Suchergebnisse

In recent years, the People's Republic of China has been expanding its presence in Africa and developing enterprises across the African continent. China is now one of the largest investors and trading partner in Africa. The impact of this investment on labour standards, and the expectation of Chinese investors in this regard, is likely to be a concern for host countries. The purpose of this study is to consider whether China's approach to freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining is compatible with international labour standards, which have been ratified by most African countries. This is achieved by comparing the relevant laws in China, that regulate freedom of association and collective bargaining, against the international standards set by the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) Conventions and Recommendations. In particular, the provisions of the Freedom of Association Convention (No. 87) and the Collective Bargaining Convention (No .98), among others, together with the findings of the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association, are used to determine an international standards 'comparator'. The Chinese Labour Law, Trade Union Law and Labour Contract Law are subsequently evaluated against this comparator in order to determine the extent of compliance of the Chinese labour system with international labour standards. The outcome of the comparison shows a broad degree of compliance with international standards relating to the formal recognition in law of the rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining as well as the identification of vulnerable classes of workers such as women, migrant workers and rural workers. However, two major discrepancies in the Chinese legal system were found: first, in relation to trade unions - the existence of one centralised representative organisation known as the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), with overarching authority, infringes the establishment, autonomy, independence and functioning of smaller grass-roots trade unions. Second, the right to strike was found to be suppressed in China. Ultimately, the Chinese formulation of the right to freedom of association and the exercise thereof is inherently different to the international standards. The right is conceptualised and practiced within the Chinese socialist market economy under the guidance of the Communist Party which is the supreme power in the democratic dictatorship. Therefore, the Chinese experience and understanding of the right to freedom of association and the right to strike may be fundamentally different to African states in terms of its content, ideological underpinning, exercise and enforcement. These findings demonstrate a need for African countries that host Chinese investment to proactively guard against the labour rights violations that may occur due to the differing domestic legal frameworks.

Self-efficacy – positive beliefs about one's own competencies and mastery – is associated with better recovery outcomes for people using mental health services. Aim: To translate the Self-Efficacy for Personal Recovery Scale (SEPRS) into Arabic and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Arabic version. Methods: An established translation methodology was employed, involving back-translation, comparison, forward-translation, comparison, and piloting. The pre-final version of the Arabic translated scale was tested for clarity with young people with a primary diagnosis of mental health problem. The final Arabic version and standardized measures of hope and loneliness were administered to 119 young people in two rounds. Results: Internal consistency was adequate (Cronbach's alpha = 0.87 in round 1, 0.91 in round 2). Consistent with the English version, a one-factor solution best fitted the data. The correlation between SEPRS and hope was R = 0.60 (round 1) and R = 0.61 (round 2), indicating convergent validity. The correlation between SEPRS and loneliness was R = −0.52 (round 1) and R = −0.60 (round 2). Correlation between test and retest was R = −0.998 indicated adequate test-retest reliability. Minimal floor and ceiling effects were detected. Conclusion: The use of the Arabic SEPRS with Arabic-speaking samples is supported. Further research to investigate divergent validity is warranted.

Mental health lived experience narratives are first-person accounts of people with experience of mental health problems. They have been published in journals, books and online, and used in healthcare interventions and anti-stigma campaigns. There are concerns about their potential misuse. A four-language systematic review was conducted of published literature characterizing uses and misuses of mental health lived experience narratives within healthcare and community settings. 6531 documents in four languages (English, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian) were screened and 78 documents from 11 countries were included. Twenty-seven uses were identified in five categories: political, societal, community, service level and individual. Eleven misuses were found, categorized as relating to the narrative (narratives may be co-opted, narratives may be used against the author, narratives may be used for different purpose than authorial intent, narratives may be reinterpreted by others, narratives may become patient porn, narratives may lack diversity), relating to the narrator (narrator may be subject to unethical editing practises, narrator may be subject to coercion, narrator may be harmed) and relating to the audience (audience may be triggered, audience may misunderstand). Four open questions were identified: does including a researcher's personal mental health narrative reduce the credibility of their research?: should the confidentiality of narrators be protected?; who should profit from narratives?; how reliable are narratives as evidence?).