Local Service Providers Research Articles

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE DEGREE OF KNOWLEDGE AND THE PERCEPTION OF THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ROUTE OF TOURIST ROUTES. CASE STUDY: TOURIST DESTINATION ARIESENI, ROMANIA

Tourism is a relatively recent economic activity, in the studied area, in spatial and structural expansion. Knowing the functioning mechanisms of tourism and the impact on the environment requires sustained efforts in order to identify them. In this context, the main objective of this study is to identify the relationship between the degree of knowledge and the perception of the importance of the development of tourist routes at the level of the local population, tourists and tourism service providers. Tourist routes are important structural elements in shaping and affirming tourist destinations with functions in the direction of extending the duration of the action and improving the tourist experience. To achieve this goal, the sociological survey method, based on the questionnaire, was used. The results highlighted the existence of direct interconditioning relationships between knowledge (high degree of knowledge) and tourist perception (good perception), regarding the existence of the destination and the importance of tourist routes. Moreover, the obtained results can be used by all the factors involved in the implementation and development of tourism at the local level.

Barriers to tourism participation: A case of first‐generation local community service providers

AbstractParticipation in tourism businesses for the local community often comes with various challenges. A better understanding of barriers to tourism development can help manage and smoothen community participation in tourism. Over the past two decades, an effort has been made to understand the barriers to tourism, but the perspective of first‐generation community participation is not explored in the existing literature. The current study measures barriers to tourism participation through four parameters, i.e., sociocultural, infrastructural, operational, and personal barriers. The study examined the barriers of first‐generation service providers from the rural tribal belt of Arunachal Pradesh, India. Data were collected using the purposive sampling technique from various tourism and allied services owned and managed by the local tribal community. The findings indicate that barriers related to the infrastructural support system are the dominant form of barriers. In contrast, the sociocultural factors do not act as a strong barrier among service providers. However, this report defers to other studies on tribal communities that indicate specific sociocultural barriers to participating in the tourism business. The study shows that willingness and conducive sociocultural aspects alone are not sufficient to lead a profitable tourism business. Furthermore, the study also recounts the importance of external intervention for macro‐level planning in tourism infrastructure.

Food insecurity and disasters: predicting disparities in total and first-time food pantry visits during the COVID-19 pandemic

In the U.S. state of Arizona, nearly one-third of households experienced food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic, an increase from one-fourth of households before the pandemic. Previous research on food insecurity in the wake of natural and human-instigated disasters demonstrates that groups vulnerable to food insecurity before a disaster are more susceptible to food insecurity during and after that disaster; however, less is known about whether this relationship also holds true during health-related disasters, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. We explore how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced urban food insecurity patterns by analyzing the socio-demographic characteristics of food pantry clients in Maricopa County, Arizona. Using data from Phoenix Rescue Mission (PRM), a local non-profit food service provider, two binomial logistic regression models compare the socio-demographic composition of total and first-time food pantry users before and during the pandemic. In addition to an overall increase in food pantry usage during the pandemic, we find that, while certain socio-demographic groups historically vulnerable to food insecurity experienced the predicted uptick in insecurity during the pandemic, other socio-demographic disparities were attenuated. These somewhat disparate findings illustrate the complex relationship between disasters and food insecurity in an urban context, offering several avenues for future research.

Supporting the parent-to-child transfer of self-management responsibility for chronic kidney disease: A qualitative study.

As children with long-term conditions (LTCs) mature, they are usually expected to assume responsibility from their parents for self-management of their condition. Little is known about what supports families with this handover of responsibility, including the role of healthcare professionals (HCPs). This study aimed to explore what supports young people with chronic kidney disease (CKD) to assume self-management responsibility and parents to relinquish control. A qualitative study, using a grounded theory approach was conducted. Individual and dyadic interviews and focus groups were carried out with 16 young people aged 13-17 years old with CKD, 13 parents, and 20 HCPs. Participants were recruited from two UK children's renal units. Building and maintaining trust, fostering positivity, learning from mistakes, forming partnershipsand individualized support, facilitated the transfer of self-management responsibility. However, HCPs' focus on developing partnerships with young people meant some parents felt excluded, highlighting uncertainty around whether support should be child- or family-centred. Although tailored support was identified as critical, aspects of local service provision appeared to impact on HCPs' capacity to implement individualized approaches. This study has identified what supports the handover of responsibility, and, importantly, HCPs' current, and potential role in helping young people to assume responsibility for managing their LTC. Further research is needed to explore how HCPs' involvement balances child- and family-centred care, and how HCPs can adopt personalized, strengths-based approaches to help ensure the support that families receive is tailored to their individual needs. Patient and public involvement was integrated throughout the study, with young adults with CKD and parents who had a child with CKD actively involved in the study's design and delivery.

OLDER AMERICANS ACT PROVISIONS AND SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH: INTERSECTIONS AND IMPACTS

Abstract Older Americans Act (OAA) programs and services are strongly linked to social determinants of health (SDOH) and integral to addressing social needs among older adults and individuals with disabilities and their families. Supported by the Administration for Community Living, researchers examined the intersection of OAA-funded programs and services under Titles III, VI, and VII and their impacts on SDOH. This study used an integration of extant literature; secondary data; and interviews with ACL office leadership, AAAs, Title VI program staff, and other local service providers to examine existing social needs among older adults, equity prioritization within OAA-funded program development, and impacts of OAA-funded programs and services. Study findings highlighted relationships between ACL and Aging Network entities, best practices for and process challenges of transforming grant funding into recipient services, and OAA-funded program areas for possible future development.

Marketing Strategy to Improve Brand Awareness: Case Study of a Cloud Service Provider in Indonesia

The World Health Organization classified Covid-19 a global pandemic, its effects have rippled across every aspect of society, including the economy. Firms are shifting their objectives and concentrating on their information technology capability to deal with the unpredictability that this pandemic has brought onto the economy. Cloud and colocation will be required to support company operations with digital infrastructure. Many of the world’s largest cloud service providers are thinking about creating cloud regions within its boundaries as a result of its tremendous development potential. Cloudgear as one of local Indonesian cloud service provider wants to take this opportunity to grow their business. Cloudgear has a comprehensive service portfolio consisting of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS), Professional as a Software (PaaS), professional services, and multi-cloud services. However, based on the initial interview with ten cloud engineers and specialists in different companies, most of them are not aware that Cloudgear is a local Indonesian cloud service provider. Therefore, the next challenge is how to improve brand awareness of Cloudgear by formulating the right marketing strategy. Because it will strengthen the brand and develop Cloudgear competitive advantage for the company’s future growth. This research is objected to analyse Cloudgear internal, external conditions, analyse the factors that influence the brand awareness, and propose the most suitable marketing strategy in building Cloudgear brand awareness. Brand awareness is affected by advertising, social media, word of mouth and publicity. In this research, advertising, social media, word of mouth and publicity are being analysed whether it has significant positive influence to cloud service providers brand awareness or not. The hypothesis are that each of these factors have positive influence to cloud service brand awareness by performing customers analysis. Questionnaire was distributed to two hundred samples. Then, the data were processed by SPSS using multiple linear regression method. Several tests were conducted consisted of validity test, reliability test, normality test, and linearity test. After the data were valid, reliable, normal, and linear, analysis continued by doing multiple linear regression. The results are there is significant effect of each advertising, social media, word of mouth and publicity to brand awareness of cloud service provider. Determination test is resulted these variables have 50.1% influence. When F Test was conducted, the result was these variables if tested simultaneously or simultaneously have an effect on cloud service brand awareness. Therefore, the proposed marketing strategy for Cloudgear is related to improvement in advertising, social media, word of mouth and publicity in order to increase their brand awareness as a local Indonesian cloud service provider.

A realist approach to understanding alliancing within Local Government public health and social care service provision.

Within the current context of continued austerity and post-pandemic recovery, it remains important that Local Government services address the increasing needs of residents as cost-effectively as possible. Alliancing, whereby services work collaboratively focusing on the 'whole-system', has gained popularity as a tool with the potential to support collaborative whole systems approaches. This synthesis aims to identify how alliancing can be successfully operationalised in the commissioning of public health, wider National Health Service (NHS) and social care-related services. A realist literature synthesis was undertaken in order to identify underlying generative mechanisms associated with alliancing, the contextual conditions surrounding the implementation and operationalisation of the alliancing approach mechanisms, and the outcomes produced as a result. An iterative approach was taken, using a recent systematic review of the effectiveness of Alliancing, online database searches, and grey literature searches. Three mechanistic components were identified within the data as being core to the successful implementation of alliances in public health and social care-related services within Local Government: (i) Achieving a system-level approach; (ii) placing local populations at the heart of the system; and (iii) creating a cultural shift. Programme theories were postulated within these components. The alliancing approach offers an opportunity to achieve system-level change with the potential to benefit local populations. The realist synthesis approach taken within this study has provided insights into the necessary contextual and mechanistic factors of the Alliancing approach, above and beyond effectiveness outcomes typically collected through more conventional evaluation methodologies.

Unpacking social innovation by nonstate service providers in the challenging social work practice

Nonstate service providers in the form of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) play an important role in the delivery of social services and the development of social work practice, in particular in fragile and conflict-affected countries. In such challenging settings, NGOs also mobilize various resources, implement novel activities or service delivery models that may induce the development of social innovation; however, such perspectives have been overlooked in the social work literature. This study outlines a framework for understanding how social innovation generates by nonstate service providers in a challenging social work context. By analyzing 15 interviews from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the study identified three interrelated key mechanisms that drive social innovation by local NGO service providers: a) transcopy, b) coactive novelty and c) knowledge construction. The processes underlying these mechanisms include transnational networking, copying and adapting, contextual modification, relationship-building, pioneering novel solutions, knowledge production and transfer. This study offers new insights into the role of nonstate service providers in the development of social innovation in a challenging social work context and has several implications for practice.

Antibiotics usage practices in aquaculture in Bangladesh and their associated factors

BackgroundIrrational and inappropriate use of antibiotics in aquaculture can contribute to the development of antibiotic resistance. ObjectivesIn this study, we aimed to assess antibiotic usage in inland and coastal fish farms in Bangladesh and identify factors associated with this practice. MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study to collect antibiotic usage information from 672 fish farmers in Bangladesh. The frequency of use, the types of antibiotics, the purpose of usage, and antibiotic prescribing practices were estimated. Adjusted odds ratios (aOR) were calculated to measure the association between antibiotic usage and factors related to the characteristics of the farms and farmers using multivariable logistic regression models. ResultsTwenty-two farms reported using antibiotics in the last 24 h preceding the interview (3%, 95% CI: 2–5%); 36 farms (5%, 95% CI: 4–7%) in the last 72 h, 141 farms (21%, 95% CI: 18–24%) in the last 14 days, and 478 farms (71%, 68–75%) reported antibiotic usage at least once since the start of their production cycle. Antibiotics usage in the last 14 days preceding the interviews was higher in freshwater fish farms (98%) than in brackish water farms (2%). Oxytetracycline, ciprofloxacin, and amoxicillin were the most frequently used antibiotics. Most of the antibiotics were reported to be used for both therapeutic and prophylactic purposes (71%, 95% CI: 63–78%). Antibiotics used within the last 14 days were mainly advised by feed dealers or drug sellers (51%, 95% CI: 43–60%), followed by farmers themselves (31%, 95% CI: 23–38%) and local service providers (18%, 95% CI, 12–25%). Fish farms having history of antibiotic use within the last 14 days preceding interviews was significantly associated with illness in fish (aOR 1.98, 95% CI:1.21–3.29) compared to farms with healthy fish and fishes cultured in ponds (aOR 9.34, 95% CI: 3.69–23.62) compared to enclosure cultures. ConclusionsImprovement of fish health through better farming practices and changes in feed dealers' and farmers' attitudes towards self-prescription of antibiotic without veterinarian diagnostics may help to reduce the levels of antibiotic usage and thus contribute to mitigating antimicrobial resistance.

Local Government and the Everyday Economy

AbstractWhile national government approaches to economic policy have focussed on economic output as measured through gross domestic product (GDP), many local government approaches see it as their primary economic responsibility to make the local economy work well for their residents—both in terms of quantity and quality of jobs, and of the provision of adequate local services, amenities and culture. In recent years a growing interventionist inclination has emerged in local government, seeking to shape the local economy in response to many waves of national economic crises. This article explores a range of such approaches and models, with deep‐dive analysis of Barking and Dagenham, where both authors have worked. It draws out the lessons for national economic policy and strategy in shaping a more resilient, functional and prosperous everyday economy for people.

Disrupted educational pathways: The effects of conflict on adolescent educational access and learning in war-torn Ethiopia

As the mid-way point for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) timeframe nears, countries affected by conflict and fragility represent one of the key challenges to achieving SDG 4—-ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education for all. Drawing on qualitative research undertaken in late 2021 in South Gondar zone, in Ethiopia’s war-torn northern Amhara region, with adolescent girls and boys (n = 80), their caregivers (n = 11) community leaders and local service providers, including teachers (n = 31), this article explores the experiences of young people during and after their communities were occupied by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, and the multi-pronged effects the conflict has had on their educational pathways. It finds that for many, schooling has been disrupted by: recruitment into the armed forces or organized youth movements (Fano); destruction of school infrastructure and records by the occupying forces; an inability to concentrate on education on account of trauma and stress; and a loss of educational aspirations given fears of prolonged insecurity. At the school level, it also identifies negative impacts in terms of teacher presence, teaching quality and the provisioning of educational activities; compounded by reduced education budgets as local, regional and federal government resources are diverted to the war effort. The article concludes with some reflections on the implications of our findings for government, development partners, communities, non-governmental organizations, and schools, in their efforts to strengthen education services and build resilience, including through linkages with social protection, justice, and psychosocial support services, in contexts of ongoing fragility.

Mapping Geographic Trends in Early Childhood Social, Emotional, and Behavioural Difficulties in Glasgow: 2010-2017.

Measuring variation in childhood mental health supports the development of local early intervention strategies. The methodological approach used to investigate mental health trends (often determined by the availability of individual level data) can affect decision making. We apply two approaches to identify geographic trends in childhood social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). SDQ forms were analysed for 35,171 children aged 4–6 years old across 180 preschools in Glasgow, UK, between 2010 and 2017 as part of routine monitoring. The number of children in each electoral ward and year with a high SDQ total difficulties score (≥15), indicating a high risk of psychopathology, was modelled using a disease mapping model. The total difficulties score for an individual child nested in their preschool and electoral ward was modelled using a multilevel model. For each approach, linear time trends and unstructured spatial random effects were estimated. The disease mapping model estimated a yearly rise in the relative rate (RR) of high scores of 1.5–5.0%. The multilevel model estimated an RR increase of 0.3–1.2% in average total scores across the years, with higher variation between preschools than between electoral wards. Rising temporal trends may indicate worsening social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties over time, with a faster rate for the proportion with high scores than for the average total scores. Preschool and ward variation, although minimal, highlight potential priority areas for local service provision. Both methodological approaches have utility in estimating and predicting children’s difficulties and local areas requiring greater intervention.

Emergency Department Nurses’ Perceptions of Patient Substance Use, Impact on Sexual Assault Care, and Access to Follow-up Behavioral Health Resources

IntroductionPatients may present to the emergency department for sexual assault care under the influence of drugs or alcohol. However, many emergency nurses are not prepared to meet their unique needs or aware of follow-up behavioral health resources. The purpose of this study was to (1) summarize current resources provided to patients and processes for referral to behavioral health services after sexual assault care, (2) explore emergency nurses’ attitudes and behaviors toward patient substance use, and (3) explore nurses’ perceptions of adjunct mobile health interventions for follow-up behavioral health care and describe anticipated barriers to use. MethodsFifteen emergency nurses participated in semi-structured qualitative interviews. ResultsParticipants had mixed perceptions of patient intoxication during sexual assault care. They felt that conversations about substance use may be more appropriate after the ED visit. Participants recognized the opportunity to connect ED patients with substance use treatment or prevention resources but perceived that there are few local service providers. Most participants were not referring patients with substance use issues to behavioral health services after sexual assault care and said that their emergency departments did not have processes for referral to these services. Acceptability of mobile health for follow-up behavioral health care was high, but participants had concerns for patient privacy and internet access. Participants gave recommendations to improve referral practices and patient engagement with mobile health interventions. DiscussionThis study highlights the need for emergency nurses to consider patient intoxication during sexual assault care and opportunities to connect patients with resources post-assault.

Establishing Victim Services in an American Indian Tribal Community: A Needs Assessment.

American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) communities experience a disproportionate number of violent crimes compared with other populations. Tribal-based services for victims are lacking on smaller reservations. A needs assessment was conducted for a tribe in the Pacific Northwest addressing this issue. Utilizing a framework of community-based participatory research (CBPR), a survey study was conducted with tribal members and local service providers. Survey A was composed of questions constructed by a tribal working group and Survey B questions were from an existing survey. Tribal members (n = 5) indicated violence was experienced by all and witnessed by 80% of participants. Service providers (n = 17) perceived adequate but underutilization of resources. The presence of violence in the community was confirmed. Services were not routinely accessed by members. Service providers indicated knowledge gaps in the community and cultural barriers for AIAN people. The study raised awareness of violence in AIAN communities and need for additional research.

Implementation of mental health policies and reform in post-conflict countries: the case of post-genocide Rwanda.

The global burden of mental illness is rising, with populations in post-conflict countries contributing significantly to the numbers. Governments in these countries face the dual challenge of responding to increased mental health needs and implementing this response with institutions and economies weakened by war. This research studies the process, successes and challenges of implementing mental health reform in a low-resource, post-conflict country, a subject that is rarely studied. Based on fieldwork conducted in Rwanda in 2019, the study focuses on the implementation of this African country's post-genocide mental health policy, which relies primarily on strategies of decentralization and integration into the primary health care system. The results are based on 30 interviews conducted in Kigali and Ngoma with primary stakeholders including government officials, representatives from nongovernmental organizations, service providers and academics. These stakeholders held a positive view of the main strategies of the policy as they resulted in increased accessibility and availability of care for Rwandans. However, they also noted the institutionalization and individualization of mental health care as gaps in the implementation that do not respond to the Rwandan context. Building on complexity theory, the analysis found that many of these gaps, as well as opportunities to address them, are missed by the government due to top-down implementation and a lack of collaboration with local organizations and service providers working in the domain. The research results suggest that although it is possible to prioritize mental health in low-resource, complex settings, the implementation of such reform requires collaborative, adaptive and horizontal approaches in order to adequately address and respond to citizen needs and ensure quality mental health care for all.

P23 - Who do you think we are? Community perceptions of a midwife

Midwifery identifies as an independent health profession that partners with women and their families throughout the continuum of the childbearing journey. Midwives are highly educated and skilled health professionals who counsel, support, educate and empower women, families, and communities to have agency in decisions related to reproductive health and the transition to parenthood. As midwives, we know this but what does the broader society think a Midwife is? The aim of this project was to capture the overall impression of the midwifery profession within the community. We sought to identify knowledge deficits that may have the potential to impact local maternity service provision, as well as to raise the profile and visibility of the midwifery profession within these areas. A team of midwifery academics took to the streets of Ballarat, Gippsland and Berwick to capture a snapshot of Victoria’s perception of midwives and midwifery. Members of the community were engaged in conversation with a midwifery academic or representative, who recorded, photographed and/or filmed the interaction with written consent. Questions to prompt conversation included: What is a midwife? What do you think midwives do? Have you had any experiences with midwives? and/or have midwives impacted your own life in any way? These short audio-visual clips were edited into a collation of moving imagery to convey the results of our sociological study.

The Impact of Underdog Positioning on Consumer Preference in Korea: Focusing on Local Service Providers

Purpose - Small independent brands from local companies often use underdog positioning to compete with established global brands. However, whether the effectiveness of underdog positioning of local businesses in the service sector remains insufficient. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the underdog effect on the preference of Korean consumers for individual service providers positioned as underdogs.
 Design/methodology - The author examines the research question of this study using a one-way ANOVA in three different positioning (underdog vs. top dog vs. control) between-subjects design, with a group of Korean participants.
 Findings - The experimental study shows that support for independent local (vs. global) service providers positioned as underdogs is straightforward. Using the lens of consumer identification with underdog biographies, this study found that consumers prefer small local service providers with passion and determination regardless of their disadvantages.
 Originality/value - To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to examine the effectiveness of underdog positioning in the context of individual service providers. As it competes with global service companies for domestic consumer preference in Korea, the findings have great implications for ensuring the sustainability of small local service providers.

External drivers of participation in regional collaborative water planning

AbstractWhat drives participation in collaborative planning? How does this vary across different institutional contexts? Public managers must navigate emerging challenges in public service provision; perceived risk and capacity to act can play a pivotal role, shaping managerial behavior. In water management, for example, issues stemming from climate change and water‐intensive growth create new concerns about continued water supply. Strategic decisions may improve local public service provision, but can also have cascading effects on other systems, as water is a mobile—and subtractable—resource. Many public water systems have participated in collaborative planning to overcome collective challenges for this reason, but participation is not feasible for all prospective participants. Using data from administrative records and surveys, we fit a binomial logistic model to examine the roles of capacity and perceived risk among water service providers as drivers of participation in collaborative planning forums. By evaluating this relationship in California and North Carolina, we find similar results across unique institutional contexts: participation in regional water planning is associated with perceived risk to water supply from changing climatic conditions, but not from perceived risk of changing patterns of demand. Also, system capacity—as measured by the size of the population served—corresponds to increased likelihood of participation.

Chinese VFR Travel in Budapest: The Hosts’ Roles

In recent decades, there has been a dynamic growth of Chinese outbound tourism to the Central and Eastern European region, and Hungary has been one of the most visited countries. This increase in demand is linked, in part, to the important Chinese diaspora in Hungary whose members play the role of hosts in VFR travel. This paper aims to explore the social relations—guanxi—within the Chinese diaspora living in Budapest and its influence on VFR travels back and forth China. Results of the survey with 202 Chinese immigrants reveal the strong nexus between migration and VFR travel. The Chinese hosts who have been living in the country for two decades behave differently in their guanxi compared to those who have settled in Budapest recently. The article provides several practical contributions to local destination management organizations and tourism service providers to successfully reach Chinese hosts, such as providing commissions, coupons, and getting discounts.

Local Cloud Computing Service Adoption in Nigeria: Challenges and Solutions

Cloud momentum seems unstoppable in Nigeria, as businesses and organizations in the country see less and less advantage in the slog of maintaining their infrastructure. The shift to the cloud in today's COVID-19 driven world has created an opportunity for investments to improve local cloud computing services. However, there are key challenges that must be addressed by the local cloud service providers in the country in order not to lose out to the foreign cloud service providers. This paper assessed the challenges to local cloud computing services adoption among sixty-seven (67) businesses and organizations in Nigeria. The research employed a non-probability purposive sampling approach. The surveyed data were obtained through an online form which was distributed via Linkedln. Descriptive and inferential analysis was used in analyzing the collected data via IBM SPSS software. Findings from the research showed the key challenges to include inadequate awareness of local cloud service vendors, poor innovation and local content, inadequate cloud infrastructure, local cloud vendor interoperability issue, national insecurity, shortages in skilled personnel, Service Level Agreement (SLA), security strategies, privacy, compliance terms, and requirements issues. Thus, adequate local cloud service offerings, skilled personnel, and the IT infrastructural backbone of the country have to be well established to increase the trust in local cloud computing, open up Nigeria to offshore markets while driving economic competitiveness and growth.