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Article
Publication date: 8 July 2022

Bruce Wallace, Lea Gozdzialski, Abdelhakim Qbaich, Azam Shafiul, Piotr Burek, Abby Hutchison, Taylor Teal, Rebecca Louw, Collin Kielty, Derek Robinson, Belaid Moa, Margaret-Anne Storey, Chris Gill and Dennis Hore

While there is increasing interest in implementing drug checking within overdose prevention, we must also consider how to scale-up these responses so that they have significant…

1976

Abstract

Purpose

While there is increasing interest in implementing drug checking within overdose prevention, we must also consider how to scale-up these responses so that they have significant reach and impact for people navigating the unpredictable and increasingly complex drug supplies linked to overdose. The purpose of this paper is to present a distributed model of community drug checking that addresses multiple barriers to increasing the reach of drug checking as a response to the illicit drug overdose crisis.

Design/methodology/approach

A detailed description of the key components of a distributed model of community drug checking is provided. This includes an integrated software platform that links a multi-instrument, multi-site service design with online service options, a foundational database that provides storage and reporting functions and a community of practice to facilitate engagement and capacity building.

Findings

The distributed model diminishes the need for technicians at multiple sites while still providing point-of-care results with local harm reduction engagement and access to confirmatory testing online and in localized reporting. It also reduces the need for training in the technical components of drug checking (e.g. interpreting spectra) for harm reduction workers. Moreover, its real-time reporting capability keeps communities informed about the crisis. Sites are additionally supported by a community of practice.

Originality/value

This paper presents innovations in drug checking technologies and service design that attempt to overcome current financial and technical barriers towards scaling-up services to a more equitable and impactful level and effectively linking multiple urban and rural communities to report concentration levels for substances most linked to overdose.

Details

Drugs, Habits and Social Policy, vol. 23 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2752-6739

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 3 October 2024

Yuling Wang, Martin Lockett and Abby Jingzi Zhou

This study explores the role of digitalization, especially mobile apps, in expatriate cross-cultural adjustment. The role of digitalization is under-researched and…

112

Abstract

Purpose

This study explores the role of digitalization, especially mobile apps, in expatriate cross-cultural adjustment. The role of digitalization is under-researched and under-recognized in the current literature on global mobility, but is becoming a significant factor in expatriate cross-cultural adjustment.

Design/methodology/approach

As the research is exploratory, it uses qualitative methods, specifically in-depth interviews and rigorous thematic analysis. It is based on 31 respondents from 16 higher education organizations across 10 cities in five provinces/municipalities in China, a country with one of the highest levels of digitalization in daily life.

Findings

The most significant finding is that mobile apps are central to expatriate cross-cultural adjustment in China. Such apps both enable adjustment if used actively and hinder adjustment significantly if resisted or not used effectively. However high motivation is required to cope with the incompatibility between the infrastructure of mobile apps in China and expatriates’ previous experiences.

Research limitations/implications

This study is based on expatriate academics in China, where digitalization is widespread and local apps rather than international apps are predominant. Hence expatriates may feel a greater impact of digitalization on daily life and work than in less digitalized societies. A major implication is that digitalization should be considered as a potentially significant factor in expatriate cross-cultural adjustment.

Practical implications

Host country governments, employers, app developers and expatriates, all need to consider the use of mobile apps in cross-cultural adjustment and retention of expatriates.

Originality/value

This study identifies the role of digitalization, especially mobile apps, in expatriate cross-cultural adjustment in a highly digitalized environment, which has not been recognized in previous research. It proposes the concept of “digital distance” that should be considered alongside “cultural distance” in the context of expatriate cross-cultural adjustment.

Details

Journal of Global Mobility: The Home of Expatriate Management Research, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-8799

Keywords

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