Social Entrepreneurship That Truly Benefits the Poor: An Integrative Justice Approach

The phenomenal growth of social entrepreneurship over thelast decade has ably demonstrated how technology, innovation, and anentrepreneurial spirit can afford better solutions to the vexing social andenvironmental problems of our time than can traditional aid and charitybasedefforts. In most cases, but not always, the poor and disadvantagedhave benefited from the growth of social entrepreneurship. In order toensure that social entrepreneurship does indeed benefit the poor, it isimperative that there be normative guidelines for fair and just engagementwith impoverished populations. A model that has been presented in themarketing and public policy literature is the integrative justice model (IJM)for impoverished populations. While the IJM was developed primarily in thecontext of multinational corporations (MNCs) operating in emerging markets,its applicability extends beyond MNCs. This article attempts to apply theIJM principles in the context of social entrepreneurship in order to providesocial entrepreneurial organizations (SEOs) with a normative frameworkaimed at ensuring that the poor truly benefit from their activities. Basedon this framework, the article suggests certain areas to which SEOs oughtto be particularly attentive in their practice. The article also makes somesuggestions for further research

Capital Flight and Economic Performance

Capital flight aggravates resource constraints and contributes to undermine long-term economic growth. Counterfactual calculations on the Philippines suggest that capital flight contributed to lower the quality of long-term economic growth. Sustained capital flight over three decades means that capital flight had a role for the Philippines to lose the opportunities to achieve economic takeoff. Unless decisive policy actions are taken up to address enduring capital flight and manage the macroeconomy more effectively, the Philippines remains caught in the perpetuity of crises, its economy hollowed-out, the people trapped in poverty, and once again, the country is frustrated from realizing a takeoff

Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

Antibiotic knowledge, attitudes, and practices: new insights from cross-sectional rural health behaviour surveys in low- and middle-income South-East Asia

Introduction: Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are crucial in the global response to antimicrobial resistance (AMR), but diverse health systems, healthcare practices, and cultural conceptions of medicine can complicate global education and awareness-raising campaigns. Social research can help understand LMIC contexts but remains underrepresented in AMR research. Objective: To (1) describe antibiotic-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the general population in two LMICs and to (2) assess the role of antibiotic-related knowledge and attitudes on antibiotic access from different types of healthcare providers. Design: Observational study: cross-sectional rural health behaviour survey, representative on the population level. Setting: General rural population in Chiang Rai (Thailand) and Salavan (Lao PDR), surveyed between November 2017 and May 2018. Participants: 2141 adult members (≥18 years) of the general rural population, representing 712,000 villagers. Outcome measures: Antibiotic-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices across sites and healthcare access channels. Findings: Villagers were aware of antibiotics (Chiang Rai: 95.7%; Salavan: 86.4%; p<0.001) and drug resistance (Chiang Rai: 74.8%; Salavan: 62.5%; p<0.001), but the usage of technical concepts for antibiotics was dwarfed by local expressions like “anti-inflammatory medicine” in Chiang Rai (87.6%; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 84.9–90.0) and “ampi” in Salavan (75.6%; 95% CI: 71.4–79.4). Multivariate linear regression suggested that attitudes against over-the-counter antibiotics were linked to 0.12 additional antibiotic use episodes from public healthcare providers in Chiang Rai (95% CI: 0.01 – 0.23) and 0.53 in Salavan (95% CI: 0.16 – 0.90). Conclusions: Locally specific conceptions and counter-intuitive practices around antimicrobials can complicate AMR communication efforts and entail unforeseen consequences. Overcoming “knowledge deficits” alone will therefore be insufficient for global AMR behaviour change. We call for an expansion of behavioural AMR strategies towards “AMR-sensitive interventions” that address context-specific upstream drivers of antimicrobial use (e.g. unemployment insurance) and complement education and awareness campaigns

Individual and culture-level components of survey response styles: a multi-level analysis using cultural models of selfhood

Variations in acquiescence and extremity pose substantial threats to the validity of cross-cultural research that relies on survey methods. Individual and cultural correlates of response styles when using two contrasting types of response mode were investigated, drawing on data from 55 cultural groups across 33 nations. Using seven dimensions of self-other relatedness that have often been confounded within the broader distinction between independence and interdependence, our analysis yields more specific understandings of both individual- and culture-level variations in response style. When using a Likert scale response format, acquiescence is strongest among individuals seeing themselves as similar to others, and where cultural models of selfhood favour harmony, similarity with others and receptiveness to influence. However, when using Schwartz’s (2007) portrait-comparison response procedure, acquiescence is strongest among individuals seeing themselves as self-reliant but also connected to others, and where cultural models of selfhood favour self-reliance and self-consistency. Extreme responding varies less between the two types of response modes, and is most prevalent among individuals seeing themselves as self-reliant, and in cultures favouring self-reliance. Since both types of response mode elicit distinctive styles of response, it remains important to estimate and control for style effects to ensure valid comparisons

Beyond the ‘East-West’ dichotomy: global variation in cultural models of selfhood

Markus and Kitayama’s (1991) theory of independent and interdependent self-construals had a major influence on social, personality, and developmental psychology by highlighting the role of culture in psychological processes. However, research has relied excessively on contrasts between North American and East Asian samples, and commonly used self-report measures of independence and interdependence frequently fail to show predicted cultural differences. We revisited the conceptualization and measurement of independent and interdependent self-construals in 2 large-scale multinational surveys, using improved methods for cross-cultural research. We developed (Study 1: N = 2924 students in 16 nations) and validated across cultures (Study 2: N = 7279 adults from 55 cultural groups in 33 nations) a new 7-dimensional model of self-reported ways of being independent or interdependent. Patterns of global variation support some of Markus and Kitayama’s predictions, but a simple contrast between independence and interdependence does not adequately capture the diverse models of selfhood that prevail in different world regions. Cultural groups emphasize different ways of being both independent and interdependent, depending on individualism-collectivism, national socioeconomic development, and religious heritage. Our 7-dimensional model will allow future researchers to test more accurately the implications of cultural models of selfhood for psychological processes in diverse ecocultural contexts

Being oneself through time: bases of self-continuity across 55 cultures

Self-continuity – the sense that one’s past, present, and future are meaningfully connected – is considered a defining feature of personal identity. However, bases of self-continuity may depend on cultural beliefs about personhood. In multilevel analyses of data from 7287 adults from 55 cultural groups in 33 nations, we tested a new tripartite theoretical model of bases of self-continuity. As expected, perceptions of stability, sense of narrative, and associative links to one’s past each contributed to predicting the extent to which people derived a sense of self-continuity from different aspects of their identities. Ways of constructing self-continuity were moderated by cultural and individual differences in mutable (vs. immutable) personhood beliefs – the belief that human attributes are malleable. Individuals with lower mutability beliefs based self-continuity more on stability; members of cultures where mutability beliefs were higher based self-continuity more on narrative. Bases of self-continuity were also moderated by cultural variation in contextualized (vs. decontextualized) personhood beliefs, indicating a link to cultural individualism-collectivism. Our results illustrate the cultural flexibility of the motive for self-continuity

Translating antimicrobial resistance : a case study of context and consequences of antibiotic-related communication in three northern Thai villages

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threatens to cause ten million deaths annually by 2050, making it a top item on the global health agenda. The current global policy response is multi-faceted, wherein behavioural dimensions like people’s medicine use are being predominantly addressed with education and communication campaigns. The social sciences literature suggests that cross-contextual translation of medical knowledge in global awareness campaigns can create misunderstandings and adverse behavioural responses. However, the consequences of AMR communication in low-income and middle-income contexts remain largely undocumented. In response to the empirical knowledge gap, this study presents the case study of educational activity in three northern Thai villages with the objective of contributing to the understanding of the consequences (and their contextual influences) when sharing antibiotic-related information in a rural middle-income setting. The activity’s messages were based on World Health Organization AMR awareness-raising material. A mixed-methods research design informed the analysis. Descriptive difference-in-difference and geographical analysis based on complete village census surveys with a 3-month interval (n = 1096) was supplemented by qualitative data and observations from the educational activity. The underlying conceptual framework hypothesised that outcomes arise via (a) direct participation and indirect exposure (posters, conversations), subject to translational processes and physical and health system contexts; and via (b) the activity’s influence on village social networks. The outcomes demonstrated that participants aligned their antibiotic-related attitudes and behaviours with the activity’s recommendations. Aside from language barriers (which excluded non-Thai speakers), fragmented local healthcare landscapes limited villagers’ ability to act on the activity but also provided a market opportunity for informal antibiotics sales, and interactions with parallel yet misunderstood public health campaigns created rumours and resistance. Social support from community members also promoted healthy behaviours but remained unaffected by the activity. As one of the most detailed mixed-method assessments of public engagement in AMR, this study challenges the current dominance of awareness-raising campaigns to change population behaviours. We call for comprehensive mixed-method evaluations of future campaigns, mandatory two-directional knowledge exchange components, and alternative behaviour change approaches that respond to contextual constraints like precarity rather than alleged knowledge deficits

The Role of ICT in Scaling Up the Impact of Social Enterprises

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) can help social enterprises and other organizations working on global sustainability issues and in the human development sector in general scale their social impact. The flexibility, dynamism, and ubiquity of ICTs make them powerful tools for improving relationships among organizations and their beneficiaries, multiplying the effects of action against many, if not all, aspects of global unsustainability, including poverty and exclusion. The scaling of social impact occurs in two different dimensions. On one hand, ICTs can increase the value proposition of a program or action (depth scaling) in different ways: providing accurate and fast needs recognition, adapting products and services, creating opportunities, building fairer markets, mobilizing actions on environmental and social issues, and creating social capital. On the other hand, ICTs can also increase the number of people reached by the organization (breadth scaling) by accessing new resources, creating synergies and networks, improving organizational efficiency, increasing its visibility, and designing new access channels to beneficiaries. This article analyzes the role of ICT in the depth and breadth scaling of social impact

The Role of Human Capital in Scaling Social Entrepreneurship

In this article, we discuss the importance of human assets in growing and scaling a social venture in order to achieve its objectives and attain financial sustainability. We focus on the three key dimensions of how a social enterprise’s human assets contribute to the effectiveness of the company’s operations and its missions: 1) human capital acquisition, 2) human capital development, and 3) human capital retention. In discussing and unpacking these three dimensions, we draw from rich insights and real- life examples from two social ventures we studied: Solar Sister of Uganda and E-Health Point of India. These inductively-generated research insights underscore the importance of productive engagement of human assets for the long-term viability of social ventures and in achieving their objectives on a broader social scale