Social Constructionist and Social Engineer

2021 ◽  
pp. 157-161
Author(s):  
Virginia Simón-Moya ◽  
María Rodríguez-García
Author(s):  
Terence D. Keel

The proliferation of studies declaring that there is a genetic basis to health disparities and behavioral differences across the so-called races has encouraged the opponents of social constructionism to assert a victory for scientific progress over political correctness. I am not concerned in this essay with providing a response to critics who believe races are expressions of innate genetic or biological differences. Instead, I am interested in how genetic research on human differences has divided social constructionists over whether the race concept in science can be used for social justice and redressing embodied forms of discrimination. On one side, there is the position that race is an inherently flawed concept and that its continued use by scientists, medical professionals, and even social activists keeps alive the notion that it has a biological basis. On the other side of this debate are those who maintain a social constructionist position yet argue that not all instances of race in science stem from discriminatory politics or the desire to prove that humans belong to discrete biological units that can then be classified as superior or inferior. I would like to shift this debate away from the question of whether race is real and move instead toward thinking about the intellectual commitments necessary for science to expose past legacies of discrimination.


Author(s):  
Brooke Shannon

A social constructionist methodology was used to explore how Kenyan women university students interact with information in everyday life. Focus was on how participants interpret experiences within the historical, cultural, and material spaces they inhabit. Methods used were linguistics pragmatics, phenomenology, and hermeneutics. Conceptual implications for information literacy are discussed.Une méthodologie sociale constructioniste est utilisée pour explorer comment les étudiantes universitaires kenyanes interagissent avec l’information au quotidien. Nous avons insisté sur les façons dont les participantes interprètent leurs expériences dans les espaces historiques, culturels et matériels où elles habitent. Les méthodologies utilisées comprennent la pragmatique linguistique, la phénoménologie et l’herméneutique. Nous discutons finalement de leurs implications sur la maîtrise de l’information. 


Author(s):  
Raymond L. Higgins ◽  
Matthew W. Gallagher

This chapter presents an overview of the development and status of the reality negotiation construct and relates it to a variety of coping processes. The reality negotiation construct follows from the social constructionist tradition and first appeared in discussions of how excuses protect self-images by decreasing the causal linkage to negative outcomes. The reality negotiation construct was later expanded to include a discussion of how the process of hoping may be used to increase perceived linkage to positive outcomes. In the two decades since these constructs were first introduced, four individual differences measures have been developed, and the effects of these reality negotiation techniques have been studied extensively. Reality negotiation techniques can be both maladaptive and adaptive and have been shown to be associated with coping and social support in a variety of populations. The chapter concludes by highlighting a few areas in which reality negotiation research could expand to further its relevance and applicability to the field of positive psychology.


2021 ◽  
pp. 001872672199845
Author(s):  
Guowei Jian

Does empathy merely take place in leaders’ mind? How does it help us better understand and practice leadership? In the past, entitative relational leadership studies have mainly drawn on a mind-based understanding of empathy and focused on the association between individual empathy trait and leader emergence and effectiveness. Such an approach overlooks leadership practice of empathy as a constructive process. By integrating emerging research from diverse disciplines from philosophy to communication, the paper first offers a constructionist view of empathy, based on which empathic leadership practice is conceptualized. The paper explicates how leadership practice of empathy construction is rooted in relational ethics and takes place in both synchronic dyadic interaction through conversation as well as diachronic narrative practice with a collective other. By conceptualizing empathic leadership practice through a social constructionist approach to empathy, the paper makes significant contributions to our understanding of relational leadership.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 2670
Author(s):  
Moira O’Connor ◽  
Greta Smith ◽  
Ashleigh Pantaleo ◽  
Darren Haywood ◽  
Rhys Weaver ◽  
...  

Sarcomas are a group of rare and aggressive cancers, which develop in bones and connective tissue throughout the body. Sarcomas account for only 1–2% of all cancers worldwide; however, mortality rates for sarcoma are high with approximately two in four sarcoma patients dying following a diagnosis. Delays in diagnosis, poor management of symptoms, patients’ high symptom loads and high carer burden are all associated with carer distress, which may lead to complications after bereavement. The experience of having a family member referred for palliative care is also distressing for carers, with the realisation that their family member is dying. This study aimed to explore the experiences of bereaved family carers of people diagnosed with sarcoma. A qualitative descriptive design using a social constructionist framework was adopted. Interviews were conducted with sixteen participants, and thematic analysis was used to identify patterns in the data. Four overarching themes emerged: beginning the journey; moving through treatment; transitioning to palliative care; and experiencing bereavement. The narratives were coherent and potent, and people reflected on their journeys. Interventions and supports for bereaved carers could include opportunities for counselling to support reflections, supports for developing a narrative such as writing therapy, and preparation for the death of the family member.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 5769
Author(s):  
Yi Lian ◽  
Kwok-Kuen Tsang ◽  
Ying Zhang

STEM education is an important approach for preparing students for a competitive workforce with essential skills in the 21st century. However, successfully implementing STEM education in primary and secondary schools presents a variety of challenges. The study suggests that a neglected challenge in the literature is how to sustain teachers’ positive emotions toward STEM educational work, which may cause teachers to be more engaged in, motived by, and committed to STEM education. Therefore, the study aims to contribute to the literature by investigating the mechanism of the construction and suitability of teachers’ emotions toward STEM educational work based on a single case study conducted in Hong Kong from the social constructionist perspective. The major findings of the study indicate that (1) positive emotions toward STEM educational work may be constructed by the teacher’s positive interpretation of the work, i.e., STEM educational work as the facilitator of students’ overall development and that (2) positive emotions toward STEM educational work may be sustained by enabling school institutions to have the elements of shared power, administrative support, and the value of a whole-person education.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 100545
Author(s):  
Flávio Notomi Kanazawa ◽  
Marina Lourenção ◽  
Jorge Henrique Caldeira de Oliveira ◽  
Janaina de Moura Engracia Giraldi

2021 ◽  
pp. 155868982098627
Author(s):  
Diego Romaioli

In order to enhance core mixed methods research designs, social scientists need an approach that incorporates developments in the social constructionist perspective. This work describes a study that aimed to promote occupational well-being in hospital departments where employees are at risk of burnout, based on a constructionist inquiry developed starting from the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Taking this study as an example, we define a “generative sequential mixed methods approach” as a process that involves consulting quantitative studies to identify criticalities on which to conduct focused, transformative investigations. The article contributes by envisaging ways to mix qualitative and quantitative methods that consider a “generative” and “future-forming” orientation to research, in line with recent shifts in social psychology.


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