Participatory Framework Research Articles

Putting the Ducks in a Row: Development of a Duck-assisted Green Care Intervention for Persons with Traumatic Brain Injury

Green Care therapies are defined as the engagement of a patient with the nature, exposing patients to a nature based therapeutic setting that may facilitate their recovery. Such therapies became popular at the end of the twentieth century. This therapeutic approach may include therapeutic horticulture, nature therapies, care farming, facilitated exercise, and animal-assisted therapies with farm animals (AATF). This paper describes the processes of planning and creating an AATF-based clinical intervention wherein persons with TBI interacted with ducks (in twice weekly, 1-hour groups) for 12 wk at a TBI rehabilitation facility. The discussion includes site identification, stakeholder engagement, intervention design and human and animal safety procedures. The research methods, theoretical framework, ethical consideration, and risk reduction strategies for human participants and ducks are discussed. Also, description of challenges and blueprints of possible solutions for other researchers interested in developing similar initiatives. This program will serve as a study site for examining effects of AATF-based interventions on self-efficacy, depression, and anxiety in persons with TBI. If the study suggests that AATF interventions with ducks may lead to positive changes, the proposed study will be followed with studies that include larger samples at multiple sites. Findings in this paper may contribute to the implementation science body of knowledge. Because of that, the information in this paper may benefit the researchers outside of the healthcare arena. From that perspective methods described in this paper may help to develop studies that focus on policy development, program expansion, or individual project implementation.

A participatory framework for bridging the conceptual and talent gaps in supply chain management education

AbstractThis article argues that current Supply Chain Management (SCM) education and training is inadequate to meet the human capital needs of industry. To bridge this gap, we propose the development and deployment of SCM educational programs that provide learning opportunities earlier in students’ educational journeys. We argue that such programs should be based on self‐directed learning of SCM knowledge, business concepts/skills, and their real‐life application with help from industry partners. We present a case study of a four‐way partnership SCM educational program for high schoolers, which utilizes a project‐based learning method. Survey data and focus group discussion revealed positive developmental learning outcomes, the program's uniqueness, and challenges such as lack of awareness, expertise, and industry partners. We evaluate the efficacy of this four‐way partnership among industry, government agencies, universities, and high schools and discuss the importance of “champions” for each partner. Our findings offer a scalable educational model that leverages multi‐stakeholder engagement to address the SCM talent and educational conceptual gap.

Developing a small participant framework: An investigation of mode choice influential factors

An in-depth comprehension of the changing impact of mode choice influencing factors is essential in planning for behavior-adaptive mode shift policies. This study developed a framework to investigate a method of evaluation of the changes in mode choice using a small participation pool. A field application in Pima County, Arizona was developed to test the developed framework to evaluate the impact of a real transit experience. Twenty-two participants were recruited and repeated measurements were taken before and after their transit trip. The results revealed that people are less susceptible to their mental biases after a transit trip and consider more objective elements such as walking time. The developed framework resulted in successful evaluation methods that are reproducible for other application study designs. Thus, the results further present that low participant recruitment in application-based field studies can be accomplished using this developed methodology, for other regions and studies.

Facilitating participation in an online dance class for people living with dementia

Background: Care workers practice different approaches to facilitating social participation and managing (non-)responsiveness in activities for people living with dementia. Utilizing an on-screen dance activity in a foreign language, carers in this study draw on multimodal resources and shift their footings in participation frameworks to demonstrate and reformulate expectations in pursuit of responses. Method: Data were collected as part of a test pilot for a dance program designed for people with cognitive and physical challenges. The program was remotely delivered from Canada to a private, assisted living facility in Finland during the COVID-19 pandemic. Video recordings of five consecutive weekly dance classes were transcribed and analyzed using an ethnomethodology and conversation analysis (EMCA) approach to multimodal interaction, looking at directive-response sequences. Results: Our preliminary results explore how co-present facilitators encouraged participation of a non-responsive participant through embodied directives in three ways: through demonstrations and reformulations in co-participation; through repetition and emphasis in response to non-compliance; and through a subsequent proposal of a change in the interactional frame. Discussion/conclusion: There are various recipient-designed ways in which care workers facilitate participation in on-screen arts-based programs, including how they address non-compliance.

Health Literacy, lifestyles, and socio-economic factors in the Italian population: a national survey

Abstract Introduction Health literacy (HL) entails people's knowledge and abilities to find, understand and use health information to make health-related decisions. This study aims to evaluate HL association with lifestyles in the Italian adult population. Methods In 2021, in the framework of the Italian participation in the WHO network Measuring Population and Organizational Health Literacy M-POHL, a survey was conducted on a representative sample of the Italian population aged 18+ years (n = 3,500). A validated 47-item questionnaire was used to collect core HL information, plus 31 items for correlate information, including lifestyles. For each HL-item, a 4-point Likert scale was applied: very easy/easy/difficult/very difficult. The HL index (percentage of very easy/easy), was stratified in Inadequate (0%−50%), Problematic (51%−66%), Sufficient (67%−80%), Excellent (81%−100%). Inadequate/Problematic were merged into “Limiting”, Sufficient/Excellent in “Not limiting”. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was implemented to assess the association between dichotomous HL and obesity (BMI > =30 Kg/m2), physical activity-PA (intense (5-7 days a week)/not intense (0-4 days a week)), fruit and vegetable diet-FVD (daily/not daily), smoking habit (yes/no), adjusted by sex, age, region, education-ED, financial deprivation-FD. Results Prevalence of Limiting HL is 64.6%. In Limiting HL, obesity is significantly higher than in Not limiting HL (14.6% vs 12.0%), similarly not intense PA (82.3% vs 75.7%), not daily FVD (54.0% vs 47.7%), low ED (22.3% vs 18.0%), severe FD (20.8% vs 9.1%); the opposite for smokers (30.2% vs 34.7%). Significant association with Limiting HL was found for not intense PA (Odds Ratio-OR=1.48), not daily FVD (OR = 1.24), low ED (OR = 1.39), severe FD (OR = 3.33). Conclusions Results show that persons with not intense PA and those with not daily FVD need targeted support to improve HL, as well as those with a lower level of education and problematic financial situation. Key messages • This study aims to evaluate Health literacy association with lifestyles and socio-economic factors in the Italian adult population. • Intense physical activity and a regular fruit and vegetable diet lifestyles are associated with ‘Not limiting’ Health Literacy, as well as high educational level and low financial deprivation.

A participatory framework to evaluate coherence between climate change adaptation and sustainable development policies

AbstractAdapting to climate change involves taking a series of actions that reduce and/or avoid the effect of climate risks while ultimately increasing development opportunities in affected environments. Therefore, adaptation to climate change must become an integral part of a sustainable development process, in which it maintains the same priority as other development goals and strategies. Aiming to address the conceptual gap in coherent policy research in the fields of climate change and sustainable development, we performed coherence analysis research, categorized the different approaches, and defined methodology. The methodological framework was tested during the Living Lab based on a deliberative participatory process, making it easily applicable to diverse targets and contexts. The methodological framework developed in this study represents an unprecedented experience at the national (Italy) and regional level (Sardinia), projected to address global current/future environmental issues and problems through local knowledge, peculiarities, and resources.

The Power of Personal Archives in Witnessing, Teaching, and Visual Storytelling: The Armenian Memory Project

Abstract The Armenian Memory Project (AMP) is a collaborative effort designed to harness the energy and resources of the University of Connecticut and the New England Armenian community for the goal of fostering greater understanding of the region’s Armenian cultural heritage and the impact human rights crimes had on the Armenian community. In 2019, students and faculty from the university worked with Armenian American institutions and individuals on an initial component of the AMP, employing digital media technology to tell the story of one immigrant Armenian family, the Dildilians. A unique course was created to produce a documentary film centring around this family’s experiences in Ottoman Turkey before, during, and after the Armenian Genocide. Designed and taught by a documentary filmmaker with support from a family archivist/historian, the course brought students together in a collaborative learning experience. By immersing themselves in the family’s extensive photograph archive, these students came to understand the important role that the past continues to play in the lives of present-day Armenians. Furthermore, by taking on the responsibility as storytellers of the Dildilian narrative, students developed a deeper identification with this distant history and, in a wider sense, an appreciation for the ethical value of memory in bearing witness to the past. This collaborative and participatory framework for teaching using archival collections can serve as a model for creating a transformative learning experience in the study of human rights, war, and genocide.

Consultation not Contestation: Brazilian civil society in EU-Mercosur Association Agreement negotiations

ABSTRACT The aim of this article is to explore the role of Brazilian civil society in interregional trade between 2003 and 2020, with a focus on negotiations between the European Union and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur). I draw on document analysis from Mercosur’s online archives and from interviews with actors engaged in trade at the time analyzed, supported by the Modes of Participation framework. This approach allowed for a uniquely critical perspective on Mercosur’s participatory structure. I aim to find out: who was represented in negotiations; what forms of participation were permitted; and who were the actors who pushed for the creation of participatory channels. My hypothesis is that, by establishing modes of participation, government elites have filtered out dissenting voices from channels which could potentially influence negotiations, while civil society representatives created participatory spaces in response to perceived limitations. Results show that societal dissent was contained first by a proliferation of channels and mechanisms for limited participation from 2003, and from 2016 onwards by limiting access to government officials and reports on negotiating rounds. Furthermore, it was found that contentious actors, excluded from negotiations, created their own spaces for participation, such as drafting collective statements and lobbying Brazilian congresspeople.

Political Participation in China: Towards a New Definition and Typology

Political participation has become an important topic in contemporary political thinking. Western scholars’ views that reflect experiences in Western societies have become predominant theoretical articulations on political participation. This study offers a critical review of the conceptual frameworks of political participation in democratic and non-democratic societies. Drawing on previous research, it has developed a new definition and typology of political participation in China. It eschews voluntarism in the Western definition of political activities and participation to creatively propose a well-developed definition of political participation in China for which it constructs a ladder model. This study summarises Chinese political participation according to four categories: non-participation, tokenism, active participation, and radical participation. This study proposes a typology that motivates us to think of many issues, including online interactions. This study makes a much-needed contribution to the literature on the theoretical development of political participation in China.

Community participation in enterprise development programmes for poverty reduction and sustainable development in Ghana

ABSTRACT To trickle down poverty in rural areas, development partners and national governments have instituted enterprise development programmes which call for the establishment of some participatory frameworks to enable rural entrepreneurs determine for themselves, the exact Business Development Service (BDS) they desire to bring about economic improvement and social change. In ensuring that the concept of participation is not merely a wish list, the article modified Choguill’s ladder of community participation as a de facto lens to examine whether “participation” really exists in these programmes by drawing on evidence from the Rural Enterprises Programme (REP) in Ghana. Using qualitative in-depth interviews grounded in a single case study design (REP), the study observed that despite the existence of structures that appear to involve entrepreneurs at all stages of the decision-making process, beneficiaries think otherwise. Notwithstanding, some context and power-induced factors were identified to have accounted for these discrepancies.

Evaluating the Suitability of Online Courses using the ELECTRE Method

This study aims to explore the use of the Elimination and Choice Expressing Reality (ELECTRE) method for selecting and evaluating online courses. The pairwise comparison method determined a set of criteria and weights, including course quality, instructor experience, accreditation, student engagement, flexibility, technical support, and cost. The study used a mixed-methods approach, which means it combines quantitative and qualitative data. The ELECTRE method was then applied to rank five online courses based on their suitability for the participants' needs and expectations. The concordance and discordance indices were calculated for each course, and the net flow was used to determine the ranking. The results showed that the ELECTRE method can be a useful tool for participants in choosing and evaluating online courses based on a set of tailored criteria and weights. Future research could investigate how the results of the ELECTRE method can be combined with other methods to enhance the accuracy and validity of the ranking. Overall, the ELECTRE method provides a useful framework for participants to decide which online course is best suited to their individual preferences and goals.

A dialogic speech act approach to ridiculing references in the French presidential debate of 2022

Abstract The article proposes a dialogic approach to ridiculing in the French presidential debate of 2022, illustrating the ridiculing act as representative of the core dynamics of political debates. The analysis enabled the configuration of a prototype of the ridiculing act within a dialogic sequence of action and reaction, which shows that ridiculing most frequently occurs as an immediate reaction or reactive chain to actions initiated in the free discussion sections of the dialogue. The selected dialogic sequences are shaped by some particularities of ridiculing as a macro speech act of negative humour and the genre of the presidential debate, such as the interplay of the different layers of meaning, as well as the fixed rules of turn-taking, the front-staged nature of the talk and the participation framework.

Enriching a randomized controlled treatment trial for anorexia nervosa by lived experience-Chances and effects of a lived experience council in the SUSTAIN study.

The development and advancement of treatment and care options is one priority in the field of eating disorders. The inclusion of persons with lived experience with eating disorders into clinical research could enrich and accelerate this endeavor, as they can add different perspectives on the disease and its treatment. Although lived experience perspectives are increasingly part of eating disorder research, they have not been widely or structurally implemented into clinical trials and there is limited information on the practice of participatory research, its framework and consequences. The present work outlines the participatory collaboration with a lived experience council in the randomized controlled treatment trial SUSTAIN. The manuscript is a participatory publication co-written by individuals with lived experience with anorexia nervosa and eating disorder researchers. We report on motivations for this approach, our collaboration principles, structures and shared experience of working together in the trial, the potential burdens and benefits related to participation for people with lived experience. We outline future directions and perspectives to integrate a participatory framework into clinical eating disorder research. The involvement of people with experiential knowledge is complex, but possible in clinical research on ED and bears huge potential for the development of more effective care. Incorporating perspectives of people with lived experience into a participatory framework of mental health research bears huge potential on a societal level. This includes more relevant research topics and designs, more tailored and effective interventions, and facilitated implementation, as well as dissemination, higher credibility, destigmatization of mental illness, and patient empowerment. Participatory clinical research, however, needs structural anchorage within science and society.

Discursive valuing practices at the periphery: Javanese use on Indonesian youth radio in multilingual Solo

AbstractThis paper seeks to understand how languages are discursively identified and valued within a youth radio station in Solo, Indonesia. This study seeks to contribute to the body of knowledge on the dynamic relationship between the national language, Bahasa Indonesia, and the local language, Javanese, by utilizing a social value and centre-periphery lens to approach continuity and change in present-day Central Java. Valuing practices are observed by examining the situated use of linguistic features and norms of their use within specific social practice (radio programming). From June 2020 to July 2020, a total of 120 h of radio content was recorded for analysis. Analysis showed that valuing practices emerged in response to the use of linguistic features within different radio segments of the program. The formation of participatory frameworks in the periphery and the evaluative commentaries accompanying them contributed to the construction of norms for using these linguistic features. Our analysis shows how paying attention to evaluative practices can highlight how the value of sets of linguistic features emerge, circulate, and are transformed within the media practices in the periphery.

Shifting power relations in disability sport and social activism research: an emancipatory approach

ABSTRACT In answer to appeals for more participatory frameworks to advance qualitative methodologies, this article shows how a novel emancipatory approach to disability research produced significant impact and learnings. We (academics and non-academics) explain how ethical problems experienced in traditional qualitative research designed to understand how grassroots disabled activists in the UK were reacting to the International Paralympic Committee’s WeThe15 campaign, led to the emergence of an ‘emancipatory approach to research’. We discuss how a small group of creative non-academic disabled activists, artists and athletes formed a foundational project called Project Group Spirit to unpick concerns about the WeThe15 campaign and formulate activist interventions in the context of Paralympic sport. Three sets of action-orientated activist findings that arose from the project are described: ‘Disabled Athletes and Artists, and their Activism’, ‘Engaging with WeThe15’ and ‘The Moral High Ground’. These themes, we show, provided the groundwork for the group to organise themselves into a wider principled project called the Disability Knowledge Exchange and Impact Group (KEI Group). The article ends by discussing a) the potential impact of the KEI Group b) academic barriers to emancipatory approaches and c) ways to evaluate emancipatory disability research. This article is an example of emancipatory research in action to help foster high-quality participatory frameworks going forward.

Artificial Intelligence, Climate Change and Innovative Democratic Governance

AbstractThis policy-oriented article explores the sustainability dimension of digitalisation and artificial intelligence (AI). While AI can contribute to halting climate change via targeted applications in specific domains, AI technology in general could also have detrimental effects for climate policy goals. Moreover, digitalisation and AI can have an indirect effect on climate policy via their impact on political processes. It will be argued that, if certain conditions are fulfilled, AI-facilitated digital tools could help with setting up frameworks for bottom-up citizen participation that could generate the legitimacy and popular buy-in required for speedy transformations needed to reach net zero such as radically revamping the energy infrastructure among other crucial elements of the green transition. This could help with ameliorating a potential dilemma of voice versus speed regarding the green transition. The article will further address the nexus between digital applications such as AI and climate justice. Finally, the article will consider whether innovative governance methods could instil new dynamism into the multi-level global climate regime, such as by facilitating interlinkages and integration between different levels. Before implementing innovative governance arrangements, it is crucial to assess whether they do not exacerbate old or even generate new inequalities of access and participation.

Sociological insights: Designing pedagogically sound blended learning programs in enabling contexts

Higher education is currently experiencing an increasing focus on the use of innovative teaching methods to engage student cohorts within an atmosphere of shrinking university budgets. In this milieu, blended learning (BL), or integrating audio-visual materials into current face-to-face course designs, has become an increasingly attractive option that increases flexibility for students whilst adhering to challenging budgetary demands. In this paper, implementing BL in two sociology courses of an Australian university???s pathways program will be subject to critical reflection. Enabling pathways are free open-access programs offered to people who do not have the qualifications required for direct entry into an undergraduate degree program. We disseminated a suite of BL modules during 2019. These modules included visual learning objects featuring experts within their disciplinary fields and have a focus on bringing sociological theory into a real-world context. This paper aims to critique this pedagogical practice within a widening participation framework. We will examine the challenges of teaching students from under-represented backgrounds, including flexibility, engagement and infrastructure, and suggest a new pedagogical framework to address these challenges in a supportive environment.

The experience of flow by people living with disabilities: A meta-study of qualitative research

ABSTRACT Background Experiencing flow, an optimal psychological state, can support health and well-being. A developmental perspective on flow so far examines strategies to facilitate these experiences in the face of developmental losses such as ageing. People with disabilities experience restrictions in participation and thus fewer occupations that potentially induce flow. Therefore, contributions to this perspective can be gained from disabled people’s experiences. Thus, this meta-study synthesises qualitative research literature to determine the contribution to a developmental perspective on flow in people with disabilities. Methods Following a systematic search of four databases (PsycInfo (EBSCO), PubMed, CINAHL (EBSCO), Scopus) 10 qualitative, peer-reviewed studies were included, and critically appraised. Findings as well as methodologies, and underlying theories were analysed and synthesised. Findings Various methodologies have been used to explore flow experiences of people with disabilities. Incongruencies between underlying theories and chosen methods, as well as lack of researcher reflexivity impacted the trustworthiness of some studies. All studies originated within occupational therapy research and were located in the global North, implying assumptions about occupation and well-being and a rehabilitation framework. The individuals’ choice and control, and adaptations of environment and occupation emerged from the meta-synthesis as important factors to experiencing flow. Conclusion To enhance opportunities for flow in the lives of people with disabilities, a shift of perspective from individual impairments towards issues of accessibility and occupational justice is needed. Based on this meta-study, critical disability theory and participatory frameworks are recommended for future research to explore strategies to enhance access to flow inducing occupations.

Crossing the Rubicon: The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 as an Authoritarian Crucible

Abstract In the 1980s and 1990s, Conservative Governments contemplated but ultimately refused direct interventions in strikes in essential services as unenforceable and ineffective. The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 crosses this Rubicon. It does so not by a participatory framework but by granting Ministers and employers virtually unrestrained powers to restrict (and effectively prohibit by neutralising the impact of) industrial action by imposing minimum service levels. This article offers a critical account of the Act based on three main claims. First, it argues that the Act is shaped by what is termed ‘coercive dual unilateralism’, an authoritarian crucible of three elements: (i) executive unilateralism, (ii) employer unilateralism and (iii) coercion (severe sanctions compounded by chilling legal uncertainty of ill-defined duties). Secondly, it challenges the Government’s claim of the Act’s compliance with ILO standards and Article 11 ECHR as a misconstruction. Thirdly, it finds that the Act satisfies all three authoritarian markers (stifling of dissent, direct state coercion, elevation of social order as an external justification for restrictions) identified in Bogg’s seminal account of the TUA 2016 as a shift away from neo-liberalism to authoritarianism. But it resists a ‘beyond neo-liberalism’ conclusion. Instead, it argues that the Act should be seen as the product of a ‘strong-weak' state (strong in power, weak in securing consent) that seeks to fortify neo-liberalism against a sharpened contestation reflected in the current strike wave.

A framework for elderly participation in Primary Health Care in Tabriz Health complexes

BackgroundA framework for increasing elderly participation in Primary Health Care (PHC) is a vital issue considering the growing population. After examining the situation and elderly participation in the provision of PHC in the health complexes of Tabriz City, the present study presents the framework of elderly participation in PHC.MethodsThis is a mixed-method study. First, we reviewed the models of elderly participation in PHC worldwide using a comprehensive search of literature. Then, we extracted the service providers’ and the elderly's views regarding the obstacles and solutions for the elderly participation in PHC in Iran using the interviews and focus group discussions (FGD). We conducted three FGDs (8–10 people) and seven individual interviews. Data were analyzed using the content analysis method. We developed the proposed framework for the participation of the elderly in PHC using a panel of experts and checked and confirmed the framework's validity using the Delphi technique with 11 experts from the content validity index and modified kappa coefficient.ResultsBased on the result of included studies in the systematic review, the characteristics of the participation models were classified into five areas: the characteristics of the service user, the main facilitator of the intervention, the type of ownership of the center, the subject and the method of participation. The solutions and obstacles, and problems presented by the service providers and users in different areas include 12 themes (elderly participation, home care, and self-care, respect for the elderly, cooperation of different organizations, service package for the elderly, referral system, planning for the elderly, considering insurance for the elderly, the role of informing the elderly, mental health of the elderly, physical space of centers and training of elderly caregivers) and 46 sub-themes. The final framework also includes five themes (approaches and strategies to attract participation, indicators, and consequences of participation of the elderly, implementation strategies of elderly care, implementation infrastructure and goals and areas of participation of the elderly) and sub-themes.ConclusionThe results of the study indicate that the final framework obtained should be used based on a systematic model for elderly participation in PHC and should be implemented and followed up based on local strategies and specific indicators, considering all capacities.