Economic Well-being Of People Research Articles

Optimizing Social and Economic Inclusion through Adaptive Sports Programs for Persons with Disabilities: A Pathway to Achieving SDGs

This study explores the impact of sport on the social inclusion and economic well-being of people with disabilities in the community and its contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) relating to the social inclusion and economic well-being of people with disabilities. Data is collected by purposive sampling and analyzed using a qualitative method. The patterns of results show that sports can potentially transform the lives of people with disabilities, promoting social inclusion and empowerment. However, attitudinal and structural barriers, such as ableism and a need for inclusive practices in sports clubs, often hinder this potential. To overcome these challenges, develop and enact disability-inclusive sports policies. The discussion proposes some implications for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly social inclusion, economic well-being, participation, and equality targets. Social inclusion through sport, equal economic opportunities, and encouraging the participation of athletes with disabilities in various competitions align with the SDGs’ vision to create an inclusive, equitable, and sustainable society for all people.

Exploring COVID-19 vaccine uptake and hesitancy among vulnerable populations in inner city Vancouver, Canada: Insights into characteristics and clinical outcomes

The COVID-19 pandemic is having a profound impact on the health, social and economic well-being of people in Canada and around the world. To address vaccine disparity among vulnerable populations facing social-structural challenges, it is crucial to provide evidence-based information on the importance of completion of the recommended vaccination schedule. In this study, we investigated vaccination rates and variables as facilitators or barriers to COVID-19 vaccination among vulnerable populations living in Vancouver’s inner-city residents. On a weekly basis, a team (including health care providers [HCPs] and support staff) conducts a Community Pop-up Clinic (CPC) event at single room occupancy dwellings in Vancouver’s inner city to provide COVID-19 vaccine and/or related information. Participants also completed a survey about their COVID-19 vaccination status and COVID knowledge, including knowledge about COVID vaccination. We collected data from 892 CPC participants between January 2021–August 2023. The median age at baseline was 45 (IQR 36–55) years, with 317 (35.5 %) female and 285 (31.9 %) self-identified as Indigenous. Within the population, 512 (57.4 %) reported unstable housing and 441 (49.5 %) were active injection drug users. Regarding COVID-19 vaccinations, 235 (26.3 %) were unvaccinated, 119 (13.3 %) had received one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, 432 (48.4 %) had received 2 doses, and 106 (11.8 %) had received at least 3 doses. Variables such as age (AOR 2.28, 95 % CI 1.37–3.80, p < 0.001) and HCV seropositivity (AOR 1.91, 95 % CI 1.20–3.04, p = 0.005) were significantly associated with higher odds of vaccination uptake. Conversely, unstable housing was significantly associated with a lower odds of vaccination uptake (AOR 0.53, 95 % CI 0.35–0.79, p = 0.002). Results from this study suggest that targeted community focused initiatives are crucial to address vaccine disparity among vulnerable populations living in Vancouver’s inner city facing unstable housing and drug use injection.

Hypoglycemic Potential of Carica papaya in Liver Is Mediated through IRS-2/PI3K/SREBP-1c/GLUT2 Signaling in High-Fat-Diet-Induced Type-2 Diabetic Male Rats.

Regardless of socioeconomic or demographic background, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus, which affects more than half a billion people worldwide, has been steadily increasing over time. The health, emotional, sociological, and economic well-being of people would suffer if this number is not successfully handled. The liver is one of the key organs accountable for sustaining metabolic balance. Elevated levels of reactive oxygen species inhibit the recruitment and activation of IRS-1, IRS-2, and PI3K-Akt downstream signaling cascade. These signaling mechanisms reduce hepatic glucose absorption and glycogenesis while increasing hepatic glucose output and glycogenolysis. In our work, an analysis of the molecular mechanism of Carica papaya in mitigating hepatic insulin resistance in vivo and in silico was carried out. The gluconeogenic enzymes, glycolytic enzymes, hepatic glycogen tissue concentration, oxidative stress markers, enzymatic antioxidants, protein expression of IRS-2, PI3K, SREBP-1C, and GLUT-2 were evaluated in the liver tissues of high-fat-diet streptozotocin-induced type 2 diabetic rats using q-RT-PCR as well as immunohistochemistry and histopathology. Upon treatment, C. papaya restored the protein and gene expression in the liver. In the docking analysis, quercetin, kaempferol, caffeic acid, and p-coumaric acid present in the extract were found to have high binding affinities against IRS-2, PI3K, SREBP-1c, and GLUT-2, which may have contributed much to the antidiabetic property of C. papaya. Thus, C. papaya was capable of restoring the altered levels in the hepatic tissues of T2DM rats, reversing hepatic insulin resistance.

Comparative Numerical Studies on the Structural Behavior of Buried Pipes Subjected to Extreme Environmental Actions.

Globally, there are several critical infrastructure networks (water and gas networks) whose disruption or destruction would significantly affect the maintenance of vital societal functions, such as the health, safety, security, and social or economic well-being of people. They would also have significant local, regional, and national impacts as a result of the inability to maintain those functions, and would have similar cross-border effects. The main objective of this article is to investigate by comparative numerical studies the structural response of three types of buried pipes made of different materials, primarily steel, concrete, and high-density polyethylene, resulting from the impact of the environment through exceptional external actions, such as explosions at the surface of the land in the vicinity of the laying areas. The dynamic transient analysis of the equation of motion with the application of the explicit integration procedure was performed with the ANSYS numerical simulation program. This study allows designers to solve complex problems related to the quality of the laying ground of water networks to canals. The knowledge accumulated gives us the possibility to correctly specify the optimal economic and technical value of the ratio between the laying depth of pipes and their diameter, the importance of the radius ratio of the pipe and the thickness of its wall, and, importantly, the improvement of the quality of the foundation ground. Following the results obtained, it is estimated that the optimal economic and technical value of the ratio between the laying depth of the pipes (H) and their diameter (D) is 3, regardless of the material from which the pipe is made.

Fair Trade: Shortcomings and contemporary challenges

The aim of this paper is presenting the Fair Trade movement in pragmatic categories, disassembling the core components to discuss them more closely, and drawing an image of what Fair Trade really is. This article has also confronted over 60-year-old fundamentals of Fair Trade with modern global problems and new political doctrines, shedding the light onto future prospects of the movement. By collecting the data and analysing the mechanisms of the Fair Trade model, this paper has attempted to discuss the current shape and effects of Fair Trade, exposing the flaws and the assets of the organization to see if its role is significant in the world trade system. The conclusions are mainly negative — Fair Trade has a minimal share in global trade, presents discussable effects on economic well-being of people and outdated agricultural doctrine, putting in question its sustainability. Fair Trade has rarely been subject to analysis from this perspective, and it can prove to be a starting point for future research.

A blessing in disguise?: Assessing the impact of 2010-2011 floods on trust in Pakistan.

The existing literature concludes that natural disasters have cataclysmic effects on the economic well-being of people. But how natural disasters shape psychological behavior is still ambiguous. In this paper, we study the effects of a natural disaster on individuals' interpersonal trust in Pakistan. By exploiting a nationally representative cross-sectional survey and combining it with the district-level geospatial data on floods, we observe the positive and statistically significant impact of 2010-2011 flooding on the reported levels of trust, after 23-36months of the exposure. Quantitatively, a 1% increase in district's exposure to flooding increases interpersonal trust by 5%, after controlling for individual and district level characteristics. Our empirical strategy enables us to control for various geographical characteristics to counter the concerns regarding the otherwise exogenous natural experiment. Next, our results suggest that flooding heterogeneously affects individuals who are male, live in urban areas, and have higher educational attainment. These findings remain robust to different sensitivity and robustness checks.

BAIKAL REGION IN THE UNESCO “MAN AND BIOCPHERE” PROGRAMME

The main objective of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Program is to ensure a balance between the responsibility of humankind to preserve nature and its biological diversity and the need of natural resource exploitation by human being to improve the social and economic well-being of people. Biosphere reserves are recommended as representative objects for the conservation of biological diversity and, in general, ecological systems. The world network of Biosphere reserves in 2020 included 714 Biosphere reserves in 129 countries, in Russia there are 46 of them. They also act as models for achieving the goals and objectives of sustainable development of territories. The tasks include research related to climate change and the response of natural processes to these changes, implementation of space and cartographic monitoring of nature, educational activities and activities aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change. Research on the relationship between man and the biosphere in the Baikal region was carried out with an integrated environmentally oriented planning and use of lands, water and biological resources. For the Lake Baikal World Natural Heritage Site, we have carried out territorial planning and zoning, as well as determined the ecological potential of the landscapes of the Baikal natural territory.

Strategic threats to energy security as risks of quality of people's life

Subject. The article reviews the way strategic threats to energy security influence the quality of people's life. Objectives. The study unfolds the theory of analyzing strategic threats to energy security by covering the matter of quality of people's life. Methods. To analyze the way strategic threats to energy security spread across cross-sectoral commodity and production chains and influences quality of people's living, I applied the factor analysis and general scientific methods of analysis and synthesis. Results. I suggest interpreting strategic threats to energy security as risks of people's quality of life due to a reduction in the volume of energy supply. I identified mechanisms reflecting how the fuel and energy complex and its development influence the quality of people's life. The article sets out the method to assess such quality-of-life risks arising from strategic threats to energy security. Conclusions and Relevance. In the current geopolitical situation, strategic threats to energy security cause long-standing adverse consequences for the quality of people's life. If strategic threats to energy security are further construed as risk of quality of people's life, this will facilitate the preparation and performance of a more effective governmental policy on energy, which will subsequently raise the economic well-being of people.

The effects of energy use on infant mortality rates in Africa

Abstract The availability and supply of electricity remains pivotal to the social and economic wellbeing of people and society. Researchers have confirmed that access to electricity greatly impacts quality of life as well as life expectancy. Today, while most developing nations continue to grapple with the consequences of an epileptic power supply and its effects on their socio-economic and environmental prosperity, developed nations are focused on promoting policies and programs to sustain and improve the provision of adequate electricity that guarantees less emissions, pollution and hazards to human health. At the moment, about a hundred million people lack access to enough clean, affordable and reliable energy to meet their daily needs. However, the growing need for electricity to power our world and our lives portends dangerous consequences that must be prevented. This paper examines the effects of energy use on the infant mortality rate in Africa by using a panel of 23 African countries for the period from 1999 and 2014. The Gary Becker hypothesis and the Grossman models are used to examine the relationship between energy related predictors and infant mortality fundamentals. The results of the study show that energy predictors have a negative and significant impact on infant mortality rates among the African countries examined. Further results show that a high degree of pollution causes a rise in mortality rates, whereas proceeds from natural resource rents reduce the level of infant mortality. Thus, this empirical estimation suggests that there is an urgent need for government intervention programs to rescue the region from this energy dilemma.

Cash Transfer and the Economic Well-Being of Persons with Severe Disability in Wajir County, Kenya

Social interventions such as cash transfers provide the much needed support to vulnerable people. People living with disabilities continue to remain economically deprived, experiencing high levels of poverty. In Wajir County, this crisis is more exacerbated by the nomadic setting where disabled persons are left behind as other individuals move. They are left to cater for themselves due to their mobility constraints. The welfare of these people continue to deteriorate since they are unable to work and highly depend on others and hence do not have the capacity of self-sufficiency. These people remain dependent on the government and non-governmental agencies. The effect of cash transfer programs however, is not fully known. This study sought to assess the effect of cash transfer on the economic well-being of people with severe disabilities in Wajir County. The study is founded on the Maslow’s theory of needs, the sustainable livelihoods framework and the rights-based approach. The study employed mixed methods research design and targeted all family heads for all the 183 under the Persons with Severe Disabilities Cash Transfer in Wajir North and Tarbaj sub-Counties as at 2015 and 19 senior officials working with the sub-counties’ social development offices. The study used primary data obtained through semi-structured questionnaires and interview guides. Data analysis methods that be employed involved quantitative and qualitative approaches. The qualitative data was analysed using content analysis where the information obtained was reported in a narrative form and direct quotes. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistical methods. Quantitative data analysis was facilitated by the Statistical Package for Social Sciences Version 20. Descriptive statistics such as the rate of response, frequency distribution, mean and standard deviation were used. Inferential statistics generated included correlation and regression analysis. The study findings showed that cash transfer supported household income, healthcare access, investment in productive activities and empowerment had positive and significant effect on the economic wellbeing of persons living with disabilities in Wajir County. The study concluded that if the cash transfer programme was to achieve its objectives and transform the economic wellbeing of the beneficiary households, the aforementioned support areas needed to be adequately embedded in the programme’s plan. The study made several recommendations among them that the Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Services Programmes should consider increasing the monthly disbursements given to persons living with disabilities so that they can venture in to activities that would give them supplementary incomes. There can be other activities within the programme meant to support the beneficiaries to be self-reliant so that they do not have to rely on the transfers throughout. The study also recommends that the officials overseeing the cash transfer programme for persons living with disabilities should have follow up programs especially for beneficiaries who have ventured in to productive activities so that they can support them to expand their income generation activities. The programme can partner with other development partners such as donors and NGOs and also the county government to create a fund where beneficiaries can get more assistance both financial and non-financial in order to expand their activities. The study further recommends that the programme should provide networking programs were beneficiary households can interact with various organizations so as to secure livelihood opportunities such as employment among others.

Rethinking Development: India’s Cultural Ethos as Foundation

According to the development model India has adopted, development is viewed in narrow terms of economic development and, more particularly, GDP growth. This is largely due to our blind imitation of Western philosophy, which is based on materialistic values, and has given birth to current ruling economic ideology of free markets and competition, where earning money and accumulating wealth is considered primary goal of life. In its practical operation, this model creates serious socio-economic problems, such as ecological devastation, economic inequality, culture of consumerism, unemployment and social Darwinism. In India today, most components of social and economic well-being of people, such as education, health, employment and a healthy agricultural and industrial base, are in dismal state, indicating that our existing policy has failed. This calls for a fundamental rethink of our development policy. There is a need to embrace a more human-centric model of development, based on our cultural and civilisational ethos, which is ethico-spiritual and is deeply concerned with the problem of human welfare, social good and well-being of people. There is a need to redefine our development goals as creation of a happy, healthy and prosperous society.

Library and Information Services Targeting Poverty Alleviation for Sustainable Human Development

The study examined library and information services that are targeted towards poverty alleviation for sustainable human development by focusing on the physically challenged and special needs undergraduates at selected universities in Southwest Nigeria. Through a survey research approach, the study drew on 105 physically challenged undergraduates from seven universities using the total enumerative technique. A questionnaire was used to gather data from the respondents. Five research questions were raised to guide the study. The results revealed that library and information services which focused on poverty alleviation from the perspective of physically challenged students enabled people to become self-employed, and this is inclusive of physically challenged students. It was unanimously agreed that sustainable development from the perspective of physically challenged students is a programme directed to ensure equitable access to information, ideas, and works of imagination for the social, educational, cultural, democratic, and economic well-being of people. There is a significant relationship between poverty alleviation and sustainable development as the former gives way to the latter. A limited number of university libraries have organised programmes on poverty alleviation for sustainable development that target physically challenged students. A limited number of physically challenged students have attended such programmes. The problems associated with the information services for poverty alleviation and sustainable development of physically challenged students include funding followed by corruption on the part of those who are directly in charge.

Disability, Poverty, and Material Hardship since the Passage of the ADA.

The past 25 years have seen an unprecedented expansion in formal civil rights for people with disabilities that, among other things, was predicted to improve their economic well-being. Studies of economic well-being among people with disabilities have traditionally focused on employment and earnings, despite the fact that a minority of people with disabilities are employed. More recent literature has expanded to include measures of income poverty and material hardship, but has not examined trends in these dimensions of economic well-being over time or across different groups of people with disabilities. The current study uses nationally representative data covering the 1993-2010 period to examine trends over time in cross-sectional and dynamic measures of income poverty, and multiple dimensions of material hardship. It also describes differences in time trends by education, sex, race/ethnicity, and employment status among people with disabilities in income poverty and any material hardship. Levels of both material hardship and income poverty are high across the entire period for all groups, but while material hardship remains at the same level between 1993 and 2010, income poverty declines. These findings show that there has been little improvement over the past two decades in the economic well-being of people with disabilities, and additional research is needed to understand the mechanisms that keep even groups that are relatively privileged - college graduates and full-time, full-year workers - at very low levels of economic well-being.

Employment and Economic Well-Being of People With and Without Disabilities Before and After the Great Recession

The latest U.S. economic recession, commonly referred to as the Great Recession, has had a far-reaching impact, but its effects may be disproportionately experienced by working-age people with disabilities, given their already tenuous attachment to the labor force. We used data from the Current Population Survey both to describe the experiences of working-age people with disabilities during 2006–2012 (a period beginning before and ending after the Great Recession) and to compare the experiences of this population with those of working-age people without disabilities. We found few significant differences in the characteristics of people with disabilities before and after the Great Recession. The employment rate of people with disabilities was low both before and after the recession, though the decline in employment among people with disabilities was somewhat greater than for people without disabilities. The employment declines observed during this period for people with disabilities reflect a long-term downward trend that has persisted for decades, raising concerns that people with disabilities are permanently exiting the labor force. Job loss after the recession was particularly concentrated among people with disabilities in blue-collar and goods-producing jobs. People with and without disabilities experienced similar increases in poverty. Ongoing surveillance of the characteristics and employment of people with disabilities is needed to identify trends and develop policies to promote their independence and economic security.

Integration of environmental impacts into ex-post assessments of international agricultural research: Conceptual issues, applications, and the way forward

Investments in agricultural research by national and international organizations have successfully generated improvements in the economic well-being of people, well quantified in a wide range of ex-post impact assessment studies. In contrast, relatively little attention has been given to quantifying the impacts of research on the environment. This gap in understanding the full range of impacts arising from agricultural research presents an important challenge. Growing scientific and public recognition of the significance of environmental impacts of agricultural research, both positive and negative, necessitates their integration into the research evaluation process. This article provides a broad overview of some of the conceptual issues and empirical challenges inherent in measuring and documenting environmental impacts resulting from changes in agricultural practices, reviews some recent environmental impact assessment case studies, and discusses the lessons yielded by those case studies.

Multiple Sclerosis and Economic Well-Being: Role of Health, Age, and Duration of Illness

This study used quantitative and qualitative techniques to examine the role of health, age, and duration of illness among people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in their economic well-being. Participants were 113 adults (31 males and 82 females) with MS who lived in urban and rural regions of Australia. The results demonstrated that health and age had a significant impact on both the economic well-being and psychological adjustment of people who contract this disorder. Different health variables predicted different aspects of economic well-being. Fatigue was the major health variable that predicted costs of MS and economic pressure, with age also predicting economic pressure, whereas income levels were predicted by cognitive confusion and mobility problems. Duration of illness, gender, and urban/rural location were not significant predictors of the economic variables. These results demonstrate the importance of obtaining multiple measures of economic well-being, as well as a broad range of health-related measures, in determining the impact of MS on the economic well-being of people with this disorder.

Prevention of marital dysfunction: Behavioral approaches and beyond

Marital dysfunction is a significant problem in the U.S., with far-ranging effects on the mental health, physical health, and economic well-being of people who experience it. In addition, marital discord and divorce appear to have adverse effects on children. This review describes the historical roots of current prevention programs and critically reviews marriage preparation programs that have been examined in the peer-reviewed literature. The results of 13 studies suggest that behaviorally oriented, skills-based marriage preparation programs can lead to behavioral changes that may help prevent the emergence of marital dysfunction. Whereas there has been modest improvement in the methodology of the program evaluations, suggestions for continued improvements are made. Ways to enhance the effectiveness of marriage preparation programs using the principles of prevention are described.