Normative Strategies Research Articles

Conceptual framework for considering animal welfare in sustainability assessments of foods

In recent years, many studies analyzed the environmental, health and economic implications of the production and consumption of different foods – and, on this basis, evaluated their sustainability. However, associated impacts on animals have remained largely unexamined and existing assessment approaches are still immature and often lack reflection on their normative assumptions and resulting implications. As animal welfare concerns increase, this represents a shortcoming, leaving a critical sustainability issue without due consideration. To address this, we develop a conceptual framework that guides the key decisions for assessing animal welfare impacts of foods. The framework is derived from an integrative literature review and revised following external feedback from expert focus groups. It bridges the research fields of food system modeling, animal welfare science and animal ethics and can guide researchers in developing assessment approaches and assessing animal welfare impacts of foods, from individual food items to whole diets. The framework also directs transparent communication of the most important assessment decisions. We outline key considerations for animal welfare assessments of foods, highlight associated challenges and discuss quality criteria as well as technical and normative strategies to address them. Our contribution provides a basis for future research to integrate animal welfare into sustainability evaluations of food and investigate tradeoffs and synergies with environmental, social or economic issues. Following this framework in future assessments facilitates the integration of animal welfare into food-related policy assessments and public decisions.

"We Are the Authors of Our Relationship": Queering Love Languages in LGBTQ+ Students' Intimate Relationships

Abstract: This qualitative study examined the experiences of 14 LGBTQ+ college students in healthy intimate relationships with a focus on the ways that romantic partners give and receive affection. Framed through a consideration of love languages , this study challenges and extends what have become socially normative strategies for demonstrating affection.

Model Representation of Adjustable Differentiation of Regional Socio-Economic Systems

Introduction. According to the law of differentiation, the uneven development of the elements of the system leads to its heterogeneity and is a necessary precondition for the process of evolution. By weakening the links between the elements of the system, differentiation initiates disturbances during coordination processes. The objectively existing contradiction in the organization of socio-economic systems between coordination and differentiation can be overcome by managing the process of differentiation of the elements of the system. The aim of the study is to build an economic and mathematical model of regulated differentiation of regional socio-economic systems (subjects of the Russian Federation, the country as a whole), allowing to establish the conditions and limitations of equilibrium trajectories of their functioning, as well as to determine the parameters of differentiation that stimulates economic growth. Materials and Methods. The hypothesis of the study is an assumption about the influence of intra-territorial differentiation on economic growth and socio-economic development of the region. The methodological approach based on the representation of the model of uneven development of territories in comparison with the dynamic characteristics of their economic development is proposed and implemented. The approach is based on the study of the properties of nonlinear autonomous dynamic systems. The model is presented in the form of a system of differential equations in the space of values of the decile coefficient of differentiation and gross regional product per capita. Results. The calculations carried out on statistical data for the constituent entities of the Russian Federation for 2 years empirically confirmed the hypothesis put forward about the impact of intra-territorial differentiation on the economic development of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The results obtained complement the theoretical ideas about the stimulating effects of uneven territorial development and confirm the consistency of the provisions of the concept of regulated differentiation of socio-economic development of territories. Discussion and Conclusion. The scope of application of the research results consists in the possibility of building a dynamic economic-mathematical model of regulated differentiation of regional socio-economic systems (subjects of the Russian Federation, the country as a whole), allowing to determine the parameters of differentiation that stimulates economic growth, and the development on its basis of normative strategies for territorial development.

Integrated Maternal Care Strategies in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review

Background and aim:Ineffective organisation of care leads to increased morbidity and mortality in neonates and their mothers. We aimed to identify and describe strategies used in low- and middle-income countries that attempt to deliver coherent, coordinated, and continuous services (i.e., integrated care) and how the various strategies affect the organisation of care.Methods:We conducted a systematic literature review to identify, appraise, and synthesise relevant evidence about strategies for integrating maternal care in low- and middle-income countries, searching multiple electronic databases.Results:Fourteen studies met our inclusion criteria. We identified five types of integration strategies: 1) organisational, 2) service/professional, 3) functional, 4) organisational combined with normative strategies, and 5) clinical combined with functional integration strategies. The most frequent types of strategies were organisational, and service/professional integration strategies. We did not identify any publications describing systemic integration strategies implemented in low- and middle-income countries.Conclusions:Most types of strategies described in theory have been implemented and studied in low- and middle-income countries. Our findings suggest that different types of strategies may lead to comparable organisational outcomes. For example, organisational integration strategies and professional or service integration strategies may similarly influence inter-organisational collaboration. Inter-organisational collaboration may play a particularly important role in the context of maternal care integration.

Fragmented local normative orders, unresolved localizations, and the contesting of gender equality norms in Turkey

ABSTRACT This paper examines the localization process of the global gender equality norm in Turkey and argues that the normative contestations on this concern, among rival political blocs and activist groups, have not allowed any resolution. Accordingly, the global gender equality norm has undergone state-led secular localization as of the 1990s. In the post-2010 context under AKP rule, however, this process was disrupted by the proponents of the alternative conservative local norm of gender justice, who sought to replace the already localized norm of gender equality. Our study examines the contestations and rivalries regarding gender equality in the country with an emphasis on normative strategies utilised by the secular and conservative political blocs. Based on face-to-face interviews conducted with representatives of the main trade unions in the country, we also did a minor case study of the ongoing contestations regarding the adoption of gender equality norms, as manifested in trade union activism.

Resilience management for coastal fisheries facing with global changes and uncertainties

Operationalizing resilience in fisheries management is a challenging issue in the face of global changes. In this perspective, Grafton et al. (2019) propose a heuristic based on the ‘3Rs’ of resilience, namely resistance, recovery, and robustness. The work presented here applies this generic framework to the coastal fishery of French Guiana, which is under pressure because of both climate change, energy costs and demographic growth. To this end, a dynamic multi-species, resource-based and multi-fleet model accounting for climate and socio-economic uncertainties is developed and calibrated using catch and effort time series. The search for a more resilient management leads us to compare different fishing management strategies and projections including ‘Business as usual’ (bau), ‘Multispecies Maximum Sustainable Yield’ (mmsy) and ‘Multispecies Maximum Economic Yield’ (mmey) strategies. The comparison between the strategies relies on ecological–economic viability goals and thresholds. The two normative strategies mmsy and mmey turn out to provide major gains in terms of the 3Rs and ecological–economic resilience as compared to bau. They both suggest major redistributions in the fishing effort of the different fleets.

Response Bias Reflects Individual Differences in Sensory Encoding

Humans exhibit substantial biases in their decision making even in simple two-choice tasks, but the origin of these biases remains unclear. I hypothesized that one source of bias could be individual differences in sensory encoding. Specifically, if one stimulus category gives rise to an internal-evidence distribution with higher variability, then responses should optimally be biased against that stimulus category. Therefore, response bias may reflect a previously unappreciated subject-to-subject difference in the variance of the internal-evidence distributions. I tested this possibility by analyzing data from three different two-choice tasks (ns = 443, 443, and 498). For all three tasks, response bias moved in the direction of the optimal criterion determined by each subject’s idiosyncratic internal-evidence variability. These results demonstrate that seemingly random variations in response bias can be driven by individual differences in sensory encoding and are thus partly explained by normative strategies.

The Fewer Insider Poachers, the More Normative Compliance: Clues for Managing Poaching in the Shellfish Sector

ABSTRACT Shellfish poaching is an act of noncompliance with the laws that regulate fisheries governance. In this paper we explored if compliance with shellfishing laws among Galician licensed shellfish-gatherers (NW Spain) is voluntary or motivated by coercive factors. The results reveal that in those communities with a greater degree of compliance, licensed shellfish-gatherers do not poach and comply with the rules voluntarily. The conditions in these communities favor the co-management of resources in such a way that the participation of gatherers in the governance processes, internal cooperation, self-government capacity or participation in enforcement are significantly greater than in communities where there is no compliance. Furthermore, we have explored the perception of the shellfish-gatherers to minimize poaching in their communities. The interviewees distinguished two types of poachers, depending on whether they belong to the shellfishing industry or not. We made recommendations regarding policy to reduce poaching, which combine coercive and normative strategies.

Individual differences in strategy use and performance during fault diagnosis

BackgroundResearch on causal reasoning often uses group-level data analyses that downplay individual differences and simple reasoning problems that are unrepresentative of everyday reasoning. In three empirical studies, we used an individual differences approach to investigate the cognitive processes people used in fault diagnosis, which is a complex diagnostic reasoning task. After first showing how high-level fault diagnosis strategies can be composed of simpler causal inferences, we discussed how two of these strategies—elimination and inference to the best explanation (IBE)—allow normative performance, which minimizes the number of diagnostic tests, whereas backtracking strategies are less efficient. We then investigated whether the use of normative strategies was infrequent and associated with greater fluid intelligence and positive thinking dispositions and whether normative strategies used slow, analytic processing while non-normative strategies used fast, heuristic processing.ResultsAcross three studies and 279 participants, uses of elimination and IBE were infrequent, and most participants used inefficient backtracking strategies. Fluid intelligence positively predicted elimination and IBE use but not backtracking use. Positive thinking dispositions predicted avoidance of backtracking. After classifying participants into groups that consistently used elimination, IBE, and backtracking, we found that participants who used elimination and IBE made fewer, but slower, diagnostic tests compared to backtracking users.ConclusionsParticipants’ fault diagnosis performance showed wide individual differences. Use of normative strategies was predicted by greater fluid intelligence and more open-minded and engaged thinking dispositions. Elimination and IBE users made the slow, efficient responses typical of analytic processing. Backtracking users made the fast, inefficient responses suggestive of heuristic processing.

Drivers and Self Ego States in Social Cognitive TA: a research on drivers as protective strategies

The work presents a synthesis of a set of studies of a correlational research conducted by Scilligo and co-workers on drivers and their relationship with the developmental Self-integration. Drivers are examined in the light of their historical development in TA. A definition is adopted that sees the drivers as normative protective strategies that can acquire dysfunctional connotations both when they are absent and when they are present in a rigid and “out of context” way. Self-integration is defined in term of self-perception of Self Ego state according to Social Cognitive TA. Subjects (N= 700) were adults, mostly university students and trainees in clinical psychology. The five drivers (Hurry Up, Please Me, Try Hard, Be Strong, Be Perfect) were measured with the Espero self-report questionnaire (Scilligo, 2005) and Self Ego States were measured with the Anint self-report questionnaire based on SASB (Benjamin, 1974, 2000; Scilligo & Benjamin, 1993, Scilligo 2005) by which 12 prototypical Ego states are operationally defined according to SCTA (Scilligo, 2009; De Luca e Tosi, 2011). Different studies were conducted for men and women, concerning Ego states for three levels of each of the five drivers. Results show, for all the drivers, that an average level of the driver is related with Self Ego State profiles indicating good integration both for men and women. High level of the driver is related with less integration of Self, except for Be Strong and Be Perfect in men, which result is associated to a functional profile of Ego states. Low level of the drivers is related to less integration of Ego states except for Be Strong in women, and for Hurry Up both for men and women. Results support the hypothesis of a non-linear relationship between drivers and Self-integration, with better levels of integration in subjects with average levels of drivers.

Konstitusi dan Arah Kebijakan Pembangunan Hukum; Sebelum dan Sesudah Amendemen

This study aims to find out (1) the relevance of the mandate of the 1945 Constitution of the policy and legal development in GBHN RPJPN, (2) to the normative strategies of national development planning process in the period of the state system before and after amendment to the Constitution of 1945. This study used a qualitative approach with a descriptive-comparative method. The results showed that (1) the formulation of policy towards development of the law, both the artifacts in the Guidelines of State Policy and RPJPN models, can be said to be substantially relevant to mandate of the Constitution, which applies in the context of each period; (2) there are fundamental differences in strategy formulation nomatif RPJPN GBHN with the preparation. This fundamental difference is the logical consequence of the amendments made to the Constitution of 1945 in the history of the Indonesian nation state system.

Stemming the sportswear counterfeit tide: Emerging market evidence of rational and normative drivers

Orientation: Increasingly, there is an urgent need to curb the scourge of counterfeiting, which is fast becoming a global economic threat with severe implications on employment creation and societal well-being. Research purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of rational and normative factors on consumers’ willingness to buy counterfeit sportswear in South Africa. Motivation for the study: This study contributes input to the development of long-term strategies of curbing the escalating scourge of counterfeiting in the sportswear sector. Research design, approach and method: The study was conducted in South Africa’s southern Gauteng region and Johannesburg central business district, which are considered to be amongst the major counterfeit sportswear promoting segments in South Africa. Cross-sectional data were collected from a convenient sample of 390 respondents. Study hypotheses were tested using standard multiple regression analysis. Main findings: Perceived financial control and subjective norm emerged as the main factors that engender favourable attitudes towards counterfeit products. Furthermore, attitude towards counterfeits had a strong positive effect on consumers’ willingness to purchase counterfeit sportswear. Practical/managerial implications: The findings of this study suggest that a combination of normative and rational strategies have the potential to change consumers’ attitudes and willingness to purchase counterfeit sportswear. Contribution/value-added: The study findings highlight the importance of attempting to address the problem of counterfeiting not only from a regulatory perspective but also from a rational and normative perspective.

IT vendors’ legitimation strategies and market share: The case of EMR systems

This study investigates the legitimation strategies adopted by information technology (IT) vendors and their respective influence on market share. We conducted an analysis of the public discourse on websites of top Electronic Medical Record (EMR) vendors in Ontario, Canada. A total of 815 segments extracted from these websites were analyzed. Our findings indicate that strategies under the cognitive and pragmatic forms of legitimacy were strongly represented in the EMR vendors’ discourses compared with regulative and normative strategies. Furthermore, the link between legitimation strategies and market share has not yet been clearly established. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

Engagement in a Novel Internet Intervention for Alcohol Reduction: A Qualitative Study of User Motivations and Experiences.

Internet interventions are effective in reducing alcohol consumption, but little is known regarding their acceptability. We aimed to inform recruitment and retention strategies by exploring users' motivations and experiences in using a novel, Internet intervention, the Hello Sunday Morning (HSM) program. We conducted one-to-one, telephone-enabled qualitative interviews with 24 adult users of HSM (50 percent female; Mage = 42.42 years), purposively selected to ensure diversity in demographics and drinking levels. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Two themes, each with two subthemes were identified: (1a) pathway to HSM: HSM attracted participants seeking help for alcohol-related problems, and those not yet seeking help; (1b) format and framing: the positive, nonthreatening framing and anonymous, convenient format enabled participants to join out of interest, curiosity, or desire for a challenge; (2a) support and normalization: participants gained social support from other users, and their problems with alcohol and desire to seek help were normalized; (2b) goal setting and self-monitoring: setting goals and monitoring progress provided participants with motivation and self-accountability. We conclude that evidence-based behavior change techniques, including social support, normative strategies, goal setting, and self-monitoring, were appealing to users. These aspects could be incorporated into other programs to recruit participants who might otherwise avoid or delay seeking help.

Democratic Socialists on Social Media: Cohesion, Fragmentation, and Normative Strategies

This essay focuses on members of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) political organisation in the US and the ambivalence of using social media as a primary means of communication for socialist information and culture. Relying on in-depth interviews with fifteen active members and leaders in DSA, this essay asks: How does socialist communication on social media encourage both cohesion and fragmentation for activists within the DSA? Locating and analysing key tensions felt by DSA members in response to their use of Facebook and Twitter, this project sheds light on the ways in which socialism is presently communicated to publics and counterpublics and identifies important challenges for the expansion of the socialist movement.

Speech, Silence, and Shakespearean Quotation in The Sounding (2017)

ABSTRACTThis article examines Catherine Eaton’s The Sounding (2017). It uses the polarized critical interpretations that have emerged in response to Isabella’s wordlessness in Act 5 of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure as a useful set of lenses for considering the non–normative communication strategies employed by Liv, the female protagonist in this cinematic adaptation of The Tempest. Orphaned as a child, the thirty-something Liv has been brought up in relative isolation on an island off the coast of Maine by her doting (and overtly Prospero-like) grandfather Lionel, a retired psychiatric professional. Though well-read, quick-witted, and the cultural beneficiary of her grandfather’s careful tutelage, from childhood, Liv has not spoken. When she finally breaks her long years of verbal silence on foot of Lionel’s death partway through the film, Liv’s output proves to be exclusively limited to Shakespearean quotations – much to the consternation of her emergent love interest Dr. Michael Lande. Focusing on the gender politics of silence, quotation, audibility, and canonicity in Eaton’s film, the article queries, in turn, whether Liv’s storyline in The Sounding is best understood as a tale of linguistic resistance and empowerment or as one of inarticulacy and patriarchal domination.

When it is not about the money: Social comparison and energy conservation among residents who do not pay for electricity

We conducted two field experiments to promote summer electricity conservation among low-to-moderate income households that do not pay for energy. Both experiments were conducted during summer months when electricity use increases, and both focused on reducing use of air-conditioning. Study 1 delivered face-to-face communications that provided normative feedback (comparison to neighbors’ energy use), an indoor ambient room thermometer, energy saving tips to reduce window air-conditioning use, free compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), and a written commitment. Results showed a reduction in average summer electricity use of 2.7% compared to a control condition. Study 2 eliminated the face-to-face contact by instead providing materials under residents’ doors. Study 2 compared a revised normative feedback condition to a revised normative feedback plus intrinsic prime condition (that connected energy use, smog, and childhood asthma) to a no contact control condition. The revised normative feedback condition resulted in short-term average electricity reductions of 5.8% and longer term (12 months) average electricity reductions of 5.3%. The revised normative feedback plus intrinsic prime condition resulted in average short-term savings of 1.4% but no evidence for longer-term savings. Combined, the results show that normative strategies can promote electricity conservation in living situations where there is no direct financial benefit. These results are relevant for a range of contexts pertaining to residents who do not pay for their energy usage. These two experiments advance the understanding of normative research in the social sciences to promote energy conservation in the absence of financial benefits.

UNESCO, Religious Freedoms and World Cultural Heritage in the Old City of Jerusalem: the line of fire between challenges, comparisons and new perspectives

SUMMARY: 1. Introduction to the role of UNESCO in defining, respecting and implementing Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms: a general analysis - 2. The right to participate freely in cultural life: the specific UNESCO's involvement in the field of religious rights - 3. IHL Dimension linked to UNESCO's Legislative Powers to Protect the Cultural Heritage in the Event of Armed Conflict or Occupation - 4. UNESCO's Actions to Preserve the Cultural Heritage in Syria and Iraq: A comparative framework - 5. The Legal Status of Jerusalem and the management of the Holy Places: Jerusalem in a Nutshell - 6. UNESCO's past interventions in Jerusalem: a legal basis for future interventions - 7. The Mughrabi Gate Ascent - 8. The 2008 Action Plan for the Safeguarding of the Cultural Heritage of the Old City of Jerusalem - 9. UNESCO, Resolution 200 EX/PX/DR.25.2:“Occupied Palestine” - 10. Conclusions. ABSTRACT: The current dissertation is mainly going to analyse the original contribution of UNESCO to the development of the concept of cultural rights through the proclamation and elaboration of normative instruments and strategies concerning the right to the protection of and access to the cultural (religious) heritage in contested areas. Since 1967, UNESCO has increasingly played a dominant role in the Old city of Jerusalem: it exercised its power in the field of the preservation of cultural heritage in a contested area, not only through practical plans, but also through legislative instruments and Resolutions. A peculiar political contest is still challenging the full exercise of its powers and the applicability of the main human rights treaty dealing with the preservation of cultural heritage in a contest of competing sovereignty. The essay, drawing on UNESCO's past restoration experiences in ancient (Aleppo, 1992) and post-conflict (Iraq, 2003) areas, focuses on the conciliation role that the Agency may potentially play in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Luohu Model: A Template for Integrated Urban Healthcare Systems in China.

Introduction:Emerging from the epidemiological transition and accelerated aging process, China’s fragmentated healthcare systems struggle to meet the demands of the population. On Sept 1st 2017, China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission encouraged all cities to learn from the Luohu model of integration adopted in Luohu as an approach to meeting these challenges. In this paper, we study the integration process, analyze the core mechanisms, and conduct preliminary evaluations of integrated policy development in the Luohu model.Policy development:The Luohu hospital group was established in Aug 2015, consists of five district hospitals, 23 community health stations and an institute of precision medicine. The group adopted a series of professional, organizational, system, functional and normative strategies for integrated care, which was provided for the residents of Luohu, especially for the elderly population and patients with chronic conditions. According to a preliminary evaluation of the past two years, the Luohu model showed improvement in the structure and process towards integrated care. New preventive programs conducted in the hospital group resulted in changes of disease incidence. Residents were more satisfied with the Luohu model. However, spending exceeded the global budget for health insurance because of short-term increases in the demand for health care.Lessons learned:First, engagement of multiple stakeholders is essential for the design and implementation of reform. Second, organizational integration is a prerequisite for integrated care in China. Third, effective care integration requires alignment with payment reforms. Fourth, normative integration could promote collaboration in an integrated healthcare system.Conclusion:Core strategies and mechanisms of the Luohu model will promote integrated care in urban China and other countries facing the same challenges. However, it is necessary to study the effects of the Luohu model over the long term and continue to strive for integrated care.

Emerging health technology firms\u2019 strategies and their impact on economic and healthcare system actors: a qualitative study

A growing number of announcements on new and innovative medical devices are reported each year by economic actors. However, very few new technologies are successfully acquired and adopted by healthcare actors. To examine how economic and healthcare system actors perceive entrepreneurs’ strategies employed to respond to and address healthcare system actors’ pressures following firm’s emergence, we gathered data with 20 healthcare system and economic actors using semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis. We have determined that the acquisition and diffusion of health technologies are increasingly regulated and must respond to increasing pressures from many actors who see their agency power decline. We have found that political strategies address the pressures from institutionalization of practices and decoupling of the health system and its goals, associative strategies react to the power of key influencers such as investors and medical specialists, and mistrust of marketing actions, normative strategies respond to pressures stemming from the growing need for evidence-based data; finally, identity strategies answer to the fragmentation of a public health system and the heterogeneity of local procurement processes are approached. The results may help medical professionals, decision-makers, and evaluators to understand medical device acquisition and diffusion process better.