Political Drivers Research Articles

Perspectives on social workers from within an integrated setting

PurposeThis research explores community professionals' opinions concerning social worker's roles and statutory functions. It explores the perspectives of professionals and their understanding of collaborative and cooperative work; experiences of professional support; opinions on the aspects of anti-oppressive practices in social work; views on social work identity within multidisciplinary team structures; and perceptions regarding the challenges of cultural and contextual drivers of social work practice.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts an interpretivist paradigm and social constructionist epistemology in that there are multiple realities to be understood and different perspectives and perceptions to be explored. This study adopted a data collection approach of thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews.Setting and participantsSocial workers and nurses working within an integrated social care and health NHS trust.MethodsSix respondents volunteered for interviews in 2017. Data were coded as follows using a multistage approach: (1) coding of comments into general categories (e.g. culture, models of practice), (2) coding of subcategories within main categories (e.g. values, knowledge and skills), (3) cross-sectional analysis to identify themes cutting across categories and (4) mapping of categories/subcategories to corresponding comparable research for comparison.FindingsMost interviewees (5) were social workers, with one from the nursing field. Respondents provided comments that fell under four overarching themes: cultural theme, the impact of economic austerity, organisational structures and the political drivers of integration.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the evidence regarding the role of social workers within integrated health and adult social care organisations (as opposed to mental health social work) and also contributes to the evidence around social work in times of austerity.

A hybrid stochastic model based Bayesian approach for long term energy demand managements

In this study, a hybrid stochastic model (BScA model) using Bayesian approach and scenario analysis to forecast long term energy demand is developed. The main objective of this study is to design and develop a model for energy analysis in demand side and describe the energy saving and GHG reduction potential on the other. For this, total energy demand is selected as the response variable and primary energy production, population, GDP and natural gas and gasoline prices are chosen as covariates. Also, Political drivers, economic drivers, social-environmental and technological drivers are the key driving forces for scenario development. After interview and ranking the drivers, we have built scenario matrixes and reducing them upon strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and how the energy system perspective in each of the scenarios develop. Results show that primary energy production and population growth have positive impact on energy demand. And Energy consumption would decrease with energy price increase. And, economic development would rise energy demand. Also, the total potential for energy saving is equal to 3663 MBOE in duration of 2016–2040. Results demonstrate the energy intensity (EI) will be 2.12 MBOE/Million Rials in 2040 if energy saving solutions are taken. And, the carbon emission will reduce about 32% in 2040.

Using telemedicine to improve access, cost and quality of secondary care for people in prison in England: a hybrid type 2 implementation effectiveness study

IntroductionPeople in prison tend to experience poorer health, access to healthcare services and health outcomes than the general population. Use of video consultations (telemedicine) has been proven effective at improving...

Localizing the energy transition: Town-level political and socio-economic drivers of clean energy in the United States

This paper investigates the political and socio-economic drivers of energy transition at the local level in the United States. Using observations, public documents and semi-structured interviews from a sample of Connecticut (CT) towns, it explores why some local governments are more proactive than others in designing and implementing policies that promote renewable energy and greater energy efficiency. The research reveals that the type and configuration of policy champions matter in distinguishing among towns’ clean energy engagement levels. Those towns that can bring together elected, appointed and volunteer leaders who are active and passionate advocates for clean energy are generally more successful than others in carrying out clean energy policies. Leader towns are also those that have organized interest groups and businesses that support and work with the government in designing and implementing clean energy initiatives. The case studies further reveal that a town's wealth and education levels, but not its partisan affiliation, are important in shaping the will and capacity of town officials as well as of interest groups in society. Finally, the paper analyzes the institutional decision-making context and finds that while government type is not determinative, a town's bureaucratic capacity, measured in terms of the availability of specialized energy staff and energy task force, distinguishes leader towns from the rest. Developing a better understanding of the political will, government-society synergy, and institutional capacity is critical to a full accounting of the challenges and opportunities local governments face in clean energy transitions.

Political Ecology of Shade Coffee: Perspectives from Jamaican Blue Mountain Farmers

Jamaica's Blue Mountains are heralded as one of the world's premier coffee growing regions. Previous ecological research in Jamaica has demonstrated that shade-grown coffee practices provide beneficial ecosystem services for farmers, yet most coffee farms in the Blue Mountains have very little shade. The socio-ecological factors that influence coffee cultivation choices in Jamaica have not been analysed. Using chains of explanation, the aim of this project was to unearth the political, economic and ecological drivers and constraints that inform and influence farmers' decisions for intercropping shade trees amongst their coffee plants. Semi-structured interviews were conducted on farm-sites in the three parishes of the Blue Mountains: Portland, St. Andrew, and St. Thomas. Results from this project reveal that the human-environment interactions of coffee producers are impacted by the interplay of on-farm, on-island, and global forces. This necessitates reframing the value of ecosystem services provided by shade trees into a cohesive argument that resonates with Jamaican coffee industry specialists and the specific regional socio-ecological needs of Blue Mountain coffee farmers. Priorities for change should include: encouraging communities to re-learn the benefits and applications of organic soil fertility and the values of shade trees while exposing farmers to marketing research and strategies for pursuing conservation of coffee niche markets.

Domestic Political Drivers and Chinese Diplomacy: Xinjiang and Counter-Terrorism in South Asia

Domestic Political Drivers and Chinese Diplomacy: Xinjiang and Counter-Terrorism in South Asia

Urban Living Lab: What Is It, and What Is the Matter?

The research agenda for urban innovation and experimentation seems to find new momentum in recent times. The recent emergence of Urban Living Lab (ULL) is an example demonstrating such a trend. Against this background, this paper begins with the interest in clarifying what ULL is. Various sources offer many definitions of ULL, but these definitions often contain other ill-defined concepts. This paper questions the ambiguity of temporality and spatiality that is contained by ULL’s emphasis on ‘real’ time and environment. There seems also oversimplification of ULL’s origin, which potentially hinders further in-depth investigation into its non-linear and complex emergence. The reflection on the political context indicates that political drivers of ULL may be hidden behind the immediate attention to its definitions and popular perceptions. The wide range of different empirical ULL cases in the UK arguably reflects the ambiguity of its meaning. Therefore, this paper suggests re-thinking about ULL and its emergence. The attempts to summarise and simplify ULL cannot effectively clarify its complexity in nature. Well-constructed questions can take ULL as a promising opportunity to enhance and materialise long-lasting sociological enquiries.

Drivers of change in urban water and wastewater tariffs

AbstractWater and wastewater tariffs constitute a primary avenue for utilities to generate revenue towards covering the costs associated with water and wastewater service provisions. In the pursuit of achieving global access to safe and affordable water and sanitation, utilities and governments play an important role in regulating and setting combined tariffs, so that they are able to fund the necessary infrastructure while at the same time ensuring that tariffs do not impede on the ability of consumers to access these services. From a survey of 568 cities across 192 countries, this paper examines the main economic and financial drivers of change to regional urban water and wastewater tariffs from 2018 to 2019. Historically, the average global price for water and wastewater services increased from US$ 1.70/m3 in 2011 to US$ 2.16/m3 in 2019, equating to an annual rise in the mean global combined water tariff of ∼3.4%. The analysis indicates that for the studied regions, the financial and economic costs associated with recurring droughts, old infrastructure, subsidy cuts, increasing energy costs and a shift to alternative water resources such as desalination all contribute to changes in tariffs. Further research on the social and political drivers of change in tariffs is needed, in order to provide a holistic understanding of the balance required to be struck between the objectives of affordability and cost-recovery for achieving global access to water and sanitation.

Opposition to Nuclear Power as a Driver of Austrian State Policy

The article deals with the impact of opposition to nuclear power on Austria’s foreign and economic policy as well as the evolution of this political driver. Beyond rejecting the use of nuclear power domestically Austria conducts active anti-nuclear foreign policy primarily towards neighboring countries running NPPs, ultimately aiming at nuclear phase out of the whole EU. As a part of this anti-nuclear policy Austria refuses to procure electricity produced by NPPs in other countries. Moreover, the opposition to nuclear power determined the clean energy transition model for Austria. The country has reached a high level of renewables share in electricity production and strives for a non-carbon energy system by 2030. The article shows that Austria has made a long way to its anti-nuclear stance, driven by social movements. Its turning point was the referendum on the use of nuclear power held in 1978, when diverse activist groups managed to overcome the pro-nuclear government supported lobby. The anti-nuclear movement continued to exert influence on the political agenda of the federal government via local communities and states authorities. With the time, their efforts have led to common acceptance of the anti-nuclear stance as an important driver of the Austrian policy.

The Myth of the Secular: Religion, War, and Politics in the Twentieth Century

The apparently sudden reemergence of religious movements in world politics since the 1970s stunned scholars of international relations who had clung to the myth that secularization of politics and diplomacy began when the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 ended Europe's “Wars of Religion.” The author challenges that myopia, arguing that even in (or especially in) the twentieth and twenty-first centuries religion remains a principal driver of politics in European civilization and the current “Clash of Civilizations.”

Rural community perceptions of antibiotic access and understanding of antimicrobial resistance: qualitative evidence from the Health and Demographic Surveillance System site in Matlab, Bangladesh

ABSTRACT Background The use of large quantities of antimicrobial drugs for human health and agriculture is advancing the predominance of drug resistant pathogens in the environment. Antimicrobial resistance is now a major public health threat posing significant challenges for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. In Bangladesh, where over one third of the population is below the poverty line, the achievement of safe and effective antibiotic medication use for human health is challenging. Objective To explore factors and practices around access and use of antibiotics and understanding of antimicrobial resistance in rural communities in Bangladesh from a socio-cultural perspective. Methods This qualitative study comprises the second phase of the multi-country ABACUS (Antibiotic Access and Use) project in Matlab, Bangladesh. Information was collected through six focus group discussions and 16 in-depth interviews. Informants were selected from ten villages in four geographic locations using the Health and Demographic Surveillance System database. The Access to Healthcare Framework guided the interpretation and framing of the findings in terms of individuals’ abilities to: perceive, seek, reach, pay and engage with healthcare. Results Village pharmacies were the preferred and trusted source of antibiotics for self-treatment. Cultural and religious beliefs informed the use of herbal and other complementary medicines. Advice on antibiotic use was also sourced from trusted friends and family members. Access to government-run facilities required travel on poorly maintained roads. Reports of structural corruption, stock-outs and patient safety risks eroded trust in the public sector. Some expressed a willingness to learn about antibiotic resistance. Conclusion Antimicrobial resistance is both a health and development issue. Social and economic contexts shape medicine seeking, use and behaviours. Multi-sectoral action is needed to confront the underlying social, economic, cultural and political drivers that impact on the access and use of antibiotic medicines in Bangladesh.

It’s All in the Fold: An Historical, Transnational and Material Investigation to Understand the 2010’s Kimono Jacket Trend

This article investigates a fashion trend during the first half of the 2010’s for a garment that looked little like the indigenous kimono, was often designed and manufactured in centers other than Japan and was largely intended for consumption outside of Japan, but none-the-less was marketed as kimono. Rather than reflecting on the ways in which this trend could be viewed as another example of cultural appropriation in the fashion industry or demonstrative of the fashion industry’s attempt to maximize profit by flooding the market with endless variations of these garments that resonate rather tired Orientalized stereotypes, this article examines how the ways in which the kimono has been transformed as it moves through time and across borders resonate with this trend and seeks to better understand the political, social, cultural and economic drivers behind such transformations. It also brings to light new developments in this garment’s cultural meanings.

Groundwater Policy and Ground Water Dependencies: Reflecting on the Evolving Socio-Environmental Dynamics in Peri-Urban Kathmandu Valley

Groundwater is an increasingly important source of water supply in Kathmandu Valley, ‘the hub of Nepal’s urbanisation’. Past studies have revealed that groundwater extraction in Kathmandu Valley exceeds its recharge, thus having negative consequences like drying of traditional water sources, decreasing yield of wells, and declining groundwater levels. The groundwater policy 2012 was formulated with the aim of managing groundwater use in the valley. Yet, with rapid urban growth, groundwater exploitation has continued increasing in the city and the peri-urban areas in Kathmandu Valley. But little is known regarding how urbanisation shapes increasing groundwater exploitation in the peri-urban settings. This study unfolds the underexplored socio-environmental dynamics underlying groundwater exploitation in peri-urban areas of Kathmandu Valley. The findings from the case study using qualitative research methods, conducted in peri-urban locations of Kathmandu Valley show increasing competition for water and growing use of as well as dependence on groundwater in these rapidly evolving peri-urban spaces, despite growing protests and worries about its consequences. However, the existing groundwater policy lacks attention to peri-urban dynamics of change and growth and does little to address the increasing groundwater use in peri-urban locations in the valley. The polarised views and local conflicts around groundwater exploitation emerging in peri-urban spaces are the outcome of multiple entanglements: sectoral divides and overlapping responsibilities in water institutions, weak governance and management; socio-economic transformations in peri-urban spaces, the invisibility of groundwater and ambiguity in the hydrological dynamics of conjunctive water use. Based on my findings, I stress on the need for addressing the existing macro-micro gaps (ground)water management by improving the understanding of local hydro-geological complexities and paying critical attention to the socio-economic, political and institutional drivers of increasing groundwater use.

Trends in the production of cellulose nanofibers from non-wood sources

The rise of biomass-derived nanocellulose addresses the sustainability criteria now demanded of new materials, which have been widely overlooked in the plastics era—renewability, abundance, biodegradability, and recyclability. Cellulose nanofibers have conventionally been extracted from wood products, supported by an established forestry infrastructure, but the drive for biomass sustainability has encouraged researchers to explore non-wood sources over the past 15 years. Non-wood sources, including agricultural residues and industrial wastes, offer an attractive alternative due to their abundance, fast generation, and low starting value. Moreover, agricultural residues can improve the sustainability of cellulose nanofiber processing from multiple angles. The biochemical composition of the typical agricultural residue, which is lower in lignin and higher in hemicellulose than wood stems, improves the fibrillation efficiency of cellulose bundles into nano-scale fibers. In addition, agricultural residues yield high biomass volume from short growth cycles with improved land utilisation, whilst offsetting environmental issues associated with their current uses. In this work, we performed a comprehensive literature evaluation of the biomass sources used to produce cellulose nanofibers. Of the 3358 cellulose nanofiber publications from 2004 to 2018 with an identifiable source material, 57% were derived from wood-based biomass and 30% from non-wood biomass, with 100 unique biomass sources identified. Furthermore, the top research fields associated with non-wood publications included general characterisation (36%), plastic nanocomposites (19%), bionanocomposites (9%), biomedical products (8%), and electronic devices (6%). As social, political and economic drivers reinforce sustainability as a key focus in nanocellulose production, this bibliometric resource provides a timely snapshot of the sustainability trends in cellulose nanofiber research.

Military-Technical Cooperation between Russian Federation and People’s Republic of China – drivers and perspectives of future evolution

The article aims to identify and analyze the underlying dynamics of military-technical cooperation between the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China – an important topic due to both states’ roles as great powers and potential challengers to the Western-led liberal international order. The author identifies the main political, military and economic drivers of Sino-Russian military-technical cooperation. By introducing the context of contemporary global trends that shape the defense-industrial landscape, the text addresses the question of the continued relevance of this particular relationship. Finally, the author offers some foundations for forecasting the future trajectory of Sino-Russian military-technical cooperation.

Design research – Its 50-year transformation

Over the past half century, how we conceive of design research has changed significantly, as indeed have the boundaries of influence of the design profession. This paper takes an entirely personal perspective of the author and will discuss the change in the nature of design research through the lens of a career in design education and, especially, in the author's endeavours to develop design research as a respected discipline working with and alongside, science, social sciences and the arts and humanities. It will look at the social, economic and political drivers that have influenced design research in the UK but also globally, and at where this has taken design, in terms of research both within and beyond the design profession.

1.E. Workshop: Comparative Public Health: Politics, science, and professionalism

Abstract Look around EUPHA, or any other public health conference. Public health is difficult to define, in theory and in practice. Its boundaries are all blurred, whether with medicine, schools, environmental protection or workplace safety inspectorates. Too often, we overstate the similarities between public health systems among countries. Efforts to promote networks, good practice, and even basic coordination have been undermined for decades by misunderstandings born of different educational, organizational, financial and political systems. The lack of comparison, and comparative political analysis in particular, also means that countries can have very similar debates about the proper nature and scope of public health, an about who is to blame for deficiencies, without awareness of when they are distinctive and when they are actually part of larger trends. This project aims to identify and explain variation in the scope and organization of public health systems in selected high-income countries. Based on a formalized comparative historical analysis of Austria, France, Germany, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States, researchers in the study first mapped the various axes of divergence: workforce composition, organization, levels of government, relationship to medicine, and the extent to which public health encompassed adjacent areas such as environmental health and occupational health and safety. For each country we then followed both case studies (communicable disease control including vaccines, HIV/AIDS, tobacco control, diet and nutrition, occupational health and safety) as well as the legislative history of the public health field in order to identify its changing organization and scope. It then identifies the relative role of historical legacies, changing science, burden of disease and politics in explaining patterns of both divergence and convergence. This workshop presents four country specific case studies (France, Germany, United Kingdom and the United States) that identify the most important forms of variation and the political, scientific and professional drivers of convergence and divergence. Key messages Political organization and scope as images of public health are grossly under-researched and nonexistent in a comparative nature. Understanding the scope and organization of public health in different countries will permit better lesson-drawing and identification of relevant and effective levers of change.

Advances and challenges of life cycle assessment (LCA) of greenhouse gas removal technologies to fight climate changes

Abstract Several greenhouse gas removal technologies (GGRTs), also called negative emissions technologies (NET) have been proposed to help meet the Paris Climate Agreement targets. However, there are many uncertainties in the estimation of their effective greenhouse gas (GHG) removal potentials, caused by their different levels of technological development. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been proposed as one effective methodology to holistically assess the potential of different GGRT removal approaches but no common framework is currently available for benchmarking and policy development. In this article, challenges for LCA are reviewed and discussed together with some alternative approaches for assessment of GGRTs. In particular, GGRTs pose challenges with regards to the functional unit, the system boundary of the LCA assessment, and the timing of emissions. The need to account within LCA of GGRTs for broader implications which involve environmental impacts, economic, social and political drivers is highlighted. A set of recommendations for LCA of GGRTs are proposed for a better assessment of the GGRTs and better accounting of their carbon removal potentials to meet the targets established within the Paris Agreement.

The Regional Security Complex in the Persian Gulf: The Contours of Iran’s GCC Policy

Common perceptions of recent tensions between Iran and the GCC states are couched in terms of a longstanding and historically rooted Shia-Sunni conflict between two major regional powers: Iran and Saudi Arabia. This paper argues that this perspective is simplistic since it ignores the major political drivers of the conflict at regional and international levels. From the perspective of the Regional Security Complex (RSC), the Persian Gulf region has been a typical security sub-complex since the 1970s. After the Iran-Iraq war, Iran adopted a détente policy towards the GCC states taking advantage of a domestic consensus to improve relations with her neighbouring states. The drive gained momentum after the arrival in office of President Hassan Rouhani in 2013. However, his GCC policy has faced multiple challenges. The GCC countries have increasingly been suspicious and critical of Iran’s growing strength and regional influence. The intensification of the proxy games with Saudi Arabia have increased the insecurity of GCC states. Internationally too, the USA’s tough stance under President Trump and the return of the economic sanctions regime against Iran has raised regional temperatures, making it even harder for Iran and the GCC to improve their relations. We argue that to understand the proxy wars between Iran and Saudi Arabia in particular, a more nuanced approach is needed that goes beyond religious strife and rivalry.

Negative Emissions: Priorities for Research and Policy Design

The large-scale removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is likely to be important in maintaining temperature rise “well below” 2ºC, and vital in achieving the most stringent 1.5ºC target. Whilst various literature efforts have estimated the global potential of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) for a range of technologies with different degrees of certainty, regional bottlenecks for their deployment remain largely overlooked. Quantifying these barriers, through national and local case studies, rather than with aggregated approaches, would guide policy and research, as well as investments, towards regions that are likely to play a prominent role in CDR deployment. Five CDR technologies – including afforestation/reforestation, bioenergy with carbon capture and Storage, biochar, direct air capture and enhanced weathering – are compared in this work. We discuss main technical, socio-economic and regulatory bottlenecks that have been scarcely investigated at regional level, and provide directions for further research. We identify the availability of accessible land, water, low carbon energy and CO2 storage as key regional drivers and bottlenecks to most CDR technologies. We discuss the caveats in CO2 accounting in assessing the performance of each technology, and the need for an international regulatory framework which captures these differences. Finally, we highlight the social, economic and political drivers which are central in unlocking the large scale deployment of CDR technologies, in a cost attractive, socially acceptable and politically achievable way.