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Objectives: Group care for individuals with diabetes is a recognized educational practice, but techniques from narrative medicine using of literary works have never been incorporated in these programs. We designed a new educational model (i.e. the Close Reading and Creative Writing program) of group care for individuals with diabetes incorporating close reading and creative writing in group education. A randomized trial was designed to evaluate this intervention. Methods: A total of 49 individuals with type 2 diabetes, aged 6 years of school education, were randomized to 2 different group care dynamics: (a) a “control group,” with a classical structured educational approach currently used at our institution; and (b) an “intervention group,” with introduction of literary texts, narrative skills, close reading and creative writing. Evaluation included anthropometric measures, glycated hemoglobin (A1C) and questionnaires for psychological evaluation. Individual A1C levels in the 6-year period before the trial were collected from clinical records. Results: A significant reduction of A1C was observed in the intervention group, showing noninferiority in relation to the classical approach. A significant decrease in A1C was observed in relation to the 6 previous years. A significant increase in satisfaction with the therapist and group process was observed. Conclusions: This is the first randomized trial designed to evaluate a group care intervention to manage type 2 diabetes using narrative techniques. The results suggest that this may be a useful model for more highly schooled individuals, and may represent an alternative for the educational process. info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion

Creative city policies have been critically assessed at length. Nevertheless, the bottom-up initiatives that go beyond and challenge the meaning and uses of creativity that underpin creative city policies, have received less attention. Thus, the aim of this paper is to study the nature of local Socially Innovative Initiatives (Moulaert; MacCallum; Mehmood & Hamdouch, 2013) developed in the socio-cultural field and their capacity to counterbalance the tendency towards a market rationality in urban cultural affairs. We examine this problem through a significant case study: the community-managed socio-cultural centre Can Batllo opened in 2011 in an old industrial neighbourhood of Barcelona. By analysing this case we propose to explore how and to what extent Socially Innovative Initiatives offer alternatives to creative city policies focusing on the production of socio-cultural services and innovation in governance and decision-making processes. We have collected data using qualitative methods that include observation, in-depth interviews and the study of documentary sources.

Culture and creativity make two contributions to sustainability in cities: (1) Economic impact, related to the economy and the marketing of the city, involving consumers, jobs, creative clusters, technology, mobility, infrastructures and (2) urban regeneration concerned with social cohesion, socially creative initiatives and local citizenship with sustainability objectives. We provide a critical appraisal of the first and concentrate on the second. The paper focuses on how collective actors are capable of creating new spaces for public debate and daily practices that reinforce community life and citizenship. In some cities creation of spaces for cultural creativity has been the result of ‘bottom-linked’ innovation. Two examples are examined in two peripheral districts of Barcelona. These are: Ateneu Popular de 9 Barris (AP9B) and Fabra i Coats . Both are currently managed by a hybrid partnership between public administration and civil society organizations. The ‘bottom-linked’ approach to social innovation recognizes the centrality of initiatives taken by those immediately concerned, and also stresses the need for institutions that enable and sustain such initiatives through sound, regulated and lasting practices and through clear citizen rights, guaranteed by the functioning of the democratic state (Pradel, Garcia, & Eizaguirre, 2013).

Intellectual property (IP) and its value often not adequately appreciated. In the increasingly knowledge-driven economy, IP is a key consideration in day-to-day business decisions. New products, brands and creative designs appear almost daily on the market and are the result of continuous human innovation and creativity. Therefore, this paper will look into the importance of IP for Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and product development specifically on agro-based products. This paper further demonstrates how IP can become an economic tool and the challenges faced by SMEs in implementing IP system. In addition, this paper offers useful insights to policy makers and SMEs in utilizing IP by drawing lessons from other countries.