Didde Hoeeg, Dan Grabowski and Ulla Christensen
To treat childhood obesity, health education interventions are often aimed at the whole family. However, such interventions seem to have a relatively limited effect on weight…
Abstract
Purpose
To treat childhood obesity, health education interventions are often aimed at the whole family. However, such interventions seem to have a relatively limited effect on weight loss. The purpose of this paper is to examine how families enrolled in a family-based health education intervention manage the intervention in their daily lives and to understand how and why intra-familial conflicts may occur.
Design/methodology/approach
Data consist of 10 in-depth semi-structured family interviews with 25 family members (10 children, 15 parents), who were enrolled in a family-based health education intervention for families with an obese child.
Findings
Actively involving all family members in the intervention proved difficult in many families. Often, the children experienced inconsistent family support, which led to intra-familial conflicts. When parents were unsuccessful in changing unhealthy habits, the responsibility for healthy living was often passed on to the obese child. Thus, several families managed the intervention by making specific rules that only the obese child was required to adhere to. This resulted in several children feeling stigmatized in their own family.
Practical implications
Professionals working with family-based health education interventions should understand that, in order to minimize the risk of intra-familial conflicts and stigmatization of the obese child, all family members must be equally committed to the lifestyle intervention.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the existing literature by adding specific knowledge about how and why conflicts occur in these families and what the consequences of these conflicts are.
Details
Keywords
Dan Grabowski and Katrine K. Rasmussen
The purpose of this paper is to explore different kinds of authenticity in four health courses for adolescents. In school-based approaches to health education it is often…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore different kinds of authenticity in four health courses for adolescents. In school-based approaches to health education it is often difficult to present health in ways that make sense and appeal to adolescents. Authenticity, as a health-pedagogical concept which focuses on the quality or condition of being believable, trustworthy or genuine, has the potential of providing an analytical framework as well as practical recommendations for this challenge.
Design/methodology/approach
This was a qualitative study based on 23 group interviews with a total of 114 adolescents and 12 individual interviews with their teachers. The data were iteratively analyzed and categorized using guidelines for content analysis. The study used a theoretical construct focusing on participation, knowledge and health identity, as each of these three elements affects aspects of authenticity when applied to a health education context.
Findings
The analysis revealed four interdependent categories of authenticity: first, authentic connections/relations; second, authentic instructors; third, authentic themes; and fourth, authentic methods/activities. In each of the four categories the paper presents analytical tools for researchers and practical recommendations for health education professionals.
Originality/value
The paper presents a new and innovative model with four categories of authenticity that provide health practitioners with important knowledge about why and how health education might wish to focus on authenticity in order to provide conditions that create a significant health educating effect for all adolescents, not just for the ones who are already healthy.
Details
Keywords
The main aim of the paper is to explore whether health theatre as a school‐based health promotion initiative communicates relevant health knowledge to children and the…
Abstract
Purpose
The main aim of the paper is to explore whether health theatre as a school‐based health promotion initiative communicates relevant health knowledge to children and the interrelated processes of identity development, knowledge acquisition and participation. Development of the definition of “health identity” was a subsidiary objective of the study.
Design/methodology/approach
This was a qualitative study based on observation of five health theatre performances, with 20 focus group interviews with a total of 98 children and 22 individual interviews with teachers and parents.
Findings
Three themes emerged from the qualitative analysis: children's varying capacities for participation affect knowledge acquisition and identity development; health knowledge acquisition is enhanced when information is made relevant by linking health to everyday life; and acquisition of health information and children's health identities are closely related. Coherent information and environments are conducive to knowledge acquisition, and health promotion efforts must be careful to avoid reinforcing negative health identities and furthering perceived divisions between “healthy” and “unhealthy” children.
Originality/value
The paper provides important foundational information for school‐based health theatre initiatives. It presents knowledge for practitioners working with knowledge‐based health promotion for children and explores the connection between identities, health knowledge acquisition and participation within an alternative theoretical framework.
Details
Keywords
Ayman Chit and Paul Grootendorst
Antimicrobial resistance is a public health threat even in countries exercising aggressive antimicrobial stewardship. A market failure is also causing lackluster innovation in…
Abstract
Purpose
Antimicrobial resistance is a public health threat even in countries exercising aggressive antimicrobial stewardship. A market failure is also causing lackluster innovation in antimicrobial medicines development. At the heart of the issue are antimicrobial stewardship guidelines that, rightfully, reserve innovative antimicrobials for emergency situations that arise due to multidrug-resistant organisms. This suppresses revenues and research and development (R&D) investment incentives of manufacturers. The public policy makers and researchers have taken aim at the problem. The researchers have published strategies to encourage the production of innovative antimicrobials, while policy makers have taken legislative steps to address the issue. Most notably, the USA enacted the Generating Antibiotic Incentives Now (GAIN) act in 2012 and the EU created a commission to formally study possible policy solutions. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, the authors describe incentives that drive pharmaceutical R&D and review the impact of a number of R&D stimulus policies in other pharmaceutical markets. The authors also discuss which policy levers are useful to boost R&D of new antimicrobials.
Findings
The authors find that a policy focused on extending intellectual property rights, as implemented in the GAIN act, are unlikely to be impactful. Instead, the authors see a need for the revision of the procurement policy to move away from paying per prescription and toward licenses and advanced market commitment models. Further, the authors note that the importance of steadfast public investment in basic biomedical research as it has been repeatedly shown to boost innovation.
Originality/value
The authors hope that the work can support the refinement of the GAIN act and the EU efforts.
Details
Keywords
This paper reviews the evidence presented in the HHS report and challenges its characterization of the state of the market. The recent US Department of Health and Human Services…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper reviews the evidence presented in the HHS report and challenges its characterization of the state of the market. The recent US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) report on the blood industry, Adequacy of the National Blood Supply, provides evidence of and acknowledges that the industry has successfully met demand for blood. And yet the tone and takeaway message of the report of the industry is on the verge of collapse.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach of this paper is a critical review of the evidence presented in the HHS report as well as other recent analyses of the blood industry.
Findings
While acknowledging the successful performance of the industry to date, the HHS report offers hypothetical disaster scenarios and a lack of centralized data as the main causes for concern. These criticisms ignore the satisfactory response of the industry to prior disasters and fail to recognize that centralized information is not necessary for the efficient operation of a decentralized industry.
Originality/value
This paper offers a fresh assessment of a report repeating prior forecasts of doom for an industry which to date has very successfully met the United States' demand for blood.
Details
Keywords
Pierre A. Balthazard and Robert W. Thatcher
Through a review of historically famous cases and a chronicle of neurotechnology development, this chapter discusses brain structure and brain function as two distinct yet…
Abstract
Through a review of historically famous cases and a chronicle of neurotechnology development, this chapter discusses brain structure and brain function as two distinct yet interrelated paths to understand the relative contributions of anatomical and physiological mechanisms to the human brain–behavior relationship. From an organizational neuroscience perspective, the chapter describes over a dozen neuroimaging technologies that are classified under four groupings: morphologic, invasive metabolic, noninvasive metabolic, and electromagnetic. We then discuss neuroimaging variables that may be useful in social science investigations, and we underscore electroencephalography as a particularly useful modality for the study of individuals and groups in organizational settings. The chapter concludes by considering emerging science and novel brain technologies for the organizational researcher as we look to the future.
Details
Keywords
It is widely acknowledged that the ability of a firm to develop and exploit their innovative capabilities is a critical determinant that maintains their competitive advantage. The…
Abstract
Purpose
It is widely acknowledged that the ability of a firm to develop and exploit their innovative capabilities is a critical determinant that maintains their competitive advantage. The purpose is to evaluate the research and development (R&D) inputs and outcomes on the performance of firms in different stages.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on a sample of 30 firms over 8 years (2009–2016), the results from a three-stage Bayesian stochastic frontier analysis model support were used.
Findings
Some interesting findings were discovered. First, the R&D intensity is positively associated with the number of patents granted, which is negatively associated with the number of new drug approvals (NDAs). Second, R&D inputs, including expenditures and human resources, are negatively related to the number of NDAs and firm performance. Third, state-owned firms perform better and have more patents granted than private-owned firms in China. Finally, the traditional Chinese medicine firms and non-coastal firms both gain fewer profits, but they generate more new drugs than chemical drug firms and coastal firms in terms of policy support.
Originality/value
It is revealed that there are no common factors among Chinese pharmaceutical firms except for ownership, and this heterogeneous behavior indicates that there is no common factor for enhancing the efficiency of all Chinese pharmaceutical firms.
Details
Keywords
The Asian crisis, which exploded in Thailand in July 1997 initially, spilled to the other ASEAN countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, and Philippines) and later it spreads to Korea and…
Abstract
The Asian crisis, which exploded in Thailand in July 1997 initially, spilled to the other ASEAN countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, and Philippines) and later it spreads to Korea and even crossing the continent to Russia and Brazil. The chronological pattern seems to indicate the contagious behaviour of the crisis. However, the sequential economic down‐turns that occurred in the Asia Pacific do look like a contagion effect. The idea that currency speculators contributed to the depth of the crisis is agreeable but to conclude that they are the roots of the problem would be misleading. This paper argued that the roots of the problems lie in current account deficit and loss of competitiveness, and moral hazard and over‐investment This paper also argued that the currency crisis is a symptom and not the cause of the Asian crisis.
Junpeng Guo, Chunxin Zhang, Yi Wu, Hao Li and Yu Liu
Government social media profiles (GSPs) are increasingly used by government agencies during social crises, and the success of GSPs is highly dependent on netizens’ participation…
Abstract
Purpose
Government social media profiles (GSPs) are increasingly used by government agencies during social crises, and the success of GSPs is highly dependent on netizens’ participation behavior (NPB). Drawing upon the social support theory, the purpose of this paper is to propose a theoretical model to examine the determinants and outcomes of NPB during a social crisis.
Design/methodology/approach
To test the research model, a field survey was conducted in the context of Tianjin 2015 explosions in China. The authors adopted a two-step approach to test the models. First, the authors conducted exploratory factor analysis to evaluate the measurement properties of the reflective latent constructs. Then, the authors performed a structural equation analysis to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The results show that information support and emotional support are significant determinants of NPB and persona involvement moderates the relationships between them. Additionally, this study reveals that information source preference and increasing enthusiasm for becoming a civil journalist are two critical and significant outcomes of NPB.
Research limitations/implications
There are some limitations in this paper that must be taken into account when interpreting its findings. First, the study is designed on a single profile and concerns a single social crisis. Additionally, future research might consider incorporating factors beyond the individual level, e.g., community social capital (Putnam, 1993). Finally, with the emergence of various IT platforms, such as a government’s own website and online forms, future research can investigate how their characteristics can facilitate other social media platforms’ participation.
Practical implications
This paper offers a number of crucial research implications to the literature of social media in crisis management, thereby contributing to the explanation of NPB on GSPs in the management of social crises. Considering social support as a factor affecting NPB on GSPs, the authors also add personal involvement to the research on the functions of NPB on GSPs and include encouraging civil journalist and making GSPs the principal source of political information.
Social implications
The research provides participating netizens on GSPs with some suggestions about generating more cost-effective and useful interventions to improve netizen participation levels on GSPs. The findings highlight that governmental social media profiles must focus on continuous development, such as trying best to satisfy the habits of netizens, to motivate netizens to create dependence of information acquisition on the GSPs, called information source preference. On the other hand, the study reminds netizens of the importance of NPB on GSPs during crises and encourages them to act as civil journalist.
Originality/value
First, the study investigated the outcome effect of NPB on GSPs on netizens’ information source preference and civil journalist. Second, this study identifies the determinants of NBPs on GSPs from both the informational and the emotional support perspectives. Third, this study investigates the moderating effects of personal involvement on the relationships between determinants from social support and NPB on GSPs.