scholarly journals The Role of Humour in the Social Care Professions: An Exploratory Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 778-796
Author(s):  
Molly Fogarty ◽  
Dely Lazarte Elliot

Abstract Six social care professionals were recruited to take part in in-depth interviews that sought to explore their phenomenological experiences of humour within their place of work. Using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach, the results suggest that humour serves various important functions within social care. Humour can allow social care professionals to relieve themselves of negative emotions, to avoid stress and cynicism, to achieve a sense of normality and perspective and to engage with service users. The positive impact humour appears to have upon these professionals is in keeping with the humour–health hypothesis, which posits that humour enhances well-being. However, results from this study also suggest that humour may be capable of negatively impacting well-being. Arguably, these findings highlight the need to extend the humour–health hypothesis and incorporate the negative effects humour can have upon well-being. Results also indicate that, if used appropriately, humour can be utilised to benefit work performance and service user outcomes. The findings of this research hold important implications for how humour may be understood and fostered in social care training, practice and policy.

Author(s):  
Quan Gao ◽  
Orlando Woods ◽  
Xiaomei Cai

This paper explores how the intersection of masculinity and religion shapes workplace well-being by focusing on Christianity and the social construction of masculinity among factory workers in a city in China. While existing work on public and occupational health has respectively acknowledged masculinity’s influences on health and the religious and spiritual dimensions of well-being, there have been limited efforts to examine how variegated, and especially religious, masculinities influence people’s well-being in the workplace. Drawing on ethnography and in-depth interviews with 52 factory workers and 8 church leaders and factory managers, we found that: (1) Variegated masculinities were integrated into the factory labor regime to produce docile and productive bodies of workers. In particular, the militarized and masculine cultures in China’s factories largely deprived workers of their dignity and undermined their well-being. These toxic masculinities were associated with workers’ depression and suicidal behavior. (2) Christianity not only provided social and spiritual support for vulnerable factory workers, but also enabled them to construct a morally superior Christian manhood that phytologically empowered them and enhanced their resilience to exploitation. This paper highlights not only the gender mechanism of well-being, but also the ways religion mediates the social-psychological construction of masculinity.


2021 ◽  
Vol 02 (01) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nor Shela Saleh ◽  
◽  
Mohd Shafie Rosli ◽  
Riki Rahman ◽  
Thuaibah@Suaibah Abu Bakar ◽  
...  

Economic change is moving the role of women to be holistic and flexible in employment sector engagement. Women are increasingly actively venturing into various fields either as subordinate employees or professional management. The problem arises once there are a handful of working women who fail to balance work and family commitments. In addition, it becomes the trigger of various side effects such as mental health, emotional tension and physiological health problems. Thus, the researcher conducted a systematic review of the literature to look at some of the views of previous researchers related to the issue of family work balance involving women, including in the context of Islamic perspective. Researchers use critical analysis that is to observe the findings of previous researchers. The World Economic Forum shows that Malaysia is ranked 104th in the Global Gender Gap index 2020. The study also found that there are many factors that cause work and family imbalance among working women. Therefore, working women also requisite to ensure that their responsibilities to the family continue to be fulfilled based on the concept of religion. Work and family balance can have a positive impact on women’s well-being and maintain sustainability of work performance as well as commitment to family.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 192
Author(s):  
Susana León-Jiménez

Friendship has been studied along centuries, since ancient times to present-day, as the basis of the social cornerstone, present at all stages of the lifespan and belonging to the world of truthful sentiments. Benefits of friendship on health have been demonstrated. Less is known about the role of friendship on seniors. The aim of this case study has been to show how the end friendship developed in an adults’ school operating for more than 40 years in Barcelona is having a positive impact on the well-being and health of their participants. Through the communicative discussion group, we have deepened in the trajectories of some of the school participants. The results show how participation in the school and the dialogic gatherings have contributed to the emergence of a non-instrumental friendship feeling and to consider an impact on the perceived general wellness and health and an improvement of their life quality. It is discussed how this research provides more elements to the existing literature. More research on how other communitarian environments have similar effects on this population, or on the impact of these dialogical spaces in the development of end friendships in other stages of the life cycle would be of interest.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
GEORGIOS KESISOGLOU

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the ‘neo-homeless’ participants’ lived experiences in the shelters and the streets, within the context and the adversities of the economic crisis in Greece. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 6 participants (4 women and 2 men) at a municipal shelter in Athens, Greece. An Interpretative Phenomenological analysis was used to document their experiences and stories. Research findings revolved around the accounts and the negative effects of neo-homelesness such as detrimental personal consequences, stress, depression, depersonalization , a sense of hopelessness and lack of hope for the future. However, the participants spoke also about positive growth, a deeper apprehension of life’s meanings, and the mobilization of personal and interpersonal resources. ‘Neo-homelessness’ hardship in the shelter was incremental in the experiential conscientization and critical consciousness of the oppression of the social context of crisis and austerity. Implications for the work of counseling psychologists are discussed in terms of working towards empowering persons in homeless trajectories towards resilience in mental health, taking a stance of social justice.


2004 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esteban Sánchez Moreno

Psychological models of mental disorders play an important role in the explanation of psychological deterioration. Researchers from this area usually study several cognitive and behavioral variables to account for the onset and maintenance of depression. However, many authors have detected the need to include a “social dimension” in the explanation of deterioration. In this sense, social support has become a crucial aspect in the study of mental health, and the psychological literature on this topic has generated an intense debate about several facets of the positive impact of social networks on psychological well-being. In this article, the author defends that this increasing centrality of the concept has been accompanied by a psychological reductionism that is making the role of “social aspects” to explain psychological well-being more problematic. Implications of this reductionism are discussed, and an alternative proposal is made to overcome some theoretical and empirical problems related to social support research.


2021 ◽  
pp. 104973232110030
Author(s):  
Lise Dassieu ◽  
Angela Heino ◽  
Élise Develay ◽  
Jean-Luc Kaboré ◽  
M. Gabrielle Pagé ◽  
...  

The objective of this study was to understand the impact of the opioid overdose epidemic on the social lives of people suffering from chronic pain, focusing on interactions within their personal and professional circles. The study was based on 22 in-depth interviews with people living with chronic pain in Canada. Using thematic analysis, we documented three main impacts of the opioid overdose epidemic: (a) increased worries of people in pain and their families regarding the dangers of opioids; (b) prejudices, stigma, and discrimination faced during conversations about opioids; and (c) stigma management attempts, which include self-advocacy and concealment of opioid use. This study represents important knowledge advancement on how people manage stigma and communicate about chronic disease during everyday life interactions. By showing negative effects of the epidemic’s media coverage on the social experiences of people with chronic pain, we underscore needs for destigmatizing approaches in public communication regarding opioids.


Incarceration ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 263266632110217
Author(s):  
Laura McKendy ◽  
Rose Ricciardelli ◽  
Kate Konyk

Prisons and other correctional settings are spaces often marked by numerous sources of physical, psychological, and emotional insecurity. Researchers have consistently found correctional work to be associated with outcomes such as burnout, posttraumatic stress disorder, and depression. Drawing on open-ended survey questions with correctional workers (CWs) in the province of Ontario, we first identify salient themes in discussions of work stressors and potentially psychologically traumatic events (PPTEs); these include situations involving harm to prisoners, harm to staff, and harms associated with occupational and organizational culture. Next, employing the concept of “habitus,” we consider the social-subjective effects of exposure to PPTEs as revealed in respondent accounts. Key aspects include a disposition of hypervigilance, desensitization, disillusionment, and distrust. We suggest that the CW habitus may, in some ways, serve to mitigate threats in the work environment, though may have negative effects on job performance and well-being, and come to shape social experiences in everyday life.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 3879
Author(s):  
Olabisi S. Obaitor ◽  
Taibat O. Lawanson ◽  
Marion Stellmes ◽  
Tobia Lakes

Different slums exhibit different levels of resilience against the threat of eviction. However, little is known about the role of the social capital of the slum community in this context. This study investigates the factors contributing to slum resilience in the Lagos Metropolis, Nigeria, through a social capital lens. This study first investigates land allocation in slums, then the available social capital, and subsequently how this capital influences resilience to the threat of eviction in slums. Data were collected in two slum communities, in Lagos, through in-depth interviews and focus groups discussion. This study shows that land allocation is done by the traditional heads, contrarily to the mandate of the Nigeria Land Use Act of 1978. Furthermore, there is a form of structural social capital through the presence of government registered community development associations in the slums; however, their activities, decision-making process and the perception of the residents’ towards their respective associations, differs. This led to differences in trust, social cohesion and bonding ties among residents of the slum, thereby influencing resilience to the threat of eviction in slums. Since community group associations, through the appointed executives, drive the efficient utilization of social capital in slums, this study therefore recommends their restructuring in order to support a sustainable solution to the threat of eviction in slums in Lagos.


Author(s):  
Julia Wesely ◽  
Adriana Allen ◽  
Lorena Zárate ◽  
María Silvia Emanuelli

Re-thinking dominant epistemological assumptions of the urban in the global South implies recognising the role of grassroots networks in challenging epistemic injustices through the co-production of multiple saberes and haceres for more just and inclusive cities. This paper examines the pedagogies of such networks by focusing on the experiences nurtured within Habitat International Coalition in Latin America (HIC-AL), identified as a ‘School of Grassroots Urbanism’ (Escuela de Urbanismo Popular). Although HIC-AL follows foremost activist rather than educational objectives, members of HIC-AL identify and value their practices as a ‘School’, whose diverse pedagogic logics and epistemological arguments are examined in this paper. The analysis builds upon a series of in-depth interviews, document reviews and participant observation with HIC-AL member organisations and allied grassroots networks. The discussion explores how the values and principles emanating from a long history of popular education and popular urbanism in the region are articulated through situated pedagogies of resistance and transformation, which in turn enable generative learning from and for the social production of habitat.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Atmadeep Mukherjee ◽  
Amaradri Mukherjee ◽  
Pramod Iyer

Purpose Food waste is a big problem where millions of pounds of produce are discarded every year because they are imperfect or unattractive. Despite the societal implications of selling unattractive produce, limited research has been directed toward understanding the effect of imperfect produce on consumers’ evaluations of the produce and retailer outcomes. This paper aims to investigate why consumers tend to discard imperfect produce and how retailer interventions (i.e. anthropomorphized signage and packaging) can alleviate these negative effects. Design/methodology/approach Three experiments were conducted to examine the postulations. Study 1 highlights the role of consumers’ embarrassment in the purchase decision of imperfect produce and retailer patronage intention. Studies 2 and 3 provide managerially relevant boundary conditions of anthropomorphic signage and opaque packaging. Findings Convergent results across three studies (n = 882) indicate that imperfect produce increases purchase embarrassment and reduces purchase intention and retailer patronage intention. Retailer interventions (i.e. anthropomorphic signage and opaque packaging) can allay this feeling of embarrassment and lead to an increased retailer patronage intention and higher service satisfaction. Practical implications This research provides guidance to retailers for effectively promoting imperfect produce. Social implications Retailers’ actions can benefit the well-being of farmers, suppliers, customers and the overall environment. Originality/value This research adds to the literature on unattractive produce by identifying new moderators, namely, anthropomorphic signages and opaque packaging. The research also shows that purchase embarrassment is a key process mechanism.


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