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1 – 10 of over 2000
Open Access
Article
Publication date: 7 July 2020

Eefje Hendriks and Aaron Opdyke

The purpose of this study is to explore communication of hazard-resistant construction techniques after disaster in the absence of outside influence. It further aims to unpack the…

1819

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore communication of hazard-resistant construction techniques after disaster in the absence of outside influence. It further aims to unpack the barriers and drivers in the adoption of knowledge processes to identify strategic recommendations to enlarge adoption of safer construction practices by local construction actors.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on an analysis of stakeholders’ perspectives during post-disaster reconstruction in the Philippines in the province of Busuanga after Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. Data were collected from six communities that received no external housing assistance, analyzing surveys from 220 households, 13 carpenters, 20 key actors coordinating reconstruction or recovery efforts, as well as 12 focus group discussions.

Findings

This research argues for a stronger role of governmental agencies, vocational training schools and engineers. Current communication of typhoon-resistant construction knowledge is ineffective to stimulate awareness, understanding and adoption by local construction actors and self-recovering households.

Research limitations/implications

The analysis in this study focuses on a small sample of communities in the west of the Philippines that are not frequently affected by typhoons.

Originality/value

This is one of the few scholarly works in the Philippines focused on adoption of safer construction practices by community-based construction actors when technical housing assistance is absent.

Details

Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, vol. 29 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-3562

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 6 October 2023

Mary S. Mangai, Tyanai Masiya and Galaletsang Masemola

This paper aims to explore police perspectives on community engagement strategies within the context of crime prevention in South Africa, focusing on Johannesburg metropolitan…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore police perspectives on community engagement strategies within the context of crime prevention in South Africa, focusing on Johannesburg metropolitan police stations. The study’s objective is to scrutinise the effectiveness and challenges of community policing strategies.

Design/methodology/approach

Through a qualitative research approach, this study conducted unstructured interviews with station commanders and visible policing officers across 10 Johannesburg metropolitan police stations.

Findings

The findings reveal that community policing strategies, such as community–policing forums, sector policing, street patrollers and social media utilisation, can effectively engage communities as partners in crime prevention. However, certain challenges such as resource limitations and difficulties in policing-specific regions, were also identified.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the broader understanding of community–policing partnerships and the practical implications of community–policing strategies in South Africa, suggesting areas for improvement and adaptation to the unique South African context. This knowledge can help optimise efforts to foster stronger relationships between police and communities, bolster public trust and ultimately improve crime prevention outcomes.

Details

Safer Communities, vol. 23 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-8043

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 29 April 2020

Ayomikun Solomon Adewumi

Purpose: Urban centres have been argued to be crucial in the battle for sustainability. With more than half of the global population presently living in cities, the sustainability…

Abstract

Purpose: Urban centres have been argued to be crucial in the battle for sustainability. With more than half of the global population presently living in cities, the sustainability challenges of global warming, environmental degradation, social inequality, and economic recessions have continued to thrive. To this end, there have been efforts to revive and improve the existing physical and social structure of cities in a process known as urban regeneration. The aim of this paper is to explore the role of sustainability assessment frameworks in urban regeneration.

Approach: Aligning with the positivism philosophical position, and using document analysis as a data collection method, the study discusses the state of the art of urban regeneration and its application in recent times. The study also reviewed selected neighbourhood sustainability assessment frameworks as a tool for decision-making towards sustainability to know the extent in which they capture the goals of urban regeneration.

Findings: Findings showed that the uptake of the sustainability assessment frameworks could play a role in enhancing integration of local context, social wellbeing and economic prosperity, environmental quality, and stakeholder engagement at the neighbourhood level which are the main aspects of urban regeneration.

Theoretical and practical implications: In theory, this paper establishes the assumption that with some revisions, sustainability assessment frameworks could serve as a tool for decision-making in urban regeneration process. Practise-wise, urban regeneration at the neighbourhood level can now be measured against sustainability benchmarks and indicators.

Details

Emerald Open Research, vol. 1 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2631-3952

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 23 July 2018

Nancy Clark

The purpose of this paper is to describe Karen refugee women’s experience of resettlement and the factors which structured community capacity to support their mental health and…

4034

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe Karen refugee women’s experience of resettlement and the factors which structured community capacity to support their mental health and well-being.

Design/methodology/approach

A postcolonial and feminist standpoint was used to bring Karen women’s voice to the knowledge production process. Data were collected through ethnographic field observation, in-depth semi-structured individual and focus group interviews with Karen women as well as healthcare and social service providers.

Findings

Three interrelated themes emerged from the data: Karen women’s construction of mental health as “stress and worry”; gender, language and health literacy intersected, shaping Karen women’s access to health care and social resources; flexible partnerships between settlement agencies, primary care and public health promoted community capacity but were challenged by neoliberalism.

Research limitations/implications

Karen women and families are a diverse group with a unique historical context. Not all the findings are applicable across refugee women.

Practical implications

This paper highlights the social determinants of mental health for Karen women and community responses for mitigating psychological distress during resettlement.

Social implications

Public health policy requires a contextualized understanding of refugee women’s mental health. Health promotion in resettlement must include culturally safe provision of health care to mitigate sources of psychological distress during resettlement.

Originality/value

This research brings a postcolonial and feminist analysis to community capacity as a public health strategy.

Details

International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare, vol. 11 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-4902

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 21 February 2022

Edris Alam and Bishawjit Mallick

The small-scale artisanal fishers in coastal Bangladesh are comparatively more vulnerable to climate risks than any other communities in Bangladesh. Based on practicality, this…

3632

Abstract

Purpose

The small-scale artisanal fishers in coastal Bangladesh are comparatively more vulnerable to climate risks than any other communities in Bangladesh. Based on practicality, this paper aims to explain the local level climate change perception, its impact and adaptation strategies of the fisher in southeast coastal villages in Bangladesh.

Design/methodology/approach

To achieve the above objective, this study used structural, semi-structured interviews and focus group discussion in two coastal communities, namely, at Salimpur in the Sitakund coast and Sarikait Sandwip Island, Bangladesh. It reviews and applies secondary data sources to compare and contrast the findings presented in this study.

Findings

Results show that the fishers perceived an increase in temperature, frequency of tropical cyclones and an increase in sea level. They also perceived a decrease in monsoon rainfall. Such changes impact the decreasing amount of fish in the Bay of Bengal and the fishers’ livelihood options. Analysing seasonal calendar of fishing, findings suggest that fishers’ well-being is highly associated with the amount of fish yield, rather than climatic stress, certain non-climatic factors (such as the governmental rules, less profit, bank erosion and commercial fishing) also affected their livelihood. The major adaptation strategies undertaken include, but are not limited to, installation of tube well or rainwater harvesting plant for safe drinking water, raising plinth of the house to cope with inundation and use of solar panel/biogas for electricity.

Originality/value

Despite experiencing social stress and extreme climatic events and disasters, the majority of the fishing community expressed that they would not change their profession in future. The research suggests implementing risk reduction strategies in the coastal region of Bangladesh that supports the small-scale fishers to sustain their livelihood despite climate change consequences.

Details

International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, vol. 14 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-8692

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 17 October 2017

Md. Zakir Hossain and Md. Ashiq Ur Rahman

The purpose of this paper is to examine pro-poor urban asset adaptation to climate variability and change. It constructs a conceptual framework that explores the appropriate asset…

3928

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine pro-poor urban asset adaptation to climate variability and change. It constructs a conceptual framework that explores the appropriate asset adaptation strategies for extreme poor households as well as the process of supporting these households and groups in accumulating these assets.

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative data are obtained from life histories, key informant interviews (KIIs) and focus-group discussions (FGDs). These data are collected, coded and themed.

Findings

This research identifies that households among the urban extreme poor do their best to adapt to perceived climate changes; however, in the absence of savings, and access to credit and insurance, they are forced to adopt adverse coping strategies. Individual adaptation practices yield minimal results and are short lived and even harmful because the urban extreme poor are excluded from formal policies and institutions as they lack formal rights and entitlements. For the poorest, the process of facilitating and maintaining patron–client relationships is a central coping strategy. Social policy approaches are found to be effective in facilitating asset adaptation for the urban extreme poor because they contribute to greater resilience to climate change.

Originality/value

This study analyses the empirical evidence through the lens of a pro-poor asset-adaptation framework. It shows that the asset-transfer approach is an effective in building household-adaptation strategies. Equally important is the capacity to participate in and influence the institutions from which these people have previously been excluded.

Details

International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, vol. 10 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-8692

Keywords

Open Access
Book part
Publication date: 19 November 2020

Imani Robinson

This chapter paints a picture of the war on drugs, and the structures of prohibition and punishment that drive it, as extensions of broader systems of state and interpersonal…

Abstract

This chapter paints a picture of the war on drugs, and the structures of prohibition and punishment that drive it, as extensions of broader systems of state and interpersonal violence. I outline the failures of prohibition through the criminalisation of drug-related activities and put forward a framework for harm reduction that has as its foundation a radical critique of punishment in all spheres of our lives. This chapter urges those who advocate for drug policy reform to build broader alliances with the many communities around the world that organise against the continuation of the prison industrial complex (PIC) as a whole, including: people in prison, gendered, racialised and LGBTQI+ communities, sex workers and prison abolitionists. I conclude by offering a vision for abolitionist drug policy, whose ultimate goal is to resist the expansion of the PIC globally and in doing so, to foster greater community resilience both across difference and beyond our increasingly siloed fields of expertise. As drug policy experts, the author can choose to situate the millions of people who use drugs worldwide within global contexts of ongoing state violence and control, so that the reforms the author advocate for match the fullness and complexity of the people and worlds the author are fighting for and tackle the root causes of the many harms our communities face.

Details

The Impact of Global Drug Policy on Women: Shifting the Needle
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83982-885-0

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 30 August 2021

Catriona O’Toole and Venka Simovska

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the functioning of education systems in a multitude of ways. In Ireland schools closed on March 12th and remained closed for the remainder of…

4683

Abstract

Purpose

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the functioning of education systems in a multitude of ways. In Ireland schools closed on March 12th and remained closed for the remainder of the academic year. During this time educators engaged with students, families and colleagues in new and diverse ways. The purpose of this study was to explore educators' experiences during the closures, particularly regarding the impact of the pandemic on the wellbeing of students, school staff and wider school communities.

Design/methodology/approach

A series of one-to-one interviews, lasting approximately one hour, were conducted in July 2020 with 15 education professionals online via Zoom or Microsoft Teams. Participants occupied various roles (classroom teacher, school leader, special educational needs coordinator, etc.) and worked in a diverse range of communities in Ireland. Qualitative data from interviews were transcribed and emergent themes identified through an inductive followed by deductive analytic approach.

Findings

The interviews highlighted the central role that schools play in supporting their local communities and the value teachers place on their relationships with students and families. Many teachers and school leaders found themselves grappling with new identities and professional boundaries as they worked to support, care for and connect with the students and families they serve. There was considerable concern expressed regarding the plight of vulnerable or marginalised students for whom the school ordinarily offered a place of safety and security.

Originality/value

The findings reveal how COVID-19 has exacerbated pre-existing inequalities and the central role of schools in promoting the health and wellbeing of all its members.

Details

Health Education, vol. 122 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-4283

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Sport, Gender and Development
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-863-0

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 25 September 2020

Tashi Dendup, Yun Zhao and I Gusti Ngurah Edi Putra

The differences in the distribution of factors associated with under-five mortality (UFM) can help explain the rural-urban inequities in UFM. The determinants contributing to UFM…

1836

Abstract

Purpose

The differences in the distribution of factors associated with under-five mortality (UFM) can help explain the rural-urban inequities in UFM. The determinants contributing to UFM in rural and urban areas have not been previously explored in Bhutan. This study examined the factors associated with UFM in rural and urban Bhutan and the role of the factors in explaining UFM disparity.

Design/methodology/approach

The dataset of 6,398 single births (4,999 in rural and 1,399 in urban areas) from the 2012 Bhutan National Health Survey was analyzed. Logistic regression analysis accounting for the complex survey design was performed to investigate the determinants.

Findings

The UFM rate was 2.75 times higher in rural than in urban Bhutan. In rural communities, children of younger mothers, born in households without safe sanitation and electricity, and central and eastern regions had increased UFM odds. Whereas, children born to working mothers and educated fathers, and born in households with non-working household heads had lower UFM odds in urban areas. A higher number of births and smaller household size was associated with an increased UFM odds irrespective of rural-urban residence. Environmental factors were attributable for the largest portion of rural UFM disadvantage.

Originality/value

This study helps to understand the rural-urban differences in the factors influencing UFM in Bhutan. The findings suggest that policies aimed to improve environmental and socioeconomic conditions, women empowerment, and those aimed to enhance health utilization can help reduce the rural-urban child survival disparity and accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal target.

Details

Journal of Health Research, vol. 35 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0857-4421

Keywords

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