95 research outputs found
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The shrinking State? Understanding the assault on the public sector
The public sector appears under siege across the globe. While there are variations across and within nations in how this plays out, the arms of the state that provide the social safety net and protect citizens' well-being are especially at risk. The erosion of the state as an institution can be seen in cuts to social programmes and public sector jobs, underfunded infrastructure, the sale of public assets and other forms of privatization along with the more general weakening of regulatory authority and diversion of resources to the private sector. Although such trends are often interpreted as part of the fallout from the Great Recession, they have been observed across localities and regions for a very long time. In addressing the thematic question of the âshrinking state,â we seek to investigate the extent to which the social contract between government and citizens and the private sector has fractured thereby transforming regions and localities. This paper addresses to what degree, why, and where the public sector is in retreat. We examine at what scale of the state from central to local have changes been most profound and explore what the future holds in terms of resistance to, or acquiescence in, these trends
Exploring the âimpactâ in Impact sourcing ventures: a sociology of space perspective
Using qualitative methods this paper explores the lived experience of individuals employed in impact sourcing ventures. In doing so, the paper attempts to understand âimpactâ from the point of view of beneficiaries. The paper, drawing on Georg Simmelâs work on the sociology of space, explores how space influences the lived experience of beneficiaries in ImS ventures. The findings highlight the various strategies adopted by beneficiaries to navigate the dialectical tensions experienced as a result of living and working in the new (ImS workplace) and the old (community) space. The paper also draws attention to the multifaceted nature of impact
Assessing the impact of area-based initiatives in deprived neighborhoods: The example of S. JoĂŁo de Deus in Porto, Portugal
Though there have been many area-based initiatives to regenerate rundown areas in numerous cities around the world, many of them involving the demolition of stigmatized housing estates, far fewer attempts have been made to assess the effects of these initiatives upon the fortunes of displaced households and those who remain in these areas. By presenting the results of an empirical in-depth case study on the effects of an area-based initiative targeted at one of the most deprived neighborhoods in Porto, this article raises several epistemological concerns related to the goals, ideological assumptions, and social and spatial effects of these initiatives. Among other interrelated issues, the article discusses the impact of conflicting ideologies upon processes of radical strategy shift and of social and territorial marginalization and appeals to the need for more pluralistic approaches to evaluation.I gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Portuguese Fundação para a CiĂȘncia e Tecnologia for research grant SFRH/BPD/75863/2011, POPH/FSE
Are Happiness and Life Satisfaction Different Across Religious groups? Exploring Determinants of Happiness and Life Satisfaction
This study explores whether different religions experience different levels of happiness and life satisfaction and in case this is affected by country economic and cultural environment. Using World Value Survey (from 1981 to 2014), this study found that individual religiosity and country level of development play a significant role in shaping peopleâs subjective well-being (SWB). Protestants, Buddhists and Roman Catholic were happier and most satisfied with their lives compared to other religious groups. Orthodox has the lowest SWB. Health status, householdâs financial satisfaction and freedom of choice are means by which religious groups and governments across the globe can improve the SWB of their citizens. Keywords: happiness; life satisfaction; religion; religious differences; cultur
Mind the gap: Does what we know about greenspace and wellbeing change what we do?
This chapter addresses questions of the decision-making processes con- cerning investment in urban green spaces. It considers how evidence is deployed in processes of governance, and how nuanced understandings of costs and wellbeing benefits are backgrounded as evidence becomes a bargaining chip in a struggle for resources. Calling on empirical research conducted in the city of Sheffield, this chapter examines these issues through the lens of the everyday work of practitioners and professionals. The chapter highlights the importance of logics of action and inaction, revealing the effects of stakeholdersâ reasons for choosing not to take actions that strengthen the links between green spaces and mental wellbeing
Microbial Community Analysis of a Coastal Salt Marsh Affected by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
Conceived and designed the experiments: MJB RJM BM PAS. Performed the experiments: MJB RJM SR JP YMP LMT JDVN. Analyzed the data: MJB RJM YMP LMT GLA TCH JDVN JZ PAS. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: GLA TCH JZ BM PAS. Wrote the paper: MJB RJM PAS.Coastal salt marshes are highly sensitive wetland ecosystems that can sustain long-term impacts from anthropogenic events such as oil spills. In this study, we examined the microbial communities of a Gulf of Mexico coastal salt marsh during and after the influx of petroleum hydrocarbons following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Total hydrocarbon concentrations in salt marsh sediments were highest in June and July 2010 and decreased in September 2010. Coupled PhyloChip and GeoChip microarray analyses demonstrated that the microbial community structure and function of the extant salt marsh hydrocarbon-degrading microbial populations changed significantly during the study. The relative richness and abundance of phyla containing previously described hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria (Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Actinobacteria) increased in hydrocarbon-contaminated sediments and then decreased once hydrocarbons were below detection. Firmicutes, however, continued to increase in relative richness and abundance after hydrocarbon concentrations were below detection. Functional genes involved in hydrocarbon degradation were enriched in hydrocarbon-contaminated sediments then declined significantly (p<0.05) once hydrocarbon concentrations decreased. A greater decrease in hydrocarbon concentrations among marsh grass sediments compared to inlet sediments (lacking marsh grass) suggests that the marsh rhizosphere microbial communities could also be contributing to hydrocarbon degradation. The results of this study provide a comprehensive view of microbial community structural and functional dynamics within perturbed salt marsh ecosystems.Yeshttp://www.plosone.org/static/editorial#pee
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Understanding the post-COVID state and its geographies
The COVID pandemic has killed more than six million people, shaken the world economy and disrupted the world order. The first two decades of the twenty-first century have been tumultuous, marked by a concatenation of crises of various kinds which have interacted in mutually reinforcing ways to define what Janzwood and Homer-Dixon (2022) refer to as a âglobal polycrisisâ. States across the globe have found themselves confronted by a series of shocks of historic proportions, some sudden and (largely) unexpected (such as the global financial crisis of 2007-8, the global COVID pandemic that began in late-2019, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early-2022), others systematic changes (âmegatrendsâ) have been developing and growing over a longer timespan but are equally disruptive and challenging (such as growing internal social and spatial inequality, and of course climate change). The aim of this issue of CJRES is to explore and critically interrogate how states have responded to the COVID crisis, and what form the âpost-COVIDâ state might assume. In addressing these questions, the focus is very much on the geographies of the state. How have states managed â or indeed, exacerbated â the geographically uneven incidence of the pandemic within their domestic territories? How have central states harnessed or over-ridden actions and responses by local states and authorities? Has the pandemic exposed major tensions between these two levels of the state? Will the level of sovereign state debt incurred as part of the response to the pandemic lead to another phase of austerity (Kentikelenis and Stubbs, 2021). If so, will the new phase of austerity intensify existing social and spatial inequalities in economic prosperity, welfare and health outcomes? How will states improve the health security of their citizens at a time when there are also other pressing policy challenges arising from the existential need to transition to a net zero carbon economy and to solve the inflation crisis
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