This paper is based on research carried out in an EU Fifth Framework project on 'Gender and Qualification'. The research partners from five European countries investigated the impact of gender segregation in European labour markets on vocational education and training, with particular regard to competences and qualifications. The research explored the part played by gender in the vocational education and training experiences of (i) young adults entering specific occupations in child care, electrical engineering and food preparation/service (ii) adults changing occupations.
Racism is now widely recognized as a fundamental cause of health inequalities in the United States. As such, health scholars have rightly turned their attention toward examining the role of structural racism in fostering morbidity and mortality. However, to date, much of the empirical structural racism-health disparities literature limits the operationalization of structural racism to a single domain or orients the construct around a White/ Black racial frame. This operationalization approach is incomprehensive and overlooks the heterogeneity of historical and lived experiences among other racial and ethnic groups.To address this gap, we present a theoretically grounded framework that illuminates core mutually reinforcing domains of structural racism that have stratified opportunities for health in the United States. We catalog instances of structural discrimination that were particularly constraining (or advantageous) to the health of racial and ethnic groups from the late 1400s to present. We then illustrate the utility of this framework by applying it to American Indians or Alaska Natives and discuss the framework's broader implications for empirical health research. This framework should help future scholars across disciplines as they identify and interrogate important laws, policies, and norms that have differentially constrained opportunities for health among racial and ethnic groups.Ethn Dis. 2021;31(Suppl 1):301-310; doi:10.18865/ed.31.S1.301
In: Surveys and perspectives integrating environment and society: SAPIENS ; an open access journal of the Institut Veolia Environnement, Band 1, Heft 2, S. 97-103
Forest devolution is meant to provide communities with greater decision-making power over the use and future of tropical forests. However, devolution policies have not always had the intended effect; in some cases they have caused or furthered the disenfranchisement of the poor, the creation of open access conditions, resource conflict and forest degradation. These problems are likely to arise when forest communities are at a disadvantage when interacting with other local players and are unprepared for their new opportunities and responsibilities due to their physical remoteness, cultural isolation, low literacy rates or lack of experience in formal planning and negotiation. This paper discusses how a participatory method to facilitate thinking about the future—called future scenarios—can help change the way forest communities and local governments interact. The paper reviews a growing body of literature on future scenarios and shares first-hand experiences with future scenarios in forest communities in the northern Bolivia Amazon and the central provinces of Vietnam. It finds that under the right conditions, the use of future scenarios allows forest communities to collaborate more effectively with local government, better assume responsibilities when given control over forests under devolution schemes and self-organize to benefit from the opportunities that communal control over forests offer. Future scenarios help communities think about dependency, vulnerabilities and ways to prepare for the future; the methods develop organizational capacity and encourage internal democratic processes and planning. Community leaders become more vocal and assertive in meetings with local government, and marginalized groups within communities, such as women or the poorest segments, make their voices heard. However, the methods are less effective when facilitation skills are not available or where government or other interests are threatened by local constituents, Future scenarios are not without their pitfalls and do not work in all situations, but given the appropriate context they can create "break-through moments" that improve collaboration between communities and local officials.
The growing evidence base for the benefits for people and wildlife of nature-based solutions to managing urban green infrastructure lacks research investigating land manager perspectives on their implementation. To address this gap, we explored UK local authority manager perceptions of the challenges and opportunities of introducing perennial urban meadows to prioritise biodiversity and aesthetics. This was co-produced as an experiment in urban greenspaces with Luton Parks Service and Bedford Borough Council 2013-15. We conducted semi-structured interviews with the eight stakeholder managers involved to identify key factors impacting on the perceived feasibility of future urban meadow establishment in other areas. All managers identified three dominant factors (aesthetics and public reaction, locational context, and human resources and economic sustainability). Additional factors (local politics, communication, biodiversity and existing habitat and physical factors) varied in importance according to personal values and managerial role. Support for future meadow introduction and a desire to overcome the economic challenge of the disposal of meadow arisings were related to manager biocentricity. Managers were aware of changing public values leading to increasing acceptance of a messier urban aesthetic. They perceived perennial meadows as a realistic alternative to amenity mown grass that in specific contexts could increase local biodiversity and enhance aesthetics if implemented in consultation with the public and local councillors. Our findings have relevance for the wider implementation of such nature-based solutions to urban GI management: Changes in management practice such as the introduction of perennial meadows have significant political, strategic, economic and practical implications and cannot be viewed purely as a technical challenge.
Forest devolution and government decentralization have increased community control over forests. Remoteness, low literacy, and lack of formal planning experience often leave forest communities unprepared for their new responsibilities. Forest communities need to develop skills that allow them to establish goals and make decisions transparently and democratically and to negotiate effectively with other local actors if they are to become more proactive participants in local governance processes. In Bolivia and Vietnam we tested four adaptations of scenario-based methods to assist forest communities to develop these skills. This article reflects on the strengths, limitations, and new applications of these methods. The methods encourage participation by members who have little experience with structured planning, including the most marginalized: women, elderly, and illiterate participants. The methods are useful as planning tools, for generating records of decisionmaking processes, and for preparing for negotiations between communities and local governments
The Center for International Forestry Research has developed and adapted various participatory tools for use with forest communities and other natural resource dependent groups. The tools have diverse applications: stakeholder identification, decision making, planning, conflict management, information collection, landscape assessment and other uses. The Guide to Participatory Tools for Forest Communities is intended for environment and development practitioners, researchers and local government officials. It provides information on various tools to help readers grasp basic capabilities, identify the most appropriate tool for their needs and find resources for additional information. Much like a map, this guide sends readers in the right direction when selecting participatory tools.
First published as 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-026319 on 19 June 2019 ; INTRODUCTION:Australia's ageing population puts significant demands on the aged care and healthcare sectors. To monitor the provision of aged care and healthcare services to older people, each government body has an individual data collection system. Together these systems can be the basis for creating the evidence necessary to support future allocation of resources for our ageing community. The Registry of Older South Australians (ROSA) is a cross-sector multidisciplinary (ie, aged care and healthcare) platform built to address the challenges of monitoring people in aged care settings. This protocol describes the ROSA's framework and plans. METHODS AND ANALYSIS:A registry to capture 16 000 South Australians/year undergoing an aged care eligibility assessment was designed. ROSA will contain information captured by the Commonwealth and South Australian state Health Authority, linked by two data integrating authorities, and housed on a secured data platform. ROSA will contain information on the sociodemographic, health, function, psychological, social, home and safety assessment and concerns characteristics, aged care services, general health services, and mortality of people receiving aged care services. Registered participants will be prospectively monitored until their death and yearly updates of their aged care and healthcare services information will be added to the registry. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION:ROSA will longitudinally monitor the services provided to a population that puts costly demands on the state healthcare and aged care systems, identify unwanted variation, and underpin future research. ROSA's expected outputs include an annual report, a research agenda that focuses on high burden conditions and potentially economically impactful questions, educational materials, and risk profiling tools. ROSA was approved by the South Australian Department for Health and Ageing HREC (HREC/17/SAH/125) and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare HREC (EO2018/2/429). ; Maria C Inacio, Sarah Catherine Elizabeth Bray, Craig Whitehead, Megan Corlis, Renuka Visvanathan, Keith Evans, Elizabeth C Griffith, Steve L Wesselingh
The Amazon basin and its rich forest has inspired much debate about its natural treasures, potential for economic development and the rights of its populations to exclusive benefits. This debate started in the 1970s and has continued ever since. The chapter points to some of the current key social, occupational and political dynamics in the region and reviews the prime threats affecting Amazon forests and livelihoods. Among these are cattle ranching, soybean production, logging, infrastructure expansion, and the oil and gas industry. These sectors have changed over the years and have adapted to a new economic, political and social climate. The chapter subsequently reviews a series of more recent responses to these threats. Important progress has been made in institutional overhaul, land tenure reform, decentralized government and deregulation and incentives to support sustainable forest use, in particular the newly emerging REDD initiatives. The final part of the chapter provides a balanced assessment of conflicting interests, persisting threats and response options that have achieved positive outcomes suggesting that both old and new challenges require innovative policy action.
In: Hole , B , Evans , K , Pyart , R , Davids , R , Gonzalez Bedat , M C , Jager , K J , McDonald , S , Pisoni , R , Rosa Diez , G , Saran , R & Caskey , F 2019 , ' Establishing Registries for Kidney Health Advocacy ' , The International Society of Nephrology's World Congress of Nephrology , Melbourne , Australia , 12/04/19 - 15/04/19 .
Background The ISN has stressed the need for integrated worldwide renal care. Registries will play a vital role by defining disease burden, monitoring treatment and outcomes, but vary in coverage and structure. This study describes the current scope and technical aspects of international renal registries. Methods The ISN established 'Sharing Expertise to support the set-up of Renal Registries' (SharE-RR) to support countries developing a registry (www.theisn.org/advocacy/share-rr). Surveys were developed to collect geographical and modality coverage as well models of data collection, technical, governance and funding information from national and international registries (SurveyMonkey, English language only). Piloting and iterative development was undertaken with 6 registries in 3 continents. In 2018 the survey was emailed to 126 contacts provided by members from the African, Australian and New Zealand, ERA-EDTA, Latin American and United States renal registries. Surveys were administered in batches with up to 5 reminders sent to non-responders. Respondents were asked to forward the survey to other registries covering renal replacement therapy in their country, where appropriate. Data were analysed using Microsoft Excel. National/regional survey results •91 contacts responded from 85 registries in 78 countries and 6 countries without established registries (72% response rate) •Of these 85 registries: •73 (86%) had national coverage •12 (14%) covered a region only Adults [Figure 1] •84 (99%) registries reported coverage of adults receiving haemodialysis (HD) •78 (92%) peritoneal dialysis (PD) •63 (74%) kidney transplant (Tx) •60 (71%) registries covered all three modalities and 5 (6%) covered just one Children •64 (75%) reported coverage of children receiving HD •56 (66%) PD •51 (60%) Tx Chronic/acute kidney disease •19 (22%) reported coverage of chronic kidney disease •8 (9%) acute kidney injury Data collection •44 (52%) registries used web-forms to assimilate data •31 (36%) paper-based •24 (28%) email •19 (22%) direct extraction from clinical systems •14 (16%) a secured data line •4 (5%) billing data •39 (46%) used a mixture Economy •46 (54%) responses were from high-income economies, 25 (29%) from upper-middle and 13 (15%) from lower-middle economies. Burundi was the sole low-income country •51% of the world's high-income countries, 46% of higher-middle, 28% of lower-middle and 5% of low-income countries reported a registry Funding •45 registries (53%) declared funding direct from government (61% of high-income, 48% of upper middle-income, 38% of lower middle-income and 0% of low-income responders) •Overall, 39 (46%) registries reported government as their main source of funding •Professional bodies/societies were the main funder for 18 (21%) registries and provided funding to 26 (31%) registries •7 registries (8%) reported no funding Conclusion The 2018 SharE-RR survey highlights international inequality in the ability to monitor access to, quality and outcomes of renal care. The most comprehensive registries are found in higher-income nations, which are more likely to receive government support. Scarce evidence of registry activity was found in low-income economies. Collection of data relating to individuals not receiving dialysis is rare, which precludes estimation of true disease burden. Paediatric coverage seems less complete than for adults, though the survey may not have reached all registries. Developing renal registries in resource constrained economies is critical to developing effective preventative, renal-replacement and supportive care services. The SharE-RR project has been developed to make progress in this vital area.