Wellbeing: The Challenge of ‘Operationalising’ an Holistic Concept within a Reductionist Public Health Programme

Background Wellbeing is a concept that, whilst contested, recognises individual and wider social, economic, political and environmental contextual influences – and is of growing interest and relevance locally and globally. In this paper, we report on one aspect of an evaluative research study conducted on a public health programme in North West England. Aims Within the context of a process evaluation that explored the delivery of a public health programme and sought to increase understanding of how and why different approaches worked well or not so well, this paper focuses specifically on the concept of wellbeing, examining perceptions of multiple stakeholders. Methods Interviews and focus groups were undertaken with 52 stakeholders involved in managing and facilitating the programme and its composite projects and with 90 community members involved as project participants. Data were subjected to thematic analysis, cross‐check and refining. Findings Findings highlight stakeholders’ diverse understandings of wellbeing, the complex relationship between health and wellbeing, and the perceived dissonance between the holistic concept of wellbeing and the reductionist design of the programme. Conclusions Wellbeing was understood to be ‘more than health’ and ‘more than happiness’, concerned with effective functioning, sense of purpose and flourishing. Essentially holistic, wellbeing offers opportunities to transcend clinical/pathogenic conceptions of ‘health’ and resonate with individuals, communities and local authorities. This raises concerns about how wellbeing can be meaningfully realised without compromising the concept, particularly when programmes are structured in reductionist ways requiring monitoring against discrete outcomes. Implications for practice include: utilising wellbeing as a driver for cross‐cutting public health in challenging economic and organisational contexts; acknowledging that wellbeing is essentially social as well as individual; appreciating that wellbeing is experienced in relation to contexts and surroundings; and recognising that wellbeing defined in terms of individual happiness risks compromising the future wellbeing of societies and the planet

DEVELOPING COMPETENCE FOR INNOVATION IN KNOWLEDGE PRACTICE: an exploration of the sustainability science-policy interface

This thesis is motivated by institutional claims for a “new type of knowledge” in the sustainability science-policy interface. It thus explores the thinking and practice of experts in the field about professional competencies necessary to induce required innovations in their knowledge practice. The thesis proposes a novel conceptual framework, synthesising (1) five key features informing claimed innovations in knowledge practice of science-policy sustainability ‘boundary organisations’, (2) a set of ten differentiating individual competencies deemed critical to induce such type of innovations and (3) required approaches to effective development of such competencies. In doing so, this thesis suggests an operative framework to engage with a competence-based approach in response to the need for innovations in knowledge practice within boundary organisations. Under the conceptual framework above, the thesis engages in an empirical work exploring the thinking and praxis of experts in the field, around three key questions: (1) How do practitioners in the field perceive the need for and the pertinence of such type of innovations, (2) How do they relate to the notion of individual competence and the need for different types of competencies to induce innovations in their own knowledge practice and (3) How can professionals working in the science-policy interface most effectively learn and develop such new set of competences, given their specific organisational / institutional contexts? Methodologically, this thesis engaged a combined set of empirical research instruments, mostly including semi-structured interviews with professionals operating in the sustainability sciencepolicy interface, three focus-groups in The Netherlands, Portugal and the UK, with actors operating within the remit of sustainability boundary organizations, and participatory observation within the European Environment Agency. Outcomes of this research indicate that, while the need for a new type of knowledge is clearly acknowledged by practitioners in ‘boundary organisations’, notions associated with required innovations in knowledge practice – such as co-creation, systems thinking, transdisciplinarity, reflexivity and action-orientated knowledge – are still subject to ambiguity and controversy within the institutional context they operate. As practitioners struggle to engage the notion of individual competence in this debate, the type of competencies deemed critical to induce required innovations in their knowledge practice resonates with their own experience. Experts in boundary organisations identify though a lack of institutional frameworks to support their efforts to generate innovations in knowledge practice. While this research synthetises and presents existing examples of learning programmes and approaches to help develop such type of competencies, practitioners in the field manifest scepticism on the extent to which such learning approaches are feasible in their given institutional settings

Information Technology Standards in eResearch: A Conceptual Model of the Primary Adoption Process in Higher Education Organizations

Current research on IT standards tends to focus on their lifecycle: from the development and selection, to their implementation and use. This work proposed an interdisciplinary perspective to analyze primary adoption process in the eResearch domain. As organizations are the core entities in the innovation process, the analysis of IT standards adoption was applied to eResearch infrastructures within higher education organizations. The core argument was built on the adopter s viewpoint as it provides the most explanatory process about adoption. Two international case studies probed the suitability of a model to identify the determinant role of factors like external and internal networks, top management support and organization structure. This dissertation delivers new insights that contribute to bring certainty about one relevant context of standards adoption

The merits of the human security paradigm : a materialist account of peasant insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa

Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-76).Contemporary food security concerns in sub-Saharan Africa centre on the pertinence of food versus fuel forms of production. As the global energy market enters into the postfossil-fuel epoch, the demand on land for commercial biofuel and feedstock production threatens the livelihood of sub-Saharan Africa's sizeable peasant community. This paper examines the theoretical and paradigmatic attributes of the human security and food security rubric, and its pertinence in accounting for the social threats which threaten individuals within an increasingly interconnected global economic system. While the emergence of these neologisms of the critical security studies school represent a marked divergence from that of the traditional approach of understanding security threats, they remained mired in contestation due to their lack of theoretical parsimony

Communicative mediation and identity for the development of European democratic values in the EFL classroom

Against the backdrop of rapidly evolving globalised societies in which public attitudes are polarised, and where phenomena such as the revival of nationalism intersect with movements that seek to achieve further internationalisation, the aim of this thesis is to put forward scientifically grounded teaching methodologies that can extend the strictly linguistic nature of adult English as a Foreign Language (EFL) by positively impacting on students' receptivity to the adoption of European democratic values, as well as on the functioning of the overall social dynamics of the classroom. From a conceptual perspective, this work endeavours to present the interrelationship between the socio-cultural perspective of the language teaching-learning process, the development of relational forms of social capital and the self-identification of students with European democratic principles and values. To this effect, and focusing on possible strategies for promoting active European citizenship through higher education, foreign language learning is explored as a means of developing cognitive, relational and communicative competence for individual empowerment. Building on the contributions of disciplines such as sociology and psychology, as well as the latest frameworks adopted at Community level for language and civic education, the importance of enabling learners to become participatory members of a democratic learning community, in which collaborative interaction, intersubjectivity and mutually assisted performance occur through the implementation of Mediated Language Learning Experiences (MeLLE) is equally upheld. The empirical application of mediation as a language activity (CEFR/CV, Council of Europe, 2018a) thus becomes the centrepiece of this contribution, as it underscores the collaborative nature of communication, explicitly asserting the role of the language learner as a social agent. The fundamental focus followed hence lies in the importance of establishing dialogical and reflective communities of practice in the language learning classroom setting which encompass the integration of relevant thematic content and a mediated approach as a critical variable in the development of collaborative activities. On the other hand, despite the considerable interest that European identity building has aroused and the quest undertaken by scholars to specify the predictors of its support, few studies have addressed, from a unitary theoretical framework, the joint analysis of positive identification attitudes among young people in Europe and the values they perceive as typically European. Among the shared community values considered here, the appreciation for linguistic diversity and multilingualism, the respect for otherness and the development of an intercultural mindset are fundamental premises for people to coexist in a world of increasing heterogeneity. Within this landscape, there is space for language identities and foreign language teaching to play an exciting part in education for democracy. Consequently, the other fundamental focus of this work is the process of Europeanisation, understood as the compounding effect of European integration on the of rules, values and identities on the lives of European nationals, which from the sociological angle here adopted inevitably demands attention to issues such as cross-border encounters in a European Union (EU) context, as well as inquiring how EU citizens are perceiving the politically promoted values and EU policies. To this end, we empirically address the plausability of attachment to Europe being derived from or intensified by transnational learning experiences. Finally, after examining the main interlinkages between the pedagogical paradigms of Intercultural Communicative Competence and Intercultural Mediation, their impact on the reconceptualisation of the role of educators is traced, substantiating the necessary conversion of teachers from target language and culture knowledge providers to facilitators of intercultural awareness. In a similar token, the management of pedagogical processes associated with the development of learning strategies as a by-product of a democratic classroom culture is analysed

The development-security nexus and security sector reform

The thesis investigates the link between development and security - the ‘development-security nexus’- which emerged during the 1990s, facilitated by the formulation of human development and human security. It examines how this development-security nexus has evolved over time and has influenced the interrelated significance of development and security for international relations. The thesis questions this interdependence and analyses the theory and practice that see development and security issues as reciprocally reinforcing each other, in particular through a set of policies called Security Sector Reform (SSR). The research includes three main areas of interest related to the different meanings of development and security focusing in particular on human development and human security; the various interpretations of the development-security nexus since the 1990s; and the analysis of how Security Sector Reform, publicised as development-security nexus policies, are designed to translate it into practice. The thesis argues that the nexus between development and security is under-theorised, and the originality of this research is to investigate the link between its theories and practices. The critical view of this thesis towards current dominant theoretical and operational orientations of the development-security nexus is based on an analysis of literature on Critical Security Studies, Post- Development, and Non-mainstream International Relations approaches. The thesis contributes to existing scholarship by unpacking the different meanings of development and security embedded in Security Sector Reform policies and reveals the need to contextualise the significance of their interlinkages within each policy scenario. In particular the three case studies on Defence Reform of Armenia, SSR Afghanistan and SSR Guinea-Bissau highlight respectively: 1) the novelty of concerns raised by SSR and the complexity to categorise concerns on security within a single, even if inclusive, policy discourse. 2) the need to go beyond the narrow view of a militarised view of security and its inadequacy to support the implementation of development objectives and 3) that the link between development and security is still very much dependent on a vision of security linked to the state’s armed forces, and of development which is focused on state security governance capacity

A substantive examination of rural community resilience and transition - A social justice perspective of a civil society

It is well established that rural regional Australians have borne the brunt of globalization in terms of the adverse impacts caused by social and economic restructuring resulting from global, national and local forces. In response governments and communities have embraced sustainability and civil society for promoting local community action and responsibility for social, economic and environmental issues. This research focuses on community narratives about the social change processes as they engage the forces of neo-liberal policies. Applying a qualitative, grounded theoretical approach to data collection and analysis this study also adopts a multi-perspective, multi-disciplinary framework to gain more holistic, contextual understandings of community functioning and change. In echoing the principles of community psychology, the foundational, multidisciplinary concepts of sense of community, social capital, civil society, empowerment and conscientization have informed understandings of this communitys process and outcome towards transformational change. This study offers a critical reflection of transformational change in an effort to promote more peaceful, collaborate relationships between dominant and oppressed groups in expanding our understandings and solutions for community change. Identified by Newbrough (1992, 1995) as the Third Force Position, the ideals of political community are visibly expressed as they attempt to pursue transformational change towards a just and sustainable future for the community. However, while civil society has made a positive contribution, also apparent are the processes and outcomes which affect those most vulnerable. Those most powerless continue to suffer from exclusion, marginalization and as a result are denied access to vital resources to meet their needs

Modelling of a resilience intervention in work rehabilitation

Introduction : L’incapacité au travail prolongée représente un lourd fardeau pour les pays industrialisés. Les troubles musculo-squelettiques (TMS) et les troubles mentaux communs (TMC) comptent parmi les causes premières d’incapacité au travail prolongée. Il est maintenant reconnu que la résilience est un concept important pour l’adaptation d’une personne à un problème de santé. Or, à notre connaissance, il n’existe aucune intervention opérationnalisée ciblant spécifiquement la résilience en réadaptation au travail pour les travailleurs ayant un TMS ou un TMC. Cette étude visait donc à développer une intervention pour soutenir la résilience des travailleurs en réadaptation au travail. Les objectifs spécifiques sont 1) Élaborer un modèle logique d’intervention sur la résilience à partir de la littérature scientifique et de la perspective de cliniciens en réadaptation au travail 2) Explorer l’acceptabilité du modèle logique d’intervention auprès de travailleurs. Méthode : Un devis multi-méthode a été réalisé pour atteindre les objectifs de cette étude. Un examen de la portée a été effectué pour déterminer les facteurs communs de résilience pour les personnes ayant un TMC et celles ayant un TMS. Une version préliminaire du modèle logique d’intervention a été développée à partir de ces facteurs. La méthode TRIAGE a ensuite été réalisée auprès de cliniciens-experts afin d’adapter l’intervention. Les cliniciens-experts ont premièrement répondu à un sondage sur la clarté, l’applicabilité, la pertinence et l’exhaustivité de l’intervention. Deuxièmement, les propositions du sondage ont été discutées lors d’un groupe de consensus avec les mêmes experts. Troisièmement, des entrevues auprès de travailleurs ayant une incapacité au travail ont été conduites pour explorer l’acceptabilité de l’intervention. Une analyse thématique des verbatim a été réalisée. Résultats : L’examen de la portée a permis d’identifier 11 facteurs communs associés à la résilience pour les personnes ayant un TMC et celles ayant un TMS. Un modèle logique d’intervention comprenant 15 objectifs, 5 activités et 44 tâches cliniques a été élaboré à partir de ces facteurs. Les cliniciens-experts en réadaptation au travail ayant des connaissances sur la résilience (n=10) ont identifié 15 énoncés sur la clarté, l’applicabilité, la pertinence ou l’exhaustivité de l’intervention qui n’ont pas fait l’objet d’un consensus et ont généré 41 propositions de modification. Le groupe de consensus a adopté 15 modifications, ce qui a permis d’obtenir une intervention finale améliorée. De façon exploratoire, l’intervention adaptée a été bien acceptée par les travailleurs (n=6) ayant déjà complété un programme de réadaptation au travail. Ils ont perçu l’intervention comme positive, pertinente, cohérente, utile et conforme à leurs valeurs. Conclusion : Un modèle logique d’intervention intégrant la résilience à la réadaptation au travail a été développé, à partir d’un processus systématique comprenant une revue de littérature ainsi que la consultation de cliniciens-experts et de travailleurs. Cette intervention est ainsi prête pour une phase ultérieure d’évaluation de son implantation et de ses effets.Introduction: Prolonged work disability is a major burden for industrialized countries. Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and common mental disorders (CMDs) are among the leading causes of long-term work disability. It is now recognized that resilience is important for the adaptation of a person to a health problem. However, to our knowledge, there is no operationalized intervention specifically targeting resilience in work rehabilitation for workers with MSDs or CMDs. This study therefore aims to develop an intervention to support the resilience of workers in work rehabilitation. The specific objectives are 1) To develop a logic model of intervention on resilience based on the scientific literature and the perspective of work rehabilitation clinicians; 2) To explore its acceptability to MSDs or CMDs workers. Method: A multi-method study was performed to attain the objectives of this study. A scoping review was conducted to determine common resilience factors for people with CMDs and those with MSDs. A preliminary version of the intervention logic model was developed based on these factors. The TRIAGE method was then carried out with expert clinicians in order to adapt the intervention. Expert clinicians first completed a survey on the clarity, applicability, relevance and exhaustiveness of the intervention. Second, the survey proposals were discussed in a consensus group with the same experts. Third, interviews with workers with work disabilities were conducted to explore the acceptability of the intervention. A thematic analysis of the verbatim was carried out. Results: The scoping review identified 11 common factors associated with resilience for people with CMDs and those with MSDs. An intervention logic model with 15 objectives, 5 activities and 44 clinical tasks was developed based on these factors. Expert clinicians in work rehabilitation with knowledge on resilience (n=10) identified 15 statements on clarity, applicability, relevance or exhaustiveness that did not achieve consensus and generated 41 modification proposals. The consensus group adopted 15 modifications, resulting in an improved final intervention. In an exploratory way, the adapted intervention was well accepted by workers (n=6) who had already completed a work rehabilitation program. They perceived the intervention as positive, relevant, coherent, useful and consistent with their values. Conclusion: A logic model of intervention integrating resilience to work rehabilitation was developed, based on a systematic process that included a literature review and consultation with expert clinicians and workers. This intervention is therefore ready for a subsequent phase of evaluation of its implementation and effects

In Gratitude for What We Are Given: A Common Morality for the Global Age

This introduction, first, sets out and evaluates the reciprocal, antiphonal steps of Vatican initiative and university response at this collection of essays\u27 genesis. Once having done so, it offers the reader not only a basic synthesis of the authors\u27 separate contributions but also of the contours of the collection as a whole. In these ways it offers readers an introductory roadmap to the wealth of insights that the collection contains and those that it may in turn inspire