Chapter 2. The Social Worlds of Forensic Science

2021 ◽  
pp. 57-72
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine V Talbot ◽  
Pam Briggs

Abstract People with dementia can experience shrinkage of their social worlds, leading to a loss of independence, control and reduced well-being. We used ‘the shrinking world’ theory to examine how the COVID 19 pandemic has impacted the lives of people with early to middle stage dementia and what longer-term impacts may result. Interviews were conducted with 19 people with dementia and a thematic analysis generated five themes: the forgotten person with dementia, confusion over government guidance, deterioration of cognitive function, loss of meaning and social isolation, safety of the lockdown bubble. The findings suggest that the pandemic has accelerated the ‘shrinking world’ effect and created tension in how people with dementia perceive the outside world. Participants felt safe and secure in lockdown but also missed the social interaction, cognitive stimulation and meaningful activities that took place outdoors. As time in lockdown continued, these individuals experienced a loss of confidence and were anxious about their ability to re-engage in the everyday practises that allow them to participate in society. We recommend ways in which the government, communities and organisations might counteract some of the harms posed by this shrinking world.


2015 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 687-705 ◽  
Author(s):  
RACHAEL DOBSON

AbstractThis article argues that constructions of social phenomena in social policy and welfare scholarship think about the subjects and objects of welfare practice in essentialising ways, with negativistic effects for practitioners working in ‘regulatory’ contexts such as housing and homelessness practice. It builds into debates about power, agency, social policy and welfare by bringing psychosocial and feminist theorisations of relationality to practice research. It claims that relational approaches provide a starting point for the analysis of empirical practice data, by working through the relationship between the individual and the social via an ontological unpicking and revisioning of practitioners' social worlds.


1995 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 194-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Birgit Leyendecker ◽  
Michael E. Lamb ◽  
Axel Scholmerich ◽  
Maria P. Fracasso

2005 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Lodge

This article examines the role played by the social worlds of primary school children in producing and reproducing a range of masculine identities. It describes the relatively gender-segregated nature of the culture of middle-childhood, arguing that the specific institutional context reinforces this segregation. The article outlines the range of masculinities documented in the primary school playground and examines the ways in which both the school institution and the peer-group define and police the boundaries of masculinity. The school negatively labels dominant, assertive males through certain institutional practices and attitudes. Certain boys with more androgynous styles are of higher status with peers in this context. The impact of other identities on the relative status of boys is examined. It is shown how those boys who are differently abled are of lower status. Peers perceive them as less socially mature. Their relative invisibility and stigmatisation is partly a consequence of institutional practices.


Author(s):  
Scott N. Brooks

Conducting ethnographic fieldwork in varied spaces, with different actors, enriches our understanding. A researcher may find paradoxes in practices and ideas and ask for clarification, or recognize that social dynamics and behavior are peculiar to group members present in a specific setting. This article highlights the usefulness of intentional variability and flexibility in the field. Researchers should plan to do multi-site analysis (MSA) to look for negative cases and opportunities to challenge commonsense notions. Additionally, this article emphasizes that the relationships built during fieldwork shape the data that are captured. Therefore, researchers need to consider the bases for their relationships, including what the subjects get out of them, and how subjects’ positionality affects what comes to be known. This perspective de-emphasizes false norms of objectivity and renders a more complete account of the social worlds we study.


2016 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracy Ireland ◽  
Jane Lydon

This introductory article  considers and questions exactly how materials and people constitute social worlds and relationships which sustain identity and memory and, in turn, the social and political structures or norms that these attachments invest in, stabilise and maintain.


2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karin Hedström ◽  
Fredrik Karlsson ◽  
Fredrik Söderström

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the challenges that arise when introducing an electronic identification (eID) card for professional use in a health-care setting. Design/methodology/approach This is a case study of an eID implementation project in healthcare. Data were collected through interviews with key actors in a project team and with eID end users. The authors viewed the eID card as a boundary object intersecting social worlds. For this analysis, the authors combined this with an electronic government initiative challenge framework. Findings The findings of this paper illustrate the interpretative flexibility of eID cards and how eID cards as boundary objects intersect social worlds. The main challenges of implementing and using eID cards in healthcare are usability, user behaviour and privacy. However, the way in which these challenges are interpreted varies between different social worlds. Practical implications One of the implications for future practice is to increase our understanding of the eID card as a socio-technical artefact, where the social and technical is intertwined, at the same time as the eID card affects the social as well as the technical. By using a socio-technical perspective, it is possible to minimise the potential problems related to the implementation and use of eID. Originality/value Previous research has highlighted the need for more empirical research on identity management. The authors contextualise and analyse the implementation and use of eID cards within healthcare. By viewing the eID card as a boundary object, the authors have unveiled its interpretative flexibility and how it is translated across different social worlds.


2009 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
LEIGH TURNER

Polemicists and disciplinary puritans commonly make a sharp distinction between the normative, “prescriptive,” philosophical work of bioethicists and the empirical, “descriptive” work of anthropologists and sociologists studying medicine, healthcare, and illness. Though few contemporary medical anthropologists and sociologists of health and illness subscribe to positivism, the legacy of positivist thought persists in some areas of the social sciences. It is still quite common for social scientists to insist that their work does not contain explicit normative analysis, offers no practical recommendations for social reform or policy making, and simply interprets social worlds.


2021 ◽  
pp. 154134462110451
Author(s):  
Beth Fisher-Yoshida ◽  
Joan C. Lopez

Narratives, both personal and social, guide how we live and how we are acculturated into our social worlds. As we make changes in our lives, our personal stories change and, in turn, have the potential to influence the social narratives of which we are a part. Likewise, when there are changes in the culture and social worlds around us, that social narrative changes, thereby affecting our personal narratives. In other words, personal and social narratives are strongly linked and mutually influence each other. We may feel and know these transformations take place and understand the ways in which our lives are affected. However, we often struggle to document these shifts. This article suggests using the practical theory, Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM) (Pearce, 2007), for narrative analysis to identify and surface personal and social narrative transformations.


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