A Noisy Road or Noisy Resident?: A Demonstration of the Utility of Social Constructionism for Analysing Environmental Problems

1998 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 536-563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Burningham
Keyword(s):  
Social Constructionism ◽  
Environmental Problem ◽  
Environmental Sociology ◽  
Environmental Problems ◽  
Social Constructionist ◽  
Environmental Disputes ◽  
Socially Constructed

Within the developing field of environmental sociology the use of social constructionist approaches has often been criticised for detracting attention from the severity of environmental problems and for failing to contribute to attempts to manage them. While there are is a number of published social constructionist analyses of how various environmental problems have come to prominence, few of these address the criticisms which have been levelled at the approach. This paper attempts to contribute to this gap in the literature by providing a reflective case study of the use of social constructionism to analyse a specific environmental problem – the noise generated by a new road. The case study discussed is of the A27 road between Havant and Chichester. The results illustrate that treating environmental problems as socially constructed is often the most valid approach given that the existence and character of these problems, as well as how best to address them, are often contested. In addition it is suggested that the results of social constructionist analyses can make a practical contribution to the management of environmental disputes.

scholarly journals Ethical realism before social constructionism

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 220-236
Author(s):  
Tore Dag Bøe
Keyword(s):  
Social Constructionism ◽  
Emmanuel Levinas ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Social Constructionist ◽  
The Other ◽  
Ethical Aspect ◽  
Ethical Aspects ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
Ethical Realism ◽  
Ways Of Being

In this article, I explore the idea that there is a fundamental ethical aspect that precedes social constructionism. I suggest that within social constructionism we can identify a development from seeing knowledge as socially constructed ( epistemological social constructionism) to seeing not only knowledge, but also corporeal ways of being as socially constructed ( ontological social constructionism). As a next step, I propose incorporating what I refer to as ethical realism in social constructionist perspectives. In the encounter with the other human being, I argue that there is a real ethical impulse that precedes social constructionism and puts it in motion. This impulse is real in the sense that it is neither constructed within, nor is it dependent upon, any particular social–cultural–historical context. In this paper I consider the ethical aspects of human encounters that allow for a constructionist epistemology and ontology to emerge in the first place. I make use of ideas from Emmanuel Levinas and Jacques Rancière and consider how these thinkers are used in the work of Gert Biesta. The ideas are discussed in relation to findings from a previous study by the author and his colleagues exploring the experiences of adolescents taking part in mental health services.

The Status of Environmental Problems among Social Problems - Case Study of Tianjin

2013 ◽  
Vol 869-870 ◽  
pp. 57-60
Author(s):  
Ying Chao Lin ◽  
Hong Yuan Li
Keyword(s):  
Social Problems ◽  
Environmental Problem ◽  
Environmental Problems ◽  
The People ◽  
The Status

The paper designed questionnaires to examine status of environmental problems among social problemsHow does the people place the environmental problem in their mind could be an important factor in surveying the ponderance of the local environmental problem. The environmental problem was placed in a relatively higher rate by be chosen at the first rank.and has become a key problem in concern by groups of answerers.

scholarly journals HIV/AIDS, narrative practical theology, and postfoundationalism: The emergence of a new story

2004 ◽  
Vol 60 (1/2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian Müller
Keyword(s):  
Social Constructionism ◽  
Practical Theology ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Social Constructionist ◽  
Narrative Approach ◽  
Holistic Understanding ◽  
Philosophical Framework ◽  
Practical Theological ◽  
Hiv Aids

The practical theology that emerges from this article is one that develops out of a very specific context – in this case, HIV/AIDS. The philosophical framework is found in an integration of two paradigms, namely social-constructionism and postfoundation-alism. The article concludes with a research case study from the HIV/AIDS context. Practical theological research is not only about description and interpretation of experiences, but it is also about deconstruction and emancipation. The bold move should be made to allow all the different stories of the research to develop into a new story of understanding that transcends the local community. According to the narrative approach, this will not happen on the basis of structured and rigid methods, through which stories are analysed and interpreted. It rather happens on the basis of a holistic understanding and as a social-constructionist process to which all the co-researchers are invited and in which they are engaged in the creation of new meaning.

Being faithful: Bakhtin and a potential postmodern psychology of self

2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 473-490 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Cresswell
Keyword(s):  
Social Constructionism ◽  
Mikhail Bakhtin ◽  
Social Constructionist ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
Way Of Thinking ◽  
Embodied Self ◽  
Individual Self ◽  
Core Self

Postmodern critique has found its way into the psychology of self largely by way of Gergen’s form of social constructionism. This view treats self as socially constructed and changeable, such that a notion like faithfulness to oneself, which is generally thought to belong in the domain of a true core self, is rendered futile. However, Mikhail Bakhtin offers a view of embodied and lived self that expands social constructionist work. It offers a way to think about faithfulness to oneself while not undermining the importance of sociality. This approach enables us to account for the experiential compellingness – which is currently missing in constructionist theorizing – that is bound up with self. The paper first discusses dialogue to show how Bakhtin inspires an understanding of how community shapes the embodied self in a way that calls for a return to the notion of faithfulness to oneself. Then the notion of authorship is addressed in order to show how he could inspire a way of thinking about self-creation (authoring individual self) and the concomitant struggle experienced in being faithful to one’s self.

Race on Both Sides of the Razor

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Terence D. Keel
Keyword(s):  
Social Constructionism ◽  
Political Correctness ◽  
Genetic Basis ◽  
Genetic Research ◽  
Scientific Progress ◽  
Social Constructionist ◽  
Behavioral Differences ◽  
Social Activists ◽  
Continued Use ◽  
Biological Differences

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.

Retail Suburbanization, Modernization, and Growth in Sydney during Australia’s Postwar Boom

2021 ◽  
pp. 009614422110236
Author(s):  
Matthew Bailey
Keyword(s):  
Capital City ◽  
Growth Strategies ◽  
Capital Cities ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
Urban Core ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
And Function ◽  
Retail Formats ◽  
Car Driving

This article uses Sydney as a case study to examine the process of retail decentralization during Australia’s postwar boom, showing how the form and function of capital city retailing changed completely in just a couple of decades. Suburban migration, the emergence of mobile car-driving consumers, socially constructed gender roles, the ongoing importance of public transport networks, planning regimes that sought to concentrate development in designated zones, and business growth strategies that deployed retail formats developed in America all played a role in shaping the form and function of Australian retailing during the postwar boom. In the process, the retail geographies of Australia’s capital cities were transformed from highly centralized distribution structures dominated by the urban core, to decentralized landscapes of retail clusters featuring modern retail forms like the supermarket and shopping center that would come to define Australian retailing for the remainder of the century.

scholarly journals Exploring criminal justice policy transfer models and mobilities using a case study of violence reduction

2021 ◽  
pp. 174889582199160
Author(s):  
William Graham ◽  
Annette Robertson
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Policy Transfer ◽  
Social Constructionist ◽  
Criminal Justice Policy ◽  
Gang Violence ◽  
Single Model ◽  
Violence Reduction ◽  
Transfer Models

Although there is growing interest in criminal justice policy transfer, a dearth of empirical research in this area has been acknowledged. This article addresses this gap by presenting the results of research conducted on a case of policy transfer of a criminal justice programme, focused on group/gang violence reduction, from America to Scotland. Policy transfer models were used to develop, frame and conduct the analysis of what was considered a ‘successful’ programme transfer; however, it was found that no single model could fully account conceptually for a key finding of the research, namely a policy transfer ‘backflow’. This article details the key processes, mechanisms and outcomes of the policy transfer and in doing so reflects on the usefulness of orthodox and non-orthodox/social-constructionist policy transfer approaches in understanding the outcomes of this case of criminal justice programme transfer.

Early career development in the public sector: Lessons from a social constructionist perspective

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 43-51
Author(s):  
Todd Bridgman ◽  
Annie De’ath
Keyword(s):  
Social Constructionism ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Social Constructionist ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
State Sector ◽  
Recent Graduates ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
Collective Construction

This article explores the contribution a social constructionist paradigm can make to the study of career, through a small-scale empirical study of recent graduates employed in New Zealand’s state sector. A social constructionist lens denies the possibility of an individualised, generalised understanding of ‘career’, highlighting instead its local, contingent character as the product of social interaction. Our respondents’ collective construction of career was heavily shaped by a range of context-specific interactions and influences, such as the perception of a distinctive national identity, as well as by their young age and state sector location. It was also shaped by the research process, with us as researchers implicated in these meaning-making processes. Social constructionism shines a light on aspects of the field that are underplayed by mainstream, scientific approaches to the study of career, and therefore has valuable implications for practitioners, as well as scholars.

Counselling Support for People with Intellectual Disabilities: The Use of Narrative Therapy

2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Wark
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
Narrative Therapy ◽  
Goal Attainment ◽  
Social Constructionist ◽  
Grief And Loss ◽  
Descriptive Case Study ◽  
Severe Intellectual Disability ◽  
People With Intellectual Disabilities

This article uses a descriptive case study design to examine the potential of narrative therapy as a direct intervention for adults with moderate-to-severe intellectual disabilities, autism and/or severe communication limitations. Archival clinical data on four individuals who received a form of social constructionist narrative therapy are examined for goal attainment. The data were analysed qualitatively with specific input from individuals, their families and carers. Findings indicate improvements in quality of life through reductions in situational and environmental anxieties, and in coping with grief and loss. The results suggest that narrative therapy techniques can be beneficial in assisting individuals with severe intellectual disability to achieve meaningful and persistent improvements in their life.

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