Interventionist Approaches Research Articles

Cultural Background and Reading Strategies: A Study Based on the Sociocultural and Constructive ESL Approach

This cross-sectional study aimed to establish the effect of cultural background on reading strategy and preference of learners of English Language from urban and rural origins. The purpose revolves around the need to discover more about how cultural factors interact with learners’ attitudes and what kind of reading in English, what type of material they prefer, and how their cultural background hinders them. This research is qualitative research and the participants were sampled purposively 10 of which five were selected from the urban areas while the other five were selected from the rural area. Data collection includes interviews with the participants and also, reading of texts in English, with special attention to how students approach the respective texts. The framework of the present study is drawn from sociocultural theory and constructivism which pays attention to the cultural and social aspects of learning. The research findings indicate that the nature of learning settings that learners are subjected to, as a result of the difference in accessibility to urban and rural environments, results in the development of different reading strategies and preferences. Urban learners use more comprehensive and interventionist approaches to reading and have a higher inclination towards E-learning resources, in contrast to the rural learners who have a more conventional approach towards their reading skills and believe in book reading but face difficulty regarding issues of resource scarcity and exposure to English. This is because the study holds several implications concerning the teaching of English in Institutions as well as the construction of its curriculum. It reveals the practical importance of possessing a set of culturally appropriate approaches for teaching multicultural students. Thus, urban learners’ integration of digital and textbook materials can further engagement, while rural learners need more scaffolding and access to textbooks and other types of materials. The implications of this study for future research are clear; more research needs to be earmarked for the development of reading strategies and syndromes; cross-sectional studies need to follow students for longer periods to observe the changes of the reading strategies; and comparative studies need to focus on cultural differences or, at least, use the existing data to investigate the effects of culture on reading strategies.

A step too far: Employer perspectives on in-work conditionality

This chapter explores employer perspectives on the extension of behavioural conditionality to working social security claimants (‘in-work conditionality’). As policymakers across Europe and other developed nations have pursued increasingly interventionist approaches to activating the unemployed through conditional welfare policies, the UK has gone a significant and ‘unprecedented’ step further by requiring those in receipt of in-work benefits to demonstrate their efforts to increase their working hours and/or pay. As the actors ultimately in control over the jobs people can access and progress in, understanding employer perspectives on this new policy development is critical, which, however, has so far been overlooked by policymakers and researchers. We address this omission through presenting original analysis of 84 semi-structured interviews conducted with a diverse group of employers. We find that while the UK’s Work First approach to activation has seemingly encountered little resistance from employers to date, this new Work First, Work More approach may be a step too far. We contribute theoretically by identifying a potential role for employers as latent path disruptors in policy development, and challenge the commonly-held assumption that employers are typically supportive of extensions of behavioural conditionality to social security claimants.

Impact of Capital Expenditure on Economic Growth: A Study of Nepal

In countries like Nepal, government spending objectives range from promoting market-driven stability to intervening for alleviating suffering and preventing business loss, reflecting the tension between laissez-faire and interventionist approaches in economic development. The study explores government expenditure's role in Nepal's economic growth using econometric models like the Engle-Granger Cointegration Test and Error Correction Model. Recurrent, capital, and total expenditures are compared with GDP as indicators of Nepal's economic growth, showing significant positive relationships. The Unit Root Test indicates all variables becoming stationary after differencing once. The Johansen Test reveals 2 co-integrating equations, indicating enduring relationships among variables. Co-integrating Relation analysis demonstrates RE, CE, TE, and C's significant impact on GDP, with a low Durbin-Watson statistic suggesting possible autocorrelation. The Error Correction Term analysis highlights the significance of D(RE), D(CE), D(TE), and C, while ECT(-1) is significant at a 10% level. While the model explains a significant portion of GDP variation, additional factors must be considered for policymaking.

Increased Survival Concomitant with Unchanged Morbidity and Cognitive Disability among Infants Born at the Limit of Viability before 24 Gestational Weeks in 2009-2019.

The aim was to determine risk factors among mothers and outcomes for their children born at the limit of viability in 2009-2019, before and after the introduction of extended interventionist guidelines. A retrospective cohort study of births at 22 + 0-23 + 6 gestational weeks in a Swedish Region in 2009-2015 (n = 119), as compared to 2016-2019 (n = 86) after the introduction of new national interventionist guidelines. Infant mortality, morbidity, and cognitive functions at 2 years corrected age according to the Bayley-III Screening Test were monitored. Maternal risk factors for extreme preterm birth were identified. The intrauterine fetal death rates were comparable. Among births at 22 weeks, the neonatal mortality tended to decrease (96 vs. 76% of live births (p = 0.05)), and the 2-year survival tended to increase (4 vs. 24% (p = 0.05)). Among births at 23 weeks, the neonatal mortality decreased (56 vs. 27% of live births (p = 0.01)), and the 2-year survival increased (42 vs. 64% (p = 0.03)). Somatic morbidity and cognitive disability at 2 years corrected age were unchanged. We identified maternal risk factors that emphasize the need for standardized follow-up and counseling for women at increased risk of preterm birth at the limit of viability. The increased infant survival concomitant with unchanged morbidity and cognitive disability highlight the importance of ethical considerations regarding interventionist approaches at threatening preterm birth before 24 weeks.

Navigating Cultural Difference in Planning: How Cross-Border Adaptation Nurtured Cosmopolitan Competence Among U.S.-Taught Chinese Practitioners

Problem, research strategy, and findings As urban issues become globally intertwined, planning education must train future practitioners to confront cross-border, intercultural conflicts. In U.S. planning schools, although campus diversity has internationalized, it remains hotly debated how to teach global dimensions of planning. We tackled this understudied subject from the perspective of mainland Chinese practitioners who studied planning in the United States and then returned home to work. We examined how cross-border journeys shaped their career choices and their attitudes toward different planning cultures. Through in-depth interviews, we found that although intercultural struggles triggered nationalist-leaning defensiveness in some returnees, most developed bicultural appreciation, embraced plural worldviews, and pursued transformative agency locally and cross-culturally. Returnees’ intercultural competencies and expanded consciousness reflect the value of cosmopolitanism for navigating differences. Amid cultural wars and geopolitical shifts, we call for a cosmopolitan ethos in planning education and practice and invite continual dialogues about future priorities for global planning debates. Takeaway for practice When working across borders, urban professionals inevitably confront cultural differences, institutional constraints, and value conflicts. U.S.-taught Chinese practitioners helped ideas, practices, and ethics travel and take root across borders through entrepreneurial, internationalist, interventionist, and reformist approaches. This suggests that international, multicultural training can equip practitioners with cosmopolitan competencies and pluralist worldviews, which can enable them to navigate cultural–political differences, identify ethical common grounds across borders, and nudge meaningful shifts through incremental, value-aligned action.

Sport for Social Cohesion: Transferring from the Pitch to the Community?

European sport policies and programmes have increasingly focused on promoting social cohesion. Often presented as a multi-dimensional concept, social cohesion is considered the ‘glue’ that holds societies together and is seen as essential to addressing common challenges. However, the term remains contested, and it is not always clear how programmes conceptualize or support social cohesion. Thus, this paper explores how three European sport programmes conceptualize and foster social cohesion. Findings are generated from a thematic analysis of interviews, group discussions, observations and documents. The themes developed show how organizations adopt an individual-centerd view of social cohesion, focusing mainly on social relations, tolerance and mutual help. In turn, this translates to an individual-focused practice of social cohesion, emphasizing personal skills, behaviors, and social relations, with the transfer of social cohesion to the broader community left mostly in participants’ hands. Due to a number of systemic barriers, programmes struggle to implement more holistic and structural approaches. As such, if we want to facilitate a move towards more structural or interventionist approaches, we as researchers must play an active role in questioning, challenging, and reshaping the systems that underpin sport-based social interventions.

Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism

Cometh the hour, cometh … Mariana Mazzucato. Although she could not have anticipated the COVID-19 global pandemic, even less so the associated abandonment by governments of previously revered debt and deficit shibboleths, Professor Mazzucato’s new book on transformative mission-led research and innovation Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism is a contribution for its time. For decades, those advocating interventionist approaches to innovation and industry policy have felt obliged to do so within the restrictive doctrinal framework of neoclassical economics, whose static equilibrium model confines the role of government to addressing ‘market failure’, or in other words removing impediments to the operation of the market conceived in this abstract model. As Mazzucato recognizes, the model is static because it excludes the role of technological change and innovation, and characterized by equilibrium because it assumes all resources of labour and capital are fully employed, or would be in a world...

Plagiarism in Higher Academic Institutions, a Blight on Intellectual Integrity: An Interventionist Approach

Although studies on students’ plagiarism continue to attract research attention, there are still lacunas in the literature in terms of adequate interventions to combat the menace in higher educational institutions. This study set out to examine plagiarism behaviour among students at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi (KNUST) a leading Ghanaian university. The study employs a quantitative research technique informed by a positivistic orientation. Findings point to the need to treat students’ assignments as a process, not a product. It was concluded that covert and overt techniques are the best interventionist approaches to ascertaining and minimising students’ plagiarism tendencies. The study recommends the need for organizational structures to deal with the ‘menace’ and the pursuit of vigorous plagiarism awareness programmes for students and faculty. A concerted effort and commitment by students and faculty in combating plagiarism at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi (KNUST) could promote intellectual integrity in the university.

SlowMo therapy, a new digital blended therapy for fear of harm from others: An account of therapy personalisation within a targeted intervention

ObjectivesSlowMo therapy is a pioneering blended digital therapy for paranoia, augmenting face‐to‐face therapy with an interactive ‘webapp’ and a mobile app. A recent large‐scale trial demonstrated small–moderate effects on paranoia alongside improvements in self‐esteem, worry, well‐being and quality of life. This paper provides a comprehensive account of therapy personalisation within this targeted approach.DesignCase examples illustrate therapy delivery and descriptive data are presented on personalised thought content.MethodThought content was extracted from the webapp (n = 140 participants) and coded using newly devised categories: Worries: (1) Persecutory, (2) Negative social evaluation, (3) Negative self‐concept, (4) Loss/life stresses, (5) Sensory‐perceptual experiences and (6) Health anxieties. Safer thoughts: (1) Safer alternative (specific alternatives to worries), (2) Second‐wave (generalised) coping, (3) Positive self‐concept, (4) Positive activities and (5) Third‐wave (mindfulness‐based) coping. Data on therapy fidelity are also presented.ResultsWorries: ‘Persecutory’ (92.9% of people) and ‘Negative social evaluation’ (74.3%) were most common. ‘General worries/ life stresses’ (31.4%) and ‘Negative self‐concept’ (22.1%) were present in a significant minority; ‘Health anxieties’ (10%) and ‘Sensory‐perceptual’ (10%) were less common. Safer thoughts: ‘Second‐wave (general) coping’ (85%), ‘Safer alternatives’ (76.4%), ‘Positive self‐concept’ (65.7%) and ‘Positive activities’ (64.3%) were common with ‘Third‐wave’ (mindfulness) coping observed for 30%. Fidelity: Only three therapy withdrawals were therapy related. Session adherence was excellent (mean = 15.2/16; SD = 0.9). Behavioural work was conducted with 71% of people (119/168).ConclusionSlowMo therapy delivers a targeted yet personalised approach. Potential mechanisms of action extend beyond reasoning. Implications for cognitive models of paranoia and causal interventionist approaches are discussed.

The economic impact of two diagnostic strategies in the management of restorations in primary teeth: a health economic analysis plan for a trial-based economic evaluation

BackgroundDifferent approaches have been used by dentists to base their decision. Among them, there are the aesthetical issues that may lead to more interventionist approaches. Indeed, using a more interventionist strategy (the World Dental Federation - FDI), more replacements tend to be indicated than using a minimally invasive one (based on the Caries Around Restorations and Sealants—CARS). Since the resources related to the long-term health effects of these strategies have not been explored, the economic impact of using the less-invasive strategy is still uncertain. Thus, this health economic analysis plan aims to describe methodologic approaches for conducting a trial-based economic evaluation that aims to assess whether a minimally invasive strategy is more efficient in allocating resources than the conventional strategy for managing restorations in primary teeth and extrapolating these findings to a longer time horizon.MethodsA trial-based economic evaluation will be conducted, including three cost-effectiveness analyses (CEA) and one cost-utility analysis (CUA). These analyses will be based on the main trial (CARDEC-03/NCT03520309), in which children aged 3 to 10 were included and randomized to one of the diagnostic strategies (based on FDI or CARS). An examiner will assess children’s restorations using the randomized strategy, and treatment will be recommended according to the same criteria. The time horizon for this study is 2 years, and we will adopt the societal perspective. The average costs per child for 24 months will be calculated. Three different cost-effectiveness analyses (CEA) will be performed. For CEAs, the effects will be the number of operative interventions (primary CEA analysis), the time to these new interventions, the percentage of patients who did not need new interventions in the follow-up, and changes in children’s oral health-related quality of life (secondary analyses). For CUA, the effect will be tooth-related quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). Intention-to-treat analyses will be conducted. Finally, we will assess the difference when using the minimally invasive strategy for each health effect (∆effect) compared to the conventional strategy (based on FDI) as the reference strategy. The same will be calculated for related costs (∆cost). The discount rate of 5% will be applied for costs and effects. We will perform deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses to handle uncertainties. The net benefit will be calculated, and acceptability curves plotted using different willingness-to-pay thresholds. Using Markov models, a longer-term economic evaluation will be carried out with trial results extrapolated over a primary tooth lifetime horizon.DiscussionThe main trial is ongoing, and data collection is still not finished. Therefore, economic evaluation has not commenced. We hypothesize that conventional strategy will be associated with more need for replacements of restorations in primary molars. These replacements may lead to more reinterventions, leading to higher costs after 2 years. The health effects will be a crucial aspect to take into account when deciding whether the minimally invasive strategy will be more efficient in allocating resources than the conventional strategy when considering the management of restorations in primary teeth. Finally, patients/parents preferences and consequent utility values may also influence this final conclusion about the economic aspects of implementing the minimally invasive approach for managing restorations in clinical practice. Therefore, these trial-based economic evaluations may bring actual evidence of the economic impact of such interventions.Trial registrationNCT03520309. Registered May 9, 2018. Economic evaluations (the focus of this plan) are not initiated at the moment.

The operational implementation of the English Football League’s voluntary code of coach recruitment and its effectiveness in addressing the underrepresentation of minoritised coaches

ABSTRACT The English Football League’s voluntary code of coach recruitment seemingly represents a step change in the approach of authorities to addressing the continuing underrepresentation of minoritised coaches in men’s professional football in England. Informed by Critical Race Theory, this article draws on qualitative data generated in 29 interviews with minoritised coaches, professional club chief executives and key organizational stakeholders to examine the code’s development, implementation and effectiveness. Findings demonstrate that the implementation of the code appeared largely performative, as an absence of compliance coupled with organizational scepticism resulted in clubs continuing to operate informal recruitment processes. This engendered little meaningful change in increasing the inclusivity of coach recruitment practices and the representation of minoritised coaches in the game. The study demonstrates that more holistic and interventionist organizational approaches to equality, sensitive to the continuing salience of ‘race’, are needed in men’s professional football coaching.

Building College Readiness: Theories and Practices

The purpose of this study was to 1) explore theories and practices in building college readiness; 2) examine the Ethiopian college readiness policy and the Ethiopian preparatory for higher education curriculum through the lens of the theories and practices around the world.Materials and methods. To achieve these objectives, extant literature reviews were conducted. The international research databases such as Scimago Journal and Country Rank, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were used for the collection of the resources. Some local government reports and research findings were accessed in hard copy. The resources reviewed in this study consist of quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods empirical research reports, and systematic reviews. This systematic review mainly focused on 1) searching for interventionist approaches, theories, and practices of building college readiness across k-12 education beyond the traditional school-based teaching and learning arena; 2) how the trends in building college readiness focused on narrowing the gap between theory and practices through student supports from early years of schooling as well as how the practices focused on managing and monitoring student learning outcomes effectively.Results. The review analysis shows that the current practice of building college readiness has spread its roots in societal and ecological grounds than ever before. For this reason, the traditional school-based college readiness building tends to be more supplemented by the advanced, research-oriented, and community-based, or ecologically grounded early support and monitoring of student progress. The Ethiopian college readiness curriculum, admission processes, and practices in teaching-learning are highly school-based and traditional compared to the contemporary practices of building college readiness around the world. The early warning and support systems are highly dependent on the teachers’ classroom tests and national assessments that are administered at some grade levels only.Conclusion. Building college readiness is a significant factor in promoting college success and higher education student learning outcomes. The contemporary college readiness and transition to higher education is highly affected by multiple personal and ecological factors, in addition to the traditional school, curriculum, and teachinglearning factors. Multiple community-based and research-oriented early interventions and support systems need to supplement the role of schooling in building college readiness. The curriculum and teaching-learning processes need to be rich enough in narrowing the gap between theories and practices. The teachers play a great role in building college readiness.

War of conscience: antivaccination and the battle for medical freedom during World War I

The nineteenth century British antivaccination movement attracted popular and parliamentary support and ultimately saw the 1853 law which had made smallpox vaccination compulsory nullified by the 1898 ‘conscientious objector’ clause....

Reclaiming spectrum from incumbents in inefficiently allocated bands: Transaction costs, competition, and flexibility

Unlocking spectrum from inefficient, inflexible uses assigned mostly prior to the 1990s to a more efficient, flexible-use model is a key challenge for the Federal Communications Commission. This paper focuses on transitions of spectrum use and looks at how the FCC attempted to minimize transaction and holdout costs while also facilitating competition among service providers. The FCC's recent Broadcast Incentive Auction provides a case study to examine tradeoffs between centralized mechanisms and “overlay” auctions.The FCC experiences with overlays and more interventionist approaches leads to a set of five questions to help decide when to use simple overlays and when to add more rules to facilitate spectrum repurposing. When the FCC can facilitate repurposing through reducing hold up issues and providing alternatives for incumbents that decentralized private parties would find harder to effectuate, it may be appropriate for the FCC to step in. In other instances, overlays may be better.

Is Obesity Policy in England Fit for Purpose? Analysis of Government Strategies and Policies, 1992-2020.

Policy Points This analysis finds that government obesity policies in England have largely been proposed in a way that does not readily lead to implementation; that governments rarely commission evaluations of previous government strategies or learn from policy failures; that governments have tended to adopt less interventionist policy approaches; and that policies largely make high demands on individual agency, meaning they rely on individuals to make behavior changes rather than shaping external influences and are thus less likely to be effective or equitable.These findings may help explain why after 30 years of proposed government obesity policies, obesity prevalence and health inequities still have not been successfully reduced.If policymakers address the issues identified in this analysis, population obesity could be tackled more successfully, which has added urgency given the COVID‐19 pandemic. ContextIn England, the majority of adults, and more than a quarter of children aged 2 to 15 years live with obesity or excess weight. From 1992 to 2020, even though the government published 14 obesity strategies in England, the prevalence of obesity has not been reduced. We aimed to determine whether such government strategies and policies have been fit for purpose regarding their strategic focus, nature, basis in theory and evidence, and implementation viability.MethodWe undertook a mixed‐methods study, involving a document review and analysis of government strategies either wholly or partially dedicated to tackling obesity in England. We developed a theory‐based analytical framework, using content analysis and applied thematic analysis (ATA) to code all policies. Our interpretation drew on quantitative findings and thematic analysis.FindingsWe identified and analyzed 14 government strategies published from 1992 to 2020 containing 689 wide‐ranging policies. Policies were largely proposed in a way that would be unlikely to lead to implementation; the majority were not interventionist and made high demands on individual agency, meaning that they relied on individuals to make behavior changes rather than shaping external influences, and are thus less likely to be effective or to reduce health inequalities.ConclusionsThe government obesity strategies’ failure to reduce the prevalence of obesity in England for almost 30 years may be due to weaknesses in the policies’ design, leading to a lack of effectiveness, but they may also be due to failures of implementation and evaluation. These failures appear to have led to insufficient or no policy learning and governments proposing similar or identical policies repeatedly over many years. Governments should learn from their earlier policy failures. They should prioritize policies that make minimal demands on individuals and have the potential for population‐wide reach so as to maximize their potential for equitable impacts. Policies should be proposed in ways that readily lead to implementation and evaluation.

The rise of financial accountability in British joint stock banks: 1825 to 1845

This study explores parliamentary reforms related to the financial accountability of banks following the 1825–6 and 1836–7 financial crises in England. An appraisal of nineteenth-century parliamentary Hansard transcripts reveals early banking legislative pursuits. The study observes the laissez-faire and interventionist approaches towards the banking enactments of 1826, 1833 and 1844 that underpin the transformation of financial accountability during this era. The Bank Notes Act 1826 imposed financial accountability on the Bank of England by requiring the mandatory disclosure of notes issued. The Bank Notes Act 1833 extended this requirement to all other banks. The Bank Charter Act 1833 increased the financial accountability of the Bank of England by requiring it to provide an account of bullion and securities belonging to the governor and company, as well as deposits held by the bank. Thereafter, the Joint Stock Banks Act 1844 pioneered the regular publication of assets and liabilities and communication of the balance sheet and profit and loss account to shareholders. State intervention in the financial accountability of banks during the period from 1825 to 1845 appears to have been cumulative.

Flint, Michigan, and the Politics of Safe Drinking Water in the United States

Flint’s drinking water crisis has brought renewed⸺and needed⸺attention to the importance of safe drinking water in the United States. The Flint water crisis was the result of a confluence of factors operating at multiple scales in time and space. My aim is to draw out more explicitly the role of policy, and specifically rationalized policy, in incentivizing and allowing the mistakes and decisions that most proximately led to the Flint water crisis. I build on and extend existing analyses of the Flint water crisis, drawing on thirteen semi-structured interviews and publicly available reports, testimony, newspaper articles, and secondary data. My analysis brings to the fore the particular vulnerability to the marginalizing effects of rationalized policy and its implementation of poor and minority communities in the United States, and it reveals the stickiness and entrenchment of these rationalized policies. The response to the Flint water crisis, both in Michigan and nationally, has centered on renewed commitment to risk-based standards and rulemaking for safe drinking water protections, and maintains interventionist approaches to municipal financial distress. I discuss important alternatives that are emerging and indicate areas for future research on the politics of safe drinking water.

Metalinguistic Reflection and Computer-Mediated Communication: An Interventionist approach to Language Study Abroad

This article reports on part of a mixed-methods study framed by sociocultural theory and aimed at assessing the impact of an intervention to promote metalinguistic awareness in language study abroad sojourners. Participants utilized a social media platform as a space to develop personalized e-portfolios for the purpose of in-depth metalinguistic reflection, paired with entirely computer-mediated researcher-participant mentoring. As such, this study addresses the importance of intervention in second language learning in study abroad, while also adding to the research available on its intersections within a 24/7 digitally connected world. Analysis of the data suggests that carrying out reflective practices and engaging with a mentor, even at distance, may be contributory in enhancing Spanish language proficiency. Further, this provides evidence that interventionist approaches to study abroad can be made accessible and meaningful even in the absence of significant resources, and without implementing prohibitively onerous tasks for either a student or practitioner.

Latecomer Economies and National Digital Policy: An Industrial Policy Perspective

The global economy is experiencing digital transformation with impacts felt in developing countries. Digital firms and capabilities, however, remain concentrated in advanced economies. These processes indicate an emerging source of global economic inequality and a widening of the technological gap. Recently, there has been a growth in interventionist digital policy in developing and emerging economies but research has so far made a limited analysis of how this might fulfil economic objectives and support technological catch-up. In this paper, we examine this growth of national digital policies and highlight how industrial policy objectives are important drivers of digital strategies. Examining a number of cases based on an extensive analysis of national digital policies, with a focus on China, we illustrate that these policies often aim at facilitating global integration and linkages. However, our analysis shows that, under certain conditions, more interventionist approaches can be vital in countering structural challenges. Challenges include the power of digital platforms, limitations of domestic digital firms, and limited ability to leverage digitalisation for broad-based national development.

Solidarity in Diversity? State Responses to Religious Diversity in Liberal and Non-Liberal Perspectives

AbstractThis Article introduces the German Law Journal’s Special Issue on “Solidarity in Diversity? State Responses to Religious Diversity in Liberal and Non-Liberal Perspectives”. The major countries in comparative focus are Germany and Singapore, both self-avowedly secular countries that face the challenge of religious diversity: Singapore, from inception, and Germany, through more recent developments. A key issue the Article raises concerns liberal approaches towards regulating religion; it argues that the liberal model, taking Germany as an example, may serve as a productive starting point for comparative analysis, as the liberal focus on individual religious freedom impacts managing religious diversity, shapes national cultural identity, models of secularism and social solidarity. This is compared with non-liberal approaches, as exemplified in Singapore practice, where a more communitarian outlook underpin more interventionist approaches whereby public interests and the common good tend to be prioritized over individual freedom. The comparative angles offered in this Special Issue is furthermore buttressed in several articles in this Special Issue that make comparisons to other jurisdictions-United States and Canada. This introductory Article offers a brief overview to the various contributions to this Special Issue and identifies unifying themes.