Government Campaigns Research Articles

Outdoor spatial spraying against dengue: A false sense of security among inhabitants of Hermosillo, Mexico.

BackgroundGovernment-administered adulticiding is frequently conducted in response to dengue transmission worldwide. Anecdotal evidence suggests that spraying may create a “false sense of security” for residents. Our objective was to determine if there was an association between residents’ reporting outdoor spatial insecticide spraying as way to prevent dengue transmission and both their reported frequency of dengue prevention practices and household entomological indices in Hermosillo, Mexico.Methodology/Principal findingsA non-probabilistic survey of 400 households was conducted in August 2014. An oral questionnaire was administered to an adult resident and the outer premises of the home were inspected for water-holding containers and presence of Ae. aegypti larvae and pupae. Self-reported frequency of prevention practices were assessed among residents who reported outdoor spatial spraying as a strategy to prevent dengue (n = 93) and those who did not (n = 307). Mixed effects negative binomial regression was used to assess associations between resident’s reporting spraying as a means to prevent dengue and container indices. Mixed effects logistic regression was used to determine associations with presence/absence of larvae and pupae. Those reporting spatial spraying disposed of trash less frequently and spent less time indoors to avoid mosquitoes. They also used insecticides and larvicides more often and covered their water containers more frequently. Their backyards had more containers positive for Ae. aegypti (RR = 1.92) and there was a higher probability of finding one or more Ae. aegypti pupae (OR = 2.20). Survey respondents that reported spatial spraying prevented dengue were more likely to be older and were exposed to fewer media sources regarding prevention.Conclusions/SignificanceThe results suggest that the perception that outdoor spatial spraying prevents dengue is associated with lower adoption of prevention practices and higher entomological risk. This provides some support to the hypothesis that spraying may lead to a “false sense of security”. Further investigations to clarify this relationship should be conducted. Government campaigns should emphasize the difficulty in controlling Ae. aegypti mosquitoes and the need for both government and community action to minimize risk of dengue transmission.

Donate to save: an analysis of the intention to donate organs under the perspective of social marketing

In Brazil there is a growing demand for people requiring organ transplants and, secondly, a low supply of donors. In an attempt to minimize the negative impacts of this system, the government agencies responsible for attracting donors and clarification from the society can use social marketing strategies to communicate with the individuals involved in the process in order to meet social interests and improve the welfare of the population. In this context, this study aimed to identify the main variables which are related to the intention to donate organs. We conducted a survey, in which 511 fully completed surveys were collected. Factor analysis showed best fit with the extraction of four factors: reference groups; attitude; social responsibility and government campaigns. It was identified from the logit regression that gender factor and the attitude were the most important variables for the intention to donate.

Nation Branding in Romania After 1989: A Cultural Semiotic Perspective

This paper discusses four nation branding post-communist campaigns initiated by the Romanian Government, from a cultural semiotic perspective, as developed by the Tartu-Moscow-Semiotic School. In so doing, it focuses on analyzing advertising and national identity discourses inside the semiospheres. Moreover, the paper investigates how elements of neoliberal ideology are addressed in the governmental campaigns, considering the “marketization of public discourse” (Fairclough, 1993). Nation branding in post-communist Romania is a distinctive phenomena, compared to other countries, especially from Western Europe. In transition countries, nation branding is often mentioned because of the constant need to reconfigure national identity by dissociating from the communist past (Kaneva, 2012). In Romania, nation branding is also a public issue discussed in the media, connected to the ways in which the international press portrays the country or to the migrants’ actions. In this context, Romania’s nation brand represents a cultural space and the campaigns mobilize cultural symbols as systems of signs necessary for the existence and functioning of advertising discourses.
 Using a semiotic analysis linked to the field of cultural semiotics (Lotman, 2005/1984), this article analyzes four nation branding campaigns initiated by the Romanian Government (Romania Simply Surprising – 2004, Romania Land of Choice – 2009, Explore the Carpathian Garden – 2010, and Discover the Place Where You Feel Reborn – 2014), considering elements such as semiotic borders, dual coding and symbols. The results show that the campaigns are part of four different semiospheres, integrating discursive practices both from advertising and public diplomacy when communicating the national image to the internal (citizens) or external (international) audiences.

‘You don’t want to stand out as the bigger one’: exploring how PE and school sport participation is influenced by pupils and their peers

ABSTRACTBackground: Population health concerns related to physical inactivity and obesity appear in policy documents, government campaigns and popular media across western societies. Children and young people have been targeted for physical activity promotion and schools have been positioned as sites for intervention. In particular, Physical Education and school sport (PESS) has been framed as a key part of the solution. While some interventionist programmes in schools have reported positive outcomes, they have also been criticised for stigmatising fatness, contributing to a culture of surveillance and fuelling body image anxieties. Despite ongoing work to ameliorate these critical issues by addressing physical activity promotion discourses, curricula and teaching practices many of the same challenges persist. In seeking alternative explanations (and solutions) this paper shifts attention to exploring the role of pupils and their peers.Purpose: While the critical literature on health and physical education has been illuminating, few studies explore the role of pupils and their peers. Further research is necessary to understand how school peers contribute to pupils’ engagement with PESS. This paper, therefore, draws on Bourdieu’s notion of physical capital and seeks to understand how pupils’ physical activity is influenced by lived-body experiences in school spaces.The study: Data were produced from a 6-month bricolage-based study with pupils (N = 29, aged 13–14) across four diverse school settings in England. Multiple qualitative methods were deployed to enhance methodological rigour with what is often a challenging age group for research. Data were interpreted and theorised using the concept of physical capital.Findings: Pupils themselves play a significant part in establishing the physical body as a symbol of power and status in school settings. Participants understood the health risks of being both underweight and obese, but they regarded obesity as being more problematic because of the immediate social risks of ‘standing out as the bigger one’. Following this rationale, participants sought to accumulate physical capital through engaging in exercise as a purposeful calorie-burning activity intended to avoid the pity, abnormality and derision which is expected to be directed towards overweight pupils. Furthermore, during PESS in clear view of peers, distinctions between pupils’ physical capital could be made by recognising differences in sporting skill. In this context, physical capital mediated engagement in PESS in various ways.Conclusion: This study has revealed that peers play a significant part in constructing the lived-body experiences of young people. In order to address the criticisms raised about some school-based health promotion interventions, it is crucial to attend to pupils’ relationships with peers as well as addressing policies, curricula and teaching practices. Being sensitive to peer relationships and their understanding of health may help teachers and health promoters decide how to manage the spaces where PESS takes place.

'Yes-Man' Firms: Government Campaigns and Policy Positioning of Businesses in China

We advance a theory of strategic preference expression in authoritarian systems, where business elites express dissent or conformity to the government based on material incentives. Their position-taking strategies vary depending on whether firms have the bargaining power to extract benefits or avoid punishment from the government. Using survey experiments with firm executives in China, we show that a government campaign treatment — a preface that signals the government’s commitment to opening further to inward foreign direct investment (FDI) — increases the percentage of firms reporting “benefit” from inward FDI between 14 and 36 percentage points. The executives of politically vulnerable firms (private owned) conform to the government’s position the most. Private firms with higher financial dependence on government conform more than their non-private counterparts. The executives of powerful firms (state-owned and foreign-owned) change their responses the least to induce policy concessions. We demonstrate a material origin of political desirability bias in autocracies.

Feasibility Assessments of the Use of Recycled Fibers in Nonwoven Fabrics

Environmental protection has become an increasing concern, which makes recycling and reclaiming highly important. In addition to governmental campaigns and promotion, enterprises should examine each perspective thoroughly in order to prevent excessive resource consumption. In this study, recycled materials, including recycled far-infrared polyester (FPET) fiber, three-dimensional crimped hollow flame-retarding (TPET) fiber, and low-melting-point polyester (LPET) fiber, are used to form nonwoven fabrics. The influence of different amounts of FPET fiber, 0–80 wt %, on the properties of nonwoven fabrics was examined. The sheath of LPET fibers can be melted as a result of hot pressing, which provides cohesion between fibers that mechanically improves the nonwoven fabrics. The tensile strength, tearing strength, air permeability, and far infrared (FIR) emissivity of the nonwoven fabrics were examined, thereby determining the optimal parameters. The test results show that the thermally treated nonwoven fabrics have better mechanical properties and FIR emissivity, compared to those of non-thermally treated nonwoven fabrics. Moreover, more FPET fibers cause the mechanical properties along the cross machine direction (CD) to decrease by 9% and that along the machine direction (MD) to decrease by 5%. In particular, all the thermally treated samples exhibit a FIR emissivity of 0.8, which is health-promoting.

Multi-level policy tensions in Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) development in low-income Asian cities

Abstract International development agencies, with the help of the central government, support climate change sensitive transport policies in Low Income Asian (LIA) cities. These policies include building a state of art Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in medium-sized LIA cities, including Bandung and Surabaya in Indonesia. However, the selection of BRT over indigenous modes of mobility is creating socio-political tensions at the local level. This paper uses multi-level governance as a theoretical lens to examine the relations between and distribution of power among actors in BRT investment decisions in Bandung and Surabaya within the hierarchy of national regional and local governments, international development organisations, community sector and traditional transport providers creating these tensions. It reports on fieldwork conducted in Bandung and Surabaya in 2013 including interviews with policy makers, politicians, and a range of stakeholders. The field work found that the BRT project in Bandung and Surabaya was advanced by the central government with the help of international NGOs and development organisations as the low cost green alternative to reduce traffic congestion and GHGs emission in these cities. “Go-green” campaign of central government and international development organisations made it possible for Bandung and Surabaya City government to accept BRT over traditional Angkot and regular bus modes. However, BRT project in both cities get strong opposition from social and political actors within the community, particularly from the Angkot/minibuses operators’ association. National and provincial policies were modified by Bandung in response to local pressure and BRT is limited to two peri-urban corridors that do not meet local needs. In contrast, Surabaya accepted BRT project and then turn it down due to political and social pressure appeared during the process. The research shows that local power and stakeholders are able to distort national and supranational policy-initiatives totally or in a way that while projects are delivered, they are of limited use to the local communities they intended to help.

Remixing Reggaetón: The Cultural Politics of Race in Puerto Rico by Petra R. Rivera-Rideau

Reviewed by: Remixing Reggaetón: The Cultural Politics of Race in Puerto Rico by Petra R. Rivera-Rideau Francisco D. Lara Remixing Reggaetón: The Cultural Politics of Race in Puerto Rico. By Petra R. Rivera-Rideau. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2015. [xii, 224 p. ISBN 9780822359456 (hardcover), $84.95; ISBN 9780822359647 (paperback), $23.95; ISBN 9780822375258 (e-book), varies] Notes, bibliography, index. Petra R. Rivera-Rideau's Remixing Reggaetón presents an insightful reading of reggaetón as a discursive cultural practice inextricably linked to the experience of blackness in the African diaspora. In her analysis of reggaetón artists, song lyrics, music videos, and media coverage, she describes how the genre's origins and development, representation, and perception at the same time illuminate, challenge, reify, and transform conceptions of blackness and national identity in Puerto Rico. Well written and organized, and convincingly argued, her timely study resonates with and contributes significantly to current aca demic understandings of music, race, gender, sexuality, and nation, and their intersections within the context of the African diaspora. Reggaetón presents a rich and unique lens through which to explore these intersections. A discursive and multivalent genre with local roots and transnational linkages connecting Puerto Rico, New York, Jamaica, and Panama, reggaetón resists facile categorization, thanks to its multiple racial, ethnic, and national associations. At the same time, and as a result of its origins and popular association with blackness, the genre is discursively linked to hegemonic racial hierarchies reified in dominant discourses of race and national identity in Puerto Rico, the United States, and throughout much of the African diaspora. Thoughtful in its approach, Remixing Reggaetón consists of five chapters plus an introduction and a conclusion. While the introduction and conclusion serve to contextualize the study and outline the limitations of the analysis, the five remaining chapters each explore a different aspect of reggaetón's development, addressing its complex origins, reception, key figures, and diverse manifestations as they relate to the dynamics of race and racism that inform political, popular, and academic perceptions of the genre in Puerto Rico and the United States. In her introduction, Rivera-Rideau presents the major questions, issues, and theories that fed her research, as well as her primary arguments and a chapter outline. In the process, she problematizes the Puerto Rican myth of racial democracy and reggaetón's perceived association in the popular imagination with either blackness or Latinidad. She argues instead for an understanding of reggaetón as a "cultural practice of diaspora" (p. 11), or a multivalent form of expressive culture that allows its practitioners to challenge and reshape local notions of blackness in making meaningful connections with other marginalized communities in diaspora. As Rivera-Rideau argues, reggaetón "constitutes a space for Puerto Rican youth to engage in practices of self-fashioning that respond to local [End Page 81] racial politics and express an affinity with African diasporic populations" (p. 13). In subsequent chapters, Rivera-Rideau meticulously bears out this argument through her analysis while also noting the limitations of reggaetón's ability to upend racial stereotypes. Chapter 1, "Iron Fist against Rap," explores global diasporic connections and local dynamics of race and racism in the formation, representation, and reception of underground, a genre of Puerto Rican urban rap considered a precursor of reggaetón. Originating in the late 1980s and early 1990s, underground emerged from the Puerto Rican caseríos, the predominantly black urban public housing developments that became the focus of a governmental anti-violence campaign referred to as mano dura contra el crimen (iron fist against crime) during the 1990s. As Rivera-Rideau shows in the first third of the chapter, underground's characteristic musical elements, associated cultural practices, and aesthetics reveal the complex links between Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Panama, and New York City that resulted from migration and transnational circuits of cultural exchange. Establishing underground as an "exemplary circum-Carribbean music" (p. 33), Rivera-Rideau proceeds to show, through an analysis of newspaper articles and underground song lyrics and music videos, how underground artists made use of the resources of the diaspora in challenging perceptions of blackness and Puerto Ricanness. At the same...

Talented Celebrity Rene Liu: Spokesperson of the Left-Over Women <em>(Sheng Nu)</em>

In the highly developed culture and entertainment market of China, the idolization of celebrities fulfils an obvious social function in terms of constructing contemporary forms of identity and community. Serving as models of persona, celebrities exert enormous influence over their fan groups. This chapter examines the classic left-over women icon created by the Taiwanese actress, singer, writer and director, Rene Liu (Liu Ruoying) —an icon created via her songs, film and television drama roles, concerts, prose writing, interviews and microblog entries. This chapter seeks to clarify how, through these many entertainment activities, Liu builds her public image and acts as a spokesperson for professional single metropolitan females. Further, this chapter discusses the controversial left-over women social phenomenon—a huge social issue involving government interference and campaign, public concern and debate in current China, which mirrors the vicissitudes and evolutions of love and marriage issues in China.

Bridging the skill gap: An overview of skill India campaign

India is home to the second largest population in the world. Various studies estimate that by 2025, a larger proportion of Indian population will be of working age. The young Indian working population has unlimited potential and could give India an edge over other countries. However, the picture in Indian economy is ironic. The shortage of skills in workforce has resulted in huge unemployment and skill mismatch. Against this background, this study explores the Skill India campaign of Government of India. The present study aims to elaborate the concept of skill and to trace the emergence and need of Skill India and to cover various schemes under Skill India campaign. The study finds the gaps between skill needs, skill measurement and skill production along with the absence of coordinated actions among those in power. Based on the findings, some suggestions have been provided. This paper will be helpful in deepening the understanding of the present skill development scenario in India.

The Effects of Anti-dengue Media Campaign of Government of Punjab: A Case Study of Gujranwala City

The study “The Effects of Anti-dengue Media Campaign of Government of Punjab: A Case Study of Gujranwala city” conducted to determine the level of awareness of the provincial government anti-dengue campaign on the citizens of the Gujranwala, central Punjab, Pakistan. The study also analyzed to find out the understanding of the residents of Gujranwala about the cause, preventions and identification of dengue disease as well as the effects of the medium on residents. For this study a questionnaire compressing eleven questions was distributed among 300 respondents in district Gujranwala to find out results. The study reveals that the anti-dengue media campaign of the government of Punjab successes due to the use of Television in the area. The finding also exposed that television is the effective source of information for such type of epidemic disease in the Gujranwala particularly and in the country generally. The study supports the theoretical framework of ‘Social learning Theory’ that emphasized on the importance of observing and modeling the behaviors attitudes and emotional reactions of others. Under the said assumption the citizen of the Gujranwala also get awareness and learn from the media about dengue disease, causes, prevention and identification.

Health interest modulates brain reward responses to a perceived low-caloric beverage in females.

Health labels are omnipresent in the supermarket. Such labels give rise to expectations about the product experience and may change flavor perception and perceived reward value. Consumers vary in their degree of health interest and may be differentially affected by such labels. However, how health interest influences neural reward responses to anticipation and receipt of heath-labeled foods is not known. This study assessed to what extent brain responses induced by anticipation and receipt of a beverage with different levels of perceived caloric content are associated with health interest. Twenty-five females completed an fMRI motivational taste-task in which they were presented with a low-caloric cue or a high-caloric cue and subsequently worked for sips of lemonade by moving a joystick. If they responded correctly and in time, they received the lemonade as a reward. Because of the 2 cue types, participants believed they were receiving 2 different lemonades, a high-caloric (HC-receipt) and a low-caloric (LC-receipt) one. Health interest was assessed with the General health interest subscale of the Health and Taste Attitude Scales. Health interest scores correlated significantly (r = .65) with LC-versus HC-receipt activation in the dorsal striatum (putamen), a region involved in encoding food reward. These findings suggest that the reward value of a healthy product compared to its unhealthy counterpart increases with health interest. This provides more insight into the working mechanism of government campaigns that focus on increasing health interest to encourage the formation of healthy eating habits. (PsycINFO Database Record

Complete Child Immunisation: A Cluster Analysis of Positive Deviant Regions in Ghana

Background: The Global Vaccine Action Plan sets a target of 90% child immunisation coverage, a rare achievement in the Global South. Yet two of the poorest of Ghana’s 10 regions have accomplished this feat-what can policy-makers and public health authorities learn from these ‘positive deviant’ regions (PDRs), to inform immunisation strategies elsewhere in the South? Methods: Using cluster analysis and data from the 2008 Ghana DHS, seven regional-level factors were investigated that might account for differences in immunisation coverage: ethnicity/religion, socioeconomic status, maternal health literacy and decision latitude, use of maternal health facilities, participation in child vaccination campaigns, and availability of community health infrastructure. Rank orders of the 10 regions on these factors were examined for the degree to which the PDRs were similar to each other, and dissimilar to the other eight regions. Results: The PDRs were not similar to each other on any of the regional-level factors. Contrariwise, the PDRs clustered only at the highest stage of agglomeration in the analyses. Thus, the two PDRs do not closely share regional-level characteristics that might explain their PD status, with the study thus failing to differentiate the PDRs from the other regions. Conclusions: The heterogeneity exhibited by the PDRs is actually reason for optimism, suggesting that even the poorest regions in the South, with disparate characteristics and social situations, can achieve excellent child immunisation coverage. It may be that nation-wide ‘one-size-fits-all’ government campaigns to encourage child immunisation should be supplemented, or even replaced, by small area, targeted efforts fit-to-purpose and fit-tolocal- conditions.

Jews in Szczecin, 1945–50: At the Crossroad between Emigration and Assimilation

In 1946, the Polish authorities settled about 28,000 Polish-Jewish repatriates from the Soviet Union in Szczecin (Stettin). Situated on the Baltic Sea northeast of Berlin, Szczecin had been a German city until the end of the Second World War and then became Polish in July 1945 as a result of the Potsdam Agreement. The Polish government settled Jews in the “regained territories” for a range of opportunistic reasons. In the summer of 1946, Jewish life started to flourish in the city and a wide range of Jewish political and social organizations were established. However, the attempt to keep Jews in Szczecin failed. Anti-Semitism and harsh living conditions encouraged many Szczecin Jews to emigrate. The city became a hot spot of Jewish postwar emigration from Poland. The remaining Jews went through a process of “red assimilation” during the Stalinization of Poland. Most of them left the country later on, due to anti-Semitic government campaigns in 1956–57 and 1968–69.

Discrimination against Women Workers in Japan

This paper discusses discrimination against women workers in Japan. Japan ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 1985. In April 1986, the Equal Employment Opportunity Act (EEOA), a law which stipulates equal treatment of women workers with men, became effective. The law was a major condition which enabled the Japanese government to ratify the UN Convention. More than thirty years have passed since then; however, Japanese women workers continue to face serious discrimination in the workplaces. To examine the causes of gender-based discrimination, I will first review the laws concerning women workers before 1985 and the drafting process of the EEOA. Second, I will illustrate how the EEOA influenced society and how employers have coped with the new law. Third, I will review the governmental campaigns and programs after 2008, a year that the Global Financial Crisis took place, to discuss whether they have effectively reduced discrimination against women workers. Finally, I will discuss a possible solution of discrimination against Japanese women workers.

FDI Inflows to Telecom Sector of India: A Critique

India has been progressively liberalising its FDI regime to attract foreign investment which can fill the gap between the actual and desired level of investment in the country. Despite its policy measures, India has received far less share of FDI inflows in global FDI inflows. This needs to be improved so as to effectively implement the “Make in India” campaign of the present Government. Though last few years have shown an increase in FDI inflows, still a lot needs to be done for attracting more FDI Inflows. Apart from looking at the general trends, this paper specifically examines the trends in the telecom sector of India. We find that telecom sector has its own specific trends which do not relate to the general trend of FDI Inflows. The trend has been decreasing since 2009-10 but has revived in 2014-15. As telecom sector is a major driver of Indian industry, it is imperative for the government to provide continued policy impetus to this sector so as to attract substantial FDI flows in this sector.

Barriers and Facilitators towards an Integrated Chronic Care Model as experienced by primary care health providers

Background : The highly increased prevalence of chronic conditions challenges the actual health care systems. The Flemish governments has adopted the Chronic Care Model as the mainframe for health policy changes. However until now, there was no major practice change in the way how health care is provided in primary care. Most providers continue to work in the classic way on their own with few multidisciplinary contacts, presence of silos between primary and secondary care, lack of planned population management, little use of existing guidelines... Therefore, the Flemish government ordered Domus Medica, the Flemish General Practice professional organisation, to develop an action research project. The aim of the project was 1. To promote and spread the chronic care model amongst Flemish health care workers; 2. To evaluate both barriers and facilitators towards its implementation. Method : Domus Medica organised a large survey in 16 Flemish regions. Therefore it put up 1 national and 16 regional steering committees. Each regional steering had to involve as many health care workers in the process as possible. Each committee was free to use its own methods. In total, six different methods were used: electronic survey, survey on paper, face to face interviews, workshops, seminars and ‘world cafes’. Most regions used a ‘mixed method’ approach. Each region had to write down the results into a report. The collected reports were analysed. Barriers and facilitators were listed for each region and then brought together. This ‘long’ list was analysed by an expert who used the ‘Implementation model’ (Grol, Wensing) to filter the most relevant items. These results were fed back for validation towards the involved stakeholders: respondents had to mark their agreement on a Likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree). Only those items that obtained a score of 3 or 4 by more than 70% of all respondents were selected. This lead to a ‘short list’ summed up according to the pillars of the Chronic Care Model. Finally the results were thoroughly discussed leading to a report with recommendations. Results : 598 people responded to the written surveys and interviews and 943 people participated to the workshops, seminars and world cafes. There was some overlap but in total, more than 1300 different persons participated including about 400 General Practitioners and nurses and 200 physiotherapists and pharmacists. 166 people participated in the validation process. The ‘long list’ contained 349 barriers and 167 facilitators and the short ‘short list’ 63 barriers and 39 facilitators. The report for the Flemish Minister of health contained 17 core recommendations. Main barriers remain the concept of patient empowerment and health promotion, multidisciplinary teamwork, integration and continuity between hospital and primary care and between health care and social welfare. Evidence Based Medicine is inadequately acquired, especially by non-physicians. ICT is experienced as the necessary tool for integration and communication. However in practice it is a source of major concern because systems are often unstable, necessary knowledge to use the systems and to resolve technical problems are lacking and ICT investment is both expensive and time consuming. Two major structural barriers that hamper all evolution towards integrated chronic care were put forward: the payment system that enables a comfortable revenue by fee for service and unfitted organisational structures in primary care, both at micro level (too small business units) as at meso-level (a patchwork of different organisations with overlapping competences). Finally, health care providers would like to be more involved in government initiatives and campaigns. Major facilitators put forward were the existing and well developed health services as well as the recent initiatives to promote chronic care and spread ICT. As such, the existing structures and initiatives must be considered as the basement of future change. The professional commitment of the providers towards their patients and the open mind towards the upcoming change were also put forward as essential facilitators. Finally, providers experience the patients’ tendencies to more empowerment and independence as a positive evolution. Discussion : The strength of this project is the involvement of a large number of Flemish primary care providers into a movement for better chronic care. It also listed essential barriers towards its implementation as well as key facilitators. Its major weakness is its scope, only based on the experience of primary health care providers without involvement of neither social workers, nor secondary care and expert opinion. However, the project enabled a landmark report for the Ministry of Health with key recommendations to successful future nation-wide implementation of chronic care.

Campanha permanente de Dilma Rousseff: uma análise da comunicação governamental e das estratégias eleitorais

This paper presupposes that the electoral communication is not limited to election periods, since there is an ongoing strategic use of media to build the image of political leaders and parties. This is the concept of permanent campaign, which is a confluence of government communication and electoral campaigns. The article develops an analysis of the permanent campaign of the first term of Dilma Rousseff (PT), taking her 20 pronouncements broadcasted in the Cadeia Nacional de Radio e Televisao (CNRT) and in the programs of Horario Gratuito de Propaganda Eleitoral (HGPE).

Depicted welfare-recipient stereotypes in Norway and Denmark: a photo-elicitation study

Welfare recipients are continuously subjected to media debates and governmental campaigns drawing on images and symbols encouraging improved work ethic and individual responsibility. Only few studies, however, have analysed how welfare recipients as ‘othered’ citizens react to these often stereotypical symbols and images targeting them. In this study we have investigated how welfare recipients in Norway and Denmark, and caseworkers in Denmark, understand and account for images which, through the use of stereotypes, directly or indirectly may question welfare recipients’ work ethic and deservedness. Analysing photo-elicitation interview data, we have uncovered a variety of reactions characterized by ‘problematization’. The interviewees problematize the image and depicted stereotypes, which they link both with motif and symbols and with surrounding public debates on the work ethic and deservedness of welfare recipients. Furthermore, as photo-elicitation is a rarely used tool in welfare research, we address methodological aspects of using photo-elicitation in a study of ‘othered’ welfare recipients.

Depicted welfare-recipient stereotypes in Norway and Denmark: a photo-elicitation study

Welfare recipients are continuously subjected to media debates and governmental campaigns drawing on images and symbols encouraging improved work ethic and individual responsibility. Only few studies, however, have analysed how welfare recipients as ‘othered’ citizens react to these often stereotypical symbols and images targeting them. In this study we have investigated how welfare recipients in Norway and Denmark, and caseworkers in Denmark, understand and account for images which, through the use of stereotypes, directly or indirectly may question welfare recipients’ work ethic and deservedness. Analysing photo-elicitation interview data, we have uncovered a variety of reactions characterized by ‘problematization’. The interviewees problematize the image and depicted stereotypes, which they link both with motif and symbols and with surrounding public debates on the work ethic and deservedness of welfare recipients. Furthermore, as photo-elicitation is a rarely used tool in welfare research, we address methodological aspects of using photo-elicitation in a study of ‘othered’ welfare recipients.