Common Good Research Articles

Early Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Public Benefits Recipients

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted employment, housing, and food security for low-income public benefits recipients. The present study seeks to understand public recipients’ self-reported critical and ongoing needs at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study uses logistic regression to analyze survey data gathered on 10,089 public benefits recipients in the early stage of the pandemic to better understand their self-reported critical and ongoing needs. We also explored variations in need among different racial/ethnic groups and public benefits receipt status. Our research found that respondents from most racial/ethnic minority groups indicated a significant need for food, housing, and back-rent, with variation among different racial/ethnic groups in expressing specific needs for finding employment and help with applying for public benefits. Our findings also identify SNAP/CalFresh recipients as a particularly vulnerable group, and they were more likely to need help with food insecurity, finding employment, applying for public benefits, and paying backrent. While numerous federal, state, and local programs and initiatives were created to address widespread need, this study identifies potential gaps in these efforts and increases understanding of how to target aid for low-income populations in times of crisis.

Development as terracide: sacrifice zones and extractivism as state policy in Mexico

ABSTRACT Mexico's declaration of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in 2017 marked a significant territorial shift with far-reaching geopolitical implications. The establishment of SEZs represents the culmination of a three-decade period – starting with neoliberal reforms initiated in 1992 – during which Mexican state policies have increasingly prioritized hydrocarbon and mineral extraction. The proliferation of SEZs, or designated ‘development poles’, underscores a concurrent expansion of sacrifice zones – places abandoned, polluted, rendered invisible, or outright eliminated in pursuit of ostensibly greater common goods such as economic growth, progress, and more recently, sustainable development or decarbonization. Drawing on findings from 21 semi-structured interviews, this article elucidates how green extractivism shapes spatial politics in Mexico. Moreover, it provides a systematic categorization of both existing and emerging ‘green’ and ‘indirect’ (‘grey’) sacrifice zones as the state continues its push toward development as terracide.

Survey of Citizens' Preferences for Combined Contact Tracing App Features During a Pandemic: Conjoint Analysis.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, an increased need for novel solutions such as digital contact tracing apps to mitigate virus spread became apparent. These apps have the potential to enhance public health initiatives through timely contact tracing and infection rate reduction. However, public and academic scrutiny has emerged around the adoption and use of these apps due to privacy concerns. This study aims to investigate public attitudes and preferences for contact tracing apps, specifically in Japan, using conjoint analysis to examine what specifications the public values most in such apps. By offering a nuanced understanding of the values that citizens prioritize, this study can help balance public health benefits and data privacy standards when designing contact tracing apps and serve as reference data for discussions on legal development and social consensus formation in the future. A cross-sectional, web-based questionnaire survey was conducted to determine how various factors related to the development and integration of infectious disease apps affect the public's intention to use such apps. Individuals were recruited anonymously by a survey company. All respondents were asked to indicate their preferences for a combination of basic attributes and infectious disease app features for conjoint analysis. The respondents were randomly divided into 2 groups: one responded to a scenario where the government was assumed to be the entity dealing with infectious disease apps (ie, the government cluster), and the other responded to a scenario where a commercial company was assumed to be this entity (ie, the business cluster). Samples of 500 respondents from each randomly selected group were used as target data. For the government cluster, the most important attribute in scenario A was distributor rights (42.557), followed by public benefits (29.458), personal health benefits (22.725), and profit sharing (5.260). For the business cluster, the most important attribute was distributor rights (45.870), followed by public benefits (32.896), personal health benefits (13.994), and profit sharing (7.240). Hence, personal health benefits tend to be more important in encouraging active app use than personal financial benefits. However, the factor that increased motivation for app use the most was the public health benefits of cutting infections by half. Further, concern about the use of personal data collected by the app for any secondary purpose was a negative incentive, which was more significant toward app use compared to the other 3 factors. The findings suggest that potential app users are positively motivated not only by personal health benefits but also by contributing to public health. Thus, a combined approach can be taken to increase app use.

Organizational Values-Based Interventions and Common Good: A Multiple Case Study

Organizational Values-Based Interventions and Common Good: A Multiple Case Study

Public pension contract minimalism

AbstractThe national pension debt and COVID crises have collided. Post‐pandemic economic decline has escalated existing financial strains on state and local pension plans, impacting workers and the public welfare. With unfunded obligations exceeding one trillion dollars, many of these plans are in jeopardy. But the movement to reform government pension contracts has yet to adopt an anchoring idea, leaving judicial decisions in disarray and policymakers without guidance about how to shore up troubled retirement systems. The crux of the problem is the many meanings of contract under state and US Contract Clauses that prevent pension reform. This Essay endorses a promising path forward—contract minimalism. “Contract minimalism” concentrates on the duration of government pension contracts. It posits that public and private employment law should be treated the same. Like its private law counterpart, public sector employment at‐will ought to consist of a daily contract interval. A contract‐a‐day concept entitles employers to change the plan prospectively, with employees receiving a proportionate share of benefits for work performed. Just as several agreements safeguard salaries for labor, they should also mirror the protection afforded to deferred benefits like pensions. Contract minimalism additionally puts public and private sector employers on the same legal footing as to the authority to change pension plan terms. Thus, it aligns public pension benefits with overlapping fields of law, placing them on a firm conceptual foundation. The minimalist approach also has the advantage over approaches that are insufficiently attentive to scarce government resources or employee old‐age security. By protecting pension benefits early and incrementally, it advances a middle path with fairer, more coherent results. In the present post‐pandemic era of hard choices, minimalism provides an equilibrium between the over‐ and under‐protection of pension benefits.

“The 21st century professionalization?”: online education as an instrument for bolstering individual welfare and societal equality

Abstract Since the start of the last decade of the 20th century, the application of digital technologies with the potential of making substantial contributions to a community’s welfare have led to the creation of the literature of Public Interest Technologies and reinvigorated many areas of focus in the social sciences. A relevant subfield of this literature has been the application of new technologies to education to increase social public benefits. The traditional literature on higher education seems to agree that the expansion of this good throughout a society is desirable because it generates direct and indirect individual gains, as well as aggregate level social benefits in the form of positive externalities. However, some authors have argued that the acquisition of postsecondary education has its own drawbacks: unwanted intellectual influence of instructors on students, barriers to access for students of historically vulnerable sociodemographic groups, as well as students’ perception of a reduced pay-off from going to college. While there have been some indices that online higher education could abate many of these issues, there has been relatively little formal research to test this tool’s impact. Using a quantitative approach, via cross-section and time-series data analysis, the text finds some evidence that online higher education could solve many of higher education’s drawbacks, while also being a feasible approach given the current technological environment of the United States. The text concludes outlining future research using a mixed-methods approach that could be highly valuable to acquire a more comprehensive view and robust evidence of online higher education’s potential of expanding social public benefits.

Computing for Social Good in Education

Computing for Social Good in Education

Problems of the public good in higher education: building the common amid sovereign individualism, capital and the state

AbstractAnglophone societies in which the sovereign individual is primary vis and vis social relations, and policy focuses on economic competition and consumption in education, find it hard to grasp non-pecuniary outcomes in higher education. These include the self-formation of students as persons and collective goods like knowledge, technological capability, social inclusion, political connectedness, tolerance and global understanding. While other cultures generate insights into non-pecuniary outcomes, the paper focuses critically on meanings of ‘public’ in English: (1) public as state, (2) public good as universal well-being, (3) public as inclusive-communicative as in ‘public opinion’, (4) public and private goods in economics. None of these meanings of ‘public’ enables the resolution of the non-pecuniary outcomes of higher education. The paper tackles four central questions. First, why is there an undue emphasis on the individual and individualised pecuniary benefits, vis a vis social relations, in Euro-American and especially Anglophone societies? Second, can these societies strengthen public or common goods by augmenting the state in higher education? Third, what other practices of public and common might advance non-pecuniary outcomes? Fourth, how to advance collective outcomes beyond the nation-state? The paper finds that while Anglophone public good is constrained by the state in capitalist society, higher education’s role in the production and distribution of common good through primarily local networks, while also pressuring central states to provide support, offers a promising way forward.

"Come to us first": Centering Community Organizations in Artificial Intelligence for Social Good Partnerships

Artificial Intelligence for Social Good (AI4SG) has emerged as a growing body of research and practice exploring the potential of AI technologies to tackle social issues. This area emphasizes interdisciplinary partnerships with community organizations, such as non-profits and government agencies. However, amidst excitement about new advances in AI and their potential impact, the needs, expectations, and aspirations of these community organizations--and whether they are being met--are not well understood. Understanding these factors is important to ensure that the considerable efforts by AI teams and community organizations can actually achieve the positive social impact they strive for. Drawing on the Data Feminism framework, we explored the perspectives of community organization members on their partnerships with AI teams through 16 semi-structured interviews. Our study highlights the pervasive influence of funding agendas and the optimism surrounding AI's potential. Despite the significant intellectual contributions and labor provided by community organization members, their goals were frequently sidelined in favor of other stakeholders, including AI teams. While many community organization members expected tangible project deployment, only two out of 14 projects we studied reached the deployment stage. However, community organization members sustained their belief in the potential of the projects, still seeing diminished goals as valuable. To enhance the efficacy of future collaborations, our participants shared their aspirations for success, calling for co-leadership starting from the early stages of projects. We propose data co-liberation as a grounding principle for approaching AI4SG moving forward, positing that community organizations' co-leadership is essential for fostering more effective, sustainable, and ethical development of AI.

HIV Self-Testing: A Discussion on the Benefits, Limitations, and Implications for Public Health with a Focus on Poland

Background/Objectives: A late HIV diagnosis represents a significant public health concern in Poland, with approximately 50% of patients being identified as late presenters (LPs), resulting in the delayed initiation of treatment. This study assesses the potential of HIV self-testing (HIVST) to enhance early detection, particularly among heterosexual individuals, and evaluates its advantages and limitations within the Polish context. Methods: This study examines the advantages and disadvantages of HIVST by analyzing data from various studies. It focuses on the acceptability, sensitivity, and specificity of HIVST, comparing blood-based and oral fluid-based tests. Moreover, the economic impact and potential public health benefits of HIVST in Poland are evaluated. Results: HIVST is well-accepted, especially among key populations; it can reduce stigma and enhance privacy. The results of studies conducted in Poland indicate that heterosexuals are more inclined to use self-testing methods than traditional diagnostic procedures. On the other hand, HIVST has the potential for false-negative results due to the serological window and the possibility of missed diagnoses of other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Moreover, the cost of HIVST remains a significant barrier, as it is not publicly funded in Poland. Conclusions: Despite its limitations, HIVST offers a number of significant benefits, including increased rates of testing and earlier detection, which could prove vital in reducing the transmission of HIV in Poland. This study proposes that increased funding, the integration of HIVST into public health strategies, and further research to enhance its implementation, alongside education and support for its effective use, should be prioritized.

Adopting a model of antimicrobial stewardship program to anti-tubercular treatment stewardship: A single-centre experience from a private tertiary care hospital in South India.

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a significant public health challenge in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMIC). Inappropriate use of Anti-Tubercular Treatment (ATT) undermines treatment efficacy and could contribute to drug resistance. While antimicrobial stewardship programs (AMSP) are well established, anti-tubercular treatment stewardship programs (ATTSP) in private hospitals do not have an established model. An AMSP model in a private tertiary care hospital in South India was repurposed to monitor the prescription appropriateness of ATT. A multidisciplinary team evaluated the ATT prescription appropriateness among inpatients over a one-year period with the 4R's criteria: Right Indication, Right Drug, Right Dose, and Right Frequency. The ATTSP team filed recommendations for inappropriate prescriptions to the primary clinical care team, and compliance to the recommendations was documented within 48 hours. During the study period, 172 ATT prescriptions were evaluated. Inappropriate dose and drug prescriptions were found in 16% and 7%, respectively. The primary clinical care teams complied with 83% of the recommendations within 48 hours. The potential impact of implementing the ATTSP model nationwide was assessed using published data, suggesting that the opportunities to correct inappropriate prescriptions could reach a quarter million. The study provides a proof of concept that an ATTSP can be successfully implemented in a TB endemic, resource-constrained setting. Extrapolation for implementing ATTSP across the country has the potential for huge public health benefits.

Implementing LGBTQ-affirmative cognitive-behavioral therapy: implementation strategies across five clinical trials.

LGBTQ-affirmative cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based treatment for reducing transdiagnostic mental and behavioral health concerns among LGBTQ individuals. Preserving the effects of this intervention as it is translated into practice can maximize public health benefits. This study systematically identifies and evaluates implementation strategies for LGBTQ-affirmative CBT. First, we identified and operationalized implementation strategies used across five trials of LGBTQ-affirmative CBT using the Pragmatic Implementation Reporting Tool. Second, we evaluated the relative importance of these strategies via a quantitative assessment (N = 31 unique trial implementers). Survey responses were analyzed descriptively within each trial. Across all trials, we organized strategies as (1) high priority, (2) moderate priority, and (3) optional (if resources are available) for implementing LGBTQ-affirmative CBT. Within each trial, we identified 20 or more implementation strategies that were used, many of which overlapped across trials. We identified nine high priority strategies (e.g., working with clients to engage them in LGBTQ-affirmative CBT), nine moderate priority strategies (e.g., conducting ongoing training in LGBTQ-affirmative CBT), and nine optional/resource dependent strategies (e.g., showing visual indicators of LGBTQ affirmation within the physical spaces where LGBTQ-affirmative CBT is delivered). LGBTQ-affirmative CBT is a complex intervention requiring a package of implementation strategies. Our findings provide guidance for implementers in settings with different levels of resources regarding the highest priority strategies that may be needed to preserve the effectiveness of LGBTQ-affirmative CBT as it is translated into real-world settings.

Behaviorally Informed Text Message Nudges to Schedule COVID-19 Vaccinations: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Vaccine hesitancy, especially related to COVID-19 vaccinations among Veterans, may limit uptake. Behaviorally informed text-based messages have the potential to improve uptake of COVID-19 vaccinations. To evaluate the impact of two different behaviorally informed text message nudges on COVID-19 vaccine scheduling and completion, compared to standard control message. Prospective, three-arm patient-level randomized quality improvement trial. Between March and May 2021, 20,523 Veterans were eligible for the initial series of COVID-19 vaccination, enrolled at two large Veterans Health Administration sites. Arm 1 (Control): standard scheduling message; Arm 2 (Social Good): standard message plus behaviorally informed text message "When you get a vaccine now, you help protect yourself, your family, and your community"; and Arm 3 (Scarcity): standard plus behaviorally informed text message "Only a limited number of vaccine appointments are available." Outcomes were vaccine scheduling and/or completion rate within 7 days of receipt of text message (primary), and within 14 days and 30 days after receipt of text message (secondary). Veterans had an overall rate of 19% of scheduling or receiving a vaccination in 7 days. In our adjusted intention-to-treat analysis, we found no difference between intervention social good or scarcity (aOR 0.98, 95% CI, 0.88-1.09, for both arms) compared to standard scheduling message. We found no statistical differences in our secondary outcomes. During the initial phases of vaccine roll-out, two behaviorally informed text messages did not increase COVID-19 vaccination rates among Veterans compared to a standard scheduling message.

Link Between Social Relationships and Vulnerability Among Community‐Dwelling Older Adults Living Alone in Taiwan

ABSTRACTThe study investigated the effect of social relationships on vulnerability among community‐dwelling older adults living alone in Taiwan. Data were extracted from the de‐identified service records of 2116 older adults living alone. Logistic regression models were used to identify the connection between social relationships and vulnerability. The results demonstrated that close social relationships help reduce vulnerability for older adults living alone. Moreover, the data indicated a statistically significant relationship between frailty and vulnerability and a statistically significant relationship between public assistance and vulnerability. An increase in the degree of frailty increases the risk of exposure to threats for older adults living alone. However, public assistance benefits older adults living alone. Existing policy and social work interventions aim to strengthen social safety nets for older adults living alone and establish social networks for older adults living alone through an institutional approach to prevent exposure to threats. Moreover, policymakers should focus not only on risk factors (e.g., frailty) but also on protective factors (e.g., social relationships and public assistance).

Three Rival Versions of Markets and the Common Good: Spontaneous, Instituted, and Civil

AbstractHow do markets principally contribute to society, and do they all contribute in the same ways? The logic of common and private goods provides much-needed clarity in grappling with the constitution and contribution of markets. The root challenge of the market is that impersonal private exchange cannot directly promote any common goods, so it appears only capable of promoting the flourishing of society “by accident,” as it were. As responses, the “spontaneous” approach regards both markets and politics as unintended orders of private ends, while a “instituted” model subordinates thin exchange to the thick communal goals of sustaining politics, and the “civil” economy claims that market exchange is itself a form of fraternal solidarity around common goods. All three rival models capture some exchange contexts, but none works for all markets. I advocate a meta stance of “market pluralism,” acknowledging that different markets’ moral architectures could match any of the three models, in line with empirical findings that different industries and market systems vary significantly in their modes of coordination, human relations, and major objectives.

European Perspectives on Public Benefit in Relation to Food: Insights from a Serious Game Approach

There is limited understanding of what constitutes public benefit from the perspective of the public, and none that we are aware of related to food consumer science. The purpose of this study is to contribute towards a better understanding of public benefit as a whole and its connection to food choice, essential to driving progress towards responsible consumption and healthier diets. Public benefit, associated trade-offs and responsible actors were investigated via written questions, and food choice was explored during group discussions using the PlayDecide methodology. Adults (n = 105) were recruited in six European countries (Denmark, Germany, Italy, Slovakia, Spain and the UK) and stratified by attained education. Our findings indicate that assumptions should not be made that there is general consensus about what constitutes public benefit, especially with regard to consumer food choice. Group discussions around food-related freedom of choice, education, agency and responsibility suggested that private and public benefit are neither mutually exclusive nor automatically complementary. The serious game approach employed affected a change in participants’ public benefit perceptions, demonstrating its potential to better evaluate the connections between private interests and the common good through meaningful public deliberation.

Socially responsible human resource management for sustainable performance in a moderated mediation mechanism

This study examines Socially Responsible Human Resource Management (SRHRM) for the common good through the connections between the psychological green climate (PGC) and employee green behavior (EGB). In doing so, it explores the influence of SRHRM and PGC on EGB and sustainable performance (SP) as well as the moderating effect of PGC on EGB for organizing sustainable dimensions of HRM for environmental common goods. Drawing on the notion of the common good, this study mobilizes the ability motivation opportunity theory to articulate the nexus of business ethics and the environment. This study is quantitative in nature, following the deducting reason approach. Data were collected from 307 manufacturing companies using a survey. To ensure robustness, structural equation modeling using the AMOS software was used to analyze the data. The study's results show that both SRHRM and PGC directly influence EGB, which proxies to affect the organizational SP precisely. However, the results also show that SRHRM has no significant direct repercussions on SP, and the analysis of the moderation effect revealed that PGC does not intervene in the relationship between SRHRM and EGB. This paper contributes to an interesting conjuncture of growing literature on the adoption and impact of SRHRM and SP, which we argue can become the epicenter of ethical business processes to ensure the common environmental good. This study shows that organizations can flourish sustainable behavioral aspects, values, norms, and practices in business processes and among employees by nurturing the tenets of SRHRM, PGC, and EGB, which will increase the organizational capacity to transform the environmental common good.

Single-party regime, cooptation, and strategic social spending in developing countries

How regime types affect the provision of social spending in the context of developing countries? This article provides a novel political-economic approach, arguing that single-party regimes are more likely to spend on pensions than other types of autocratic states to co-opt the large number of critical members although the regime type does not affect the general welfare spending across autocratic states. The theory emphasizes the effect of institutional and power structure heterogeneity across autocracies in shaping the incentives and strategies that the ruling elites co-opt and respond to the demands of the ruling coalition across different autocratic regimes. Using panel, ordinary least squares (OLS) regression with lagged dependent variable along with several empirical strategies, it finds the evidence supporting this argument with a new dataset from 1990 to 2012. The study provides new insights on how autocratic institutions especially the party utilize strategic social policies to resolve the elite-level dictator dilemma for regime survival that are absent in other autocratic types.

SARS-CoV-2 Infection in School Settings, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, 2021-2022.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, widespread school closures were implemented globally based on the assumption that transmission among children in the school environment is common. However, evidence regarding secondary infection rates by school type and level of contact is lacking. Our study estimated the frequency of SARS-CoV-2 infection in school settings by examining the positivity rate according to school type and level of contact by using data from a large-scale school-based PCR project conducted in Okinawa, Japan, during 2021-2022. Our results indicate that, despite detection of numerous positive cases, the average number of secondary infections remained relatively low at ≈0.5 cases across all types of schools. Considering the profound effects of prolonged closures on educational access, balancing public health benefits against potential long-term effects on children is crucial.

A Scoping Review of Implementation Science Studies in the Field of Traumatic Brain Injury: State of the Science and Future Directions.

Implementation research is essential to accelerating the public health benefits of innovations in health settings. However, the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2022 report identified a lag in published implementation research applied to traumatic brain injury (TBI). Our objectives were to characterize implementation science studies published to date in TBI clinical care and rehabilitation and provide recommendations for future directions. A scoping review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews. Articles published between 2011 and 2023 were identified (MEDLINE, PubMed, PsychInfo, and Web of Science), and included if the study focused on the TBI population, measured at least one Proctor (2011) implementation outcome and aligned with implementation research designs. Data were charted using an extraction template. Of the 38 articles, 76% were published between 2018 and 2023. About 37% of articles were in the pre-implementation phase, and 57.9% were in the implementation phase. Over half of articles used a theory, model, or framework to guide the research. Fifteen studies were descriptive, 10 were qualitative, 7 were mixed methods, and 4 were randomized controlled trials. Most studies investigated implementation outcomes regarding national guidelines following TBI or TBI symptom management. Adoption (42.1%) and fidelity (42.1%) were the most commonly studied implementation outcomes, followed by feasibility (18.4%), acceptability (13.2%), and penetration (10.5%). Only 55% of studies used or tested the effectiveness of one or more implementation strategies, with training and education used most commonly, followed by data warehousing techniques. Future research should prioritize the selection and investigation of implementation strategy effectiveness and mechanisms across contexts of care and use implementation research reporting standards to improve study rigor. Additionally, collaborative efforts between researchers, community partners, individuals with TBI, and their care partners could improve the equitable translation of innovations across service contexts.