Inhabitants' and professionals' social representations of health determinants in a disadvantaged urban area in France: a qualitative analysis = représentations sociales des déterminants de santé dans une zone urbaine défavorisée en France : analyse qualitative auprès d'habitants et de professionnels

Background and objective. - Access to care in French disadvantaged urban areas remains an issue despite the implementation of local healthcare structures. To understand this contradiction, we investigated social representations held by inhabitants of such areas, as well as those of social and healthcare professionals, regarding events or behaviours that can impact low-income individuals' health. Method. - In the context of a health diagnosis, 288 inhabitants living in five disadvantaged districts of Aix-les-Bains, as well as 28 professionals working in these districts, completed an open-ended questionnaire. The two groups of respondents were asked to describe what could have an impact on health status from the inhabitants' point of view. The textual responses were analyzed using the Alceste method. Results. - We observed a number of differences in the way the inhabitants and professionals represented determinants of health in disadvantaged urban areas: the former proposed a representation mixing personal responsibility with physiological, social, familial, and professional aspects, whereas the latter associated health issues with marginalization (financial, drug, or alcohol problems) and personal responsibility. Both inhabitants and professionals mentioned control over events and lifestyle as determinants of health. Discussion. - The results are discussed regarding the consequences of these different representations on the beneficiary - healthcare-provider relationship in terms of communication and trust.

Anti-social behaviour: Underlying causes and policy responses

You cannot treat the symptoms of a problem without examining the cause. Anti social Behaviour by young people is a product of the society we live in today. Elements of social exclusion have affected many disadvantaged young people and have restricted their opportunity to have a good and fair quality of life. The behaviour of some young people is a consequence of the manifestation of social and economic inequalities bestowed upon them. Harsh and erratic policies will only exclude these young people further, alienating them the benefits of Irish society that other young people thrive in. the root causes of anti social behaviour must be addressed for policy to be successful and to give disadvantaged young people the best opportunity the state can offer. This study examines the underlying causes and policy responses of anti social behaviour by young people in Ireland today.This resource was contributed by The National Documentation Centre on Drug Use.

Survey of Lifestyle, Attitudes and Nutrition in Ireland. Mental Health and Social Well-being Report

SĹN 2007: Older People, Loneliness and Social Support to Mental HealthSĹN, the national Survey of Lifestyle, Attitudes and Nutrition, shows that most Irish adults have a reasonably high level of positive mental health. It is the largest national survey on positive and negative mental health and social well-being in the Irish adult population.��One finding highlights the significance of loneliness and social support to mental health. Finding reveal that 14% of respondents reported being often lonely in the last four weeks, with women, older people and respondents in lower social class groups reporting high levels of loneliness. The SĹN report indicates that being widowed and not being in paid employment are the strongest overall predictors of loneliness. Respondents who are widowed are about five times more likely to feel lonely than those who are married or cohabiting, while 17% of respondents aged 65 and over report being often lonely.��SLAN 2007 highlights the significance of loneliness and social support to mental health. It proposes community-based interventions, including community development approaches and strategies to promote community involvement as a way to tackle such social and health inequities at local level. The report also highlights the importance of implementing the recommendations of the policy document A Vision for Change. It says that protection and promotion of the future health and well-being of the Irish population requires the implementation of effective cross-sectoral policies that will help create and maintain a mentally healthy society, with consequent health, economic and social benefits for all.����SLAN is commissioned by the Department of Health and Children and involved face-to-face interviews with 10,364 respondents aged 18 years and over.��

BDAWG Scoping Report: Drugs and alcohol services in Belfast

Mary Black, Assistant Director for Health and Social Wellbeing Improvement in the Public Health Agency, established the Belfast Drug and Alcohol Working Group in early 2010 to undertake a scoping exercise of drugs and alcohol services in Belfast, and to produce a report outlining their findings and making some recommendations as to how services could be better promoted, targeted, co-ordinated and ultimately improved.� This report is the culmination of a series of meetings and workshops (from June to November 2010) where members considered all of the available information in the context of what they, and the organisations they represent, consider to be the gaps and areas which could be improved upon for PHA to consider when taking forward alcohol and drug work and services over the next 5-year period (i.e. 2011-2016).� The report takes a systematic approach to scoping and compiling evidence on: funding of drug and alcohol services; information and awareness-raising; education and prevention; treatment and support; services for vulnerable groups; workforce development; skilling up and supporting of communities; reducing availability; tackling substance related crime; and coordination and information sharing. Each section of the report ends with an analysis of the gaps and recommendations for action, with all of the recommendations presented in a tabular format in Section 13.

Análisis de las de las funcionalidades 2.0 ofrecidas por los repositorios españoles

Els Repositoris Institucionals suposen un element nou en l'entorn universitari pel que fa a la comunicació científica i a la presència digital de la producció de les universitats. Però l'entorn digital evoluciona molt ràpidament, així com els diferents agents implicats en la publicació científica. El canvi més important en la comunicació web que s'ha donat en els últims anys ha estat l'aparició dels serveis englobats sota l'etiqueta Web 2.0 en què s'inclouen diferents serveis per compartir enllaços, objectes digitals, gestionar relacions socials, reutilitzar informació, etc. Algunes publicacions científiques ja estan oferint aquest tipus de serveis. El present treball analitza el grau d'implantació d'aquest tipus de serveis en l'àmbit dels dipòsits institucionals espanyols. Per això en primer lloc s'identifiquen els tipus de serveis considerats 2.0 i que poden ser d'utilitat per a la comunicació científica. En segon lloc es comptabilitza quines d'aquestes possibilitats son ofertes pels repositoris i per últim s'analitzen els resultats per a comprovar les accions realitzades i identificar les possibles línies de millora.

Usability of Virtual Museums and the Diffusion of Cultural Heritage

Les prioritats per als museus canvien. La missió de la nova museologia és convertir els museus en llocs per a gaudir i aprendre, cosa que fa que hagin de dur a terme una gestió financera molt semblant a la d'una empresa social que competeixi en el sector del lleure. Amb el pas del temps, els museus han d'establir i aplicar els criteris necessaris per a la supervivència, aplanant el terreny perquè altres institucions públiques siguin més obertes en els seus esforços per comunicar i difondre el seu patrimoni. Ja podem començar a parlar d'algunes conclusions comunament acceptades sobre el comportament dels visitants, que són necessàries per a planificar exposicions futures que vegin l'aprenentatge com un procés constructiu, les col·leccions com a objectes amb significat i les mateixes exposicions com a mitjans de comunicació que haurien de transformar la manera de pensar de l'espectador i que estan al servei del mateix missatge. Sembla que internet representa un mitjà efectiu per a assolir aquests objectius, ja que és capaç (a) d'adaptar-se als interessos i les característiques intel·lectuals d'un públic divers; (b) de redescobrir els significats dels objectes i adquirir un reconeixement sociocultural del seu valor per mitjà del seu potencial interactiu, i (c) de fer ús d'elements atractius i estimulants perquè tothom en gaudeixi. Per a aquest propòsit, és bàsic fer-nos les preguntes següents: quins criteris ha de seguir un museu virtual per a optimar la difusió del seu patrimoni?; quins elements estimulen els usuaris a quedar-se en una pàgina web i fer visites virtuals que els siguin satisfactòries?; quin paper té la usabilitat de l'aplicació en tot això?

Espacio y tiempo en el imaginario digital. La construcción técnico estética de la espacio-temporalidad contemporánea.

Partiendo de la idea ampliamente aceptada de que las TIC (Tecnologías de Información y Comunicación) han tenido una profunda influencia en los modos en que la sociedad contemporánea experimenta y concibe las nociones de espacio y tiempo, y sustentándose en el contexto de la importancia adquirida por dichas nociones en la comprensión de los procesos sociales en general y estéticos en particular, esta investigación ha tenido por objetivo analizar la espacio-temporalidad en el contexto específico de la era digital. Poniendo en relación la fenomenología de los dispositivos tecnológicos con las nuevas estrategias de representación y puesta en imagen del espacio y el tiempo, nuestro propósito ha sido mostrar no sólo cómo a través de las prácticas artísticas digitales puede identificarse y analizarse el imaginario espacio-temporal de la era digital, sino también cómo éstas –basadas en una larga trayectoria estética de intersecciones entre arte y tecnología- han revestido al espacio y al tiempo de nuevas fenomenologías posibles, dando lugar a nuevas formas de percibirlos y cumpliendo, por tanto, un papel activo en la configuración de dicho imaginario y sus sucesivas transformaciones. La perspectiva teórica adoptada para esta investigación parte de las teorías postmodernas del espacio y el tiempo –considerando autores como Harvey o Jameson-, recurriendo a la sociología del Imaginario Social desarrollada por Castoriadis, Castro-Nogueira o J. L. Pintos para comprender cómo el espacio y el tiempo adquieren significaciones particulares. Combinando estas bases teóricas con los estudios visuales y los trabajos de teóricos de los medios como McLuhan, De Kerckhove o Lev Manovich, se establecerían las posibles relaciones entre las tecnologías, las representaciones sociales del espacio y el tiempo – analizadas a partir de metáforas como “compresión espacio-temporal”, “espacio de los flujos” o “tiempo atemporal” y sus relaciones con el Ciberespacio- y la fenomenología espacio-temporal de las prácticas artísticas y sus estrategias de representación visual –tomando como objeto de estudio tipologías artísticas que van desde el Hipercine a la Realidad Virtual y Aumentada, los Medios Locativos o la Telepresencia. La conclusión que hemos podido extraer de este estudio es que si bien distintos tipos de tecnologías afectan operacional y perceptivamente a la construcción social de la espacio-temporalidad, los modos en que estas tecnologías han estetizado la propia realidad y los modos en que condicionan la construcción estética de las nociones de espacio y tiempo, tanto a partir de la propia fenomenología del dispositivo como de la experimentación creativa con el mismo, ejercen una profunda influencia sobre el imaginario social y espacio-temporal propios de la era digital.

Social meets molecular: Combining phylogenetic and latent class analyses to understand HIV-1 transmission in Switzerland.

Switzerland has a complex human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic involving several populations. We examined transmission of HIV type 1 (HIV-1) in a national cohort study. Latent class analysis was used to identify socioeconomic and behavioral groups among 6,027 patients enrolled in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study between 2000 and 2011. Phylogenetic analysis of sequence data, available for 4,013 patients, was used to identify transmission clusters. Concordance between sociobehavioral groups and transmission clusters was assessed in correlation and multiple correspondence analyses. A total of 2,696 patients were infected with subtype B, 203 with subtype C, 196 with subtype A, and 733 with recombinant subtypes (mainly CRF02_AG and CRF01_AE). Latent class analysis identified 8 patient groups. Most transmission clusters of subtype B were shared between groups of gay men (groups 1-3) or between the heterosexual groups "heterosexual people of lower socioeconomic position" (group 4) and "injection drug users" (group 8). Clusters linking homosexual and heterosexual groups were associated with "older heterosexual and gay people on welfare" (group 5). "Migrant women in heterosexual partnerships" (group 6) and "heterosexual migrants on welfare" (group 7) shared non-B clusters with groups 4 and 5. Combining approaches from social and molecular epidemiology can provide insights into HIV-1 transmission and inform the design of prevention strategies.

Identity, immigration, and prejudice in Europe: a recognition approach

Social identity is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, identifying with a social group is a prerequisite for the sharing of common norms and values, solidarity, and collective action. On the other hand, in-group identification often goes together with prejudice and discrimination. Today, these two sides of social identification underlie contradictory trends in the way European nations and European nationals relate to immigrants and immigration. Most European countries are becoming increasingly multicultural, and anti-discrimination laws have been adopted throughout the European Union, demonstrating a normative shift towards more social inclusion and tolerance. At the same time, racist and xenophobic attitudes still shape social relations, individual as well as collective behaviour (both informal and institutional), and political positions throughout Europe. The starting point for this chapter is Sanchez-Mazas' (2004) interactionist approach to the study of racism and xenophobia, which in turn builds on Axel Honneth's (1996) philosophical theory of recognition. In this view, the origin of attitudes towards immigrants cannot be located in one or the other group, but in a dynamic of mutual influence. Sanchez-Mazas' approach is used as a general framework into which we integrate social psychological approaches of prejudice and recent empirical findings examining minority-majority relations. We particularly focus on the role of national and European identities as antecedents of anti-immigrant attitudes held by national majorities. Minorities' reactions to denials of recognition are also examined. We conclude by delineating possible social and political responses to prejudice towards immigrants.

Social spending and demographics: The role of public policies in the intergenerational redistribution of income. Empirical evidence from Spain and Catalonia

The demographic shift underway in Southern Europe requires a revision of some of the fundamental principles of the traditional welfare state. We analyze the evolution of several aspects of welfare and social expenditure over the last two decades. We find that in the context of the present demographic changes and real estate boom current social and pension policy leads to a new distribution of benefits and burdens which is highly intergenerationally unequal. We argue for a revised definition of public policy based on Musgrave's proposition as a possible rule for an intergenerationally fair distribution.

Solvability of mental health care in the Family Health Strategy: social representation of professionals and users

Objective To aprehend the social representations about the solvability in mental health care with users of the Family Health Strategy and professionals of family health teams and of the Center for Psychosocial Care. Method A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews for data collection, and the Alceste software for analysis. This software uses the Hierarchical Descending Classification based on the examination of lexical roots, considering the words as units and providing context in the corpus. Results The representations emerge in two opposing poles: the users require satisfaction with care and the professionals realize the need for improvement of health actions. Although the matricial support in mental health and the home visits are developed, the barriers related to investment in health, continuing education and organization of care persist. Conclusion The different representations enable improvements in customer service, solvability of care and aggregate knowledge and practices in the expanded perspective of health needs in the family, social and therapeutic context.


Social spending and demographics: The role of public policies in the intergenerational redistribution of income. Empirical evidence from Spain and Catalonia

The demographic shift underway in Southern Europe requires a revision of some of thefundamental principles of the traditional welfare state. We analyze the evolution of several aspects of welfare and social expenditure over the last two decades. We find that in the context of the present demographic changes and real estate boom current social and pension policy leads to a new distribution of benefits and burdens which is highly intergenerationally unequal. We argue for a revised definition of public policy based on Musgrave's proposition as a possible rule for an intergenerationally fair distribution.

A Regulação da Comunicação Social em Cabo Verde na Era Digital

Com a perspetiva da implementação de uma Autoridade Reguladora para a Comunicação Social em Cabo Verde que terá poderes de emitir normas, assegurar a sua aplicação, fiscalizar e reprimir eventuais infrações, esta dissertação propõe fazer uma abordagem das representações dos atores envolvidos, da importância e da afirmação da primeira entidade administrativa com autoridade para assegurar o processo de hétero regulação dos meios de comunicação social, no quadro da expansão digital. Os avanços tecnológicos nas últimas décadas mudaram a estruturação dos meios de comunicação social, um pouco por todo mundo, incluindo Cabo Verde. Neste país, o processo de adesão por parte dos media tem sido lento na busca de uma melhor alternativa para lidar com as plataformas digitais. Com o advento da Internet, a radiodifusão por satélite e a Sociedade da Informação, os meios tradicionais como a imprensa escrita e a radiodifusão – ainda sujeitos a um estreito controlo de conteúdos - despoletaram dúvidas e incertezas quanto à forma mais apropriada de regular a comunicação social, já que não podem ser tão facilmente controlados. Este estudo pretende também identificar a melhor estratégia de regulação dos media em Cabo Verde no contexto da sua migração para o digital, na medida em que se existir uma estrutura reguladora forte, que acompanhe os princípios fundamentais da regulação, será possível responder eficazmente às solicitações da atual mudança, garantindo o difícil equilíbrio entre eles.

Policy attitudes, ideological values and social representations

This article reviews research on policy attitudes and ideological values from the perspective of social representations theory. In the first part of the paper, key features of lay political thinking are presented, its pragmatic imperative, its focus on communication and the social functions of shared knowledge. Objectification transforms abstract and group-neutral ideological values into concrete and socially useful knowledge, in particular stereotypes of value-conforming and value-violating groups. Such shared understandings of intergroup relations provide citizens with common reference knowledge which provides the cognitive and cultural basis of policy attitudes. Social representations theory further suggests that lay knowledge reflects the social context in which it has been elaborated (anchoring), an aspect which allows conceptualising aggregate-level differences in policy attitudes. In the second part of the paper, a model of lay conceptions of social order is outlined which organises four shared conceptions of social order, along with the stereotype-based thinking associated with each conception: Moral order, Free Market, Social diversity and Structural inequality. We conclude by arguing that policy attitudes are symbolic devices expressed to justify or to challenge existing social arrangements.

Precarious Work: Agenda and Implications for Corporate Social Responsibility

Precarious work, in contrast to regular, permanent wage work, is commonly associated to insecure and unstable, and often poor quality jobs. The concept of precarious work relates either to a socioeconomic group which allows one to refer it to a "class in itself," or as - pursued more recently - to the precarization process which results in a growing fragmentation of societal structures. Common to both conceptions is that they refer to the exposition of workers to employment instability, limited access to legal and union protection, socially irresponsible and discriminating employment practices, and social and economic vulnerability in general. The present contribution provides an overview of some key issues and future directions of research on precarious work relevant to CSR researchers, policy-makers, and social scientists.