Discovering the Social—Cultural Context of Research: Listening to and Learning from Research Participants

1989 ◽  
pp. 136-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
John A. Meacham
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Research Participants ◽  
The Social

scholarly journals Vegan YouTubers Performing Ethical Beliefs

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Kim Harding ◽  
Abby Day
Keyword(s):  
Great Britain ◽  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Digital Content ◽  
Beliefs And Practices ◽  
Research Participants ◽  
Ethical Beliefs ◽  
Relational Practice ◽  
The Social ◽  
Youtube Videos ◽  
Question Survey

In Great Britain, “religion or belief” is one of nine “protected characteristics” under the Equality Act 2010, which protects citizens from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society. This paper begins with a discussion about a 2020 ruling, “Jordi Casamitjana vs. LACS”, which concluded that ethical vegans are entitled to similar legal protections in British workplaces as those who hold philosophical religious beliefs. While not all vegans hold a philosophical belief to the same extent as Casamitjana, the ruling is significant and will be of interest to scholars investigating non-religious ethical beliefs. To explore this, we have analysed a sample of YouTube videos on the theme of “my vegan story”, showing how vloggers circulate narratives about ethical veganism and the process of their conversion to vegan beliefs and practices. The story format can be understood as what Abby Day has described as a performative “belief narrative”, offering a greater opportunity to understand research participants’ beliefs and related identities than, for example, findings from a closed-question survey. We suggest that through performative acts, YouTubers create “ethical beliefs” through the social, mediatised, transformative, performative and relational practice of their digital content. In doing so, we incorporate a digital perspective to enrich academic discussions of non-religious beliefs.

Professional judgements of risk and capacity in situations of self-neglect among older people

2010 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 1055-1072 ◽  
Author(s):  
SHANNON MCDERMOTT
Keyword(s):  
Critical Theory ◽  
Older People ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Sociological Theory ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Medical Illness ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
Professional Intervention ◽  
Sydney Australia

ABSTRACTOver the past 50 years, self-neglect among older people has been conceptualised in both social policy and the academy as a social problem which is defined in relation to medical illness and requires professional intervention. Few authors, however, have analysed the concept of self-neglect in relation to critical sociological theory. This is problematic because professional judgements, which provide the impetus for intervention, are inherently influenced by the social and cultural context. The purpose of this article is to use critical theory as a framework for interpreting the findings from a qualitative study which explored judgements in relation to older people in situations of self-neglect made by professionals. Two types of data were collected. There were 125 hours of observations at meetings and home assessments conducted by professionals associated with the Community Options Programme in Sydney, Australia, and 18 professionals who worked with self-neglecting older people in the community gave in-depth qualitative interviews. The findings show that professional judgements of self-neglect focus on risk and capacity, and that these perceptions influence when and how interventions occur. The assumptions upon which professional judgements are based are then further analysed in relation to critical theory.

Social competence, theory of mind, and executive function in institution-reared Turkish children

2014 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 519-529 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evren Etel ◽  
Bilge Yagmurlu
Keyword(s):  
Executive Function ◽  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Social Competence ◽  
Mental State ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Receptive Language ◽  
Scaling Analysis ◽  
Turkish Children ◽  
The Social ◽  
Behavioral Assessments

This study had two aims. The first aim was to measure mental state understanding in institution-reared children by using a theory of mind (ToM) scale, and to examine the role of cultural context in sequencing of ToM acquisition. The other aim was to investigate ToM in relation to social competence and executive function (EF). Due to its pronounced role in mental state understanding and social interactions, we assessed receptive language as well. The participants were 107 institution-reared children aged 3 to 5 years in Turkey. Two visits were held within 2 days for behavioral assessments. In the first visit, the ToM scale was administered; in the second visit, the child was given the language test and the EF tasks. The social competence scales were completed by the child’s primary care provider in the institution. Guttman scaling analysis revealed that an understanding of diverse beliefs developed earlier than knowledge access, favoring the “individualistic pattern.” The regression analysis showed that EF was a significant predictor of ToM, but neither of them was associated with social competence when age was controlled. Receptive language predicted social competence and EF directly, and ToM indirectly through EF, pointing to the importance of this ability for early development.

Indigenous standpoint theory as a theoretical framework for decolonizing social science health research with American Indian communities

2021 ◽  
pp. 117718012110420
Author(s):  
Genevieve R Cox ◽  
Paula FireMoon ◽  
Michael P Anastario ◽  
Adriann Ricker ◽  
Ramey Escarcega-Growing Thunder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Science ◽  
American Indian ◽  
American Indians ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Standpoint Theory ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
The Social

Theoretical frameworks rooted in Western knowledge claims utilized for public health research in the social sciences are not inclusive of American Indian communities. Developed by Indigenous researchers, Indigenous standpoint theory builds from and moves beyond Western theoretical frameworks. We argue that using Indigenous standpoint theory in partnership with American Indian communities works to decolonize research related to American Indian health in the social sciences and combats the effects of colonization in three ways. First, Indigenous standpoint theory aids in interpreting how the intersections unique to American Indians including the effects of colonization, tribal and other identities, and cultural context are linked to structural inequalities for American Indian communities. Second, Indigenous standpoint theory integrates Indigenous ways of knowing with Western research orientations and methodologies in a collaborative process that works to decolonize social science research for American Indians. Third, Indigenous standpoint theory promotes direct application of research benefits to American Indian communities.

Service Animals and Pet Therapy in Schools: Synthesizing a Review of the Literature

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Virginie Abat-Roy
Keyword(s):  
Program Implementation ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Pet Therapy ◽  
Emotional Needs ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Social ◽  
State Of Research

As the academic and social-emotional needs of students in schools continue to increase, so too does the presence of dogs in educational spaces. This article aims to present an overview of past and present animal-assisted intervention practices in school settings. This comprehensive literature review examines the current state of research within this field of study. Data from 29 publications were selected according to strict inclusion and exclusion criteria. The results highlight three categories in which the presence of dogs in schools have an impact: social-emotional, cognitive, and physiological. Challenges to program implementation include health risks, cultural context, and negative effects on the animal. Due to the lack of school-based research, more study is needed, especially in order to understand the effect of dogs on the social-emotional learning of students. Finally, the welfare and training of the animals involved should be taken into consideration, and regulations regarding handler and animal training should be enforced.

scholarly journals Trimming the social body

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 68-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakob Krause-Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Social Workers ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Social Body ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Ethnographic Fieldwork ◽  
The Social ◽  
Management Concept

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse through ethnographic fieldwork the social and cultural context and (unintended) consequences of introducing a management concept from the private sector (LEAN) into the public sector. Design/methodology/approach Ethnographic fieldwork combined with reading of reports and material. Findings The major findings are: first, Lean is seen in a cultural context, it is argued that the persuasiveness of Lean depends on building a metaphorical connection between organizational aims and individual experiences and bodily ideals; second, Lean purports to be a win-win game and road to eliminating “waste” through worker participation, empowerment and enthusiasm. The research points to the contrary. Lean was met with scepticism and was seen by the social workers as a waste of time. Originality/value As demonstrated in the paper, the vast majority of research published about Lean is hortatory in nature. It is recipe books trying to convince readers of the benefits of introducing Lean. This paper, on the contrary, attempts an open ethnographic exploration of the Lean process and its social and cultural ramifications.

The same roles adopted by people involved in mass media enterprises, such as producers or distributors of feature films, are involved in practices surrounding personal memory artefacts such as photographs, home videos or diary entries. When the social context of such practices changes, these roles are renegotiated in relation to the people with whom we communicate and the tools we use to help us. A pilot study combined an analysis of sets of photographs taken by different participants at the same event – a wedding – with interviews that explored the phenomenological experience of engaging in memory practices connected to these photo sets. Focusing on personal photography, seven media roles were selected as a framework for examining changes in artefact-related memory practices due to shifting socio-cultural contexts and technological affordances. These roles – Creator, Director, Archivist, Gatekeeper, Distributor, Consumer and Critic – were found to be useful in highlighting individual differences in capturing, organising, reviewing and sharing photographs amongst people with varying technological engagement in varying social groupings. Preliminary findings suggest that technological affordances and constraints can change the social and cultural context of communication as well as personal goals of media production and consumption. Different media tools create subjective triggers and barriers for the adoption of roles, making some processes of media production or consumption easier or more accessible to certain types of people while other processes may become more complex or culturally inappropriate. These triggers and barriers, in combination with a continuous reconfiguration of related cultural norms, affect the adoption of roles and these roles directly affect engagement with memory artefacts. This paper forms part of a larger project that aims to explore how our changing engagement with technology is affecting our individual and collective memory practices.

2012 ◽  
pp. 27-40
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Media Production ◽  
Home Videos ◽  
Feature Films ◽  
The People ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
The Social ◽  
Memory Practices ◽  
Technological Affordances

scholarly journals PRIVILEGED MOBILITY AND UN‑MEDIATED CHOICE? THE CASE OF YOUNG PEOPLE LIVING IN TRANSNATIONAL LONG-DISTANCE RELATIONSHIPS

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 91-104
Author(s):  
Antonina Stasińska
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Spatial Mobility ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Research Participants ◽  
Ethnographic Fieldwork ◽  
Everyday Lives ◽  
The Social ◽  
Big Cities ◽  
Long Distance Relationships

In postmodern times of emphasized fluidification, individualism and cosmopolitanism, mobility becomes self-evident and naturalized, yet socially desirable and anticipated. Therefore it is valuable to use ethnography to look at individual experiences. They are young, educated, and mobile, pursuing their dreams and goals while living in big cities: Poles and other (not only) European citizens who maintain transnational long-distance relationships create perfectly suitable representatives of the category of ‘privileged mobility’. This article is based on ethnographic fieldwork I conducted in 2016–2018, and it employs an auto-ethnographic perspective in order to examine the notion of privilege (Amit 2007), with its borders and limitations, through the analytical lens of mobility. The article puts forward the perspective of my research participants and thus provides a detailed portrait of the researched group, in order to show how mobility is rooted in their everyday lives and how privileged they really are. I argue that mobility, defined as one of the most stratifying factors (Bourdieu 1984), can be applied as a mirror that reflects position in the social strata. In this specific ethnographic context, spatial mobility can be seen as a useful tool, which exposes social and individual dimensions of being privileged while living in transnational long-distance relationships

scholarly journals Komparativna analiza hrvatskog i nizozemskog školskog sustava

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (13) ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor Radeka ◽  
Ljiljana Radman
Keyword(s):  
Elementary Schools ◽  
School System ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Basic Characteristic ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Education ◽  
Cultural Economic ◽  
Resource Potential ◽  
The Social ◽  
State And Society ◽  
Developed World

The article commences its comparative analysis of the Croatian and the Holland system by emphasising the main features of the Croatian and the Holland state and society and by analysing the Croatian and the Holland school subsystems: kindergardens, elementary schools, high schools, institutions of higher education, specialized schooling and schools for grownups. Transition, as the basic characteristic of the Crotian school system and multiculturalism as the chief feature of the Holland system, are given places of prominence.The authors conclude that the surrounding European cultural context, the geographical and resource potential of the countries which stress the immense significance of education, the large number of the population covered by elementary and high school subsystems and the problems of the social deviation of youth are common to both the Croatian and the Holland societies and their school systems.The differences between these two systems are much greater and these can be divided according to the structure, the degree of centralization and way of running the schools, financing them, their ownership, the organisation of their activitiess, their programs, the pedagogical standards, the position of those attending the systems and the state of the educated labour market.At the end of the article, the authors voice a plea for the application of the positive experience of the Holland school system into the Croatian school system, taking into consideration its historical, cultural, economic, social and national specificities in order to bring the school system of Croatia as close as possible to that of the developed world.

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