KEY DETERMINANTS OF ACHIEVING TRUST IN APPLYING BLOCKCHAIN TO EMISSION TRADING IN FINLAND

A thesis presented on the critical moment of sustainability transition especially regarding reducing emission of carbon dioxide. The disruption of blockchain application has become one of the innovations that can facilitate this transition. This thesis research focuses on the investigating the most influential trust determinants of applying blockchain to emission trading system (ETS) in the context of Finland. This is exploratory qualitative research which combines grounded theory applied for eight empirical papers and three semi-structured expert interviews. The interviewees include two Finnish ETS experts and two blockchain application experts. Through the qualitative analysis, the author suggested structural assurance trust, knowledge-based familiarity trust and control-based trust to be the most deterministic trust factors in applying blockchain to emission trading. Meanwhile, situational normality trust, peer-based trust and ethnical trust can also be influential. A sequential model and a pyramid model of different trust factors mentioned have been proposed based on the interpretative findings of interviews. Therewith, a consolidated trust model was suggested involving all the relevant trust factors. Finally, the research results can be highly generalisable towards member countries of EU ETS other than Finland

The Role of Collaborative Governance in Blockchain-Enabled Supply Chains: A Proposed Framework

The blockchain age is dawning. Firms large and small are teaming up with partners and solution providers to deploy blockchain, especially in supply chains, often called the “sleeping giant” use case. But blockchain is still new, and despite early successes in simulated environments, how companies need to collaborate in a blockchain world is unclear. To help close the blockchain collaboration research gap, this design science study explores the technological and ecosystem business decisions required to deploy an interoperable blockchain solution. The research partially builds a supply chain artifact, and the challenges experienced by the design team prompts further investigation with twenty blockchain experts. With the discovery that effective and collaborative governance is a key mechanism to remove obstacles in blockchain deployment, the study concludes with a collaborative governance model. Inspired by public policy makers, the framework includes technological rules to assist practitioners as they collaborate in a blockchain world

Views on sick-listing practice among Swedish General Practitioners – a phenomenographic study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The number of people on sick-leave started to increase in Sweden and several other European countries towards the end of the 20^thcentury. Physicians play an important role in the sickness insurance system by acting as gate-keepers. Our aim was to explore how General Practitioners (GPs) view their sick-listing commission and sick-listing practice.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Semi-structured interviews with 19 GPs in 17 Primary Health Care settings in four mid-Sweden counties. Interview transcripts were analysed with phenomenographic approach aiming to uncover the variation in existing views regarding the respondents' sick-listing commission and practice.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found large qualitative differences in the GPs' views on sick-listing. The sick-listing commission was experienced to come either from society or from patients, with no responsibility for societal interests, or as an integration of these two views. All the GPs were aware of a possible conflict between the interests of society and patients. While some expressed feelings of strong conflict, others seemed to have solved the conflict, at least partly, between these two loyalties.</p> <p>Some GPs experienced carrying the full responsibility to decide whether a patient would get monetary sick-leave benefits or not and they were not comfortable with this situation. Views on the physician's and the patient's responsibility in sick-listing and rehabilitation varied from a passive to an empowering role of the physician.</p> <p>GPs expressing a combination of less inclusive views of the different aspects of sick-listing experienced strong conflict and appeared to feel distressed in their sick-listing role. Some GPs described how they had changed from less to more inclusive views.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The clearer understanding of the different views on sick-listing generated in this study can be used in educational efforts to improve physicians' sick-listing practices, benefiting GPs' work situation as well as their patients' well-being. The GP's role as a gatekeeper in the social security system needs further exploration. Our findings could be used to develop a questionnaire to measure the distribution of different views in a wider population of GPs.</p

An examination of the transitional support needs for young people leaving detention

A successful transition from detention to living in the community is a critical step in preventing young people from recidivism and entrenchment in criminal activity (Utting & Vennard, 2000). According to Outcare, an organisation that provides support services to offenders, ex-offenders and their families, there seems to be difficulty accommodating newly released young people in existing accommodation services: additionally, many of these young people are not able to access existing support services which contributes significantly to recidivist behaviour. The purpose of undertaking this qualitative study was to examine the transitional support needs for young people leaving detention. The investigation adopted an \u27Action Research\u27 approach and utilised a reference group, involving stakeholders as experts in the field (Crane & Richardson, 2000; Wadsworth, 1997). A qualitative method was employed to collect data and to extrapolate common themes and meanings. Data was collected from three main sources (a literature review and scheduled interviews with service providers and two young people), and the method of triangulation was adhered to. The findings of the research will serve to inform Outcare on how to meet the needs of young people leaving detention, so that existing services may be improved, and participants may get better support when they depart the juvenile justice system

Is enough really enough? : Evaluation of an alcohol awareness campaign at ECU Joondalup

Australian young adults aged 17-25 years old attending university are more likely to drink at levels which put themselves at risk of both short and long term alcohol-related harm. University settings are an appropriate place to target university students with alcohol education or awareness-raising campaigns. Australian research on this topic is relatively limited. This mixed methods study involved two phases. The first phase quantitatively evaluated the impact of the \u27Enough is Enough\u27 campaign, implemented by the North Metropolitan Community Drug Service Team at ECU Joondalup, on students\u27 awareness of the consequences of excessive alcohol use and perceived acceptability of drunkenness. The second phase qualitatively explored how to actively engage university students in alcohol education or awareness-raising campaigns. In phase one, a convenience sample of students from the ECU Joondalup Student Village completed 48 pre-test and 55 post-test questionnaires. In phase two a convenience sample of five students were interviewed using a semi-structured format. Phase one results showed an increased recognition and perceived appropriateness of the \u27Enough is Enough\u27 campaign at ECU Joondalup. There was, however, no significant change in the respondents\u27 perceived acceptability of drunkenness. While there was an increase in respondents\u27 awareness of the consequences of excessive alcohol use, this increase could be attributed to the non-matching of pre- and post-test samples. Phase two revealed students preferred holistic strategies rather than singular approaches, and harm reduction education rather than abstinence based approaches. Using technology, incentives, promotional resources, activities, student volunteers and appropriate locations to enable students\u27 participation were reported to be important. Barriers to student\u27s participation were the Australian drinking culture, time commitments, passive advertising and the on-campus alcohol policy. The study provided more understanding on alcohol awareness campaigns in university settings. More published Australian research in university settings is required

Examining juvenile crime and recidivism

High juvenile recidivism rates are a dilemma that is plaguing the juvenile justice system and the treatment facilities that operate within. There is little understanding of the causal relationship between recidivism rates, treatment types, and the demographics of the residents at the various treatment facilities. The purpose of this research is to identify the common flaws existing in current treatment practices and to utilize social labeling theory as a means of gaining a better understanding of this issue

Deconstructing Counselling: The Complexity of Psychosocial Support Services in Nakivale Refugee Settlement

This research analyzes the psychosocial social support component of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) services in Nakivale Refugee Settlement. The objectives are (1) to define psychosocial support (2) to contextualize what services are being provided in Nakivale (3) to analyze what challenges exist for providing adequate support and (4) to discuss some strategies being employed by refugees and service-providers to combat these difficult circumstances. 56 semi-structured individual and group interviews and 2 focus group discussions were conducted to reach 96 respondents. This total includes Congolese, Rwandan, Burundian, Somali, and Ethiopian male and female refugees and organization representatives from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), American Refugee Committee (ARC), Medical Teams International (MTI), Tutapona, the Refugee Law Project (RLP) and Mental Health Uganda. The research highlights the interconnectedness of one\u27s surroundings and one\u27s mental-well being and importance of recognizing the overlap in service-provision. Psychosocial support services in Nakivale go beyond individual counselling, group therapy and psychiatric care to include livelihood assistance, material support (including food, non-food items and shelter) and protection. Hence, deconstructing a Westernized outlook on psychotherapy solely as counselling and medication is necessary for an analysis of psychosocial support in a refugee settlement. The research notes challenges to adequate service-provision to include logistical barriers, material barriers and cultural barriers.The analysis also recognizes strategies for combatting these challenging surroundings: employing a holistic approach, adopting community-based mechanisms for awareness, capitalizing on refugee leadership and using other culturally-based and contextuallyappropriate techniques during sessions and programs. Overall, psychosocial support services in Nakivale are operating in a a culturally-based framework, but one that is severely limited by lack of personnel and funding in a high-need area. The overlying recommendation is that if this material gap were to be addressed, the effective ethno-central counselling and de-centralized programs which exist could expand to reach and follow-up with more individuals