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Abstract: Abstract The characteristic unorthodox method of e-waste handling by waste scavengers exposes them to a range of hazardous substances that makes them susceptible to ill-health. However, awareness of the health risks associated with e-waste picking by the scavengers is imperative for their continued survival in the waste business. This paper examined the e-waste scavengers' awareness of the health risks associated with e-waste picking in Lagos, Nigeria. A cross-sectional study was used to assess the health risk awareness of e-waste scavengers in three landfills in the city. A structured questionnaire was used to elicit information from 210 e-waste scavengers selected from the landfills. A five-point Likert Scale was used to measure the scavengers' awareness while descriptive (frequencies and percentages) and inferential statistics (Multinomial Logistic Regression) were used to establish the effects of awareness on their preventive measures. The study revealed low awareness of the health risks associated with e-waste picking among the e-waste scavengers. The results of the logistic regression analysis confirmed the hypothesis that awareness of health risks influences the preventive measures by the scavengers. Raising awareness among the scavengers on the health hazards of e-waste, the use of personal protective equipment and seeking of modern healthcare during illness are recommended. PubDate: 2023-08-21
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Abstract: Abstract Char areas are one of the important geographical structures of Assam covering about state’s 5% of total land with about 10% of total population. Mishings are the second largest tribe of Assam inhabitant mostly in Char areas of Upper Assam. Livestock plays an important role in the Mishing community from both socio-cultural as well as economic point of view and amongst all; pigs have a significant importance among the community. The study comes with objectives of understanding the role of livestock and the effect of livestock loss amongst the Mishing char dwellers and their adaptation behavior (if any) to smoothen their income fluctuations due to loss of livestock. While studying these issues, the piggery sector is given much importance since along with economic, pig has a great social importance too. The study is influenced by the idea of ethnographic research, using both quantitative and qualitative approach to achieve the proposed objectives. The study presents that the loss of livestock due to both disease and disaster has a significant impact on the vulnerability of the Mishing char dwellers and the share of loss of piggery is found to have greater contribution towards it. The study recommends the need for policies to be taken to tackle the issues and the enhancement in the adaptation techniques that has been taken by the char dwellers. PubDate: 2023-08-14
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Abstract: Abstract Does car ownership matter for urban well-being and planning' By using data from the China Household Finance Survey, we test how a variety of factors, particularly car ownership, impact happiness, the cognitive dimension of well-being. We find that vehicle possession does enhance happiness in urban China as a status good, at least in the short term. Driving a luxury car brings the owner more satisfaction and joy than driving a frugal car. The long-term detrimental impact of the booming vehicle fleet on urban areas is discussed and the contention about the car ownership controls is also debated. By doing so, we hope to provide insights on the hedonic aspect of car consumption and help transport practitioners develop viable strategies to promote sustainable transportation. PubDate: 2023-07-18
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Abstract: Abstract Access to and improvement of green space is argued to be an issue of environmental justice (EJ), sustainability, and equity since it is associated with numerous health benefits and overall well-being. Greening efforts, however, may unintentionally result in gentrification. Known as environmental, ecological, or green gentrification, the process results in the in-migration of higher-income residents and the removal of original residents through physical displacement (direct), from increased taxes or rent, or social displacement (indirect), from reduced feelings of community, place, or social belonging due to the changing socio-cultural environment. Spatial characteristics such as location, function, type, originality, accessibility, place-based values, and size may be predictive of environmental gentrification. Despite the complexity of this phenomenon, employing a “just green enough” approach may prevent or mitigate gentrification effects as it emphasizes collaboration and equitable representation in greening process decisions, protective strategies, and small-scale redevelopments. While the purpose of a “just green enough” approach is to combat gentrification effects, current gentrification measures often use changing economic conditions as a proxy, which is suitable for physical displacement but may underestimate the effects of social displacement. A review of the literature shows that although the understanding to integrate EJ and sustainability principles to achieve equity is increasing, future studies must reconceptualize how to distinctly measure displacement experiences, understand how the impact of these experiences varies by social identity and the intersectionality of identities, and how to effectively engage community members in the planning process before the concepts can be truly integrated into practice. PubDate: 2023-07-14 DOI: 10.1007/s42413-023-00195-9
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Abstract: Abstract Inspired by theory in wellbeing science, we examined the relative importance of lifestyle factors and living conditions when predicting two dimensions of wellbeing (hedonic and eudaimonic) in a representative sample of 12,826 participants from Nova Scotia collected in 2019. Using multiple regression and measures of relative importance based on the Lindeman, Merenda and Gold (lmg) method, we identified which variables are most important to predicting life satisfaction and life worth. Twenty-two predictors accounted for 51% of the variance in life satisfaction, of which six accounted for 40% of the variance: self-rated mental health (11%), time adequacy (8%), satisfaction with natural environment (7%), sense of community (5%), financial insecurity (5%), and self-rated physical health (3%). These variables were also the top predictors of life worthwhileness, although all 22 predictors (R2 = 0.42) and these six predictors (R2 = 0.26) accounted for less variance than for life satisfaction. These results show that both community-level (i.e., environmental quality of neighbourhood, sense of community) and individual-level (i.e., mental health, time adequacy, financial insecurity, and physical health) factors are substantial predictors of wellbeing. The effect sizes differ between the hedonistic and eudaimonic dimensions of wellbeing, suggesting there may be important predictors of eudaimonic wellbeing not accounted for. This study may inform where community-level programming and policy could focus resources more effectively to promote wellbeing for individuals and their communities. PubDate: 2023-07-14 DOI: 10.1007/s42413-023-00196-8
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Abstract: Abstract The influence of place-based factors on the physical and mental health of residents is well established and acknowledged within the population health approach to addressing health and wellbeing inequalities. The COVID-19 pandemic brought to the fore the issues that global communities face. The current UK policy context of ‘levelling up’ represents these concerns and the need to address them. This research examines perceptions of community wellbeing and its determinants as collected within a city region of the North West Coast of England during COVID restrictions between June and August 2020. The paper aims to establish the structure, construct validity and reliability of a new measure of community wellbeing - the Wellbeing in Place Perceptions Scale. Further, it aims to examine how this measure of community wellbeing correlated with symptoms of common mental health as reported by residents of this relatively disadvantaged city region during this unprecedented time. Results indicate that the WIPPS has a reliable and valid structure, correlating significantly with another widely used measure of sense of community and with the Index of Multiple Deprivation. Its relationship to self-reported common mental distress is also clear. Though in need of replication and longitudinal testing, the findings reported here on this new measure remind us that individual and place-based factors combine to influence wellbeing and that community needs to have an increasingly influential role to sustainably prevent future mental health challenges. PubDate: 2023-07-13 DOI: 10.1007/s42413-023-00194-w
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Abstract: Abstract The Caribbean is one of the most tourism-intense regions of the world with rising levels of over-tourism, especially in dependent small island tourism economies (SITE). More critically, mounting socio-ecological pressures are compounded by increasing climate change and enduring social vulnerabilities, thereby challenging traditional policies and paradigms of growth and sustainability. Drawing on previous studies of inclusive development and community well-being, this research paper frames and extends the phenomenon of over-tourism from a political economic perspective. Based on a historical account of small island tourism development, an in-depth case study of Aruba is presented. Recognized internationally as the ‘One Happy Island’ and one of the most tourism-dependent small island economies, the findings yield a contextualized understanding of the complex and dynamic nature of over-tourism, and identify the main antecedents and effects of over-tourism. The study discusses the evolving economic disconnectedness, environmental decay, social inequality, and institutional failures. The findings describe the role of institutional capture and policy drift which stem primarily from political as well as market forces, and have resulted in a gradual marginalization of community well-being and agency. The paper proposes an extended conceptualization of over-tourism in small island tourism economies by explicitly recognizing that the crux of the over-tourism conundrum in SITE is political in nature and institutional by nurture. Recommendations are provided for transitioning towards community-driven development by building capabilities and pathways for innovation, internalization, and institutionalization in order to strengthen the resilience of small island tourism development. PubDate: 2023-06-01 DOI: 10.1007/s42413-020-00094-3
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Abstract: Abstract This study assessed racial disparities in associations between four levels of residential segregation and five social determinants of health (SDH). The data for this study was drawn from 500-City Health Dashboard that aggregated a variety of health indicators in 2018. Those 500 cities were ranked according to their levels of segregation. Next, the associations between four segregation gradients and five different community indicators were tested including (1) absenteeism, (2) children in poverty, (3) high school graduation, (4) limited access healthy foods, and (5) unemployment. All analyses were stratified by race. The total population of this data is 103,020,800, which accounts for one-third of the total U.S. populations. Among nine regions, 69% of cities in the East South-Central region have a high white/black segregation. On the other hand, the Pacific region has the lowest level of segregation. Consistent with literature, African Americans are still at a higher risk than white people to experience school absenteeism (6.1% higher), poverty (28.8% higher), educational attainment (4.9% lower), and unemployment (8.4% higher). However, unlike the literature, the study did not find any statistically significant disparities in access to healthy foods associated with level of segregation. The study concludes with suggestions to mitigate these adverse effects due to segregation policy against African Americans. The findings also encourage local departments to use 500-City Health Dashboard and our analytic methods to facilitate decision making and implement citywide, cross-sector initiatives. PubDate: 2023-06-01 DOI: 10.1007/s42413-021-00109-7
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Abstract: Abstract In the United States, achieving equitable food security requires innovative system-level solutions that address complex intersecting factors. Food insecurity is intricately connected to poverty and access to food, and has short- and long-term impacts on individual health, quality of life, and healthcare costs. Fostering food security demands innovation: new collaborations, approaches, and fresh measurement models that can address food insecurity at a systems level. Through a sophisticated place-based approach, Full Lives is a complex but promising food security community impact grantmaking strategy that leverages the resources of different partners, organizations, and components of the food supply within a concentrated geographical area. Furthermore, transformation of a community’s food system requires a combination of technical knowledge and authentic community engagement in order to effectively yield and measure community change. This case study provides an in-depth look at: How grant makers can work in partnership with a diverse set of non-profit organizations in developing solutions; Co-creation of a community engaged food security program evaluation characterized by shared measurement of community-level indicators; Strengths, challenges and limitations of a community-engaged approach to food security program evaluation. PubDate: 2023-06-01 DOI: 10.1007/s42413-020-00097-0
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Abstract: Abstract Community indicators (CI) projects rely on a variety of sources for the data that they make available to measure community well-being. While statistics collected and distributed by national and local governments are perhaps the most prevalent, some communities in both Canada and the United States have found great advantages to commissioning or administering their own surveys of local community members in order to enhance the insights that government-curated data can provide. In this paper we examine two organizations engaged with indicator projects that have opted to do so from the perspectives of their primary CI project supporters: the Vancouver Foundation in Canada and the Central New York Community Foundation in the United States. Among the advantages explored are increased capacity in key community leadership elements of: engaging residents, working across sectors, commissioning and disseminating local data and research, shaping public policy, and marshaling resources. We conclude by reflecting on the many synergies between the CI and community foundation (CF) movements, paying attention to their shared interests in community well-being through better conversations and coordination among the organizations in the communities they serve. PubDate: 2023-06-01 DOI: 10.1007/s42413-020-00098-z
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Abstract: Abstract Accessible and affordable early childhood care and education (ECE) is crucial to child, family, and community well-being. High quality ECE programs set the stage for lifelong learning, health, and overall well-being and yield a high rate of return on public investment. Equitable access to ECE remains an intractable challenge in the U.S. and elsewhere. We used spatial analysis to create a single micro-level indicator of ECE affordability for an urban county. This indicator combined information on supply (number of nearby sets), demand (number of children competing for these seats), and cost burden (cost as a percentage of median family income). We measured and mapped the affordability of programs within a 3-mile driving distance of a prototypical family home using a two-step floating catchment area method. Overall, affordability was low, with only 14% of young children having access to ECE that met the federal affordability threshold. Although affordability was inversely related to neighborhood income, not all low-income areas were under-resourced. The ECE affordability indicator can arm community advocates and help policymakers identify inequities and direct resources to the highest-need communities. The computational procedures and mapping techniques applied are flexible and can be scaled up to visualize inequities across large areas (e.g., a province or state), or used at a micro level to identify where in a community a new childcare center would have the most impact. PubDate: 2023-06-01 DOI: 10.1007/s42413-020-00096-1
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Abstract: Abstract Natural resource project-induced displacement and resettlement (NRP-IDR) programmes are normally conducted to resettle displaced families in new areas away from their original areas to pave way for development. Involuntary resettlement programmes tend to have adverse impacts on the affected communities, even though they normally contribute to the economy of the area and the country. This research studied the effects of Tiomin resettlement programme in Kenya’s southern coast on the subjective well-being of the displaced households. The programme was meant for resettling communities displaced by Titanium mining. A stratified random sample of 168 households from three ethnic communities was interviewed using a pretested structured questionnaire. The data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The subjective well-being of the resettled communities was found to be of medium level (5.0 to 6.99) with a mean of 6.43 on a scale of 1 to 10. Statistical significant positive influences were found to exist between the subjective well-being of the settlers and infrastructural development (β = .871, p = .001) and social capital of the displaced households (β = .410, p = .006), while significant negative influence was found between the household number (β = -.265, p = .001) and wellbeing. The programme lacked programme coordination from an agency. It was concluded that infrastructure and community social capital could be useful in enhancing the well-being of the resettled communities and recommended that they be given priority in assisting the resettled communities. The provision of a coordinating agency for the resettlement programme was found to be a major requirement. PubDate: 2023-05-10 DOI: 10.1007/s42413-023-00190-0
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Abstract: Abstract The COVID lockdowns were characterised by new forms of governmentality as lives were disrupted and controlled through the vertical transmission of biopolitics by the state. The paper considers how this was experienced by academics in 11 different countries through analysis of diaries written during the first lockdown. The paper asks if communities can offer an alternative to governmentality by looking at three levels: the national, the neighbourhood and the personal. Whilst at a national level the idea of community was instrumentalised to encourage compliance to extraordinary measures, at the local level community compassion through helping neighbours encouraged horizontal connections that could offer a “space” within the dominant logic of governmentality. At the level of personal communities, the digitalisation of social relationships helped to create supportive networks over widely dispersed areas but these were narrowly rather than widely focused, avoiding critical discussion. PubDate: 2023-05-09 DOI: 10.1007/s42413-023-00189-7
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Abstract: Abstract Informal Cross Border Trade (ICBT) is mostly conducted by poor, vulnerable, small and unregistered traders who end up practising illegal activities in order to earn a livelihood and for the business to thrive. They often do not have official export/import license or permit within a defined threshold and this creates many impediments at international borders which oblige them to engage in illegal and corrupt behaviours. There is little comprehensive research about the illegalities of informal cross border traders and whether these illegalities improve the operation of ICBT or it ruins the business. This research examines the illegalities practised by informal cross border traders (ICBTs) in Zimbabwe to understand their nature, geographical spread, benefits and risks. A qualitative approach was used whereby in-depth interviews were undertaken with 30 informal cross border traders using snowball sampling. Traders who imported from Mozambique, Botswana, South Africa and Zambia were selected to participate in the study in order to document various illegalities performed at diverse national borders. Results revealed that traders engage in many illegal activities both at the national borders and in transit when confronted by Zimbabwe Revenue Authority officials and other security state organs. It was revealed that many traders use illegal ports of entry when importing their goods and that they rarely declare their goods at official border posts. The research recommends the government to proffer conditions that are manageable for the small scale traders to be registered so that illegal activities and corruption in the country can be lessened and also for the government to obtain meaningful tax from this sector. PubDate: 2023-05-04 DOI: 10.1007/s42413-023-00191-z
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Abstract: Abstract After a brief overview of the author’s journey as a humanitarian and researcher, this article offers an introduction in the why, how, and what of a new multidisciplinary paradigm to understand (and improve) human behavior at the individual and collective levels called POZE. The logic of POZE underpins five books that appear at Palgrave/Springer in 2020/21. It is based on the understanding that human existence results from four dimensions, soul, heart, mind, and body, which find their expression in aspirations, emotions, thoughts, and sensations. Through their four-dimensionality individuals are symmetrical to the four dimensions that shape the society, which they are part of. Individuals are the micro entity of a four-dimensional collective reality that encompasses communities and institutions in the meso-dimension, and countries and economies in the macro-dimension. Altogether micro, meso and macro are integral parts of the meta dimension, Planet Earth; the latter also includes non-anthropocentric aspects such as Nature. POZE provides insights about the multiple dynamics that shape our individual and collective experience. Moreover, it provides practical guidance to optimize the interplay between them. As a result of this understanding, it posits that change is possible. Moving towards a fair inclusive world, characterized by a life of quality for everyone 1) is at reach; 2) is achievable; 3) involves everyone as both a right-holder and duty-bearer; and 4) is to the benefit of everyone. POZE has four meanings: it i) translates as ‘inner peace’ from Haitian Creole, country where the dynamic began in 2017; ii) is an acronym that encompasses the four core concepts of the paradigm (Purpose, Om, Zoom, Expression); iii) is a representation of the four outcomes of the logic (Perspective, Optimization, Zenith, Exposure); finally it iv) stands for an exercise to nurture inner peace daily (Pause, Observe, Zoom in, Experience). These will be explored further in the article. PubDate: 2023-03-01 DOI: 10.1007/s42413-020-00084-5
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Abstract: Abstract The Australian Quality of Life Center (ACQol) was established to study evidence-based measures for quality of life. Within this review, the Center’s contributions to developing theory and empirical evidence are evaluated, particularly in the context of modern global change. This review concludes with the benefits of the ACQol and the challenges presented to most modern organizations trying to measure, assess, and establish evidence-based measures for quality of life. PubDate: 2022-12-12 DOI: 10.1007/s42413-022-00188-0
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Abstract: Abstract The present study contributes to the existing literature by highlighting the ways in which non-profit community literacy organizations can benefit individuals and communities in ways that transcend their stated missions. We employed a qualitative research design whereby data were collected via in-depth individual interviews and focus groups with program users (n = 72), staff (n = 11), and program leads (n = 8). Findings revealed that, in addition to supporting traditionally defined notions of literacy, programs presented participants with opportunities to cultivate bridging and bonding social capital. By way of the conditions created and programmatic measures employed within programs, bridging social capital often strengthened into deeper bonding ties between and amongst service users and, in many cases, staff and volunteers. Administrators and staff described efforts to create program cultures conducive to the development of social capital. The research illuminates how non-profit community entities can empower individual service users and their communities beyond their stated missions by fostering social and organizational connectedness, promoting communal cohesion and social trust, and cultivating typically unacknowledged talents, strengths and assets within marginalized communities. PubDate: 2022-11-22 DOI: 10.1007/s42413-022-00186-2
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Abstract: Abstract The axiom of insatiability within economic theory states that needs, wants and desires can never be satisfied. This axiom drives the utility function upon which most economic policy is based. Non-satiation is not a natural human condition but rather a theoretical and cultural construction. Non-satiation is a myth that has been taken as truth in traditional economic theory. In this paper, we deconstruct the myth of non-satiation and relate its impact on the goals of human well-being and sustainable development. This paper is written for community organisers and change agents with the goal of helping them to understand a foundational premise driving the current economic paradigm and what they can do about it. In this paper, we explain some basic economic theory in simple terms for the reader who is not a trained economist so that they may gain an understanding of the underpinnings of economic theory that drives current economic policies and practices, and inspiration for changing the dominant economic paradigm. PubDate: 2022-10-27 DOI: 10.1007/s42413-022-00182-6
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