Permanence Of Changes Research Articles

A Protocol for the Review of Examples of Transformational Change in the Energy and Public Health Sectors to Inform Climate Mitigation and Adaptation Interventions

AbstractThis article describes the approach for an evidence review that combines two different evidence gap maps into one learning exercise on transformational change. The review assesses the evidence in two sectors where there has been demonstrable progress in terms of scale, depth and permanence of change: in energy and in behavioural change in public health. The review uses causal evidence to assess how lessons about transformational change in these two sectors may inform climate change mitigation and adaptation investments in low- and middle-income countries. The evidence gap maps will inform the scope of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

How has COVID-19 changed healthcare professionals' attitudes to self-care? A mixed methods research study.

The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally changed the way services are delivered. Self-care, including good hygiene practices and avoidance of risk was emphasised as the key measure to tackle the pandemic in the early stages. To understand how self-reported professional attitudes, perceptions and practices of self-care have changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cross-sectional online survey and semi-structured qualitative interview. Health care. 304 healthcare professionals (HCPs). A wide range of HCPs, including pharmacists, nurses, doctors, social prescribers and other designations took part in a 27-item anonymous online survey. Semi-structured qualitative interviews with nine healthcare professionals explored attitudes to and practices of self-care before and during the pandemic. Views were sought on the permanence and implications of changes. Data were analysed using routine statistics and thematic analysis to identify major themes. A total of 304 HCPs responded to the survey fully. Nine participated in a semi-structured interview. There was agreement that the importance of self-care has increased markedly during the pandemic. The percentage of respondents who felt that self-care was 'very' important to their clients increased from 54.3% to 86.6% since the pandemic. Personal empowerment and capacity of service users to self-care increased significantly during the pandemic. Willingness of patients to engage (74%) and poor understanding of self-care (71%) were cited as the two main barriers to self-care. A close third was digital exclusion (71%), though 86% of respondents recommended online resources and 77% the use of smartphone apps. Survey respondents believed the changes to be permanent and positive. Interviewees reported a major, and positive move to self-care with the pandemic seen as an opportunity to be grasped, but professional education would have to be aligned to make the most of it. They raised concerns as to whether the shift to self-care was perceived by users as 'abandonment' rather than 'empowerment' and whether problems had been stored rather than dealt with through self-care and therefore whether the positive changes would continue after the pandemic. Reporting their views before the pandemic, barely more than half of the professionals surveyed saw self-care as fundamentally important to the individuals they served. This changed to 86% as a result of the pandemic. Patient/client engagement with and understanding of self-care were reported as major barriers, as was digital exclusion, though increased technological solutions were used by all respondents. Concerns were raised that the permanence of the changes depended upon continued encouragement and empowerment of individuals to self-care and on its inclusion in professional education as a substantive subject.

Практическая философия: современные основы и необходимость

Introduction. The complexity, the rapidity of changes and considerable uncertainty of further social development reinforce the requirements for an effective positive influence of philosophy on what is happening. In general, we are talking about the modern concretization – based on the method of dialectical unity of historical and logical – of the fundamental problem of the connection of philosophy and science with life and practice. Theoretical analysis. In the history of philosophy, two opposing traditions of solving the problem of the connection of philosophy with life are being formed. Practical-theoretical one is aimed at helping to solve the universal problems of real life (philosophy acquires political significance). Theoretical-practical tradition is focused on the purity of philosophical search, which provides universal truth practice. Conclusion. The permanence of changes and the real dangers of social development (the threat of becoming a post-outside-human reality) actualize the practical-theoretical position – practical philosophy. Practical philosophy should fully take into account the critical arguments of the opposite side (the danger of political distortion of the truth). In general, it is necessary to unite and activate the work of all practice-oriented forces of philosophy and science (humanitarian expertise, field philosophy, etc.). Professional, pedagogical access to the Internet for criticising post-truth and meaningful presence in the public arena is seen as an important direction of practical philosophy.

The Permanence of Change: Perspectives on Instructional Delivery Changes Post-Pandemic in Community Colleges

The Permanence of Change: Perspectives on Instructional Delivery Changes Post-Pandemic in Community Colleges

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE INSTITUTE OF PROFESSIONALIZATION OF STATE SERVICE IN UKRAINE AND SYSTEM OF PROVIDING PROPOSALS

In modern conditions the high quality of public administration and services is a critical aspect of state competitiveness. One of the foundations of ensuring high quality of public administration and services is the professionalization of public service. The purpose of the article is to analyze the peculiarities of development of the institute of professionalization of public service in Ukraine and to formulate proposals on the system of prerequisites of its provision. The article considers the peculiarities of the development of the institute of professionalization of public service in modern Ukrainian realities. Based on analysis of structural peculiarities of staff composition of local authorities of a separate region, taken from previous studies, the author has formed several conclusions of applied character on the direction of focus of tasks of professionalization of public service. The importance of a systemic approach in the task of developing the institute of professionalization of public service was noted, and it was proposed to implement a comprehensive program designed to promote the systemic and sustainable development of the institute of professionalization. A separate focus is aimed at the role of stakeholders in the effective development of the professionalization institute and the provider system. The importance of attracting the support of key stakeholder groups for the effective implementation of a comprehensive change program is noted. Special attention was paid to the importance of involvement of civil servants of various levels as one of the stakeholder groups to reduce the risk of non-acceptance of changes or their sabotage. The importance of formation of public coalitions as an effective lever to accelerate the introduction of changes, acceptance of their results, advocacy of changes among broad groups of stakeholders was noted. The aspect of permanence of changes in the context of development of the institute of professionalization of public service during the transit of power is highlighted separately.

Assessing the Permanence of Land-Use Change Induced by Payments for Environmental Services: Evidence From Nicaragua

Gains achieved by conservation interventions such as payments for environmental services (PES) may be lost upon termination of the program, a problem known as permanence. However, there have been few efforts to evaluate the permanence of conservation results. This article examines the permanence of land-use changes induced by a short-term PES program implemented between 2003 and 2008 in Matiguás-Río Blanco, Nicaragua. Under this program, PES had induced substantial adoption of silvopastoral practices. To assess the long-term permanence of these changes, participants were resurveyed in 2012, 4 years after the last payment was made. We find that the land-use changes that had been induced by PES were broadly sustained in intervening years, with minor differences across specific practices and subgroups of participants. The patterns of change in the period after the PES program were completed to help us understand the reasons for the program’s success and rule out alternative explanations for the program’s success. Our results suggest that, at least in the case of productive land uses such as silvopastoral practices, PES programs can be effective at encouraging land owners to adopt environmentally beneficial practices and that the benefits will persist after payments cease.

Dimensions and antinomies of modernization in the globalized world

Existing theoretical interpretations contend that modernization is a global but diverse and multidimensional process. Yet, a systematic analysis of multiple forms of modernity and modernization ‘is the major challenge to current social and political theory’ (Wagner). The paper aims at revealing limitations of current theoretical interpretations of modernization and demonstrating systematically essential features of modernity. I describe the crucial criteria of modernization and suggest an integrated approach within which the most influential theories are simultaneously applied as coherent explanations. Such a synergic application allows identifying concomitant dimensions of modernity and modernization. The proposed approach significantly differs from a prevailing theoretical discourse on modernity and modernization. It demonstrates universal features of modernization along with civilization variability and uniqueness of cultural programs, antinomic emancipation trends, permanence of change and innovations, increase of efficiency, competitiveness and the quality of life. All these dimensions relate to a set of consistent interpretations of a complex multi-effects phenomenon, which minimizes the existing conceptual contradictions. The elaborated model supports the notion of modernization as a continuous transition to novel forms of social order which respond to emerging challenges and global competition while an invariant criterion of modernization is the boost in the capabilities of people to make their choices.

Payment for Environmental “Self-Service”: Exploring the Links Between Farmers' Motivation and Additionality in a Conservation Incentive Programme in the Bolivian Andes

Neoclassical economic interpretations of Payment for Environmental Services (PES), which assume that participants weigh up costs and benefits, are making room for more complex analyses. However, there is still little evidence of how PES programmes interact with existing motivations to conserve, the extent to which funded conservation is additional, and the likely permanence of changes. We categorized the outcome of contracts aiming to reduce cattle grazing in riparian forest (n = 428) and deforestation (n = 912) by Bolivian farmers in terms of whether they were unsuitable, non-compliant, non-additional, or additional (the holy grail of PES programmes) and explored the relationship between farmers' reported motivations and the extent to which the conservation funded was additional. Up to 39% of contracts to exclude cattle, and 14% to prevent deforestation appear to be additional. Where participation is motivated by the instrumental values of nature (such as provision of clean water) contracts to exclude cattle from riparian forest are more likely to represent additional conservation. We suggest that the programme is partly acting as what we term ‘payment for environmental self-service’; i.e. the external incentives enable changes in behaviour motivated by farmers' perceptions of environmental benefits they receive from the management changes incentivized.

Evaluation of the Permanence of Land Use Change Induced by Payments for Environmental Services in Quindío, Colombia

The effectiveness of conservation interventions such as Payments for Environmental Services (PES) is often evaluated—if it is evaluated at all—only at the completion of the intervention. Since gains achieved by the intervention may be lost after it ends, even apparently successful interventions may not result in long-term conservation benefits, a problem known as that of permanence. This paper uses a unique dataset to examine the permanence of land use change induced by a short-term, asset-building PES program implemented in Quindío, Colombia, between 2003 and 2008. This the first PES program to have a control group for comparison. Under this program, PES had been found to have a positive and highly significant impact on land use. To assess the long-term permanence of these changes, both PES recipients and control households were re-surveyed in 2011, four years after the last payment was made. We find that the land use changes that had been induced by PES were broadly sustained in intervening years, with minor differences across specific practices and sub-groups of participants, indicating that these changes were in fact permanent. The patterns of change in the period after the PES program was completed also help better understand the reasons for the program’s success. These results suggest that, at least in the case of productive land uses such as silvopastoral practices under conditions such as those at the study site, asset-building PES programs can be effective at encouraging land owners to adopt environmentally-beneficial land management practices and that the benefits will persist after payments cease.

Essential Features of Modern Society in Sociological Discourse

The paper suggests a comparative analysis of sociological discourse of modern society and modernization and systematically displays essential features of modernity. Five leading segments of the discourse are identified and an integrated approach on existing theories of modernity is elaborated. The novelty of the proposed analysis is a focus on profound similitude of different theories of modernity and possibility of synergic application of the distinct explanatory platforms. Such an application significantly differs from existing traditional vision of sociological discourse of modernity and modernization as a subsequent change of theoretical approaches or dramatic competition of alternative research programs. Suggested analysis allows identifying multiple dimensions of modernity that overall constitute a whole picture of modern society. In addition to the segments of the discourse of modernity and modernization that have been classified, a structure of essential features of modern society is revealed comprising 1) universality (invariance) of social development; 2) civilization variability and uniqueness of cultural programs; 3) emancipation trend and antinomies; 4) permanence of change and innovations; 5) increase of productivity, competitiveness and the quality of life.

Can a low-carbon-energy transition be sustained in post-Fukushima Japan? Assessing the varying impacts of exogenous shocks

In the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear crisis, Japan began contemplating energy policy reforms that drew inspiration from low-carbon research. This article focuses on a question central to advancing low-carbon research in Japan and elsewhere: namely, how does an exogenous shock affect the onset, magnitude, and permanence of changes in electricity consumption? The article employs intervention analysis with an autoregressive moving average (ARMA) model to answer this question. The data analysis reveals that post-Fukushima electricity use underwent a sudden, significant, and sustained reduction across Japan. The shock not only affected the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) coverage area but the more distant Kansai Electric Power Company (KEPCO) coverage area. Large electricity users responded with an immediate and significant reduction in electricity consumption that rebounded to below pre-crisis levels; households responded more gradually with no rebound. Two of the more interesting results from the data analysis – the persistence in reductions in the more distant KEPCO coverage area and the rebound among large users – are then explained with a review of survey data and policy trends. Overall the quantitative and qualitative evidence suggests that an exogenous shock may give rise to a reduction in electricity consumption but cannot sustain a low-carbon transition.

Assessing sustainable forest management under REDD +: A community-based labour perspective

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation plus (REDD+) encourages economic support for reducing deforestation and conserving or increasing existing forest carbon stocks. The way in which incentives are structured affects trade-offs between local livelihoods, carbon emission reduction, and the cost-effectiveness of a REDD+programme. Looking at first-hand empirical data from 208 farming households in the Bolivian Amazon from a household economy perspective, our study explores two policy options: 1) compensated reduction of emissions from old-growth forest clearing for agriculture, and 2) direct payments for labour input into sustainable forest management combined with a commitment not to clear old-growth forest. Our results indicate that direct payments for sustainable forest management – an approach that focuses on valuing farmers' labour input – can be more cost-effective than compensated reduction and in some cases is the most appropriate choice for achieving improved household incomes, permanence of changes, avoidance of leakages, and community-based institutional enforcement for sustainable forest management.

Introduction: Guinea-Bissau Today—The Irrelevance of the State and the Permanence of Change

As I was writing this introduction, Guinea-Bissau was rocked by yet another “political crisis.” On the night of March 1 and 2, 2009, the army chief of staff, General Batista Tagme Na Waie, and the president of Guinea-Bissau, João Bernardino “Nino” Vieira, were killed in the space of a few hours. As was to be expected, articles mushroomed in the international press in the following days, sporting headlines that we have long since become accustomed to, such as “Guinea-Bissau Collapse Deepens after Leader Killed” (Pitman 2009) or “Guinea-Bissau Threatens Return to Bad Old Days in Africa” (George 2009). An article by theEconomistIntelligence Unit was entitled—with a literary touch reminiscent of Conrad'sHeart of Darkness—“Edge of the Abyss.” These days Guinea-Bissau, particularly since the 1998–99 civil war, seems to be the poster child for all the negativity generally attributed to African countries, an overlapping of political, economic, and humanitarian crises, in blatant confirmation of the picture of “shadowy Africa” that James Ferguson pinpoints as one of the features of international discourse on Africa today (2006:15,190).Despite these clichéd articles (identical in tone to those that have appeared during the various crises that have characterized the last decade of Guinea-Bissau's history) and pessimistic forecasts from international experts, these violent events have not triggered any real political or civil turmoil. The following morning the capital city, Bissau, was calm. The army leaders declared that they had no intention of intervening in the upcoming elections.

Permanence of Change

This paper examines social change and modernity through the two lenses of the Bahá’í Faith and sociology. Premised on the vital role of religion in effecting social change, it progresses in three parts. First, it examines the sociohistorical changes of the Axial Age, and the forces which brought about the Renaissance and Reformation. Second, it reviews some of the sociological views on modernity, tracing its contemporary challenges. Finally, it outlines the key features of modernity as identified in the Bahá’í writings and considers the Bahá’í perspective of modernity as “the universal awakening of historical consciousness,” wherein Divine Civilization is the essential impetus for advancing and transforming material civilization.

Parent interaction course in order to enhance communication skills between parents and children following pediatric cochlear implantation

Objective: To assess the effect of a parent interaction training course on the communication skills of parents of young implanted children. The training course was designed to help parents to be less controlling in their interactions with their deaf children and to facilitate the development of spoken language. Study design: Prospective study comparing the communication skills of parents of deaf children fitted with cochlear implants before and after a parent interaction training course. Setting: Pediatric tertiary referral center for cochlear implantation. Methods: Video samples were taken of parents interacting with their children 1 month before the course (ranging from 15 days to 2 months) and after the course (ranging from 15 days to 1 month). Video samples were then transcribed orthographically and parents' turns in the interaction were assigned to one of two categories: (a) initiations—the parent initiates conversation or introduces a new topic and (b) responses—the parent responds to the child's previous turn. 12 months after completion of the course, the process was repeated in order to establish the relative permanence of changes in behavior. Hypothesis: The parents' turns would shift from a predominance of initiations to a predominance of responses as a result of attendance on the course. This would demonstrate that the parents were less controlling of their children in communication and were exhibiting more contingent behavior—responding to their child's initiations rather than expecting the child to respond to theirs. Patients: The study involved 17 parents of 11 implanted children. The mean age at implantation was 4 years (range: 2.2–6.3 years). The implant experience of the children ranged from 2 to 23 months at the time of the study. All children used total communication. Results: The post-course initiations were half those of the pre-course ones (median from 14 decreased to 7) and the responses were almost double following the course (median from 8 increased to 14). Both differences were statistically significant ( P<0.05). 12 months after the course, the responses score remained high with a median score of 16.5. However, a slight but significant increase in the initiation scores was also noted (median from 7 to 8.5). Parental satisfaction of the course was found to be high as no families failed to attend on any of the occasions despite the great distances some of them had to travel. Conclusion: The format of the parent interaction training course was found to be highly acceptable to the parents and the components covered proved to be effective in promoting positive changes in parental communication behavior. Clinicians need to provide a responsive environment for implanted deaf children and help others to do the same. The training course provided a very useful forum to share insights and skills and to evaluate ways of enhancing the communication between parents and children following cochlear implantation.

How Do U.K. Companies Set Prices?

This paper reports the main results of a survey carried out by the Bank in the autumn of 1995 of the price-setting behaviour of 654 U.K. companies. It elaborates on an article in the May 1996 Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin. In the year preceding the survey, the average company reviewed its prices once a month. The extent and source of price rigidity varied across different types of company and market. Retailers reviewed and changed their prices more frequently than manufacturers. Companies operating in more competitive markets reviewed prices more often than companies with few direct competitors; but long-term relationships with customers appeared to reduce price flexibility. Despite the frequency of reviews, actual prices were only changed twice on average, indicating that there may be substantial costs of changing prices. Companies stated that the need to preserve customer relationships (due to explicit or implicit contractual arrangements) or to maintain market share were important sources of price rigidity. In addition, the overwhelming majority of companies indicated that they would be more likely to increase overtime and capacity than change their price in response to a boom in demand. There were substantial asymmetries in the factors which drive prices up and those that push prices down. Time-dependent pricing rules appeared to be much more widespread than state-dependent pricing rules, suggesting that the short-run real effects of monetary policy could increase at lower rates of inflation. Overall, the survey results indicate that U.K. markets do not behave as if prices are costlessly and instantaneously determined. It appears that uncertainty about the extent or permanence of changes in market conditions combined with costs of adjusting prices means that many companies' short-run response to a change in demand is to adjust output rather than price. Taking account of such behaviour could be important in explaining the short-run real effects of monetary policy.

Permanence of skeletal changes after function regulator (FR-2) treatment of patients with retrusive Class II malocclusions

The purpose of this study was to examine the skeletal changes produced by the Fränkel function regulator (FR-2) appliance during the treatment of patients with mandibular retrusive Class II malocclusions and to characterize the permanence of these changes in the years after treatment (5 years, on average). Data from the pretreatment, posttreatment, and long-term serial cephalograms of 14 patients who received FR-2 treatment were compared with data obtained from untreated controls and from published standards. Relative to controls, FR-2 therapy produced a statistically significant decrease in the ANB angle and an increase in the rate of mandibular growth. At the same time, no maxillary effect was noted. During the post-FR-2 period, the rate of mandibular growth showed no compensatory decline or "rebound." Instead, it was remarkably similar to that inferred from age-matched and sex-matched normative standards. The present study thus supports the conclusion that FR-2 therapy, in conjunction with a period of postfunctional fixed- or removable-appliance therapy designed to perfect the occlusion, can produce a statistically and perhaps clinically significant relative increase in mandibular length.

Factors Affecting the Permanence of Occupational Health and Safety Topics in Engineering Courses

AbstractThis paper presents an evaluation of the permanence of changes introduced within the curriculum of the College of Engineering at Tufts University. These changes involved the integration of occupational health and safety engineering resource materials into existing course work. Employing this model, Tufts faculty members developed their own lectures, case studies and laboratory materials for integration into existing courses. The evaluation, that was based on structured interviews of participating faculty and the Dean of the College, suggests that the permanence of changes to curriculum is influenced by a set of intramural parameters within the academic milieu (student interest, available class time, interest on the part of the faculty and administration) as well as by extramural factors such as the increasing prominence of legal liability of practitioners, growing interest on the part of employers and lack of readily usable materials in standard texts concerning occupational health and safety. Recommendations for future activities in these areas are offered and discussed.

The Permanence of Change and the Impermanence of Stability

In view of expectable changes due to developmental transformation, cultural context, and secular effects, expectations of high developmental consistency are unwarranted. Sources of inconsistency as we

The Significance and Permanence of Changes in Federal Education Policy

The Significance and Permanence of Changes in Federal Education Policy