, many women continue to stay in such relationships. This study aims to examine, from a constructionist perspective, why women stay in abusive marriages and what factors prevent them from taking appropriate actions. Also, women’s experiences of surviving IPV were explored.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a descriptive qualitative research method, the authors recruited and interviewed 17 women from northern India. The data were analysed thematically.
Findings
The underlying themes that emerged in response to the research questions were the lack of family support, societal ideals, the culture of normalizing violence, fear, love and hope and emotional turmoil. The reason for women not to leave abusive marriages corresponds to the broader social constructions of marriage and women’s perceived positions in family and society.
Originality/value
Research on women’s decision to stay in abusive relationships is limited, especially from the Global South. This study generates fresh evidence on the subject matter, specifically from the Indian context. The study result contributes uniquely by approaching the problem of staying in an abusive relationship from a social constructionist perspective. This study has implications for policy and psychosocial interventions to bring progressive changes in the lives of women experiencing IPV.
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Bianca Amici and Maria Luisa Farnese
Weick and Sutcliffe identified five principles that enable high-reliability organizations (HROs) to address environmental complexity and manage unexpected events. The current…
Abstract
Purpose
Weick and Sutcliffe identified five principles that enable high-reliability organizations (HROs) to address environmental complexity and manage unexpected events. The current study aims to adopt this sensemaking perspective to analyze accidents within a typical HRO sector, namely maritime transport.
Design/methodology/approach
Through a retrospective case study analysis, this study focused on seven oil tanker accidents, using them as illustrative examples.
Findings
Findings show how the five principles contributed to the accidents' occurrence, explaining how failures in sensemaking affected the crew's capability to both prevent errors and cope with their consequences, thus leading to disasters.
Research limitations/implications
Overall, the study offers an applicative contribution showing how this model may provide a reliable framework for analyzing the psychosocial factors affecting an accident. This approach deepens the understanding of how latent factors are enacted and how the prevention and error management phases interrelate within a comprehensive flow of the entire accident sequence. Furthermore, the study emphasizes consistent patterns that emerge across multiple accidents within the same sector, in order to learn valuable lessons to improve safety measures in the future.
Originality/value
This study constitutes an exemplary application in support of how Weick and Sutcliffe’s model is valuable for investigating HROs. It offers a second-order interpretative framework to understand accidents and underscores the interplay among these factors during the dynamic development of an accident.
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Mariana Velykodna, Oksana Tkachenko, Oksana Shylo, Kateryna Mitchenko, Zoia Miroshnyk, Natalia Kvitka and Olha Charyieva
This study aims to develop and test a multivariable psychosocial prediction model of subjective well-being in Ukrainian adults (n = 1,248) 1.5 years after the 2022 Russian…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to develop and test a multivariable psychosocial prediction model of subjective well-being in Ukrainian adults (n = 1,248) 1.5 years after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Design/methodology/approach
The research design followed the “Transparent reporting of a multivariable prediction model for individual prognosis or diagnosis” checklist. The online survey combined a questionnaire on sociodemographic characteristics and specifics of living in wartime, as well as validated self-reported inventories: The Modified BBC Subjective Well-being Scale, Acceptance and Action Questionnaire – Version 2 and Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale-10.
Findings
The initially developed model was tested through regression analysis, which revealed nine variables as predictors of the subjective well-being scores within the sample, explaining 49.3% of its variance. Among them, the strongest were living with a friend and receiving mental health care systematically. They were almost twice as influential as forced displacement abroad and trauma exposure, which predicted lower well-being, and living with a spouse, which forecasted higher well-being scores. Two resilience subscales – adjustment and restoring and resistance – as predictors of better well-being and perceived unsuccess in life and age as predictors of lower well-being were relatively weaker but statistically significant.
Originality/value
The obtained results support the previous evidence on the essential role of accessible mental health services and social support in times of war, as well as the deteriorative effect of trauma exposure and forcible taking refuge on subjective well-being.
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Corey Dillon and Oscar Noel Ocho
The purpose of this study is to examine the sociocultural implications of caring for persons with COVID-19 in a developing country context.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the sociocultural implications of caring for persons with COVID-19 in a developing country context.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 156 nurses participated in the study. Stratified random sampling methodology was used. Data were collected via online self-administered questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics, including ANOVA tests were done.
Findings
Nurses experienced stigmatization, discrimination and reduced income. Nurses functioned on the frontline during the COVID-19 pandemic and encountered negative sociocultural experiences from a personal, social and professional perspective. ANOVA showed statistically significant relationships between the conflicts between their work role, family commitments and level of physical interactions with a number of variables.
Research limitations/implications
Data were collected from one Regional Health Authority and may not be representative of the national population of nurses. Further, as the researchers depended on gatekeepers to access participants, the recruitment process may not have been entirely based on randomization as originally agreed.
Practical implications
The findings from this study can be used as a framework to develop context specific programmes and policies to support health professionals, including nurses.
Social implications
Pandemics, while not new, contribute to serious sociocultural challenges for individuals and families, as well as nurses, as part of their professional roles. In this regard, maintaining effective social networks must be central to effective functioning in crisis situations, such as pandemics.
Originality/value
Nurses have played a key role, working both to identify, isolate and manage those with COVID-19 and supporting those who have non-COVID-19 related health needs. While nurses have been at the forefront delivering care in these uncertain times, doing so puts them at great risk, for not only contracting COVID-19 but also for experiencing negative psychosocial effects that may be due to the nature of their jobs.
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P. Padma Sri Lekha, E.P. Abdul Azeez and Ronald R. O'Donnell
Contextual to the recognition of the complex interplay between health and behavioral aspects, integrated behavioral health (IBH) has emerged. Although this model is becoming…
Abstract
Purpose
Contextual to the recognition of the complex interplay between health and behavioral aspects, integrated behavioral health (IBH) has emerged. Although this model is becoming popular in the Western world, its presence in the global context is not promising. This paper aims to explore the need for IBH in India and address its barriers to implementation and possible solutions.
Design/methodology/approach
We analyzed the case of IBH and its potential implications for India using the current evidence base, authors' reflections and experience of implementing similar programs.
Findings
This paper identifies contextual factors, including increased instances of non-communicable diseases and psychosocial and cultural determinants of health, that necessitate the implementation of IBH programs in India. The key features of different IBH models and their applicability are outlined. The current status of IBH and potential challenges in implementation in India in terms of human resources and other factors are delineated. We also discuss the potential models for implementing IBH in India.
Originality/value
Integrating behavioral health in primary care is considered an effective and sustainable model to promote health and well-being across various target populations. Towards this end, this paper is the first to discuss the contextual factors of IBH in India. It is a significant addition to the knowledge base on IBH and its possible implementation barriers and strategies in low- and middle-income countries.
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Upon the premises of social exchange theory (SET), this study aimed at hypothesizing and examining a serial mediation model that investigated the underlying mechanism through…
Abstract
Purpose
Upon the premises of social exchange theory (SET), this study aimed at hypothesizing and examining a serial mediation model that investigated the underlying mechanism through which a high-performance work system (HPWS) affects individuals’ future time perspective (FTP).
Design/methodology/approach
The hypothesized relationships were examined using responses collected from 275 employees from 15 local private banks and 40 established branches through a proportionate stratified sampling technique. The statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) PROCESS macro 3.0 and analysis of moment’s structure (AMOS) 24.0 were employed for data analysis purposes.
Findings
The study revealed that HPWS is indirectly related to the individuals’ FTP through workplace social courage (WSC) and employee well-being (EWB) sequentially. Prescriptions for theoretical and managerial implications were discussed, and future research viewpoints with limitations were acknowledged.
Originality/value
This study illuminated the underlying mechanism and theoretical logic linking HPWS and individuals’ FTP by proposing the serial mediating effect of WSC and EWB.
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Monica Trezise and Michael J. Richardson
As Australians experience more fierce and frequent natural disasters, there are urgent calls for businesses to meaningfully respond to climate change. Australian financial and…
Abstract
Purpose
As Australians experience more fierce and frequent natural disasters, there are urgent calls for businesses to meaningfully respond to climate change. Australian financial and professional services employees occupy an ambiguous space as climate mitigation measures have different economic implications for their clients. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how Australian professionals experience climate change and respond to the issue within their workplace.
Design/methodology/approach
This mixed methods study applies a systems thinking framework to investigate: how do professionals’ experiences of the issue of climate change and the workplace influence their cognitions, emotions and behaviour? And in particular, what psychosocial antecedents precede voicing climate concern?
Findings
Firstly, a survey of professionals (N = 206) found social norms, perceived behavioural control and biospheric values, but not attitudes, significantly predicted prohibitive green voice. Middle managers were significantly likely to voice climate concern, whereas senior managers were significantly likely to express climate scepticism. Ten professionals were then interviewed to gain a contextualised understanding of these trends. Interpretive phenomenological analysis identified five interrelated themes: (1) active identity management, (2) understanding climate change is escalating, (3) workplace shapes climate change response, (4) frustration and alienation and (5) belief that corporations prioritise profit.
Originality/value
Findings are discussed in relation to how employees may both embody and adapt their organisations. These results have implications for understandings of workplace meaningfulness and organisational risk governance.
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Haifa Mohammad Algahtani, Haitham Jahrami and Mariwan Husni
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on medical education and training, with many medical schools and training programs having to adapt to remote or online learning…
Abstract
Purpose
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on medical education and training, with many medical schools and training programs having to adapt to remote or online learning, social distancing measures and other challenges. This paper aimed to examine the disruption for clinical training, as it has reduced the opportunities for students and trainees to gain hands-on experience and interact with patients in person.
Design/methodology/approach
The ethnographic qualitative research design was chosen as the research methodology. Using Gibbs' reflective cycle, the researcher explored the psychiatry clerks' (final-year medical students) reflections on the disruption of their clinical training during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Findings
The findings demonstrated that the students had a significant psychological impact on their coping capacities as the crisis progressed from shock and depression to resilience. The students being the key stakeholders provided a concrete foundation for the development of a framework for improving practices during uncertain times.
Originality/value
Students' reflections provided valuable insight into the pandemic’s impact on their psychosocial lives with uncertainty and incapacity to cope up with changing stressful dynamics. The results will assist in planning how to best support medical students' well-being during interruptions of their educational process brought about by similar future crises.
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