Power, policy and discourse: a comparative analysis of the neoliberal turn in three former French colonies

This thesis examines the role of the Bretton Woods Institutions (BWIs) in the development of three former French colonies. Comparing the experiences of Chad, Côte d’Ivoire and Haiti, it explores the ways in which the development trajectory of postcolonial countries has been shaped by international institutions and neoliberal ideology. It does this by examining two key periods of development lending: structural adjustment and poverty reduction strategies. Adopting a neo-Gramscian theoretical approach, this study understands neoliberalism as an ideological hegemonic project as well as a development paradigm. It examines both the practical content of the programmes, and the discourse, borrowing methodological insight from Critical Discourse Analysis. The findings reveal important trends across the case studies and over time and are therefore both spatially and temporally significant. Over the thirty-year period, the World Bank and the IMF imposed a common neoliberal policy matrix, which centred on austerity, export markets, deregulation and privatisation. The SAPs undermined the sovereignty of the state, deepened dependency and impeded economic and social development. The poverty reduction strategies, in spite of claims of country-ownership and participation, continued to adhere to the neoliberal formula. Only the discourse evolved, co-opting counter-hegemonic ideals in order to legitimise the further embedding of the neoliberal agenda and the entrenchment of poverty. The approach sheds light upon the interactive relationship between policy, power and discourse, demonstrating how the dynamics of power in these three countries are both coercive and consensual. I argue that the conceptual premise and operational framework of international development reflects continuity with the imperial legacy of circumscribed sovereignty. In this sense, the neoliberal development project is understood a form of neo-colonial control

'I'm not Doing It for the Company' -Examining Employee Volunteering Through Employees' Eyes

This article contributes to research on Employee Volunteering (EV) by focusing on the experiences of individuals in order to address the current over-emphasis upon collective organisational outcomes. Drawing on qualitative research with employees and Corporate Social Responsibility managers across seven companies, it demonstrates why employees' experiences are central to understanding the complex mechanisms that link EV with organisational outcomes. The article reveals how both positive and negative organisational outcomes are influenced by the complex relationship between personal motivations and employees' volunteering experiences-within their organisation and within their community-combined with their broader reflexive interpretation of their employing organisation and its values

Transforming adult social care systems? A systematic review of the costs and outcomes of local area coordination in England and Wales

Adult Social Care (ASC) in England faces an ‘existential crisis’, caught between increased demand for services and continued cuts to social care and local government budgets. Increasingly, it is argued that this crisis cannot be solved without reforming our ASC systems and services, with policy shifts in the UK moving towards preventative interventions in order to reduce costs and improve the experience of service users. We currently lack detailed understanding about the effectiveness and the cost of such approaches; this systematic review addresses this gap by examining the potential costs and outcomes for one particular model of prevention, which has international reach, Local Area Coordination (LAC). A total of 14 studies – all single-site evaluations of LAC in England and Wales – were reviewed to understand the existing evidence base of the costs and outcomes of LAC programmes. A narrative synthesis approach found a range of outcomes and costs for individuals, families, communities and systems, reported across the studies. The most commonly reported outcomes were at the level of the individual including improvements in health and wellbeing, increased independence, improved relationships, connections and access to community resources, and improved personal safety, security and stability. Economic impact included cost deferral, avoidance and prevention focused on key areas, including health, housing and finance. Evaluation early in the life of the LACs meant evidence of community and system-level outcomes was more limited. Whilst this review adds to the growing body of work around the value of preventative approaches to health and social care; further research on the longer term impact is needed

Storm impacts on phytoplankton community dynamics in lakes

In many regions across the globe, extreme weather events such as storms have increased in frequency, intensity, and duration due to climate change. Ecological theory predicts that such extreme events should have large impacts on ecosystem structure and function. High winds and precipitation associated with storms can affect lakes via short-term runoff events from watersheds and physical mixing of the water column. In addition, lakes connected to rivers and streams will also experience flushing due to high flow rates. Although we have a well-developed understanding of how wind and precipitation events can alter lake physical processes and some aspects of biogeochemical cycling, our mechanistic understanding of the emergent responses of phytoplankton communities is poor. Here we provide a comprehensive synthesis that identifies how storms interact with lake and watershed attributes and their antecedent conditions to generate changes in lake physical and chemical environments. Such changes can restructure phytoplankton communities and their dynamics, as well as result in altered ecological function (e.g., carbon, nutrient and energy cycling) in the short- and long-term. We summarize the current understanding of storm-induced phytoplankton dynamics, identify knowledge gaps with a systematic review of the literature, and suggest future research directions across a gradient of lake types and environmental conditions.Peer reviewe

Storm impacts on phytoplankton community dynamics in lakes

In many regions across the globe, extreme weather events, such as storms, have increased in frequency, intensity and duration. Ecological theory predicts that such extreme events should have large impacts on ecosystem structure and function. For lake ecosystems, high winds and rainfall associated with storms are linked by short term runoff events from catchments and physical mixing of the water column. Although we have a well-developed understanding of how such wind and precipitation events alter lake physical processes, our mechanistic understanding of how these short-term disturbances 48 translate from physical forcing to changes in phytoplankton communities is poor. Here, we provide a conceptual model that identifies how key storm features (i.e., the frequency, intensity, and duration of wind and precipitation) interact with attributes of lakes and their watersheds to generate changes in a lake’s physical and chemical environment and subsequently phytoplankton community structure and dynamics. We summarize the current understanding of storm-phytoplankton dynamics, identify knowledge gaps with a systematic review of the literature, and suggest future research directions by generating testable hypotheses across a global gradient of lake types and environmental conditions.Fil: Stockwell, Jason D.. University of Vermont; Estados UnidosFil: Adrian, Rita. Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries; AlemaniaFil: Andersen, Mikkel. Dundalk Institute of Technology; IrlandaFil: Anneville, Orlane. Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique; FranciaFil: Bhattacharya, Ruchi. University of Missouri; Estados UnidosFil: Burns, Wilton G.. University of Vermont; Estados UnidosFil: Carey, Cayelan C.. Virginia Tech University; Estados UnidosFil: Carvalho, Laurence. Freshwater Restoration & Sustainability Group; Reino UnidoFil: Chang, ChunWei. National Taiwan University; República de ChinaFil: De Senerpont Domis, Lisette N.. Netherlands Institute of Ecology; Países BajosFil: Doubek, Jonathan P.. University of Vermont; Estados UnidosFil: Dur, Gaël. Shizuoka University; JapónFil: Frassl, Marieke A.. Griffith University; AustraliaFil: Gessner, Mark O.. Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries; AlemaniaFil: Hejzlar, Josef. Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences; República ChecaFil: Ibelings, Bas W.. University of Geneva; SuizaFil: Janatian, Nasim. Estonian University of Life Sciences; EstoniaFil: Kpodonu, Alfred T. N. K.. City University of New York; Estados UnidosFil: Lajeunesse, Marc J.. University of South Florida; Estados UnidosFil: Lewandowska, Aleksandra M.. Tvarminne Zoological Station; FinlandiaFil: Llames, Maria Eugenia del Rosario. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas; ArgentinaFil: Matsuzaki, Shin-ichiro S.. National Institute for Environmental Studies; JapónFil: Nodine, Emily R.. Rollins College; Estados UnidosFil: Nõges, Peeter. Estonian University of Life Sciences; EstoniaFil: Park, Ho-Dong. Shinshu University; JapónFil: Patil, Vijay P.. US Geological Survey; Estados UnidosFil: Pomati, Francesco. Swiss Federal Institute of Water Science and Technology; SuizaFil: Rimmer, Alon. Kinneret Limnological Laboratory; IsraelFil: Rinke, Karsten. Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research; AlemaniaFil: Rudstam, Lars G.. Cornell University; Estados UnidosFil: Rusak, James A.. Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change; CanadáFil: Salmaso, Nico. Research and Innovation Centre - Fondazione Mach; ItaliaFil: Schmitt, François. Laboratoire d’Océanologie et de Géosciences; FranciaFil: Seltmann, Christian T.. Dundalk Institute of Technology; IrlandaFil: Souissi, Sami. Universite Lille; FranciaFil: Straile, Dietmar. University of Konstanz; AlemaniaFil: Thackeray, Stephen J.. Lancaster Environment Centre; Reino UnidoFil: Thiery, Wim. Vrije Unviversiteit Brussel; Bélgica. Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science; SuizaFil: Urrutia Cordero, Pablo. Uppsala University; SueciaFil: Venail, Patrick. Universidad de Ginebra; SuizaFil: Verburg, Piet. 8National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research; Nueva ZelandaFil: Williamson, Tanner J.. Miami University; Estados UnidosFil: Wilson, Harriet L.. Dundalk Institute of Technology; IrlandaFil: Zohary, Tamar. Israel Oceanographic & Limnological Research; IsraelGLEON 20: All Hands' MeetingRottnest IslandAustraliaUniversity of Western AustraliaUniversity of AdelaideGlobal Lake Ecological Observatory Networ

‘I’m not doing it for the company’ – examining employee volunteering through employees’ eyes

This article contributes to research on Employee Volunteering (EV) by focusing on the experiences of individuals in order to address the current over-emphasis upon collective organisational outcomes. Drawing on qualitative research with employees and Corporate Social Responsibility managers across seven companies, it demonstrates why employees’ experiences are central to understanding the complex mechanisms that link EV with organisational outcomes. The article reveals how both positive and negative organisational outcomes are influenced by the complex relationship between personal motivations and employees’ volunteering experiences - within their organisation and within their community – combined with their broader reflexive interpretation of their employing organisation and its values

Transforming adult social care systems? A systematic review of the costs and outcomes of local area coordination in England and Wales

Adult Social Care (ASC) in England faces an ‘existential crisis’, caught between increased demand for services and continued cuts to social care and local government budgets. Increasingly, it is argued that this crisis cannot be solved without reforming our ASC systems and services, with policy shifts in the UK moving towards preventative interventions in order to reduce costs and improve the experience of service users. We currently lack detailed understanding about the effectiveness and the cost of such approaches; this systematic review addresses this gap by examining the potential costs and outcomes for one particular model of prevention, which has international reach, Local Area Coordination (LAC). A total of 14 studies – all single-site evaluations of LAC in England and Wales – were reviewed to understand the existing evidence base of the costs and outcomes of LAC programmes. A narrative synthesis approach found a range of outcomes and costs for individuals, families, communities and systems, reported across the studies. The most commonly reported outcomes were at the level of the individual including improvements in health and wellbeing, increased independence, improved relationships, connections and access to community resources, and improved personal safety, security and stability. Economic impact included cost deferral, avoidance and prevention focused on key areas, including health, housing and finance. Evaluation early in the life of the LACs meant evidence of community and system-level outcomes was more limited. Whilst this review adds to the growing body of work around the value of preventative approaches to health and social care; further research on the longer term impact is needed

Genome-wide association analyses of risk tolerance and risky behaviors in over 1 million individuals identify hundreds of loci and shared genetic influences

Humans vary substantially in their willingness to take risks. In a combined sample of over 1 million individuals, we conducted genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of general risk tolerance, adventurousness, and risky behaviors in the driving, drinking, smoking, and sexual domains. Across all GWAS, we identified hundreds of associated loci, including 99 loci associated with general risk tolerance. We report evidence of substantial shared genetic influences across risk tolerance and the risky behaviors: 46 of the 99 general risk tolerance loci contain a lead SNP for at least one of our other GWAS, and general risk tolerance is genetically correlated (|r^g| ~ 0.25 to 0.50) with a range of risky behaviors. Bioinformatics analyses imply that genes near SNPs associated with general risk tolerance are highly expressed in brain tissues and point to a role for glutamatergic and GABAergic neurotransmission. We found no evidence of enrichment for genes previously hypothesized to relate to risk tolerance