Search results

The purpose of this paper is to scope out European and global policy documents focused on dementia with the purpose of providing a synthesis of the challenges the phenomenon poses and the gaps evident.

An adapted PESTEL framework as a data extraction tool resulted in an analysis of the political, economic, social, technological, environmental, organisational, educational and research aspects of dementia policy.

Policy documents showed variability of dementia strategy, plan and programme development. All documents recognised rapidly growing ageing populations, and increasing numbers of people living with dementia. Dementia as a public health priority is inconsistent in growth. Global policy documents stress the impact of dementia will be felt most by low- and middle-income countries. Main themes were: a need to raise awareness of dementia and action to reduce stigma around it, the need for early diagnosis and preventative person-centred approaches with integrated care, fiscal investment, further research, training and education for workforces, increased involvement of and support for people living with dementia and care and support close to home.

By identifying current dementia challenges and policy gap implications this analysis urges engagement with broader frames of reference as potential for enabling bolder and radically better dementia care models.

This paper offers a review of present global and European dementia policy, outlining the potential implications for the most marginalised in society if it fails to be critical of its own underpinning assumptions.

The Group of Twenty (G20) has substantial influence in global economic policy but has been peripheral in global education governance. There is intensification of education policy-relevant engagement within the Think 20 (T20), the “ideas bank” and official engagement group of the G20. The authors analyse the evolution of education as a policy domain within the T20, the ideas and discursive framing of education and global education policy “solutions” and assumptions about the G20 in education policy engagement.

The authors view the T20 as an external actor that can mobilise policy-relevant ideas to G20 actors responsible for internal policy selection and translation. The analysis covers the period 2018–2021 when education became an explicit T20 policy area. The authors screened all 461 T20 policy briefs across all domains. Of these, 32 briefs and four final T20 Summit communiqués were reviewed using critical discourse analysis. Data were supplemented via organisational websites and tacit professional knowledge.

Three assumptions on the G20 as an actor prevailed: (1) policymaker, (2) policy shaper and (3) knowledge mobiliser. The framing ideas on education were linked to assumptions on drivers of education system reform as intertwined with, or to enable: (1) economic adaptation, (2) technical adaptation and (3) socio-political adaptation of individuals and societies.

Accelerated education engagement within the T20 and its direct reach to G20 leaders makes it, and the G20, analytically unique and new unexamined actors of potential influence. The authors conclude that the T20 is positioned as a unique actor, both that can mobilise education policy-relevant ideas to G20 leaders, and legitimised as the actor from which G20 leaders and policymakers should adopt ideas.

The purpose of this paper is to maximize the total demand covered by the established additive manufacturing and distribution centers and maximize the total literal weight assigned to the drones.

Disaster management or humanitarian supply chains (HSCs) differ from commercial supply chains in the fact that the aim of HSCs is to minimize the response time to a disaster as compared to the profit maximization goal of commercial supply chains. In this paper, the authors develop a relief chain structure that accommodates emerging technologies in humanitarian logistics into the two phases of disaster management – the preparedness stage and the response stage.

Solving the model by the genetic and the cuckoo optimization algorithm (COA) and comparing the results with the ones obtained by The General Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS) clear that genetic algorithm overcomes other options as it has led to objective functions that are 1.6% and 24.1% better comparing to GAMS and COA, respectively.

Finally, the presented model has been solved with three methods including one exact method and two metaheuristic methods. Results of implementation show that Non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II) has better performance in finding the optimal solutions.

Drawing on evidence from ten towns (across England, Wales and Northern Ireland) participating in the High Street UK 2020 (HSUK2020) project, the purpose of this paper is to reveal how local stakeholders involved in place management respond to high street decline through a strategy of repositioning.

This paper identifies the challenges faced by the towns considering repositioning, and highlights examples of good practice of relevance to the practitioners. First, it outlines the perspectives on repositioning from the academic research and theory, before drawing on evidence from across ten UK towns that participated in the HSUK2020 project, to reveal how repositioning involves more than just taking a snapshot profile of a place.

The research revealed major challenges faced by local stakeholders in clearly identifying and communicating their market position, in particular, the maintenance of up-to-date information on catchments was lacking at all the locations. Despite having local knowledge and some data, stakeholders still did not possess a clear (or shared) understanding of the identity or function of their towns. This evidence reflects the complexity of analysing and understanding repositioning and developing coherent strategies.

Knowledge exchange between stakeholders involved in place management can help inform the identification of new strategic objectives, appropriate interventions and project planning and delivery. Where resources are limited, particularly in smaller towns and settlements, the research demonstrates the significance of collecting and sharing data and analysis with other stakeholders, because this can generate positive outcomes for all.

By offering empirical evidence based on the experience of local practitioners, this paper provides valuable insight into how town centre stakeholders collect, interpret and analyse data, revealing the challenges, opportunities and practicalities involved in developing and implementing repositioning strategies.

Consumers' perceptions of product intelligence affect their willingness to accept smart offerings. This paper explores how people perceive various smart products based on their smartness profiles, composed of five distinct smartness facets. Additionally, the study investigates how these perceptions of product intelligence impact consumers' evaluation of factors that either promote or impede the adoption of smart products. These factors are examined as potential mediators in the adoption process. This paper aims to determine if the value-based adoption model can be applied to a broad range of smart service systems.

Consumers assessed one of 28 smart products in a scenario-based quantitative study. Multilevel structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to test the conceptual model, taking the nested data structure into account.

The findings show that product smartness essentially enhances usage intention via adoption drivers (enjoyment and usefulness) and reduces usage intention via adoption barriers (intrusiveness). In particular, the ability to interact in a humanlike manner increases the benefits consumers perceive, which in turn increases consumer acceptance. Only the smartness characteristic of awareness impairs usage intention, mediated by the perceived benefits of enjoyment and usefulness.

In contrast to previous research, which usually focuses on single smart products, this work examines a variety of different products, which allows for better transferability of the results to other smart offerings. Furthermore, prior research has mainly focused on single facets of product smartness or researched smartness on an aggregated level. By considering the consumer perception of each smartness facet, the authors gain deeper insights into the perceptual differences regarding product smartness and how this affects technology adoption via conflicting key acceptance drivers and barriers.

This paper aims to investigate the extent to which three subgroups – people with mental health conditions, people belonging to sexual minority and gender groups and Indigenous peoples – have been “left behind” by countries implementing the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

A general review of electronic bibliographical databases to provide an overview of smoking prevalence among the three groups and interventions designed specifically to reduce their smoking rates.

Although explanations and specific rates differ, two trends are consistent across all three groups. First, information reported in the past two decades suggests that smoking prevalence is disproportionately high among people with mental health conditions, and in the rainbow and indigenous communities. Second, most cessation programmes are targeted at majority politically dominant groups, missing opportunities to reduce smoking rates in these minority communities.

There is a general dearth of data preventing detailed analysis. Better data collection efforts are required. Trials to identify effective smoking reduction interventions for marginalised groups are needed.

It is socially unjust that these groups are being systematically ignored by tobacco control initiatives. A failure to equitably reduce tobacco harms among all groups across society has contributed to the perceived concentration of smoking in some subgroups. The increasing stigmatisation of people who smoke then adds a marginality, compounding the negative effects associated with belonging to a marginalised group. Ongoing marginalisation of these groups is an important determinant of smoking.

Cross-case analysis of neglected subgroups with disproportionately high smoking rates suggests social marginalisation is a shared and important determinant of smoking prevalence.

India has over half a million diabetics, with many others at risk. The Indian Diabetes Risk Score (IDRS) is a simple and validated tool used for mass screening of diabetes mellitus type 2 at the community level. This study assessed the vulnerability of developing diabetes in adults of a rural community of West Bengal using the IDRS and finds out the relationship of the risk of developing diabetes with socioclinical variables.

Multi-stage sampling was employed to select one eligible nondiabetic adult from selected families residing in the rural field practice area of a medical college in West Bengal. They were interviewed with a predesigned and pretested data collection schedule and examined.

Among 197 participants, 83.8% were female, 51.8% were illiterate and 57.4% came from Class IV of Prasad's socioeconomic scale. Of participants, 22.8% had existing known morbidities, and 23.9% had some form of substance addiction. In total, 46.8% of the participants on whom the IDRS could be applied (n = 175) were at high risk of developing diabetes (Score = 60). Gender and existing comorbidities significantly predicted a high risk of diabetes.

A large proportion of the Indian population yet to be diagnosed with diabetes are at a high risk of having the disease. Early detection of the disease can help curtail its complications and reduce its clinical, social and economic burden. Mass screening tools like the IDRS thus become a very important tool in India's attempts to fight diabetes.

The research aims to understand how smart speakers are perceived by their actual and potential users, their attitude towards smart speakers and consequently their intention to use them.

The authors apply a structural equation modelling (SEM) approach to test the research hypotheses through data coming from a structured questionnaire.

The results show that the higher the importance attributed to usefulness and ease of use, the higher the positive attitude that in turn positively affects the intention to use smart speakers. A significant relationship also emerged between task technology fit and attitude towards smart speakers, as well as between perceived enjoyment and attitude towards smart speakers. Perceived privacy risk, innovativeness and social attraction have been found to not significantly impact attitudes towards smart speakers.

Although several academic studies have focused on various aspects of smart technologies, only a few studies discuss the factors that push consumers to use smart speakers for activities related to commercial transactions. Therefore, looking at the rapid rise of smart speakers for daily tasks and the gradual acceptance of voice interaction with digital tools, the authors proposed a study about Italian users' intention to use smart speakers. Specifically, to fill the gap in the existing literature, the authors applied a SEM approach to identify utilitarian and hedonic benefits that motivate the use of these devices.