Macht, Verantwortung und Information: der Konsument als Souverän? ; theoretische Reflexion und praktische Ansätze am Beispiel ökologisch verantwortlichen Kaufverhaltens

"Der mündige, souveräne Konsument hat die Macht, durch seine Kaufentscheidung das Marktangebot langfristig zu beeinflussen und damit soziale, gesellschaftliche und ökologische Verantwortung zu übernehmen. Konsumentensouveränität setzt allerdings die Verfügbarkeit relevanter Informationen voraus. Wesentliche Informationsagenten sind in diesem Zusammenhang Medien, staatliche Institutionen und Interessengruppen. Der vorliegende Beitrag verdeutlicht anhand eines Modells die Bedeutung dieser Schaltstellen der Information und zeigt praktische Ansätze für eine Annäherung an das Ideal der Konsumentensouveränität am Beispiel ökologisch verantwortlichen Kaufverhaltens auf." (Autorenreferat)"The article discusses and extends the idea of consumer souvereignty as well as the concept of power on which it is based. It points out the relevance of information concerning social, societal and ecological aspects for responsible purchase decisions. The authors criticize the existing information asymmetry between consumer and producers and they explore practical possibilities of eliminating this barrier to responsible consumer behavior." (author's abstract

The experience of family carers attending a joint reminiscence group with people with dementia: A thematic analysis

Reminiscence therapy has the potential to improve quality of life for people with dementia. In recent years reminiscence groups have extended to include family members, but carers' experience of attending joint sessions is undocumented. This qualitative study explored the experience of 18 family carers attending 'Remembering Yesterday Caring Today' groups. Semi-structured interviews were transcribed and subjected to thematic analysis. Five themes were identified: experiencing carer support; shared experience; expectations (met and unmet), carer perspectives of the person with dementia's experience; and learning and comparing. Family carers' experiences varied, with some experiencing the intervention as entirely positive whereas others had more mixed feelings. Negative aspects included the lack of respite from their relative, the lack of emphasis on their own needs, and experiencing additional stress and guilt through not being able to implement newly acquired skills. These findings may explain the failure of a recent trial of joint reminiscence groups to replicate previous findings of positive benefit. More targeted research within subgroups of carers is required to justify the continued use of joint reminiscence groups in dementia care

Resilience of refugees displaced in the developing world: a qualitative analysis of strengths and struggles of urban refugees in Nepal

BACKGROUND: Mental health and psychosocial wellbeing are key concerns in displaced populations. Despite urban refugees constituting more than half of the world's refugees, minimal attention has been paid to their psychosocial wellbeing. The purpose of this study was to assess coping behaviour and aspects of resilience amongst refugees in Kathmandu, Nepal. METHODS: This study examined the experiences of 16 Pakistani and 8 Somali urban refugees in Kathmandu, Nepal through in-depth individual interviews, focus groups, and Photovoice methodology. Such qualitative approaches enabled us to broadly discuss themes such as personal experiences of being a refugee in Kathmandu, perceived causes of psychosocial distress, and strategies and resources for coping. Thematic network analysis was used in this study to systematically interpret and code the data. RESULTS: Our findings highlight that urban refugees' active coping efforts, notwithstanding significant adversity and resulting distress, are most frequently through primary relationships. Informed by Axel Honneth's theory on the struggle for recognition, findings suggest that coping is a function beyond the individual and involves the ability to negotiate recognition. This negotiation involves not only primary relationships, but also the legal order and other social networks such as family and friends. Honneth's work was used because of its emphasis on the importance of legal recognition and larger structural factors in facilitating daily coping. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding how urban refugees cope by negotiating access to various forms of recognition in the absence of legal-recognition will enable organisations working with them to leverage such strengths and develop relevant programmes. In particular, building on these existing resources will lead to culturally compelling and sustainable care for these populations

Sequencing three crocodilian genomes to illuminate the evolution of archosaurs and amniotes

The International Crocodilian Genomes Working Group (ICGWG) will sequence and assemble the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis), saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) and Indian gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) genomes. The status of these projects and our planned analyses are described

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

OPEN INNOVATION AND ITS EFFECTIVENESS TO EMBRACE TURBULENT ENVIRONMENTS

The paper focuses on the challenges of integrating external sources in the innovation process and investigates the role of environmental turbulence in this context. Building on the resources-based view and the dynamic capabilities perspective the authors propose that open innovation strategies assist companies in navigating through turbulent times. Empirical testing of this assumption in a sample of 101 manufacturing firms indicates that open innovation activities are more important in turbulent than in non-turbulent markets and that supplier integration is vital when technological turbulence is high, whilst customer integration is critical in environments characterized by high market turbulence. From a practical point of view, these findings highlight the importance of stakeholder integration in the innovation process and provide details on the successful implementation of this strategy under different environmental settings.Open innovation, market turbulence, technological turbulence, innovation performance, customer integration, supplier integration, dynamic capabilities