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Background: Strategies to improve sexual health outcomes have evolved over the years due to technology's evolution to ensure that they are relevant. Challenges have been noticed in different systems that run parallel, particularly in Low-Income Countries where the majority utilise Indigenous Health Systems. Optimisation of resources and minimisation of conflicts could be realised through integrated health systems in the management of adolescents' sexual health issues. This study sought to develop strategies to facilitate Indigenous Health System and Modern Health System integration to improve the management of Adolescent Sexual Health issues, leveraging results from 3 papers. Methods: A multi-stage approach was utilised, with Phase 1 focussing on a preliminary assessment through merging findings from the 4 papers. The Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats analyses were then used, followed by the Basic Logic Model to identify critical aspects that needed to be considered in building the strategies. The second phase used the Build, Overcome, Eliminate and Minimise framework to build the strategies. Results: A total of 5 strategies were proposed to facilitate this integration, and these included revival of committees that were inclusive of all stakeholders; allocating Indigenous Health System space in clinics to work in; establishing adolescent-friendly clinics; intensifying information dissemination on sexual health-related issues, and developing clear Terms of Reference and procedures to govern this integration and ensure it is a success. Conclusions: Implementing these strategies could facilitate this integration and ensure that programs are planned and implemented in a complementary manner, thereby reducing conflicts between the 2 systems and ensuring collaborative efforts towards shared goals that would transform to better Sexual Health Outcomes for adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of saturation in qualitative research is a widely debated topic. Saturation refers to the point at which no new data or themes are emerging from the data set, which indicates that the data have been fully explored. It is considered an important concept as it helps to ensure that the findings are robust and that the data are being used to their full potential to achieve the research aim. Saturation, or the point at which further observation of data will not lead to the discovery of more information related to the research questions, is an important aspect of qualitative research. However, there is some mystification and semantic debate surrounding the term saturation, and it is not always clear how many rounds of research are needed to reach saturation or what criteria are used to make that determination during the thematic analysis process. This paper focuses on the actualisation of saturation in the context of thematic analysis and develops a systematic approach to using data to justify the contribution of research. Consequently, we introduce a distinct model to help researchers reach saturation through refining or expanding existing quotations, codes, themes and concepts as necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the creation of organisations via people processing (Prottas 1979), taking as its case study a new and developing family centre that aims to offer various social and health services under the same roof. The study draws on ethnomethodology, meaning that organisations are herein understood as being created and continuously produced in and through interaction. The data consist of 11 audio-recorded meetings from the centre's steering group, which includes managers from different service fields and welfare agencies. In analysing the creation of the centre through people processing, this paper scrutinises how the meeting participants orient themselves toward and produce the centre's client categories, what characteristics they connect to these categories, and how they do boundary work regarding which categories belong or not to the centre's target groups. The meeting participants produce three different family based client categories. The first category is ordinary families, those without any special problems who just pop into the centre to see other people. These families are distinguished from the second category, best matching families, who are defined as having problems that would benefit from the integrated, multi-professional work conducted at the centre. The third category, families with too specific needs, refers to client groups whose service needs are at least partly beyond the centre's expertise and resources. The centre needs these people-processing activities to make sense of its mission, clients and co-partners; this ongoing reasoning process allows the emerging centre to exist and find its place in the local service system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars have increasingly called for the need to problematise and critically examine sport policy for integration/inclusion. This article aims to contribute to this ongoing debate by presenting a Foucauldian-inspired discourse analysis of the languaging of three decades of Norwegian sport policy for integration/inclusion, as well as non-sport policy that seeks to use sport as a policy tool. The analysis demonstrates how ideas and practices about the integration of ethnic minorities in sport are constructed in the shadows of the 'real business' of sport. Self-evident 'Truths' about inclusion/integration convey simplistic notions of assimilation into existing sport practices, reify notions of homogenous groups both with regard to the majority and the ethnic minority Norwegian population, distributing power unequally across the majority–minority divide, and contribute to construct sport as a racially coded, Eurocentric practice. The pervasive, long-standing idea that sport is inclusive works discursively to marginalise contradictory ideas, such as the complexities of integration that focus upon the need for a transformation of structures and practices, and 'Truths' like resourceful ethnic minorities or an adaptable sports organisation remain currently almost un thinkable. The analysis bears witness to scholars' claims for the need to broaden research methodologies and policies for integration in/through sport, such that inequitable, Eurocentric, assimilated practices can be re-languaged to enable hybrid, transnational sports spaces frequented by resourceful participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International boundaries have been mainly considered as barriers in literature on the 'cross-border regional innovation system' (CBRIS), in line with their traditional understanding. In this paper, we underline that such a perspective presents limits, and argue in favour of an understanding of multidimensional borders that are subject to dynamic change over time. By mobilizing conceptualizations from the field of border studies, we examine the various functions of borders to explain the innovation-led development potential in cross-border regions. In this view, international borders can function as an interface, a marker of difference or a symbol, rather than a mere barrier that separates regions. Further, we suggest that these border functions are key factors in explaining the 'fluctuating' integration dynamics of regional innovation systems across the border. Mobilizing evidence from two case studies in European and North American contexts, the paper sheds light on the border as a potential resource for innovation and discusses implications for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When used in an informed and careful manner, the repertory grid technique offers mixed methods researchers a way to quickly gain a deeper understanding of their participants' concerns, issues, and worldviews. This paper critically assesses the potential contributions of the repertory grid technique when used in mixed methods research. After providing a background survey and description of this relatively little-known research instrument, the strengths and limitations of repertory grids are considered. This report discusses some of the ways that this technique can significantly enhance the quality of the data collected from research participants within the three core models of the mixed method design framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to examine the employment experiences of immigrants of African background in the Australian labor market. Drawing on the findings from a qualitative study conducted in South East Queensland, the paper identifies several barriers and challenges faced by Africans to meaningful employment and labor market success. The paper indicates the need to develop targeted policies to eliminate employment discrimination, reduce barriers to meaningful employment for good settlement and successful integration of African immigrants to Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although integration is a crucial element of mixed methods research (MMR), most MMR quality frameworks have not comprehensively addressed integration in their criteria. These frameworks tend to focus on whether integration is present, without considering important aspects such as the rigor of the integration processes used or their consistency with the other components of the MMR study. This paper presents the Mixed Methods Integration Quality Framework (MMIQF), which was developed based on a methodological review of the literature on integration in MMR. The proposed framework is intended to be useful to authors and readers of MMR studies who wish to ensure and appraise the appropriate implementation of integration in the design, conduct, and reporting of MMR studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qualitative thematic analysis is a commonly used and widely applicable form of qualitative analysis, though it can be challenging to implement. Due to its use across research questions, qualitative traditions, and fields, thematic analysis is also prevalent in mixed methods studies. Despite its widespread use, the term "thematic analysis" is often confused and not always well described in empirical studies. In addition, there is limited guidance on how to use thematic analysis within the context of mixed methods research to ensure rigorous study design and mixed methods integration. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to describe the definitions, use, and variations of thematic analysis and explore how integration and mixed methods validity may be impacted in mixed methods studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integration lies at the heart of mixed methods research, but it has primarily been considered from a practical rather than a conceptual or theoretical perspective. In this paper, I develop a contextually situated, parsimonious conceptual model of the substantive dimensions that constitute integration. I conclude that integration between heterogeneous components in mixed methods research is constituted by interdependence that is connected, transactional, transformative, coherent, and dynamic. This conceptual model is presented here in the expectation that it will prompt researchers to think more deeply about the phenomena they study and the integration of the methods they use to study those phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the global rate of displacement reaches new highs and the average length of displacement extends from years to decades, integration is an increasingly crucial lifeline for refugees and displaced communities seeking to rebuild their lives. Health systems serve as an ideal conduit for integration due to universal need, system complexity, and the interplay of political, social, and economic factors on health outcomes. Using lessons learned from case studies in Colombia and Jordan, this paper will explore different strategies for integration of refugee health services with host population health systems. It will highlight successful policy implementation and innovative approaches as well as predict potential barriers to success via a population-centered approach that emphasizes the importance of supporting host communities concurrently with displaced populations. It offers the following findings and recommendations for governmental and humanitarian actors. Effective integration requires a "whole of person" approach which acknowledges and responds to the linkages between legal status, economic needs, and mental and physical health and wellbeing. Addressing the health needs of populations experiencing protracted displacement must go hand-in-hand with, and cannot be decoupled from, addressing the needs of host communities. Demographic and epidemiologic data inclusive of both host and displaced populations enables governments and service providers to better plan for and respond to key health and non-health needs. Donors and financing structures can play a critical role in facilitating greater integration of health and other services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the integration process among African diaspora in Hong Kong. It explores how they negotiate an identity by performing African drum music at various places in the context of marginalisation as it exists in the city. Drawing on in-depth interviews and participant observation with a group of Africans in Hong Kong, this paper proposes 'integrative exchanges' as an analytical tool to reveal migrant's agency that creates an appropriate space for meaningful contact with majority population. This research argues that African drum plays important functional and symbolic roles in their ongoing integration process. Functionally, Africans use their traditional culture to break down social boundary, which offers a favourable context for building friendship. Symbolically, by playing African drums at various places, Africans consciously engage in identity politics. Integration is a process requiring willingness to engage and change by the local population and the migrants. The concept of 'integrative exchanges' highlights the importance of a tool the migrants utilise that triggers the exchanges to occur during the integration process, and the motivation and benefits to engage in the intercultural contacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The life of a nurse since the Covid-19 pandemic is characterized by high rates of anxiety, depression, and burnout, leading national organizations to declare the nursing shortage a national emergency. Solutions cite work-life balance, but this term has no clear guiding definition. Experts in the organizational psychology and personal development literature suggest other ways to reconsider this dilemma, that of integration. In this paper the concept of integration is proposed to focus on relationships with family and friends, work, and oneself. The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses 'standards for a healthy work environment are used to frame the benefits of an integrated life. Strategies to achieve an integrated life, one with meaning and purpose, are described to create more happiness and joy and to begin to mitigate the nursing shortage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims to show the international impact of 50 years of cross-cultural psychology on interdisciplinary intercultural studies and intercultural psychology, as developed in French-speaking countries. An original overview of the most prominent research carried out by Association pour la Recherche Interculturelle (ARIC, Association for Intercultural Research) and the research team Interculturation Psychique et Contacts Culturels (IPCC, Psychological Interculturation and Cultural Contacts) is suggested, while tending to cover the worldwide research related to the individual in intercultural situations. ARIC's main topics are education, socio-political aspects and identity, individual, and cultures. This international association focuses on the articulation of research and practice to propose better policies to multicultural societies. In this perspective, it has carried out research about the immigration challenges considering the immigrants as well as the host societies. As it concerns intercultural psychology, it develops according to interculturation, that is, the psychological process that allows to overcome the cultural differences. It shapes intercultural personality and identity and the cognitive, affective and behavioral reactions of individuals or groups in any cultural contact. The various fields of application of both underline the undoubtable influence of cross-cultural psychology and the possibilities for further in-depth collaboration due to mutual contributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article scrutinises the highly contested, yet largely unexplored space of gender-segregated swimming that caters for Muslim women. Combining participant observation of weekly women-only swimming sessions with interviews of regular participants, the aim of this paper was to shed light on the 'non-White' space of women-only swimming and explore the lived experiences of Danish Muslim women within this specific setting. Drawing on a Foucauldian framework that situates women-only swimming in a wider space of power relationships and multiple intersecting discourses, we observed the operation of disciplinary power, particularly relating to the maintenance of hygiene and safety and tacit norms relating to the dress code and standards of modesty. However, contrary to competitive and lane swimming, here, women-only swimming sessions were loosely structured, with participants emphasising freedom, pleasure and relaxation in this context. Our findings suggest that women-only swimming offered the opportunity for participants to practise self-care, while also highlighting ambiguities relating to participants' critical self-awareness about the discourses governing their identities and sporting practices. Still, the loosely structured practice of women-only swimming poses an alternative to the current instrumentalisation of sport and physical activity, as well as dominant discourses that position sport as a culturally integrative, homogenising policy tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines current interventions to reduce barriers to access into higher education for refugees in North America and Europe. We analyze a diversity of interventions sponsored by host governments, higher education institutions, foundations, nongovernmental organizations, and individuals. These interventions differ in size, delivery method, focus, and extent of support, and range from a single language course or limited online learning opportunity to fully accredited higher education programs. However, significant problems hamper the efficacy of many current interventions. We examine providers' rationales for working with refugees using Knight and De Wit's rationales for internationalization of higher education, later reconceptualized in four interrelated groups of rationales: academic, political, economic, and socio-cultural. To these, we propose adding a fifth category: humanism. To widen refugee participation and success in higher education, we suggest that policy makers and administrators should adopt a longer-term perspective, increase transparency, and use evidence-based approaches to develop and evaluate refugee programming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the use of typologies of national models of integration to analyse and understand immigrant integration politics, policy or processes has become contentious. The approach has received a good share of criticism for offering stereotypical, inaccurate or too simplistic descriptions of how countries approach immigrant integration. According to critics, the approach lacks a clear definition and operationalization of the national model concept, it ignores internal variation, it is unable to account for change and, finally, it lacks a theory of action regarding how ideas affect policies. This paper responds to all these four criticisms but from the perspective of an ideational understanding of the national models approach. However, first, the paper distinguishes different kinds of national model approaches in order to offer a precise definition of the ideational approach it develops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Community food worker (CFW) is one of the new roles that were proposed in the 2004 White Paper Choosing Health: Making Healthier Choices Easier. CFWs are recruited from local communities and generally operate in areas characterized by extreme social deprivation. The aim of this paper is to illuminate the experience of being a CFW in the context of working in a relatively new non-professional role. Methods: As part of an ongoing evaluation of a CFW scheme in the north west of England, a qualitative interview and two focus groups were conducted with CFWs. Thematic analysis of the data was undertaken. Results: Emergent issues faced by these new practitioners include: the nature of their role; quantifying success; working with other health professionals; skills and knowledge; and strategies used to work with communities. Conclusion: This study has highlighted some pertinent and previously unreported issues related to the experience of being a CFW, raising questions about their assimilation into the public health workforce and their use in delivering effective public health interventions without further integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The life of a nurse since the Covid-19 pandemic is characterized by high rates of anxiety, depression, and burnout, leading national organizations to declare the nursing shortage a national emergency. Solutions cite work-life balance, but this term has no clear guiding definition. Experts in the organizational psychology and personal development literature suggest other ways to reconsider this dilemma, that of integration. In this paper the concept of integration is proposed to focus on relationships with family and friends, work, and oneself. The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses 'standards for a healthy work environment are used to frame the benefits of an integrated life. Strategies to achieve an integrated life, one with meaning and purpose, are described to create more happiness and joy and to begin to mitigate the nursing shortage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The occupation of waste picker has taken on new importance as a livelihood, especially since the last global economic downturn. Increasingly, waste pickers are being recognized for their valuable contributions to urban sustainability and development. Drawing from scholarship on waste pickers, and findings from a recent study conducted in five cities across three continents, this paper discusses the environmental and economic contributions of informal waste pickers to cities. This paper argues for the re-conceptualization of solid waste management systems that integrate waste pickers as partners, as key to building just, inclusive and livable cities for all. It also presents a specific model in which informal waste workers are integrated as key stakeholders as one example of best practice in this area, thus contributing to current discussions on integrated and inclusive solid waste models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the integration processes of international marriage migrants in Japan and South Korea and identifies the steps and conditions required for integration. It contributes to the wider discussion of obstacles that migrants face during the integration process. Despite Japan and South Korea's reluctance toward the influx of large numbers of international migrants, their stance is more positive toward (female) marriage migrants. The qualitative data used for the analysis were collected by authors during the period between 2007 and 2022 on women from former Soviet Union countries, married to South Korean (54) or Japanese (50) men. The analysis of women's experiences identifies four major steps leading to receiving society integration: Pre-migration, arrival, early years and long-term settlement. The findings show that early language acquisition and receiving family support resulted in relatively smooth integration. However, human capital appears to be both a driver and an obstacle to integration. Furthermore, mismatched gender role expectations, limited social networks and employment opportunities increased difficulties in the integration process. Additionally, stronger ties with the receiving family and weaker ties with the home countries influenced women's decision to settle in the country. The largest differences between Japan and South Korea were the higher employment opportunities for marriage migrants in South Korea, especially for those with professional skills and Korean language knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tenuous state of elementary social studies has been explained by scholars who cite lack of time and curriculum resources devoted to social studies; teachers' emphasis on tested subjects; and instruction that distorts, trivializes, or omits social studies content. Integrating social studies with other core subjects has been positioned as a viable approach to address some of these challenges, but not all teachers have a healthy understanding of integration as an avenue for robust social studies instruction. This qualitative study explores 14 elementary teachers' stances to social studies as a core content area--with particular emphasis on content integration--in public schools. By investigating ways in which practicing teachers talk about social studies in their classrooms, this paper adds to the growing body of scholarship documenting the peripheral status of social studies in early grades. Findings offer theoretical implications for interpreting how and why social studies continues to be marginalized in early grades by focusing on participants' healthy and unhealthy understandings of content integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since its inception, computational social science (CSS) has been characterized as an interdisciplinary field. Nevertheless, unlike a mature interdisciplinary field that duly integrates knowledge beyond disciplinary boundaries, CSS has arguably been fragmented into multiple lines of inquiry. Although such fragmentation has been a constant concern, limited empirical evidence exists to substantiate any degree of integration in research on CSS. To systematically map the landscape of research on CSS, we examined the dynamic topology of the bibliometric network of CSS during the past 20 years. By comparing the structure of the coupling network and the co-subject network with three prototypical network models that we simulated—the centralized model, the fragmented model, and the cohesive model—our analysis revealed that the citation networks of research on CSS are highly centralized but less fragmented than often assumed. Beyond that, a driving factor shaping the coupling network's cohesive structure is the citation to high-impact articles. Those and other findings contribute to current understandings of the process of integration in the evolution of disciplines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strategies for tackling educational inequality take many forms, though perhaps the argument most often invoked is school integration. Yet whatever the promise of integration may be, its realization continues to be hobbled by numerous difficulties. In this paper we examine what many of these difficulties are. Yet in contrast to how many empirical researchers frame these issues, we argue that while educational success in majority-minority schools will depend on a variety of material and non-material resources, the presence of these resources does not require school integration; indeed sometimes the most crucial resources are easier to foster in its absence. To that end, we briefly canvass the evidence from the United States on high performing majority-minority schools serving poor and minority students. Yet because these debates are so contentious in the American context, we pivot away from the U.S. to consider a different country, the Netherlands. We invite the reader to consider an analogous case where racial injustice and educational inequality are just as serious, yet where differences in the state school system might prove instructive concerning how some majority-minority schools choose to respond to existing segregation, but more importantly how educational success can occur in the absence of integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How should we study the integration of newcomers so as to better incorporate immigrants into their new society? To respond to this question, this paper introduces and defines the concept of ‘group integration’. It is true that the integration of composites of individuals has long been studied. Examples of composite individual integration include rates of linguistic apprehension or political participation among members of a specific community. However, few studies have looked at factors that are proper to the group, such as the number of lobby and community groups that the group has, and its institutional completeness in the general sense. This paper argues that we ought to promote group integration, since a well-integrated group provides resources which influence the ability of individuals to integrate into their new host society and promotes just relationships between groups and host societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

German accounting has traditionally followed a dual ledger approach with strictly separated internal cost accounting, as the basis for management information, and external financial accounting focusing on creditor protection and based on the commercial law. However, the increased adoption of integrated accounting systems implies a significant change in the relationship between financial and management accounting systems. We use Hegelian dialectic to trace the historical development of German accounting from separated systems and antithetical propositions of full integration, to the emergence of partial integration as the synthesis of this transformation process. The foundation of our paper is a comprehensive analysis of the literature on the relationship between financial and management accounting in Germany. On this basis, we elaborate how financial accounting in Germany has been shaped by its economic context and legislation, and how financial accounting – accompanied by institutional pressures – in turn influenced management accounting. We argue that the changing relationship between management and financial accounting in the German context illustrates how current accounting practice is shaped not only by its environment, but also by its historical path. Based on this reasoning, we discuss several avenues for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mixed methods have become increasingly popular in health-related research, allowing a broader and deeper understanding of complex human phenomena. This growth in popularity has increased the range of usage and complexity in design approaches, producing greater need for understanding of logistical and practical application in this field. This paper aims to provide an overview of mixed methods research and orientate readers to the critical issues that arise for researchers. It provides an introduction to mixed methods design and the rationale and philosophical underpinnings for this methodological approach. It navigates the reader through some real world or ‘hot’ topics within mixed methods, including data analysis, integration and quality appraisal criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes the need to move beyond current integration and diversity discourses (and their practices). It argues that whilst purportedly aiming to attack social divisions, on the one hand, these are underpinned by binary and essentialized constructions of these very divisions, on the other. They thereby reinforce notions of 'us' and 'them'. In order to retain their more progressive concerns with heterogeneity and inclusion, the paper brings into focus an intersectional approach that considers the complex and irreducible nature of belonging and social hierarchy. The paper also considers the potential of notions of solidarity and interculturalism in dealing with some of the social issues involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much research focuses on schooling for refugee children in resettlement contexts; however, limited research addresses young adult refugees (YAR) between 16–24 years in the adult education (AE) system. This paper strives to fill this gap by providing the perspectives of 12 AE practitioners who welcomed and worked with Syrian YAR in Quebec, Canada. Practitioners' experiences and challenges faced with this refugee population reveal strategies needed to enable YAR to flourish and attain their objectives, including a call for systemic change in AE. Critical race theory and the capabilities approach set the conceptual framework guided by a narrative inquiry methodology. Semi-structured interviews provided the data that were thematically analyzed through collaborative work. From our understanding of the effectiveness of AE approaches for YAR, it is clear, based on the insights provided by the practitioners, that the face of AE has changed, and its current approach does not work for the YAR population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finding appropriate interactive exercises to increase students' learning in technical topic courses is always challenging to educators. In this study, several paper plane hands-on simulation exercises were developed, used, and tested in a lean manufacturing course for beginning college students. A pretest and posttest was used to assess the effectiveness of students learning of lean manufacturing concepts by means of participating in the hands-on simulation exercises. Furthermore, the procedures used for an efficient integration of the hands-on simulation exercises into a teaching environment were evaluated. The results showed that students' knowledge of lean manufacturing concepts increased significantly compared with lecture-based learning only. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrating health and social care services remains one of the most difficult undertakings in the field of care delivery. One of the key requirements for success in integration programmes is a shared vision amongst care providers. Shared visions may contain views as to what the new services should look like, how it should operate and what it should be able to achieve. The paper reports findings of an evaluation of a service integration programme in the North of England. It confirms that a programme consensus on issues such as aims and objectives and programme logics is seen by participants as a key to success. Yet, the study also found that there is a specific window of opportunity in integration programmes when participating organisations start on relatively high levels of commitment and enthusiasm which tend to tail off relatively quickly. The paper closes with a discussion about the implications of the findings for programme designers and service planners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research sought to uncover challenges that arose in the implementation of the Reflective Educational Approach to Character and Health (REACH) after-school programme in a low-income public school in New York City. Additionally, we wanted to find and share some of the lessons learned, to help others avoid our pitfalls when implementing quality after-school programming. At the conclusion of the year-long REACH programme that was preceded by a year-long pilot, the lead researcher interviewed six key stakeholders: (a) the coach; (b) an academic tutor; (c) the director of REACH; (d) two after-school teachers/leaders within the school; and (e) the assistant principal of P.S. 780 (pseudonym). We employed a qualitative case study approach. Field notes from observations, researcher journals, emails, and multiple interviews were used to triangulate data. Two coders first independently coded and analyzed the data using the constant comparison method, followed by a peer reviewer to further establish credibility and trustworthiness. Three themes are presented from the data analysis: (a) bridging community dynamics and REACH; (b) needing community involvement; and (c) role modeling through cultural competence. These three themes are analyzed through a lens of culturally responsive pedagogy and a new theory of positive youth development through sport. These data present a detailed account of the implementation of a sport-based after-school programme in an urban environment. The paper presents the challenges faced in the implementation of such programmes as well as lessons learned in the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Telemedicine is an innovation that is changing the geography of medical care provision. Regionalization of care is one important type of geographical change resulting from the implementation of telemedicine technology. This paper introduces a range of issues bound up with telemedicine and medical care regionalization and offers a geographical conceptualization of those issues through a synthesis of ideas from several literatures. It begins by providing a background for regionalization and telemedicine. The paper continues by examining the formation of 'virtual' regions and the problem of their internal integration and integration with 'material' regions of care. A penultimate section argues for the use of regional economic geography and territoriality as contexts for understanding the continued growth and development of telemedicine networks. As part of an overall critical challenge to the protelemedicine bias in the medical care literature, the paper ends by suggesting the development of a normative ethics by medical geographers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction This paper documents the development of a diary schedule to describe the work of occupational therapists of all grades, across a range of adult care groups and community health and social care settings, to permit comparison between them and over time. Method Two sources of information were used to develop the schedule: findings from five focus groups with occupational therapists (46 participants) and analysis of previous research on staff time use undertaken by the Personal Social Services Research Unit at the University of Manchester. It was piloted and evaluated by scrutiny of the schedules, a group interview with participants and meetings with managers. Results Practitioners identified almost 200 activities in their day-to-day work. These were categorised into three principal activity themes: direct care, indirect care and team or service development. The pilot study revealed ease of completion and discernible differences between settings and activities together with suggestions for improvement to the schedule regarding the description of activities and the accompanying guidance. Conclusion A diary schedule and common activity list, covering the full breadth of occupational therapy practice in adult community care, was developed. Whilst its utility in an organisation employing practitioners in multiple settings was demonstrated its wider applicability is unproven. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discrimination is a problem for both minority groups and the societies in which they live. Perceived group discrimination reflects the direct experiences of immigrants but is also an indicator of reception context and social cohesion in the host country. This paper examines perceptions of group discrimination among recently migrated Polish immigrants to four Western European countries, and specifically focuses on changes over time in these individual perceptions, using a new longitudinal survey of immigrants. Are there cross-national differences in (changes in) perceived group discrimination, and how is discrimination related to exposure to and experiences in the host country? By employing a panel design we find that perceived discrimination is higher among Polish migrants in the Netherlands in Wave 1 than in the other three countries; perceptions of discrimination also increase more there between waves of the survey, as well as in the UK. Perceptions of group discrimination are related to some aspects of exposure to the host country, but most strongly associated with negative experiences in the host country. Differences in country contexts – attitudinal climate and national discourses – seem to play a role in understanding perceived group discrimination among new Polish immigrants in Western Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to their high political and social impact, studying elites is a growing strand of scholarship in sociology. In this research note, we investigate immigrants' pathways into the income elite, that is, the top 1% of Germany's income distribution. Using data from the German Microcensus from 2009 to 2018 covering more than three million observations, we examine the prevalence of immigrants in the elite and immigrants' pathways to access the elite, that is, education, self-employment, country-of-origin effects and integration. Our results show that immigrants are underrepresented in the elite by 46%. Smaller returns to education and self-employment compared with natives drive this underrepresentation. Regarding immigrant-specific pathways, immigrants from EU countries, who face fewer legal, cultural and social barriers, have higher chances of being in the elite than immigrants from non-EU countries. Finally, we find no evidence of integration, that is, years since migration, affecting immigrants' elite status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we focus on the economic integration of black African immigrants settling in Queensland by examining their experiences and views on employment within Australia's labor market. The paper draws on findings from a qualitative study conducted in Southeast Queensland. The study examines how black African immigrants define their identity, socio-economic wellbeing and sense of belonging in white majority Australia. The findings suggest that settlement and integration policies in Australia need to be informed by immigrants' employment experiences. The paper contributes to the literature on the role of employment in the settlement and integration processes of racially and culturally different immigrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the integration process among African diaspora in Hong Kong. It explores how they negotiate an identity by performing African drum music at various places in the context of marginalisation as it exists in the city. Drawing on in-depth interviews and participant observation with a group of Africans in Hong Kong, this paper proposes 'integrative exchanges' as an analytical tool to reveal migrant's agency that creates an appropriate space for meaningful contact with majority population. This research argues that African drum plays important functional and symbolic roles in their ongoing integration process. Functionally, Africans use their traditional culture to break down social boundary, which offers a favourable context for building friendship. Symbolically, by playing African drums at various places, Africans consciously engage in identity politics. Integration is a process requiring willingness to engage and change by the local population and the migrants. The concept of 'integrative exchanges' highlights the importance of a tool the migrants utilise that triggers the exchanges to occur during the integration process, and the motivation and benefits to engage in the intercultural contacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the EU, efforts in relation to integration are generally directed towards migrants from outside the EU. However, there is evidence that intra-EU migrants face similar obstacles to integration to those of non-EU citizens. Since Ireland has a large EU migrant population, this paper critically explores EU migrants’ integration in Ireland. Drawing on awider longitudinal study, the paper focuses on the lived experiences of 39 migrants from EU Member States living in Ireland. Focusing on domains of integration, we explore the different pathways by which EU migrants move to Ireland and become part of Irish society. Cultural and social pathways – including language, study, adventure and social relationships – are important as the original motivation for migration. Contrary to popular perception, economic factors such as employment were mostly seen as enabling social and cultural interests. However, economic but also social pathways came to the fore during the recession, when securing one’s livelihood and networks took on a new importance. We show that migrants developed various tactics to intensify their contact with Irish society and to develop feelings of being ‘at home’, despite a deteriorating economic situation. Despite these individual efforts, EU migrants continue to face obstacles to integration in Ireland: obstacles that need to be acknowledged at addressed within Ireland and across the EU more broadly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To combat climate change and fulfill the national target of having 15% of primary energy from non-fossil fuels by 2020, China's central government is making every effort to promote PV generation, especially in the context of deteriorating export markets for China's PV industry, resulting from anti-dumping and anti-subsidy campaigns launched by United States and European Union. PV generation PV generation is set to boom in coming years in China.Although there is ambitious planning of building large scale ground-mounted PV plants in the Northwest of China, more than half of the installations are expected to be customer-sited small scale distributed systems. Because PV generation, particularly customer-sited PV systems represents a totally new pattern of power production and consumption. China's electricity system, which has been originally designed for centralized power delivery, is not fully prepared to accommodate large scale PV generation from the technical point of view. Besides, governmental policies and operational regulations are not able to match the need of these new comers.This paper works out a comprehensive solution for integration of large scale distributed PV, which consists of technical strategy, regulatory strategy and policy strategy. Firstly, electricity grids and PV systems should be directionally technically adapted to each other. oGrid friendly PV plants" requires that PV plants should be equipped with advanced technologies to improve the visibility, controllability and predictability, bringing the performance of PV plants increasingly close to that of conventional power plants. Secondly, with high penetration of distributed PV generation, grid dispatch centers should have necessary monitoring and control over these dispersed generating systems, which are supposed to follow the instructions issued by grid operators. Thirdly, incentive polies should be in accordance with national medium-and long term planning, with consideration of minimizing social cost. Policies should also be foreseeable and persistent for all the investors.Based on the framework of the comprehensive solution for PV generation, this paper elaborates major experience drawn from Germany with high PV penetration and illustrates how Germany has successfully integrated large scale distributed PV systems from the technical, regulatory and policy aspect respectively. Finally, it comes up with relevant recommendations for the development of PV generation in China: to speed up the process of establishing and improving the system of technical requirements, to draw up and release detailed operational rules on distributed PV generating systems and replace unified FIT for ground-mounted systems with differentiated FIT. Distributed customer-sited PV systems should be promoted by subsidizing the self-consumed electricity in the form of RMB cent per kWh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerns about immigration are salient in the European Union and in Malta in particular. Previous research has demonstrated deep antipathy towards the Arab community in Malta, and social representations of Arabs are mired in a conflation of ethnic and religious categories with negative connotations. This paper presents evidence of the potency, within the public sphere, of negative arguments from cultural essentialism, concerning the integration of Arabs in Europe. The data were obtained abductively from a data corpus containing positive, mixed and negative arguments about Arabs and their integration. Results pointed towards the almost total exclusivity of arguments from cultural essentialism. These posited Arabic culture as an underlying essence that makes integration difficult or impossible. Different forms of culturally essentialist views varied in their emphasis of different aspects of cultural essentialism. Reductionist, determinist, delineatory and temporal aspects of cultural essentialism were all emphasised by respondents. The essentialist exceptions to negative arguments from cultural essentialism were rare and were posed tentatively by participants. Their paucity and manner of delivery substantiate the claim that it is strictly an Arabic cultural essence that is deemed to make integration impossible. Findings are discussed in light of the communicative functions that these dominant argumentative strategies fulfil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the number of refugees in need of resettlement continues to climb worldwide, advocates and policy makers are searching for ways to leverage new support from private individuals, faith groups, and community organizations to complement and extend the capacity of traditional government resettlement programs. The United States is one of many countries considering the possibility of a "private sponsorship" model, which would allow private individuals and community groups to resettle refugees independent of traditional government resettlement agencies. While this particular resettlement model has not been implemented in the United States in more than four decades, the country has a long history of community involvement in refugee resettlement. Many resettlement agencies operate vibrant community sponsorship (or co-sponsorship) programs, in which community groups partner with resettlement agencies in delivering services and material support to refugees. However, due to a lack of publicly available data, the impact of this co-sponsorship model has been woefully understudied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a research paper that discusses the gratitude and hospitality offered by Great Britain government policy by integrating several Tamil refugees by the means of employing them in their host country. The topics discussed include background information of the refugees that include English language skills, employment status, and age, marginalization and discrimination faced by Tamil refugees in host country, and employment through ethnic community.

Background: In 2019, the São Paulo State Cancer Institute (ICESP) implemented a novel model integrating Oncology with Palliative Care specialists. We evaluated the impact of this model on healthcare resource utilization and costs. Methods: We analyzed data from all patients who passed away in February (1 month prior to implementation) and November (8 months after model implementation group) at ICESP, Brazil. Healthcare utilization data, including emergency department visits, hospital and intensive care unit admissions, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy use, were retrieved from Electronic Medical Records. Unit cost values were obtained from the administrative database. Results: A total of 198 patients who died in February and 196 in November were included in the analysis. Groups exhibited similarities in sex, age, ECOG, cancer type, previous outpatient palliative care consultations, and place of death (ward: 56.6% pre-intervention, 50% post-intervention). The mean cost per patient was US$13,226.29 pre-intervention and US$11,445.82 post-intervention (P =.007). Statistically significant differences were noted in days hospitalized in the surgical ward (227 vs 115), emergency department visits (233 vs 45), chemotherapy sessions (140 vs 26), and radiotherapy sessions (146 vs 10). Excluding outpatient treatments, the total costs for chemotherapy and radiotherapy in the last 30 days of life were US$16,924.45 pre-intervention and US$7851.65 post-intervention. Reductions were more pronounced in patients with ECOG 3-4 (P =.039). Conclusion: Our data suggests that the integration model was associated with a reduction in potentially inappropriate treatments during the last month of life, leading to decreased healthcare utilization and costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the factors influencing the labour market performance and social integration of Eastern European migrants in two regions within Scotland and Portugal. Given the potential links between these outcomes, measures of labour market success and integration into the host community are examined from a multi-dimensional perspective, including by modelling these jointly within a statistical framework. The main findings indicate the importance of a range of factors for labour market and social integration, which change with time and cannot be limited to any definable set of goals. In particular, proficiency in the host country’s language plays a key role in obtaining a highly paid job and social integration, but not for the probability of employment. Further, maintaining family links and cultural identity often outweigh the importance of being integrated into host communities. Other human capital factors, especially whether the job matches skills and qualifications, strongly influence some labour market outcomes, whilst migrant network variables are important for integration more widely. Focus on the immediate earnings and having a job tends to be prioritised over career progression, which can lead to better integration. Drawing on the insights from economics and human geography, this paper stresses that these findings hold both in the separate and joint modelling approaches. The effect of the influences is also found to be generally similar in Scotland and Portugal. However, some significant differences are detected between the host communities with regards to the impact of previous migration and friendship on social integration and age on employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the relative effects of acculturation preferences (assimilation, separation, integration, and marginalization) on migrants’ perception of acceptability in James Town, a traditional urban neighborhood in Accra, Ghana. There is a paucity of academic work on the relationship between migrants’ acculturation inclinations and their assessment of the hosts’ attitude towards them in Ghana. Cognizant of the fluidity of acculturation strategies, the study focuses on individual inclinations towards acculturation. To examine migrants’ perception of acceptability by the host, we use perceived personal discrimination. We utilize results from a semi-structured questionnaire administered to 301 migrant individuals from different migrant households in James Town. Our findings suggest that migrants with assimilation preferences are less likely to have a higher rating on the extent to which they are discriminated against by the host population. Such an exploratory study is pertinent to understanding relationships (conflicts or “togetherness in difference”) in poor multi-ethnic settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the last 20 years, Putnam's conceptualisations of bonding and bridging social capital have become a common reference for policies and programmes that seek to promote integration in and through sports. However, few researchers have looked beyond face-to-face interactions to how sports may develop migrants' relations to formal associations, institutions, and agencies in civil society. In this article, we aim to explore how young refugees accumulate diverse forms of social capital through participation in sports clubs and informal sports. Drawing on Lewandowski's conceptualisations of horizontal and vertical social capital, we analyse 10 young refugees' experiences with sports participation in Norway. The results show that informants found it challenging to participate in sports clubs due to conflicting views on how to 'do sports' as well as processes of 'othering'. As a result, their opportunities for accumulating vertical social capital (social connections and resources across vertical power differentials) were limited and only identified for the most highly skilled informants. Consequently, the informants dropped out of sports clubs and instead joined informal sports to experience a sense of community and belonging with peers similar to themselves. By doing so, the informants were able to accumulate horizontal social capital (resources within a specific socioeconomic or cultural stratum) as well as negotiating specific types of vertical social capital. Overall, our findings illustrate some of the challenges and limitations of Norwegian sports policy and clubs in facilitating social capital and, thus, social mobility for young refugees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study examines the health security of both Lebanese citizens and Syrian refugees in Lebanon. It also assesses the readiness and resilience of the healthcare system in response to the multi-layered crisis that began in late 2019. Methods: A qualitative case study design was employed, utilizing 2 unstructured interviews with health experts/hospital staff, semi-structured interviews with 20 Lebanese participants and a document review. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Results: The study found that Syrian refugees have access to health services under terms, conditions and restrictions including out-of-pocket (OOP) payment. In contrast, Lebanese citizens find traditional health guarantor systems largely ineffective, leading to high OOP costs for most healthcare services, with few exceptions. This study reveals a paradox in healthcare access within Lebanon's fragile environment. Syrian refugees have greater access to health services, with minimal out-of-pocket (OOP) costs to a certain extent, compared to Lebanese citizens themselves who remain entrenched in inadequate health support services and poor public administration. Conclusion: To address this, targeted interventions and policies are crucial for policymakers and stakeholders, including the private and public sectors, local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the international community. Reforms are needed, spearheaded by the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), other relevant ministries, and government payers, to refinance the traditional guarantor system and restore Lebanese citizens' health security. Additionally, unifying health coverage across all government payers is vital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines whether foreign direct investment between countries fosters stock market integration. Empirical tests demonstrate that both the flow and the level of bilateral foreign direct investment between countries explain country-pair stock market integration. More specifically, higher bilateral foreign direct investment levels and flows increase Australia's stock market integration with its major trade partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]