scholarly journals Sustainable Lifestyles: Sites, Practices, and Policy

2011 ◽  
Vol 43 (12) ◽  
pp. 3011-3029 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stewart Barr ◽  
Gareth Shaw ◽  
Tim Coles
Keyword(s):  
Behaviour Change ◽  
Environmental Implications ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Sustainable Lifestyles ◽  
Environmental Practice ◽  
Environmentally Responsible ◽  
A Site ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Segmentation Models

Proenvironmental behaviour change remains a high priority for many governments and agencies and there are now numerous programmes aimed at encouraging citizens to adopt sustainable forms of living. However, although programmes for addressing behaviour change in and around the home are well developed, there has been significantly less attention paid to activities beyond this site of practice. This is despite the environmental implications of consumption choices for leisure, tourism, and work-related activities. Through focusing on sites of practice as a key framing device, this paper uses data from a series of in-depth interviews to identify three major challenges for academics and practitioners concerned with understanding and promoting more environmentally responsible behaviour. First, attention must shift beyond the home as a site of environmental practice to consider the ways in which individuals respond to exhortations towards ‘greener’ lifestyles in other high-consumption and carbon-intensive settings, Second, in broadening the scope of environmental practice, policy makers need to revisit their reliance on segmentation models and related social marketing approaches. This is in the light of data that suggest those with strong environmental commitments in the home are often reluctant to engage in similar commitments in other sites of practice. Third, researchers and policy makers therefore need to move beyond the traditional ‘siting’ of environmental practice towards a spatially sophisticated conceptualisation that accounts for the multiple settings of consumption through mapping the relationships that exist between sites of practice.

“Souvenir Shopping is for Schmucks!”: Exploring Tourists’ Deviant Behavior Through the Items They Bring Back

2021 ◽  
pp. 004728752110626
Author(s):  
Lloyd C. Harris ◽  
Solon Magrizos
Keyword(s):  
Deviant Behavior ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Environmental Implications ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Depth Interviews

Tourist misbehavior is well documented in the literature and has predominantly focused on the visible, major, or felonious forms of deviance, such as vandalism, violence, or theft. We argue for the importance of considering a more subtle side of tourist misbehavior often tolerated, ignored, or even enabled by host communities and hospitality employees. Exploring the more subtle side of tourist misbehavior is important, because it is more clandestine and less extreme than obvious misbehaviors, yet its prevalence suggests important business and environmental implications. We undertook in-depth interviews with 47 frequent travelers and employed a criminological lens, that of deviant leisure, to uncover a range of deviant tourist behaviors by focusing on the accumulation of traveling mementos (items that tourists bring back from their travels). Two dimensions of memento accumulation emerged with eight forms of tourist misbehavior, each with unique motives, practices, and implications. Findings point to the importance and mass appeal of these more subtle and elusive deviant practices. Suggestions for practitioners, policy makers, and academics are then discussed.

scholarly journals Inclusions and Exclusions in Rural Tanzanian Primary Schools: Material Barriers, Teacher Agency and Disability Equality

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susie Miles ◽  
Jo Westbrook ◽  
Alison Croft
Keyword(s):  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Children With Disabilities ◽  
Teacher Autonomy ◽  
Social Construct ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Teaching Expertise ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
A Site ◽  
Depth Interviews

This article begins with the assumption that the argument for the inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream schools, championed by Sustainable Development Goal 4 and Article 24 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, has largely been accepted nationally and internationally by policy makers, and is increasingly being accepted by teachers. In interrogating the complex craft of developing inclusive and equal learning environments for children with disabilities, this article draws upon Kershner’s ‘core aspects of teachers’ knowledge and knowing’, and in particular, ‘the school as a site for the development of teaching expertise and the creation of knowledge’. Data is presented from in-depth interviews following videoed lesson observations with experienced teachers in 15 rural, urban and coastal primary schools in four districts in Tanzania. Findings indicate that the teachers’ practice is moving unevenly towards disability equality, and involves processes of inclusions and exclusions. This involves teacher autonomy, agency and reflective practice in the context of material, attitudinal, structural, pedagogic and curricular barriers. The teachers’ expertise has potential to inform national and international policy developments, and so reduce the evident rhetoric-reality gap. In conclusion, it is argued that inclusive education needs to grapple with disability as a social construct, and lessons are drawn for the further fulfilment of the rights of children with disabilities to equal participation in education.

scholarly journals What Prompts Small and Medium Enterprises to Implement CSR? A Qualitative Insight from an Emerging Economy

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 952 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zengming Zou ◽  
Yu Liu ◽  
Naveed Ahmad ◽  
Muhammad Safdar Sial ◽  
Alina Badulescu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Economies ◽  
Developing Economies ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Customer Behavior ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Management Commitment ◽  
Top Management Commitment ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Depth Interviews

The topic of corporate social responsibility (henceforth referred to as CSR) has been a central topic during the last decade, but the majority of the existing literature discusses CSR relationship with large organizations. Whereas, its contribution in small and medium enterprises (henceforth referred to as SME) sector has received little attention. There have been some studies that focused on CSR activities in SME sector quantitatively in the context of developing economies like Pakistan, but the fact is, to date, SME sector of Pakistan is not participating actively in CSR-related activities due to some constraints. The present study is a pioneer attempt, to explore CSR barriers that restrict SME sector of Pakistan from practicing CSR initiatives. For this reason, the present study explores these barriers qualitatively in order to gain in-depth knowledge of different CSR barriers. In doing so, we conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews from 9 SMEs in Lahore city of Pakistan. We performed thematic analysis, which produced five relevant themes of CSR barriers, including: Lack of resources, lack of regulations, lack of top management commitment, lack of CSR knowledge, and passive customer behavior. Our analysis further showed that lack of resources is the most related barrier that hinder SMEs to be engaged in CSR activities. This paper contributes to CSR literature in emerging economies’ context. Through an increased awareness of barriers, policy makers and practitioners may take necessary steps to improve CSR practices in SMEs.

Psychiatric symptoms among migrants to Malaysia from the southernmost provinces of Thailand

2021 ◽  
pp. 002076402198973
Author(s):  
Kathleen Ford ◽  
Aree Jampaklay ◽  
Aphichat Chamatrithirong
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychiatric Symptoms ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Working Age ◽  
Self Reporting Questionnaire ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Migrant Groups

Aim: The objective of this paper is to examine the level of psychiatric symptoms and associated factors among Thai migrants from the southernmost Thai provinces of Pattani, Yala, and Narithiwat who are working in Malaysia. Comparisons will be made with the sending population in the southernmost provinces of Thailand. Methods: Data are drawn from survey and in-depth interviews with Thai migrants who are working in Malaysia. Comparisons are made with a probability sample of working age adults in Thailand. The twenty item Self Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ) was the measure of mental health. Results: The study found that the migrants, on average, have normal levels of psychiatric symptoms. However, although about 24% of migrants reported more eight or more symptoms that may indicate a need for evaluation. There are many stressors in their lives including distance from families, reduced social support, legal matters surrounding immigration, and discrimination/exploitation of migrant groups. Conclusion: The study highlights the need for policy makers and non-governmental organizations to give attention to migrants’ mental health, well-being and sustainable livelihoods.

scholarly journals Knowing when to talk? Plant genome editing as a site for pre-engagement institutional reflexivity

2021 ◽  
pp. 096366252199979
Author(s):  
Robert D.J. Smith ◽  
Sarah Hartley ◽  
Patrick Middleton ◽  
Tracey Jewitt
Keyword(s):  
Genome Editing ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Plant Genome ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Institutional Dynamics ◽  
Social Studies Of Science ◽  
High Profile ◽  
A Site

Citizen and stakeholder engagement is frequently portrayed as vital for socially accountable science policy but there is a growing understanding of how institutional dynamics shape engagement exercises in ways that prevent them from realising their full potential. Limited attention has been devoted to developing the means to expose institutional features, allow policy-makers to reflect on how they will shape engagement and respond appropriately. Here, therefore, we develop and test a methodological framework to facilitate pre-engagement institutional reflexivity with one of the United Kingdom’s eminent science organisations as it grappled with a new, high-profile and politicised technology, genome editing. We show how this approach allowed policy-makers to reflect on their institutional position and enrich decision-making at a time when they faced pressure to legitimate decisions with engagement. Further descriptions of such pre-engagement institutional reflexivity are needed to better bridge theory and practice in the social studies of science.

Work-from-home during COVID-19: Accounting for the care economy to build back better

2021 ◽  
pp. 103530462098360
Author(s):  
Fiona Jenkins ◽  
Julie Smith
Keyword(s):  
Economic Activity ◽  
Public Investment ◽  
Economic Life ◽  
Rapid Adaptation ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Jel Codes ◽  
Work From Home ◽  
Adaptive Capabilities ◽  
Care Economy ◽  
A Site

In the COVID-19 pandemic, people’s dwellings suddenly became a predominant site of economic activity. We argue that, predictably, policy-makers and employers took the home for granted as a background support of economic life. Acting as if home is a cost-less resource that is free for appropriation in an emergency, ignoring how home functions as a site of gendered relations of care and labour, and assuming home is a largely harmonious site, all shaped the invisibility of the imposition. Taking employee flexibility for granted and presenting work-from-home as a privilege offered by generous employers assumed rapid adaptation. As Australia emerges from lockdown, ‘building back better’ to meet future shocks entails better supporting adaptive capabilities of workers in the care economy, and of homes that have likewise played an unacknowledged role as buffer and shelter for the economy. Investing in infrastructure capable of providing a more equitable basis for future resilience is urgent to reap the benefits that work-from-home offers. This article points to the need for rethinking public investment and infrastructure priorities for economic recovery and reconstruction in the light of a gender perspective on COVID-19 ‘lockdown’ experience. JEL Codes: E01, E22, J24

What Prevents Adolescent Girls from Transitioning from School to Work in India? Insights from an Exploratory Study in Rajasthan

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-48
Author(s):  
Shireen J. Jejeebhoy ◽  
A. K. Shiva Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Odds Ratio ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Labour Force Participation ◽  
School To Work ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Work Transition ◽  
Natal Home ◽  
Traditional Norms ◽  
Women In India ◽  
Depth Interviews

Female labour force participation among young women in India is disturbingly low, and yet little evidence is available regarding the factors likely to affect the school-to-work transition among the young. Data from 325 girls aged 15–19 years and in-depth interviews with 10 of these girls and 9 of their mothers in one block of Jodhpur district, obtained from a mixed-methods study in Rajasthan, explore girls’ aspirations for professional, administrative or technical careers and factors likely constraining or facilitating their articulation of such aspirations. Findings show that girls who aspired for a professional, administrative or technical career were more likely than others to display better learning outcomes (odds ratio = 1.31), greater work-related agency and a readiness to overcome community obstacles (odds ratio, 1.28) than those who did not aspire for a professional, administrative or technical career. They were also more likely to be unmarried or married but residing in the natal home (odds ratio = 2.97) and have supportive parents (odds ratio = 1.37). In-depth interviews corroborate these obstacles. Findings underscore the need to empower girls and break down traditional norms held by girls, parents and communities. On the programme front, it is important to ensure empowerment programmes for girls and address the quality and girl-friendliness of education and vocational training opportunities.

Sanctions with Chinese Characteristics

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Poh
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Investigation ◽  
United Nations Security Council ◽  
Media Discourse ◽  
Middle Ground ◽  
Xi Jinping ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Chinese Characteristics ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Complete Alignment ◽  
Depth Interviews

The view that China has become increasingly assertive under President Xi Jinping is now a common trope in academic and media discourse. However, until the end of Xi Jinping’s first term in March 2018, China had been relatively restrained in its use of coercive economic measures. This is puzzling given the conventional belief among scholars and practitioners that sanctions are a middle ground between diplomatic and military/paramilitary action. Using a wide range of methods and data — including in-depth interviews with 76 current and former politicians, policy-makers, diplomats, and commercial actors across 12 countries and 16 cities — Sanctions with Chinese Characteristics: Rhetoric and Restraint in China’s Diplomacy examines the ways in which China had employed economic sanctions to further its political objectives, and the factors explaining China’s behaviour. This book provides a systematic investigation into the ways in which Chinese decisionmakers approached sanctions both at the United Nations Security Council and unilaterally, and shows how China’s longstanding sanctions rhetoric has had a constraining effect on its behaviour, resulting in its inability to employ sanctions in complete alignment with its immediate interests.

scholarly journals Insights from the evaluation of a provincial healthy eating strategy in Nova Scotia, Canada

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. 1870-1878
Author(s):  
S Meaghan Sim ◽  
Sara FL Kirk
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Strategy Implementation ◽  
Canadian Province ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
Health Model ◽  
Document Review ◽  
Depth Interviews

AbstractObjectiveHealthy Eating Nova Scotia represents the first provincial comprehensive healthy eating strategy in Canada and a strategy that is framed within a population-health model. Five years after strategy launch, our objective was to evaluate Healthy Eating Nova Scotia to determine perceptions of strategy implementation and strategy outputs. The focus of the current paper is on the findings of this evaluation.DesignWe conducted an evaluation of the strategy through three activities that included a document review, survey of key stakeholders and in-depth interviews with key strategy informants. The findings from each of the activities were integrated to determine what has worked well with strategy implementation, what could be improved and what outputs have resulted.SettingThe evaluation was conducted in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.ParticipantsParticipants for this evaluation included survey respondents (n 120) and key informants (n 16). A total of 156 documents were also reviewed.ResultsSignificant investments have been made towards inter-sectoral partnerships and resourcing that has provided the necessary leadership and momentum for the strategy. Policy development has been leveraged through the strategy primarily in the health and education sectors and is perceived as a visible success. Clarity of human resource roles and funding within the context of a provincial strategy may be beneficial for continued strategy implementation, as is expansion of policy development.ConclusionsKnown to be the first evaluation of its kind, these findings and related considerations will be of interest to policy makers developing and implementing similar strategies in their own jurisdictions.

scholarly journals Russia in world society: A comparative perspective on international references in parliamentary debates

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 228-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatiana Tiaynen-Qadir ◽  
Ali Qadir ◽  
Pertti Alasuutari
Keyword(s):  
International Community ◽  
World Society ◽  
National Politics ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Parliamentary Debates ◽  
World Polity ◽  
World Society Theory ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
A Site

This article explores how international references in parliaments build a synchronized world polity, even in countries that are often portrayed as being at odds with the rest of the world. The article asks whether and how Russian parliamentarians refer to the international community, and how such references compare with parliamentary debates in other countries. The “mesophenomenological” argument developed here connects World Society Theory, which demonstrates global isomorphism, with national studies of Russia, which argue for important national particularities. The empirical analysis draws on a stratified random sample of debates on draft laws in the Russian Duma from 1994 to 2013, comparable to similar samples from six other countries. The results show that: (1) Russian parliamentarians refer to the international community in the same level and the same forms as in other countries; (2) Russian policy-makers rely on the same imageries of the social world to convince their audiences as do other parliamentarians; and (3) this similarity in form remains consistent throughout the period, despite radical changes in national politics. These findings attest to the Russian Duma as a site of world culture, and to the mesophenomenological view that the world polity is highly synchronized through discourses of cross-national comparisons.

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