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Journal of Business Ethics : JBE 2023Local places, such as communities, cities, and towns, host many cross-cross sector partnerships, many geared primarily toward alleviating local social and environmental...
Local places, such as communities, cities, and towns, host many cross-cross sector partnerships, many geared primarily toward alleviating local social and environmental issues. Yet, existing literatures focus predominantly on largescale systemic impact and global challenges such as climate change, paying scant attention to the role of local, geographically bounded dynamics in shaping these partnerships. In this article, I conceptualize places as geographic locations imbued with specific meaning systems and material resources to unpack how local embeddedness shape the structure of cross-sector partnerships. Specifically, I investigate how place-based conflict, arising from tensions between the moral and material aspects of a partnership, can shape formalized aspects of organizational structure. These include the scope of operations, partners' roles, and shared resources. I unpack these relationships using a case study of Occupy Medical, a local partnership between the civic society and the local government in Eugene, Oregon, tackling the problem of providing healthcare to the homeless and other marginalized and disenfranchised communities. The analysis covers the nine-year period of 2011-2020 and spans three major restructurings of the organization, the latest prompted by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. I theorize two forms of structural arrangements for cross-sector partnerships, confined and leveraged, and further elaborate on the role of cross-sector partnerships in crises response on the local level.
PubMed: 37168486
DOI: 10.1007/s10551-023-05360-w -
Social Science & Medicine (1982) Nov 2021Critical considerations of space and place at the end of life have been limited in the social science literature. To address this gap, we draw on empirical data from two...
Critical considerations of space and place at the end of life have been limited in the social science literature. To address this gap, we draw on empirical data from two interrelated but separate qualitative Australian data sets to critically examine dying in relation to considerations of space, place and affect. These studies share the primary aim to better understand and articulate end-of-life experiences, with one using video reflexive ethnography and the other semi-structured interviews with patients. Challenging the broader valorisation of particular places of dying and death (e.g. home, hospice, hospital), we critically explore the meanings and affects of space and place and how they are rooted in normative expectations. Drawing on participant accounts we interrogate simplistic concepts of home versus hospice, or hospital versus community, developing a critical social science of the intersections of space and place at the end of life.
Topics: Anthropology, Cultural; Australia; Death; Hospice Care; Humans; Palliative Care; Qualitative Research; Terminal Care
PubMed: 33234455
DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113536 -
PeerJ 2022Pathogenic fungal infection success depends on the ability to escape the immune response. Most strategies for fungal infection control are focused on the inhibition of... (Review)
Review
Pathogenic fungal infection success depends on the ability to escape the immune response. Most strategies for fungal infection control are focused on the inhibition of virulence factors and increasing the effectiveness of antifungal drugs. Nevertheless, little attention has been focused on their physiological resistance to the host immune system. Hints may be found in pathogenic fungi that also inhabit the soil. In nature, the saprophyte lifestyle of fungi is also associated with predators that can induce oxidative stress upon cell damage. The natural sources of nutrients for fungi are linked to cellulose degradation, which in turn generates reactive oxygen species (ROS). Overall, the antioxidant arsenal needed to thrive both in free-living and pathogenic lifestyles in fungi is fundamental for success. In this review, we present recent findings regarding catalases and oxidative stress in fungi and how these can be in close relationship with pathogenesis. Additionally, special focus is placed on catalases of as a pathogenic model with a dual lifestyle. It is assumed that catalase expression is activated upon exposure to HO, but there are reports where this is not always the case. Additionally, it may be relevant to consider the role of catalases in survival in the saprophytic lifestyle and why their study can assess their involvement in the survival and therefore, in the virulence phenotype of different species of and when each of the three catalases are required. Also, studying antioxidant mechanisms in other isolates of pathogenic and free-living fungi may be linked to the virulence phenotype and be potential therapeutic and diagnostic targets. Thus, the rationale for this review to place focus on fungal catalases and their role in pathogenesis in addition to counteracting the effect of immune system reactive oxygen species. Fungi that thrive in soil and have mammal hosts could shed light on the importance of these enzymes in the two types of lifestyles. We look forward to encouraging more research in a myriad of areas on catalase biology with a focus on basic and applied objectives and placing these enzymes as virulence determinants.
Topics: Animals; Sporothrix; Sporotrichosis; Catalase; Reactive Oxygen Species; Antioxidants; Hydrogen Peroxide; Fungal Proteins; Mammals
PubMed: 36523453
DOI: 10.7717/peerj.14478 -
Rural and Remote Health Jan 2021Bypass, or utilizing healthcare outside of one's community rather than local health care, can have serious consequences on rural healthcare availability, quality, and...
AIM
Bypass, or utilizing healthcare outside of one's community rather than local health care, can have serious consequences on rural healthcare availability, quality, and outcomes. Previous studies of the likelihood of healthcare bypass used various individual and community characteristics. This study includes measures for individuals and communities, as well as place-based characteristics. The authors introduce the Social Vulnerability of Place Index (SoVI) - a well-established measure in disaster literature - into healthcare studies to further explain the impact of place on healthcare selection behavior. Additionally, with the use of open-ended questions, this study explains why people choose to bypass. By including each of these measures, this study provides a more nuanced and detailed understanding of how individual healthcare selection is affected by the privilege of the individual, community ties, place of residence, and primary motivator for bypass.
METHODS
A systematic random sample of residents from 25 rural towns in the western US state of Utah were surveyed in 2017 in the Rural Utah Community Survey. After accounting for missing data, the total sample size was 1061. This study used logistic regression to better predict the likelihood of rural healthcare bypass behavior. Measures associated with community push factors (dissatisfaction with various local amenities), community pull factors (friends in community and length of residence), individual ability (demographics, self-reported health, and distance to a hospital), and SoVI, were added to the models to examine their impact on the likelihood of bypass. The SoVI was made using census data with variables that measure both social and place inequality. Each town in the study received a SoVI score and was then categorized as having low, mean, or high social vulnerability. Qualitative open-ended responses about healthcare selection were coded for explanations given for bypassing.
RESULTS
The pooled model showed that bypass was more likely amongst residents who were dissatisfied with local health care and more likely for females. Breaking bypass down, according to SoVI, provides a more nuanced understanding of bypass. For people living in low socially vulnerable areas, privileges such as graduating college made them more likely to bypass. For high socially vulnerable areas, privilege did not help people bypass, but disadvantages such as aging made residents less likely to bypass. Thus, by introducing the SoVI into healthcare literature, this study can compare healthcare selection behaviors of residents in low vulnerable towns, average vulnerable towns, and highly vulnerable towns. Additionally, the analysis of open-ended responses showed patterns explaining why people bypass.
CONCLUSION
Policymakers and public health workers can use the SoVI to better target their healthcare outreach. Reasons for bypass include quality, selection, consistency, cost of insurance, one-stop shop, and confidentiality. Rural clinics can help residents avoid the need to bypass by improving in these areas and thus gaining patients and minimizing the risk of closure. Healthcare policymakers should focus resources on high socially vulnerable places as well as underprivileged people in low socially vulnerable places.
Topics: Behavior; Female; Health Services Accessibility; Health Workforce; Humans; Male; Rural Population; Surveys and Questionnaires; Vulnerable Populations
PubMed: 33435691
DOI: 10.22605/RRH5952 -
Sociology of Health & Illness Jul 2020With the advent of telecare and the logic of information technologies in health care, the idea of placeless care has taken root, capturing imaginations and promising...
With the advent of telecare and the logic of information technologies in health care, the idea of placeless care has taken root, capturing imaginations and promising placeless caring futures. This 'de-territorialisation of care' has been challenged by studies of care practices 'on the ground', showing that care is always (materially) placed. Yet, while sociological scholarship has taken the role of place seriously, there is little conceptual attention for how we may think through immateriality and the changing nature of place in health care. Based on a case study of the introduction of a sensory reality technology into a care organisation, this paper argues that we need (1) to push the definition of placed care into new (digitally produced) landscapes and (2) a new vocabulary, with which to address and conceptualise this changing nature of care places. The paper introduces the term post-place, as a first step in developing such a vocabulary. Post-place care, unlike the idea of placeless care or emplaced care, is an inclusive, open and generative concept. Its strength lies in its disruptive potential for challenging existing place-care ontologies and opening up productive space for thinking through the changing landscapes of health care.
Topics: Delivery of Health Care; Humans; Telemedicine
PubMed: 32506484
DOI: 10.1111/1467-9566.13100 -
Sustainable Cities and Society Sep 2023The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted people's daily routines, including travel behaviors, social interactions, and work-related activities. However, the potential impacts...
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted people's daily routines, including travel behaviors, social interactions, and work-related activities. However, the potential impacts of COVID-19 on the use of campus locations in higher education such as libraries, food courts, sports facilities, and other destinations are still unknown. Focusing on three largest universities in Texas (Texas A&M university, the University of Texas at Austin, and Texas Tech University), this study compares changes in campus destination visitations between pre and post COVID-19 outbreak (2019 Fall and 2021 Fall semesters, respectively) using the mobility data from SafeGraph. It also examines the potential moderation effects of walkable distance (i.e. 1 km) and greenery (i.e. NDVI value). The results presented the significant effects of COVID-19 on decreasing visitations to various campus places. The visitation decreased more significantly for people living within 1 km (defined as a walkable distance) of campus and for the food, eating, and drinking places and the sports, recreation, and sightseeing places. This finding suggests that those living near campus (mostly students) decreased their reliance on campus destinations, especially for eating/drinking and recreation purposes. The level of greeneries at/around campus destinations did not moderate campus visitations after COVID-19. Policy implications on campus health and urban planning were discussed.
PubMed: 37287765
DOI: 10.1016/j.scs.2023.104656 -
Journal of Aging Studies Sep 2020Aging in place policies have been adopted internationally as a response to population aging. The approach historically referred to the goal of helping people to remain...
Aging in place policies have been adopted internationally as a response to population aging. The approach historically referred to the goal of helping people to remain in their own homes so that they can retain connections with friends and family in their community. However, the places in which people grow old are often hostile and challenging, presenting potential barriers to the policy ideal of aging in place. This may be especially the case in cities characterized by rapid population turnover and redevelopment of buildings through urban regeneration. Yet, to date, there has been limited research focusing on the places of aging, and how these affect the experience of aging in place over time. This paper addresses this gap by presenting four in-depth case-studies from a qualitative longitudinal study of older people living in neighborhoods characterized by high levels of deprivation and rapid population change. The analysis illustrates how aging in place is affected by changing life-course circumstances and the dynamics of these neighborhoods over time. The conclusion suggests that further attention must be given to the changing dynamics of the places where people grow older. It also makes policy suggestions for how aging in place could be supported, taking account of the needs of people as they grow older as well as changes in the communities in which they live. The paper extends theoretical understanding of the interrelationship between aging in place and the places of aging, revealing how these processes change over time.
Topics: Aged; Aging; Cities; Humans; Independent Living; Longitudinal Studies; Residence Characteristics
PubMed: 32972616
DOI: 10.1016/j.jaging.2020.100870 -
Journal of Interior Design Mar 2023The ubiquitous nature of technology is changing the way humans interact with interior space and redefining the third place, venues where individuals gather for...
The ubiquitous nature of technology is changing the way humans interact with interior space and redefining the third place, venues where individuals gather for socialization. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the fusion of physical and virtual space led to an overlapping of the first place (home) that served as the physical host for the virtual second (work), and third (social gathering) places. Most critically, the first place (home) became a proxy for second and third place experiences as we started connecting with the outside world, albeit virtually. The goal of this study was to determine the extent that individuals relied on technology to meet their socializing needs in response to COVID-19, verify if individuals are altering their environment as a result of the pandemic and whether these changes align with physical third-place characteristics, and inform interior designers on how to intentionally design physical space in ways that include virtual experiences. The researchers employed a mixed-methods approach by gathering data from an online survey, incorporating closed-ended and open-ended questions, using two different convenience sampling approaches ( = 229), and asking participants to submit photos to support their responses. Results illustrated that during the pandemic, virtual environments integrated with the home and became a substitute for physical third places. Four themes identified the modifications in physical space that occurred because of COVID-19 as individuals accommodated the merging of their home, work, school, and social places. Insights regarding the design of successful physical spaces that embrace virtual experiences are provided.
PubMed: 37041881
DOI: 10.1111/joid.12232 -
Insects Feb 2021Sexual reproduction places constraints on both the place and time in which individuals can reproduce, as the sperm and ova need to meet in a certain location within a...
Sexual reproduction places constraints on both the place and time in which individuals can reproduce, as the sperm and ova need to meet in a certain location within a specific time frame for successful reproduction [...].
PubMed: 33562663
DOI: 10.3390/insects12020137