Diverse Agencies Research Articles

Australia’s “Moment of Truth” and the Burden of Historical Proof

The intensification of efforts since the turn of the millenium to uncover and map sites where massacres of indigenous Australians are said to have taken place during the frontier wars participate in what Mark McKenna calls “Australia’s moment of truth”—the culmination of the work of diverse agencies to recover “forgotten” histories and remake Australia’s national narrative by coming to terms with its violent colonial past. Yet, substantiating violence and dispossession that is shrouded in centuries of forgetting and denial continues to prove problematical and controversial in the wake of the History Wars. Faced with the challenges of gathering irrefutable evidence, authors have turned to historical fiction or literary memoir to probe frontier massacres, and historians to archeology and the earth sciences to supplement and proof-test scarce sources. Can forensic science and GIS be trusted to provide corroboration “when the truth may only be ashes and dust”, or are shifting burdens and standards of historical proof gradually reframing the national story?

A new politics of international criminal justice: accountability in Ukraine and the Israel–Gaza war

Abstract Protecting civilian populations affected by violent conflict and mass atrocities is a challenge in global politics, particularly in view of the persistence of contestation over the application of the Responsibility to Protect principle and geopolitical gridlock in the UN Security Council. Over the past decade, there has been a pronounced rise in international accountability mechanisms to fill protection gaps in the multilateral system. Increasingly, international accountability mechanisms have been activated in the early phases of conflict situations to counter atrocities, promoting protection in ‘real time’. This article proposes that the deepening association between accountability and protection is best understood as an emergent human protection transnational legal order (HPTLO), a mode of decentralized governance that was driven by diverse agency across borders and aimed at solving problems of a global reach through legal ordering. The article provides an account of the formation and character of the HPTLO, demonstrates how it is operating in the context of the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and identifies key risks and opportunities that these developments present to the global governance of human protection.

Navigating Diverse Agency Priorities in Emergency Management: A Framework for Hazard Mitigation

Navigating Diverse Agency Priorities in Emergency Management: A Framework for Hazard Mitigation

Balancing public health and public safety: a situational analysis of a substance use pathway

Abstract Background Public health solutions to substance use harms are of interest across Europe, where the level of health need among detainee populations is broadly consistent. A need for multiagency working is widely recognised, as well as role changes with a view to the police engaging in health generating activity, as part of the wider public health workforce. This qualitative study explores the prospect for a multiagency, public health pathway in an English county district. This involved multiagency working across the community and custody settings. Methods 25 semi-structured interviews with senior and frontline staff of diverse agencies involved in pathway development, including public health, police, treatment providers and the NHS. A ‘frame-critical’ situational analysis sought to understand the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats presented by the pathway. Data were organised into themes. Results Three themes highlighted the challenges and opportunities for addressing substance use harms via multiagency collaboration across the community and custody settings. The themes highlighted how 1) agencies’ shared commitment to public health was unsettled by subtle differences on the meaning of prevention; 2) community police were more accepting of new health activity than custody police; 3) a trade-off impeded a proactive approach: the need for substance worker capacity to support police in the custody suite (a reactive approach) meant that limited community outreach was possible, despite opportunities for preventative community work involving substance workers and community police. Conclusions Public health solutions are challenging to develop in a context of contrasting understandings of ‘public health’, unclear national policy and resource constraints. The design of multiagency public health pathways must be participatory and inclusive to ensure staff buy-in: in particular, new health activities need to align with police staff’s sense of role congruence. Key messages • Multiagency public health collaborations should start by establishing a shared understanding of what ‘public health’ and ‘prevention’ mean. • A long-term perspective on training and motivational alignment (e.g., via feedback) is necessary to implement health-related activity among custody police staff.

Tackling hospital service burden of alcohol dependence in England: a service evaluation of alcohol care teams (ACTs) and care pathways for integrated care

Background Chronic alcohol disorder hospital admissions are increasing in England and present a huge cost to England’s health and social care costs. Hospital-based alcohol care teams (ACTs) aim to better meet these patients’ complex needs through assessment and targeted referral. This has the potential to work effectively within England’s newly established integrated care system. Methods The aim of this project was to identify in what ways ACTs can be effective in improving care pathways for complex care in a whole-system health and social care setting. We conducted semi-structured, tailored interviews with practitioners, managers and commissioners, across three hospital and community settings in one large urban region in England, comparing ACT working with non-ACT working. Results Effective pathways were enabled by the presence of an ACT, multi-agency community initiatives, assertive alcohol outreach and frequent-attender team meetings. Identified barriers were lack of systemic funding and commissioning, poor communication between agencies, lack of information-sharing and insufficient staff training. Conclusion Community outreach and in-reach between hospitals and community services enable effective care pathways when ACTs provide the point of contact. A well-resourced ACT with clear operational remit can create links between diverse agencies and enables improved wraparound care for alcohol dependent patients.

Integrating Patients Into Programmes to Address the Allergy Knowledge Practice Gap.

There is a wide gap between the first publication of new treatments with efficacy and their successful application in clinical practice. In many respects, the management of allergic diseases is a good exemplar of the knowledge/practice gap. It was assumed that systematic reviews and publication of guidelines would ensure timely delivery of effective care, but this has not proved to be the case. While there are many reasons to explain shortcomings in healthcare delivery, the lack of patient and carer involvement in the planning of research, evidence review, guideline development and guideline implementation is most compelling. To achieve adherence to evidence-based guidelines consistently across all levels of the health service requires the implementation of integrated care with clear pathways through which patients can navigate. Quality improvement methodology could be employed to plan and implement integrated care pathways (ICPs). There is evidence that ICPs achieve improved outcomes for acute hospital-based interventions, but less work has focussed on long-term conditions where more diverse agencies are involved. At all stages, stakeholder representation from the full range of healthcare professionals, patients, their families, social services, education, local government and employers must be involved. In this article we review the step-wise and iterative process by which knowledge is implemented into practice to improve patient experience and outcomes We argue how this process can benefit from the involvement of patients and their carers as equal partners, and we discuss how different initiatives have involved patients with allergic diseases. There currently is a gap in evidence that links patient involvement to improved outcomes. We recommend the use of the Core Outcome Sets (COS) and Patient Reported Experience Measures (PREMS) which have been developed for allergic diseases to monitor the effects of implementation research and the impact of patient and carer involvement on outcomes.

Shifting the Focus: Intra-acting with Diverse Agencies and Happy Objects in a Day Center of Disability Services

The article is based on the author’s experiences of facilitating creative movement groups in a disability services day center. Through artistic and performative research, she investigates different forms of agency in and around the movement groups. She draws on theoretical perspectives from critical disability studies, feminist new materialism and affect studies, par­ticularly focusing on Sara Ahmed’s (2010) notion of the “happy object,” to challenge the human-centric view of arts education and artistic agency. She proposes a shift of focus in arts education from individual agents to the intra-action of diverse agencies in art making, teaching, and learning in diverse contexts.

Exploring the relationship between the International Roughness Index (IRI) and the ISO 8608 roughness coefficient (Gd (n 0))

ABSTRACT Globally, diverse agencies employ varied metrics to gauge road roughness, complicating the exchange of information for pavement maintenance. This study addresses this challenge by establishing a theoretical connection between the International Roughness Index (IRI) and the ISO 8608 Power Spectral Density (PSD)-based roughness coefficient, namely Gd (n 0). Based on random vibration theory, this paper first deduces a closed-form explicit solution for IRI related to Gd (n 0), solidifying a theoretical link. Next, the variability and convergence of the proposed solution are examined through Monte Carlo simulations using a quarter-car vehicle model with the Golden Car parameters. Then, we compare computed results from this study with those existing solutions from past studies, verifying that the proposed solution captures the curve trend well and agrees with the average value of existing solutions based on field measurement data. Finally, this paper proposes the IRI values corresponding to various ISO road class thresholds and a new Gd (n 0) scale for ride quality assessment of highways.

BEYOND VEILS: AN IPA STUDY OF FILIPINO MUSLIM WOMEN’S BODY NARRATIVES

Guided by Feminist Standpoint Theory and Intersectionality, this study is dedicated to unveiling the body narratives of Filipino Muslim women or 'Muslimahs' and creates a space for a critical reflection on societal constructs that shape the perception of their bodies. Through the draw-talk process, participants were encouraged to visually and verbally articulate their perceptions of the female Muslim body according to religious teachings and cultural ideologies, as well as their contemporary interpretations and experiences - Bridging the gap between traditional Islamic teachings, cultural beliefs, and contemporary experiences of Muslimahs. Employing Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), the research unveils seven themes: 'A Muslimah is Covered,' 'A Muslimah is Protected and Esteemed,' 'A Muslimah is Modest and Clean,' 'A Muslimah is Nurturing,' 'Expressing Individuality,' 'Challenges of Being a Minority,' and 'Not Oppressed, but Actually Empowered.' The first four themes address traditional narratives rooted in cultural and religious norms, emphasizing modesty, protection, and nurturing roles within the Muslim community. The subsequent three themes delve into contemporary experiences, including the expression of individuality, challenges faced by religious and cultural minorities, and assertions of empowerment and freedom derived from faith. This study opens opportunities for a broader discourse on body construct, identity, and tradition-modernity interactions, standing against stereotypes and calling for a more inclusive and accepting society. It challenges preconceived notions and recognizes the diverse agency and autonomy of Muslimahs in shaping their narratives.

Enhancing cross-border disaster management in the Balkans: a framework for collaboration part I

This abstract presents the methodological approach employed in a comprehensive study focusing on decision making in a collaborative manner in disaster management, with a specific emphasis on cross-border disasters in the Balkan region. Disasters, characterized by their sudden and profound impacts on human life, property, and the environment, necessitate a well-coordinated response. Emergency management, which encompasses preparation, response, and recovery phases, relies on the collective efforts of diverse agencies, organizations, and individuals to ensure an efficient response. The preparedness phase is particularly vital, entailing the formulation and execution of plans, policies, and procedures to effectively respond to disasters. Cross-border disasters, which transcend international borders and affect multiple countries and communities, present unique challenges due to the need for coordination and cooperation among various national governments and organizations. This research addresses the multifaceted aspects of disaster preparedness and cross-border disaster management within the intricate context of the Balkan region. The management of disasters demands a coordinated and proactive approach, especially when dealing with cross-border disasters. International cooperation and effective communication are essential for an effective response and minimizing the disaster’s impact on affected communities. Consequently, it is imperative to establish collaborative frameworks that enhance cross-border disaster risk reduction on various levels. To construct the components of a cross-border emergency preparedness framework, an extensive literature review was conducted, identifying ten essential pillars for disaster management. Subsequently, 129 recommendations formed the initial framework, which became the subject of a Delphi study. In this study, 104 experts from 12 participating Balkan countries aimed to reach a consensus on the framework’s elements. The study unveiled common aspects necessary for a cross-border preparedness framework tailored to the Balkans’ geographical characteristics. This framework was jointly endorsed by various emergency management experts with distinct functions and roles in disaster response. The process and results of this thesis underscore the critical need among Balkan countries to establish a tangible and sustained collaborative environment. This environment should foster a shared mindset and create a pathway towards resilient and sustainable cross-border emergency management cooperation and unity among Balkan countries.

A Critical Feminist Evaluation of Climate Adaptation Law and Policy: The Case of Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract Laws and policies designed to help communities adapt to the effects of climate change are proliferating around the world. Our analysis of Aotearoa New Zealand’s adaptation policies reveals that the experiences of women are not adequately accounted for, and that technocratic, masculinist, and top-down adaptation approaches have been prioritized over knowledges and approaches from diverse perspectives. We argue for a critical feminist reconceptualization of climate adaptation, based on: (1) taking a relational approach to embedding an ethics of care; (2) putting equity and justice in context; and (3) acknowledging diverse agency and knowledge production. Our approach suggests possible paths toward more inclusive and equitable climate adaptation based on relational understandings of reciprocal, human-environment relationships. This analysis has broad, global relevance for other countries that seek to adopt adaptation policies, by identifying possible new pathways toward just and equitable climate adaptation.

Diagnosing Complex Organisations with Diverse Cultures—Part 1: Agency Theory

Complex organisations require coherence to achieve adaptive goals through agency. This paper introduces Mindset Agency Theory (MAT), a metatheoretical framework designed for modelling and diagnosing agency within culturally diverse populations. MAT, a cybernetic multi-ontology framework, delineates five formative traits defining agency character. Its cognitive style trait (with bipolar values of Patterning–Dramatising) elucidates how agencies acquire information. Examining diverse agencies requires an appreciation of the social relationships that exist there, but MAT is currently devoid of this capability. Using the configuration approach to enable the integration of Tönnies’ social organisation theory into MAT, social relationships can be suitably explored, thus enhancing its capacity to investigate agency coherence. Tönnies’ theory of social organisation (with bipolar values of Gemeinschaft-Gesellschaft) that frames inter-agent interactions is configured within MAT. This integration births a new formative trait, pairing cognitive style with social organisation, and is thus capable of indicating the likelihood of operative coherence. Configuration is applied by relating propositional attributes of a holding metatheory framework such as MAT, with an entry theory such as Tönnies’ social organisation theory as determined from the literature. The elaborated MAT serves as a diagnostic tool, linking trait instabilities with agency pathologies that deliver dysfunction. A subsequent paper will apply this framework to ASEAN, a regional intergovernmental organisation addressing cultural diversity issues. The study aims to evaluate ASEAN’s mindset and diagnose its pathologies, such as narcissism and paradoxical behaviour.

Fostering Market Penetration Strategies for Sustainable Conservation of Heritage Sites in Nyeri County, Kenya

Sustainable conservation has become popular in tourism, accepted by developers and stakeholders as an economically viable, socially acceptable, and environmentally friendly model for heritage tourism development models. However, heritage tourism encounters challenges like cultural commercialization, deterioration, development pressure, marketing gaps, and insufficient maintenance. Consequently, Kenya has prioritized long-term heritage tourism development goals to realize Vision 2030. This paper examines how market penetration strategies can leverage the sustainable conservation of heritage sites in Nyeri County, Kenya. The study adopted a cross-sectional descriptive survey design, targeting the local community members, tourists visiting the heritage sites, key informants from the local government of Nyeri, officials from the National Museums of Kenya, and site supervisors. The sample size was 762 respondents, 11 were interviewed, and 752 were administered questionnaires. The results of correlation analysis revealed that market penetration strategies exhibited a positive and statistically significant relationship with sustainable conservation (r=0.620, P=0.000), explaining 38.4% of heritage sites' sustainable conservation variations. The study concludes that market penetration catalyzes the sustainable preservation of heritage sites. The study recommends integrating heritage sites into the County's economic plans and employing a comprehensive approach that engages the local community at all stages. This approach should encompass these sites' social, cultural, and economic importance for the local population. Furthermore, the findings highlight the need for a collaborative effort involving multiple government levels and diverse agencies to develop, expand, and market heritage products, with due consideration for biodiversity conservation. Keywords: Biodiversity, Heritage Sites, Market Penetration Strategies, Nyeri County, Sustainable Conservation, Tourism.

The Impact of Employee Perceptions of Inclusion in a Racially Diverse Agency: Lessons From a State Government Survey

Public organizations have long sought to increase workforce diversity and employee inclusion, a goal that has only increased in recent years. The study examines a racially diverse state government agency to explore how employee perceptions of diversity and inclusion relate to workplace happiness, employee engagement, and job satisfaction. Using original survey data of over 1,800 workers, this study explores how employees perceive diversity and inclusion, how these perceptions relate to overall workplace happiness, and examines the factors that may lead to more positive perceptions of diversity and inclusion. The analysis employs principal component analysis and multilevel regression modeling. The findings underscore the connections between overall workplace happiness and positive perceptions of diversity and inclusion. The key takeaways for public organizations include the importance of senior leadership when it comes to cultivating a diverse and inclusive environment. Finally, a notable finding is the statistically significant increase in positive feelings around inclusion and diversity for historically underrepresented racial groups and that low pay for long-term employees decreases these feelings.

Dark Laboratories of the Soil

Abstract Faced with the ecological crisis, it is necessary to elaborate a cosmopolitical stance. Such a cosmopolitics indicates the degree to which traditionally political categories are in fact products of the ecological landscape. Bruno Latour helps us theorize just such a cosmopolitics. I argue that Latour allows us privileged access to the diverse agencies composing our ecological condition. Latour is primarily an ecological thinker. I explore Latour's own formulations of a cosmopolitics and points of contact between Latour and the broader tradition of political ecology as exemplified by the American environmental theorist Aldo Leopold. I claim that Latour's cosmopolitical program benefits from being placed into dialogue with classic ecological formulations such as Leopold's conception of the land community and its various normative implications—his so-called “land ethic.”

Content and Area Income Disparities in Recreation Center Website Promotion of Physical Activity

Physical activity (PA) is associated with numerous health benefits; however, both children and adults in the U.S. fall short of national PA recommendations. Diverse agencies have identified the importance of recreation professionals playing an ac-tive role in providing and promoting PA, including via recreation centers. Few studies have examined the contributions public recreation centers make in pro-viding residents with opportunities for PA, and those that exist offer mixed results concerning the influence of neighborhood family income levels.Recreation center websites are a popular, cost-efficient, and flexible me-dium for providing information about PA and center programs. We completed a line-by-line analysis of the content of the websites of all public recreation centers (N = 58) in the city of San Diego, California. We extracted the days and hours the centers operated as well as PA facil-ity types and programs they provided. Program details were identified, includ-ing content, frequency/duration for classes, participants targeted, and enrollment costs. Additionally, we generated information about local neighborhoods, includ-ing family median income levels. Diverse statistical analyses were conducted, overall, and by a median split for neighborhood income status. On average, centers had 4.5 PA facilities and were open 59 hours/week, with no differences by neighborhood income. Meanwhile, centers in higher-income areas provided significantly more programs (5.3 vs 2.3). Overall, 33 distinct facility types were identified, but only gymnasia and outdoor basketball courts were listed by over 50% of centers. Fifty distinct programs were identified, with dance, teen center, basketball, and volleyball mentioned most frequently.

Navigating the policy compliance roadmap for small satellites

This paper explores U.S. space policies and how they apply to satellite missions that may not fit the typical satellite mission mold. It presents a policy compliance “roadmap” for satellites from diverse agencies and identifies areas where further work is underway to address the challenges posed by the evolution of the space industry. Also, it lays out a coherent way forward for all small satellites navigating the approval quagmire and for mission managers of multi-payload rideshares who wish to smooth the path to launch approval.

Reflections on the Container Control Programme Women’s Professional Development Programme: Transforming Women’s Leadership in Customs Administration

The Container Control Programme – Women’s Professional Development Programme (CCP – WPDP) is a unique training program for women customs officers across the Asia-Pacific. The CCP – WPDP provided an opportunity to build participants’ leadership skills, bridge the gender gap and prepare themselves to be future customs leaders. The program featured various speakers from diverse agencies, leadership coaching and workshops. Participants said the program had a highly positive impact, the lessons learned will assist on their future leadership journey, and other officers would benefit from future CCP – WPDP programs. This paper advocates the CCP – WPDP as an excellent model for building the capacity and confidence of women in Customs, enabling them to actively pursue leadership opportunities at all levels of customs administrations. This paper recommends that similar training programs are implemented in all customs administrations and regular collaborative training programs between customs administrations established as a great way to build cooperation between countries, enhance international relationships and provide knowledge-sharing opportunities.

Perspectives from law enforcement officers who respond to overdose calls for service and administer naloxone

BackgroundMany law enforcement agencies across the United States equip their officers with the life-saving drug naloxone to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Although officers can be effectively trained to administer naloxone, and hundreds of law enforcement agencies carry naloxone to reverse overdoses, little is known about what happens on scene during an overdose call for service from an officer’s perspective, including what officers perceive their duties and responsibilities to be as the incident evolves.MethodsThe qualitative study examined officers’ experiences with overdose response, their perceived roles, and what happens on scene before, during, and after an overdose incident. In-person interviews were conducted with 17 officers in four diverse law enforcement agencies in the United States between January and May 2020.ResultsFollowing an overdose, the officers described that overdose victims are required to go to a hospital or they are taken to jail. Officers also described their duties on scene during and after naloxone administration, including searching the belongings of the person who overdosed and seizing any drug paraphernalia.ConclusionThese findings point to a pressing need for rethinking standard operating procedures for law enforcement in these situations so that the intentions of Good Samaritan Laws are upheld and people get the assistance they need without being deterred from asking for future help.

Family Caregiver Training During Medicare Home Health Care: Clinician Perspectives

Recognizing frailty in primary care is important to implement personalized care pathways and for prognostication. The aim of this study was to build and validate a frailty index based on routinely collected primary care data in Italy. We used clinical data from 308,280 Italian primary care patients 60+ with at least 5 years of follow-up, part of the Health Search Database. A heuristic algorithm was used to select the deficits to be included in a highly performant frailty index. The fitness of the index was assessed through the c-statistics derived by survival models. Results were externally validated using the Swedish National Study on Aging and Care in Kungsholmen (SNAC-K). After testing 3.4 million of deficits combinations, 25 deficits were selected to be included in the Health Search Frailty Index (HS-FI). After adjusting by sex, age and geographical area, the HS-FI was associated with 5-year mortality (HR per 0.1 increase 1.99; 95%CI 1.95-2.02) and hospitalization rate (HR per 0.1 increase 1.25; 95%CI 1.23-1.27). In the external validation cohort, HS-FI independently predicted mortality, hospitalization, incident disability, incident dementia, and incident falls. This is the first frailty index built following a data-driven approach, using national representative primary care data. The implementation of such tool – derived by routinely collected data – in primary care software will ease the prompt, comparable and reliable recognition of frailty at the population level.