Concrete Interventions Research Articles

Toward sustainable energy switch in built environment: learning from ongoing experiences

Abstract The contribution addresses the topic of the ecological transition of energy production and supply systems of built environment, mean as an evolution towards sustainable forms of reorganization of human communities. To this end, focuses its attention on the most recent application experiences, to compare what has been outlined at the political and financial level, with the output generated by the concrete interventions, by the energy, environmental and social point of view. A broad and varied picture emerges, in which the actions ranges from the energy solarization of individual or complex of buildings, to the solar use of large portions of territory. The analysis and classification of each initiative it made possible to understand which are the most widespread solutions and which requires greater support to be accepted at the local community level. It also consented to understand the need to integrate each initiative within a design process oriented towards preserving the quality of urban and rural landscape. This innovative approach, based on a bottom-up operational models founded on a public-private partnerships, a multidisciplinary of actors and an active participation of citizens, constitutes the next objective assumed by research work, oriented to define an operative design based procedure, able to support public and private actors in the choices formulation.

Morals over money: The relationship between moral motivations and consumers' food waste

Around 11% of the total global food production is wasted by households. People may avoid wasting food for various reasons, such as environmental, moral, financial and social motivations. To set up concrete interventions, it would be helpful to have better insight into which motivations more readily translate in actual food waste avoidance behaviors and less food waste. There may be a discrepancy between motivation and behavior, such that certain motivations have a stronger predictive power for food waste amount than others. This study aims to explore the predictive power of different motivations using observed household food waste data from a waste audit. Whereas we predicted, based on prior research, that financial motivations influence food waste most prominently due to its direct personal implications, moral motivations are shown to be the primary driver of reduced household food waste. This finding challenges prior assumptions and highlights the need for a nuanced understanding of the underlying factors contributing to food waste and waste-reducing behaviors. The implications of these findings extend to practitioners, policy makers, and theoretical perspectives in the field and suggest a prioritization of moral motivations when designing interventions, formulating policies, and developing theoretical frameworks to effectively address the pervasive issue of household food waste.

The silent shadow in primary school: The invisible face of bullying

The rates published by organizations such as UNICEF, WHO, UNESCO, and PISA on bullying in educational institutions worldwide are quite frightening. In fact, this is the reason for conducting this research. Because there is no concrete and urgent intervention plan on how to combat bullying in primary schools. This situation also constitutes a gap in the related field. Therefore, this research aims to prepare a concrete, urgent intervention plan on how educational stakeholders will fight against bullying in primary schools. The study was conducted with a nested single-case design, one of the qualitative research designs. In the study, “students, teachers, educational administrators, parents, and guidance counselors” were included in the study by using the “criterion sampling” technique, one of the purposeful sampling methods. Focus group interview was selected as the data collection tool in the study. The data obtained from focus group interviews were subjected to theme, descriptive, and content analysis. Throughout the research, eight themes, sixteen categories, and thirty-six codes were reached for the emergency intervention plan for combating bullying in primary schools. As a result, an eight-stage concrete emergency intervention plan was prepared on how educational stakeholders will act against bullying in primary schools.

The Origins of Reinforced Concrete Interventions to Historic Structures in Turkey

ABSTRACT Reinforced concrete interventions have been a critical issue for restorations in the field of conservation since the early twentieth century. Until the twenty-first century, cement-containing interventions could be seen in almost all restorations in Turkey. There are even examples of monumental buildings whose structural systems have been converted to reinforced concrete. However, in more recent years in Turkey, reconstructions with echoes of stylistic unity began to emerge, with less of a focus on preservation and without consideration of the documentary value of the reinforced concrete used in the strengthening interventions of the twentieth century. From a structural viewpoint, it is necessary to assess whether mixed structures of reinforced concrete and masonry work well. From a conservation viewpoint, despite negative perceptions of reinforced concrete, these historic interventions have avoided confusion or falsification where the precise original nature of the structure is unknown. With these remarks in mind, this study describes the origins of reinforced concrete interventions in conservation in Turkey. It provides a general framework of the concept of interventions for strengthening and preservation at the intersection of reinforced concrete, earthquakes, codes, and conservation theories by tracking experiences with reinforced concrete from the Ottoman Empire to the early years of the Republic of Turkey.

The Impact of Attachment on Leadership in Organizations

This article considers the importance of leaders being securely attached. A securely attached leader can establish relationships with self, others, and the world in a safe and trusting way. This plays an important role in supporting the development of a secure working environment for the teams with which they are working. When a leader builds up a relationship with a team, based on secure attachments, there is space for social and emotional balance. This evokes curiosity, an eagerness to learn, and the urge to explore. Leaders who themselves have experienced (elements) of unsafe attachment may encounter challenges in being able to offer psychological security, not just for themselves, but also in relationship to their team members. The authors look briefly at the current era of transition in the world and its impact on leadership in organizations. They focus on theories around attachment and examine some issues around insecure attachment and leadership. They conclude by offering several concrete interventions, which can be deployed by TA facilitators, to help leaders develop a more secure base in themselves and thus offer a secure-based relationship to their teams.

Evaluation of a Student Pharmacist-Driven Fall-Prevention Program for Older People.

There is limited research on the impact of fall prevention education for older community-living people led by student pharmacists, which includes a medication review to identify Fall Risk-Increasing Drugs (FRIDs). Study objectives were to first assess the knowledge and behavioral intentions of older people after attending a student pharmacist-led fall-prevention program (FPP) and secondly to quantify the number of FRIDs identified during a medication review. Between October 2022 and April 2023, four independent-living facilities and two senior centers served as programming locations. Events began with a fall prevention-focused presentation provided by student pharmacists. Attendees voluntarily filled out surveys to assess their knowledge and behavioral intentions regarding fall prevention. Optional medication reviews were offered. Additional survey questions were asked of medication review participants. If FRIDs were identified, the individual was provided documentation to share with their prescriber. Fall prevention bingo was offered at select events to review educational content and engage those waiting for a medication review. Eighty-six older people attended the presentations; 45 people completed medication reviews across six sites. Survey information was available for 65 presentation attendees and 29 medication review participants. After programming, 64 out of 65 participants stated they felt comfortable speaking to their pharmacist or provider about falls and their medications. Most survey respondents correctly selected which medications increase fall risk. Twenty-two of 29 medication review participants were taking at least one FRID. The FPP described showed positive results through a post-survey evaluation. Participants demonstrated knowledge of fall hazards including medications and a willingness to discuss falls and FRIDs with health professionals. These factors may lead to concrete interventions to avoid falls and their associated health consequences for older people.

Exploring student teachers' latent coping profiles and their relations to perceived stress and stressors.

As coping profiles can offer concrete intervention opportunities, the goal of the present study is to explore latent coping profiles in a sample of 316 student teachers at a German university, using the Brief COPE inventory (Carver, 1997). Furthermore, we aim to test the extent to which students with specific coping profiles differ in the levels of stress (PSS; Schneider etal., 2020) and stressors they perceive. Latent profile analysis (LPA) reveals that a six-profile solution shows the optimal fit, with high entropy. The six profiles include two more support-seeking coping profiles (networking and disengaged copers), withdrawn, cognitive restructuring, avoidant and repertoire-oriented copers. Both more support-seeking coping profiles used in particular strategies concerning seeking social and emotional support, and are associated with less stress. Avoidant and withdrawn copers show unfavourable perceptions of stress levels and stressors. Thus, programs to promote social-emotional support should be implemented in teacher training courses.

Human-centred decision support for the common good: a combination of participatory foresight methods

ABSTRACT This paper explores innovative approaches to decision-making for the common good by addressing the challenges posed by participatory foresight techniques such as backcasting and the Delphi method. Our paper is a methodological evaluation of our research that focused on how a more sustainable future vision on the world of sports could replace the currently highly commodified industry that not so long ago had a clear function in providing a good life to humans. This paper aims to contribute to the decision support literature on how the combinations of participation and deliberation with different policy-oriented foresight methodologies entailing both lay and expert knowledge can advance the understanding of values that underpin common good decisions. At the same time, these processes can also uncover concrete actions and policy interventions that can transform current economic and social processes, moving them beyond the utilitarian logic of our realities.

Co-Production Between Insurgency and Exploitation: Promises and Precarities of a Traveling Concept

Co-production has inspired planning practice and research in the past decades. Along with its appropriation in the planning literature it has undergone manifold translations and its boundaries have become blurry. In this commentary I propose a conceptualisation of co-production not only as efficient service provision by citizens and state actors together but furthermore as a kind of city-making that has transformative potential beyond concrete interventions in the present moment. This matters because it enables a conceptual discrimination between co-production and the exploitation of marginalised people’s resources, time, and labour. I argue that the necessity of this discrimination becomes apparent when analysing co-productive efforts in their embeddedness in space and time.

The Rehabilitation of the Historical Bridge of Konitsa, Epirus, Greece: A Documentation-Based Methodology of Structural Analysis and Rehabilitation Strategy

The bridge of Konitsa over the Aoos river, in Epirus, Greece, was built in 1869. It is one of the most important stone arched bridges in the Balkans, listed by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture (1982). The bridge, damaged by the Ottoman Army in 1913, was restored the same year by French engineers using reinforced concrete. Structural deterioration, located mainly in the area damaged by the explosion and subsequently repaired, led to the study of the bridge by the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), in the framework of a Contract among the Prefecture of Epirus, the Municipality of Konitsa (owner of the bridge), the Ministry of Culture and NTUA. The entire study includes the exhaustive documentation of the bridge, its numerical modelling and assessment at its current state, the selection of adequate interventions and the numerical investigation of the efficiency of the proposed interventions. During this process, one of the main issues was the treatment of the concrete intervention of 1913. For the choice and for the design of the restoration measures, a calculation methodology was adopted, based on the findings of the documentation of the bridge, while taking into account the critical phases (construction, damage and repair) over its lifetime. This work has proven the available safety of the bridge under its self-weight, as well as the need for reconstruction of the RC jacket at the intrados of the arch, which was applied as a repair measure to the bridge in 1913.

Effects of a guideline for children with cerebral visual impairment on the daily practices of vision habilitation and rehabilitation workers

To support vision rehabilitation workers, an intervention guideline for the rehabilitation of children with cerebral visual impairment (CVI) was developed. It combines currently available theoretical and practice-based knowledge in the domains of academic performance and mobility. The aim of this study was to evaluate the perceived value of the guideline by professionals. Two studies were performed. First, a process analysis of the guideline was performed to evaluate its strengths and weaknesses. Eleven therapists used a concept of the guideline for 3 months and were interviewed about their expectations (before) and experiences (afterwards). In a second study, the guideline was introduced to 24 professionals working with school-aged children with CVI. The participants filled in a short survey with five questions about their perceived knowledge of and skills in dealing with CVI. The guideline complied with the expectations of the professionals, and the professionals improved in knowledge of CVI and the ability to explain what CVI is. The survey results indicated improvement in self-confidence to perform CVI-specific interventions, and the interviews also showed professionals had expected to learn more options for intervention. After training, the professionals felt more secure about their interventions while using the guideline. This was probably caused by an improvement in their knowledge about CVI and about available interventions. However, the improvement was small and still not perfect and could be enlarged by adding more concrete intervention suggestions to the guideline. The intervention guideline for CVI offers an overview of available theoretical and practice-based knowledge. Improvement in knowledge on CVI can be used directly in rehabilitation practices. A great advantage of the guideline is that therapists are now better prepared to explain the nature and consequences of CVI to a client.

Raising Questions with Lamiell about Future Research Directions of Critical Personalism: A Book Review Essay.

The present article is a book review essay about James T. Lamiell's Primer in Critical Personalism: A Framework for Reviving Psychological Inquiry and for Grounding a Socio-cultural Ethos published in February 2024. In the beginning of the paper, I am outlining the core tenets of the book that is its separation into two major sections. In the first, Lamiell shows us the origins of psychological research in Germany in the laboratory of Wilhelm Wundt in Leipzig and his peculiar notion of generalizing knowledge. Here, the American psychologist explains that Wundt and his assistants were far away of generalizing knowledge in the way mainstream psychology does today - that is on an aggregate, population-based knowledge. On the contrary, Wundt and his colleagues were generalizing knowledge more in a systemic manner - something which is also in line with the work of William Stern and his critical personalism. Lamiell applies the core tenets of critical personology - that originate in the notion of the adoption of self-purposes (values) which become then linked to foreign purposes/values and produces something higher over the course of that process. Lamiell expands this successfully to the domain of informal focus groups discussing racial issues and how psycho-demographic research comes to fixate individuals into categories that do not apply to the individual level. As such, the American psychologist accomplishes to show that inferential statistics is not only scientifically unsound for many research questions but that it also comes with moral and ethical concerns that should be addressed by scientists. At the end of the book review essay, I point out several pathways of future research - that is the link between critical personalism, phenomenology, existentialism and psychoanalysis as well as how Lamiell would construct and co-construct concrete interventions to facilitate introception to take place in his informal focus groups. I conclude the article by stressing the major highlight of Lamiell's book - that is the interpersonal benefits of adopting a critical personological perspective in science and in life.

Dental health in the shadows of global commitments: Addressing neglected priorities in lower middle-income countries.

I am writing to draw your attention to a serious concern that requires our attention around global health commitments: the frequently disregarded and undervalued dental reforms. In the realm of global health commitments, dental reforms are often ignored and underestimated. (1) Despite significant advancements in many other facets of health owing to these commitments, dental health remains marginalized within its sphere creating a glaring disparity, especially in lower middle-income countries where it’s a crucial concern.(2) Dental health has a significant impact on a person's quality of life in addition to preventing oral diseases. It has a significant impact on a person's quality of life, having an impact on their mental and physical well-being. Neglected oral health can affect speech, self-esteem, and psychosocial wellbeing as well as cause pain, infections, malnutrition, and systemic health problems.(3) The disruptive relationship between oral diseases and significant medical conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and adverse pregnancy outcomes emphasizes the complex relationship between dental health and overall health. Despite efforts to promote understanding, such as Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and the International Health Regulations (IHR), oral health is often disregarded in global discussion. Particularly in lower middle-income countries, oral health is neglected due to a lack of tailored interventions, which decreases its significance. A significant leap forward has been made with the recent World Health Organization (WHO) resolution that declares oral health a global priority and calls for its inclusion in national strategies. The WHO has acknowledged the need to address this problem immediately.(4) The challenge, however, is recognition into concrete, commitment-backed activities and specific interventions. The resolution has potential, but its effectiveness will be judged by the concrete measures taken to bridge the gaps. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) offer a potential reference point for rectifying this gap. By integrating oral health in SDGs like Goal 3 on excellent health and well-being, a holistic approach may be taken. This integration could help bridge the gap between international commitments, raise the public's awareness of oral health, and foster tailored initiatives for dental reforms. ---Continue

Developing and evaluating a design method for positive artificial intelligence

Abstract In an era where artificial intelligence (AI) permeates every facet of our lives, the imperative to steer AI development toward enhancing human wellbeing has never been more critical. However, the development of such positive AI poses substantial challenges due to the current lack of mature methods for addressing the complexities that designing AI for wellbeing poses. This article presents and evaluates the positive AI design method aimed at addressing this gap. The method provides a human-centered process for translating wellbeing aspirations into concrete interventions. First, we explain the method’s key steps: (1) contextualizing, (2) operationalizing, (3) designing, and (4) implementing supported by (5) continuous measurement for iterative feedback cycles. We then present a multi-case study where novice designers applied the method, revealing strengths and weaknesses related to efficacy and usability. Next, an expert evaluation study assessed the quality of the case studies’ outcomes, rating them moderately high for feasibility, desirability, and plausibility of achieving intended wellbeing benefits. Together, these studies provide preliminary validation of the method’s ability to improve AI design, while identifying opportunities for enhancement. Building on these insights, we propose adaptations for future iterations of the method, such as the inclusion of wellbeing-related heuristics, suggesting promising avenues for future work. This human-centered approach shows promise for realizing a vision of “AI for wellbeing” that does not just avoid harm, but actively promotes human flourishing.

Stiegler, Philosopher

Bernard Stiegler’s prolific career consisted both in philosophical reflection and concrete political interventions. In this article, Stiegler’s project in Technics and Time is re-evaluated with an eye towards its philosophical specificity and radicality. Technics and Time, read in this way, is shown to be a genuine rival to Heidegger’s fundamental ontology from Being and Time. By making use of André Leroi-Gourhan’s paleoanthropological reflections among other forms of non-philosophical knowledge, Stiegler is able to grasp the fundamental importance of technics in an unprecedented way, in turn pushing his thinking beyond other important philosophical influences such as Bergson, Simondon, and Derrida. Stiegler’s distinctive attention to technics is thus shown to be an essential factor in his prescient political diagnostics.

‘Listen Very Carefully, We Will Say This Only Once (Again)’ Dead Ends to Politicisation in Social Work

Abstract This article explores the significance of politicisation in social work and its role in challenging power dynamics and promoting transformative change. It is viewed as a means to challenge established power structures, raise awareness of issues and engage in political action. Three pitfalls are identified in the way politicisation is conceptualised and used. First, there is a tendency to define politicisation too broadly. The authors assert that politicisation should involve challenging the existing system rather than merely making modifications. Secondly, the belief in consensus thinking about democracy is criticised, as it overlooks power imbalances inherent in politics. The authors advocate for an agonistic politics approach, where ideological opponents engage in a struggle over competing values and interests within a shared democratic space. Lastly, the adoption of subpolitics as a politicising strategy, which focuses on individual actions, is deemed inadequate as it often fails to address structural inequalities. Instead, the authors propose prefigurative politics, which involves creating concrete collective interventions that anticipate and embody a different society in the present. In conclusion, this article underscores the importance of understanding its distinct meaning and strategies. The authors suggest agonistic and prefigurative politics as a promising framework for politicising practices in social work.

Should we talk (more) about climate change when promoting energy conservation? An intervention in Swiss households

To encourage energy conservation, some interventions refer to abstract, large-scale, and complex phenomena (e.g., climate change), while others rely on concrete actions (e.g., changing light bulbs) and consequences (e.g., saving money). Some also combine both. Mostly conducted in non-applied settings, existing studies that compare the impact of abstract vs. concrete pro-environmental interventions have yielded mixed results. Moreover, they have not documented the potential advantage, in the long term, of adding abstract information to an existing concrete intervention. With this goal in mind, we joined an intervention in which households of two neighbourhoods (N = 177) participated in an energy conservation programme encouraging and facilitating concrete energy-conserving behaviours. We randomly assigned about half of the households to a concrete-only condition (the basic intervention) and half to a condition in which we also provided abstract environmental information. Results showed that an abstract message added to a concrete intervention successfully increased the amount of attention households reported paying to energy consumption six months after the intervention, compared to the concrete-only intervention. An abstract message also had an indirect impact on energy saving behaviours six months later, through increased biospheric (environmental) values. Taken together, these results suggest that low-level construal goals, such as everyday energy saving behaviours, should be accompanied by high-level construal goals, such as limiting climate change, to increase individuals’ willingness to act for the environment.

“I’ll fill in the gaps”: perspectives of HHAs on promoting aging in place for older adults with low incomes

ABSTRACT Older adults with low incomes experience disproportionate rates of cognitive and functional impairment and an elevated risk of nursing home admission. Home health aides (HHAs) may have insight into how to optimize aging in place for this population, yet little is known about HHAs’ perspectives on this topic. We conducted 6 focus groups with 21 English-speaking and 10 Spanish-speaking HHAs in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Transcripts were analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis, and three themes emerged. First, HHAs described the uniqueness of their role within multidisciplinary care teams. Second, HHAs shared concrete interventions they employ to help their clients improve their function at home. Third, HHAs discussed barriers they face when helping clients age in place. Our findings suggest that HHAs have important insights into improving aging in place for older adults with low incomes and that their perspectives should be incorporated into care planning and intervention delivery.

Genetic distinctiveness of an endangered falcon: Implications for conservation in Europe.

In the Falconidae, the genus Falco comprises species of large birds of prey with wide distribution worldwide. However, the European lanner falcon Falco biarmicus feldeggii is rapidly heading for global extinction following a dramatic decline caused by anthropogenic interference. Conservation projects are currently underway with the main purpose of increasing its population size in the Mediterranean basin through captive breeding and release of birds into the wild. To support the projects, and strengthen the legitimacy of conservation efforts consistently with the Evolutionary Significant Unit concept, we explored the possibility of characterising the gene pool of the European lanner and reliably distinguishing it from other falcon taxa inhabiting the Mediterranean area, which show morphological and genetic similarities. To address the issue, we examined genetic variability at the nuclear level through the analysis of 12 neutral Short Tandem Repeat loci, and, for the first time in these taxa, two single-copy functional genes, coding for the brain-derived neurotrophic factor precursor and the oocyte maturation factor, respectively. The second exon of the major histocompatibility complex class II B gene was also investigated. Additionally, to frame our data with previously published data, we assess variation at the mitochondrial level by sequencing portions of the cytochrome b, 12S rRNA gene, and the control region. Our results showed that the European lanner is highly distinct from other falcon taxa, as revealed by nuclear, but not by mitochondrial DNA. We discuss our findings focusing on their implications for the preservation of this highly endangered European bird, and highlighted the critical role of genetic information in planning and monitoring concrete interventions.

Gender-Based Assessment of the Effects of Adoption of Alternative Livelihood Strategies on Pastoral Households in West Pokot County, Kenya

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to asses, from a gender perspective, the effects of Alternative Livelihood Strategies (ALSs) on households in the pastoral community of West Pokot County.
 Methodology: This study applied both quantitative and qualitative research approaches, and adopted a cross-sectional survey research design. The target population was adult household members in West Pokot County. While multi-stage cluster sampling technique was employed to sample 371 household survey respondents, 15 participants for Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and nine Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), were purposively selected. Data was collected using questionnaires, KII schedule and FGD guide. Validity and reliability of the data collection instruments were achieved through triangulation method and pilot-testing in Baringo County. Quantitative data was then analyzed using descriptive statistics with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. The analyzed data was presented in tables and charts. Thematic analysis was employed for qualitative data that was presented in narrative and verbatim forms.
 Findings: The study results were that, adoption of ALSs had three effects on the pastoral households. First, it blurred the boundaries that separated men and women in terms of household roles and socioeconomic status. Second, ALSs affected the way household members related to each other. The effects were both negative and positive, depending on type and level of ALSs adopted. Third, adoption of ALSs caused improvement in the socioeconomic status of most households. Overall, ALSs had more positive effects on households and had caused general improvement in living standards.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Structural Functionalism theory and the Harvard Analytical Framework may be used to emphasize the critical contribution of both men and women in the wellbeing of pastoral households, through equitable and inclusive adoption of ALSs. The findings of this study could enable development agencies to formulate concrete interventions and policies to curb the negative effects of adoption of ALSs on households while leveraging on the positive ones, from a gender perspective. This will enhance adoption of ALSs and the community’s well-being.