The article aims to investigate the transformation of the role of the main Italian philanthropic-financial actors - the foundations of banking origin (FOBs)-in the policy-making within the emergency ...context of the syndemic. To do this, in the first part we present the four features characterising FOBs' relation with public policy before the outbreak of the syndemic, namely: 1) their capacity to intervene rapidly; 2) their innovation capacity; 3) their willingness to participate in the policy-making on an equal standing with the public actors; 4) their pretence of having greater ideational capacity, effectiveness and efficiency than the public actors. In the second part, relying on data and analyses of the discourses produced by the Fob, we analyse whether and how these four elements have changed during the syndemic and the impact of these shifts on FOBs' legitimation in the policy-making process. The concluding section highlights: a) the continuity between pre- and post-syndemic with respect to the tension between their capacity for emergency action and their capacity to elaborate long-term visions and strategies; b) the need to think about the action of the FOBs as part of the overall redefinition of the boundaries and roles between the public and private sectors, dating back to the 1990s; c) some ideas for future research.
This article addresses the question of how to understand the relation among precarity, differential inclusion, and citizenship status with regard to Syrian refugees in Turkey. Turkey has become host ...to over 2.7 million Syrian refugees who live in government-run refugee camps and urban centres. Drawing on critical citizenship and migration studies literature, the paper emphasises the Turkish government's central legal and policy frameworks that provide Syrians with some citizenship rights while simultaneously regulating their status and situating them in a position of limbo. Syrians are not only making claims to citizenship rights but they are also negotiating their access to social services, humanitarian assistance, and employment in different ways. The analysis stresses that Syrian refugees in Turkey continue to be part of the multiple pathways to precarity, differential inclusion, and negotiated citizenship rights.
Le Portugal connaît une forte tendance au vieillissement qui pose des défis importants à l’organisation sociale du care . Cet article caractérise le système de soins aux personnes âgées dans ce pays ...du Sud de l’Europe, considérant les rôles combinés de la famille, de l’État, du marché et de la société civile dans une configuration particulière de familialisme et de politique de défamiliarisation. L’analyse se développe autour du familialisme culturellement implicite, celui prescrit par la loi, le familialisme soutenu par l’État et les pratiques de défamiliarisation qui opèrent par l’intermédiaire du secteur privé non lucratif et du marché lucratif. À partir de données statistiques, provenant de différentes sources nationales et européennes, de témoignages d’aidants informels et d’entretiens exploratoires, nous proposons un portrait de l’organisation des soins au Portugal et nous mettons en évidence le rôle des aidants familiaux non rémunérés, responsables pour la plupart du care aux personnes âgées. Nous soulignons l’importance du mouvement des « aidants informels », créé en 2016 et qui est à l’origine de l’approbation, en 2019, d’une nouvelle législation, le « Statut de l’aidant informel ». Le texte identifie finalement quelques points d’intervention susceptibles de favoriser une reconnaissance de ce travail non rémunéré et une redistribution sociale plus équitable et juste du care aux personnes âgées.
Innovative start-ups are often considered to be a key source of innovation and job creation. As such they are the subject of several types of supportive public policies. This study examines the ...short-term and long-term effects of business incubators on the performance of innovative start-ups in terms of sales revenues and job creation. A large sample of N = 2544 innovative Italian start-ups, of which 606 were incubated, was followed over a period of up to six years. Tobit and Poisson regressions and propensity-score matching analyses point towards a significant negative effect of incubator tenancy on sales revenues and no significant effect of incubation on job creation. Findings also suggest that the initially negative effect of incubation on sales revenues turns into a positive effect in the long term. The effects of incubator characteristics, in terms of ownership, certification, and size on the growth of tenant start-ups were further analysed, but these effects were found to be negligible. The study contributes to the literature on the evidence-based evaluation of business incubation performance. It suggests that public policy makers should lower their expectations regarding the numbers of new jobs created by business incubation support.
•Incubator tenancy had a negative short-term effect on start-ups’ sales revenue.•Incubation seems to speed up sales revenue growth in the long run.•Incubator tenancy had a negligible effect on start-ups’ job creation.•Evidence justifying public spending on business incubators was not found.
Objectives Aiming to disseminate information related to suicide prevention in Brazil, the “ Setembro Amarelo ” campaign has been conducted since 2015. The objective of this study is to assess the ...association between this campaign and elderly suicide rates over a 12-year period. Methods Data were gathered from the Mortality Information System and the Notifiable Diseases Information System, established by public institutions in Brazil. An interrupted time-series framework was applied to assess the association between the “ Setembro Amarelo ” campaign and suicide mortality rates in the elderly population (60 et plus) in the southeastern region of Brazil. We consider three monthly outcomes: all suicides, suicides in males and suicide in females. We operationalize the campaign assuming three effects: short-term, declining and sustained. The period of analysis was from 2011-2022. Results The suicide-mortality rate over time has remained stable; the average rate in the pre-campaign period was 0.028 and increased slightly to 0.035. Regardless of the campaign’s operationalization and the outcome used, results show no significant associations between the campaign and elderly suicide rates. The campaign was associated with non-significant decreased effects of 15% (P=0.532) in the short term, and 16% (P=0.446) assuming the campaign was sustained. Conclusions There is a lack of association between the campaign and suicide rates, among the elderly in Brazil’s southeastern region. As suicide is complex and multifactorial, more research is needed. The campaign, while raising awareness and reducing stigma, may not reduce suicides. To reduce the suicide rate in the elderly requires addressing social, economic and cultural factors, multisectoral interventions, and upholding basic human rights.
Immunological memory is the basis of protective immunity provided by vaccines and previous infections. Immunological memory can develop from multiple branches of the adaptive immune system, including ...CD4 T cells, CD8 T cells, B cells, and long‐lasting antibody responses. Extraordinary progress has been made in understanding memory to SARS‐CoV‐2 infection and COVID‐19 vaccines, addressing development; quantitative and qualitative features of different cellular and anatomical compartments; and durability of each cellular component and antibodies. Given the sophistication of the measurements; the size of the human studies; the use of longitudinal samples and cross‐sectional studies; and head‐to‐head comparisons between infection and vaccines or between multiple vaccines, the understanding of immune memory for 1 year to SARS‐CoV‐2 infection and vaccines already supersedes that of any other acute infectious disease. This knowledge may help inform public policies regarding COVID‐19 and COVID‐19 vaccines, as well as the scientific development of future vaccines against SARS‐CoV‐2 and other diseases.
Background: The nature of population policies in the field of health, especially population, fertility, and childbearing is complicated, so the families’ and policymakers’ decision on the quantity ...and quality of the reproduction and the childbearing process has been controversial. This paper was conducted to identify and explain the adverse effects of population policies on reproductive health and childbearing in 1978-2020. Methods: This study has a cross-sectional descriptive-analytical design. The study participants were 30 managers and specialists who studied in the fields of policy, demography, sociology, and health at university of medical sciences in Khuzestan in 2019-2020. Delphi method was used and the data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire that was standardized by calculating the validity and reliability using the Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The authors analyzed data using descriptive and inferential statistics,. The main question was whether the population policies adopted after the Islamic Revolution have challenged decision-making on reproductive health and childbearing at both levels of operational managers and the society? The main hypothesis allocated the answer "yes" to itself. However, since policymakers still do not frequently use policy-making knowledge as a criterion for public policy, there is dissatisfaction and mistrust among families who have to implement the policies.. Thereforethe new message of the researchis that in the future, any decision and manipulation on health and population should be all-inclusive and comprehensive along with conservatism and maturity. Results: The significance level was observed in 18 items, and it indicates that population policies on reproductive health and childbearing in the studied variables have been facing challenges. The main challenges included lack of experts in reproductive health policymaking, lack of sufficient evidence to make decisions, lack of attention to spatial planning infertility policy making, lack of a coordinated system between the Ministry of Health and other ministries, lack of ideological-based reproductive health policymaking, lack of attention to the socio-economic evaluation of population policies, and lack of long-term strategic and sustainable vision in health-based policymaking. Conclusion: Population policies on reproductive health and childbearing after the revolution are not adequate for the country's decision-making system to achieve a proportionate and balanced population. Therefore, practical work and special responsibility accomplish the most promising demographic result
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has morphed in ways that would be unrecognizable to its founders. Its mission evolved from improving rail freight to building motor vehicle crossings, ...airports, office towers, and industrial parks and taking control of a failing commuter rail line. In its early years, the agency was often viewed with admiration; however as it drew up plans, negotiated to take control of airfields and marine terminals, and constructed large bridges and tunnels, the Port Authority became the object of less favorable attention. It was attacked as a “super-government” that must be reined in, while the mayors of New York and Newark argued that it should be broken up with its pieces given to local governments for their own use. Despite its criticisms and travails, for over half a century the Port Authority overcame hurdles that had frustrated other public and private efforts, built the world's longest suspension bridge, and took a leading role in creating an organization to reduce traffic delays in the New York-New Jersey region. How did the Port Authority achieve these successes? And what lessons does its history offer to other cities and regions in the United States and beyond? In a time when public agencies are often condemned as inefficient and corrupt, this history should provide some positive lessons for governmental officials and social reformers. In 2021, the Port Authority marked its 100th birthday. Its history reveals a struggle between the public and private sectors, the challenges of balancing democratic accountability and efficiency, and the tension between regional and local needs. From selected Port Authority successes and failures, Philip Mark Plotch and Jen Nelles produce a significant and engaging account of a powerful governmental entity that offers durable lessons on collaboration, leadership, and the challenge of overcoming complex political challenges in modern America.
