scholarly journals Fostering Cultures of Sustainability in a Multi-Unit Office Building: A Theory of Change

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bianca Christel Dreyer ◽  
Manuel Riemer ◽  
Brittany Spadafore ◽  
Joel Marcus ◽  
Devon Fernandes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Performance ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Theory Of Change ◽  
Office Building ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Organizational Cultures ◽  
Collective Actions ◽  
Multiple Stakeholders ◽  
Systems Perspective ◽  
The Social

Psychological approaches to fostering sustainability are heavily focused on individual behaviors and often insufficiently address the physical and social contexts individuals are embedded in. This limits the ability to create meaningful, long-lasting change, as many of day-to-day behaviors are social practices embedded in broader cultural norms and systems. This is particularly true in the work context, where organizational cultures heavily condition both the actions of individual employees and the collective actions of organizations. Thus, we argue cultures, not behaviors, must become the focus of sustainability change efforts. In this paper, we present a theory of change aimed at fostering strong organizational cultures of sustainability (COS) within a high-performance multi-tenant office building. Our theory takes a systems perspective that incorporates the social and physical aspects of the work environment, and views culture change as a co-creative exercise involving engagement of multiple stakeholders. The paper concludes with implications for practice and research.

A Theory of Family Health: A Neuman’s Systems Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-110
Author(s):  
Rosemary William Eustace
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Delivery ◽  
Family Health ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Noncommunicable Diseases ◽  
Systems Perspective ◽  
Systems Model ◽  
Family Nursing ◽  
The Social ◽  
Multilevel Theory ◽  
Sub Saharan

Understanding the social contexts of health and healthcare delivery from a multilevel thinking perspective offers nurses an opportunity to prioritize research and interventions that address communicable and noncommunicable diseases across the care continuum. The content of this paper explains the development of a multilevel theory of family health for Sub-Saharan families affected by the burden of breast cancer guided by Neuman’s Systems Model. Implications for knowledge development in family nursing practice and research in the region are discussed.

The Social Contexts of Racial Discrimination in Sentencing

1986 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 236-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martha A. Myers ◽  
Susette M. Talarico
Keyword(s):  
Racial Discrimination ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
The Social

Entanglements between Agency and Vulnerability in the Phenomenon of Birth. Reflections on Children’s Expressions about ‘Being Born’

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2-2020) ◽  
pp. 135-146
Author(s):  
Catrin Heite ◽  
Veronika Magyar-Haas
Keyword(s):  
Social Studies ◽  
Social Construction ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Living Environment ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Family ◽  
Cultural Embeddedness

Analogously to the works in the field of new social studies of childhood, this contribution deals with the concept of childhood as a social construction, in which children are considered as social actors in their own living environment, engaged in interpretive reproduction of the social. In this perspective the concept of agency is strongly stressed, and the vulnerability of children is not sufficiently taken into account. But in combining vulnerability and agency lies the possibility to consider the perspective of the subjects in the context of their social, political and cultural embeddedness. In this paper we show that what children say, what is important to them in general and for their well-being, is shaped by the care experiences within the family and by their social contexts. The argumentation for the intertwining of vulnerability and agency is exemplified by the expressions of an interviewed girl about her birth and by reference to philosophical concepts about birth and natality.

A Group Awaiting Death: The Social Systems Perspective on a Naturally Occurring Group Situation

1983 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Starker ◽  
Joan E. Starker
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Systems Theory ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Task Structure ◽  
Systems Perspective ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
The Social ◽  
Group Situation ◽  
Imminent Death

The decline and imminent death of an individual in a hospital's intensive care unit led to the creation of a transient group composed of family and friends. The dynamics of this tragic group are explored using the concepts provided by Social Systems theory. Ambiguity of the task structure and its inherent frustrations, fluidity of leadership and power, and failure of a utopian defense are all discussed as contributors to subsequent dissension and splitting. The social systems perspective provides a useful tool for understanding this naturally occurring group situation.

THE THE INDIGENOUS IDENTITY INTERPRETED AS A CATEGORY OF ANALYSIS IN POPULATION STUDIES

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (Especial) ◽  
pp. 105
Author(s):  
Dante Choque-Caseres
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Indigenous Identity ◽  
Critical Thought ◽  
Northern Border ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Government ◽  
New Research

In Latin America, based on the recognition of Indigenous Peoples, the identification of gaps or disparities between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous population has emerged as a new research interest. To this end, capturing Indigenous identity is key to conducting certain analyses. However, the social contexts where the identity of Indigenous persons are (re)produced has been significantly altered. These changes are generated by the assimilation or integration of Indigenous communities into dominant national cultures. Within this context, limitations emerge in the use of this category, since Indigenous identity has a political and legal component related to the needs of the government. Therefore, critical thought on the use of Indigenous identity is necessary in an epistemological and methodological approach to research. This article argues that research about Indigenous Peoples should evaluate how Indigenous identity is included, for it is socially co-produced through the interaction of the State and its institutions. Thus, it would not necessarily constitute an explicative variable. By analyzing the discourse about Aymara Indigenous communities that has emerged in the northern border of Chile, this paper seeks to expose the logic used to define identity. Therefore, I conclude that the process of self-identification arises in supposed Indigenous people, built and/or reinforced by institutions, which should be reviewed from a decolonizing perspective and included in comparative research.

The Science and Art of Interviewing

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Gerson ◽  
Sarah Damaske
Keyword(s):  
Social Research ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Science And Art ◽  
The Social ◽  
Interview Guide ◽  
Hidden Patterns ◽  
User Friendly ◽  
Depth Interviews

Qualitative interviewing is one of the most widely used methods in social research, but it is arguably the least well understood. To address that gap, this book offers a theoretically rigorous, empirically rich, and user-friendly set of strategies for conceiving and conducting interview-based research. Much more than a how-to manual, the book shows why depth interviewing is an indispensable method for discovering and explaining the social world—shedding light on the hidden patterns and dynamics that take place within institutions, social contexts, relationships, and individual experiences. It offers a step-by-step guide through every stage in the research process, from initially formulating a question to developing arguments and presenting the results. To do this, the book shows how to develop a research question, decide on and find an appropriate sample, construct an interview guide, conduct probing and theoretically focused interviews, and systematically analyze the complex material that depth interviews provide—all in the service of finding and presenting important new empirical discoveries and theoretical insights. The book also lays out the ever-present but rarely discussed challenges that interviewers routinely encounter and then presents grounded, thoughtful ways to respond to them. By addressing the most heated debates about the scientific status of qualitative methods, the book demonstrates how depth interviewing makes unique and essential contributions to the research enterprise. With an emphasis on the integral relationship between carefully crafted research and theory building, the book offers a compelling vision for what the “interviewing imagination” can and should be.

Personality and Social Contexts as Sources of Change and Continuity Across the Life Span

2018 ◽  
pp. 750-776
Author(s):  
Abigail J. Stewart ◽  
Kay Deaux
Keyword(s):  
Social Psychology ◽  
Life Span ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Life Stages ◽  
The People ◽  
The Social ◽  
Movement Participation

This chapter provides a framework designed to address how individual persons respond to changes and continuities in social systems and historical circumstances at different life stages and in different generations. We include a focus on systematic differences among the people who experience these changes in the social environment—differences both in the particular situations they find themselves in and in their personalities. Using examples from research on divorce, immigration, social movement participation, and experiences of catastrophic events, we make a case for an integrated personality and social psychology that extends the analysis across time and works within socially and historically important contexts.

Understanding and translating Confucian philosophy in the Analects: a sociosemiotic perspective

Semiotica ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fan Min
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Descriptive Study ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Original Text ◽  
Intercultural Understanding ◽  
Cultural Assumptions ◽  
The Social ◽  
Confucian Philosophy ◽  
The Analects

Abstract As the representative of Chinese classical works, the Analects represents a source of difficulty in both understanding and interpretation of Confucian philosophy. Confucian philosophy as a philosophy of creativity and otherness is closely related with the social and cultural values in society. Therefore, the study of Confucian philosophy in the Analects cannot be separated from the descriptive study of the effects of any and all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, contexts, language use, and the effects of language use on society. This article attempts to explore how the meaning of Confucian philosophy in the Analects is interpreted and accepted by Western readers through complex social semiotic interactions. The article focuses on the interpretation of Confucian philosophy as a reflection of cultural assumptions, values and prohibitions, and the manipulation of the social semiotic resources in the process of understanding, translation, and acceptance of Confucian philosophy in the Analects through a discussion of its original text, different versions and the reasons behind the social semiotic activities. The article concludes with a consideration of significant social semiotic interactions that influence the translator’s interpretation and reader’s acceptance of Confucian philosophy so as to facilitate intercultural understanding.

scholarly journals Individual behavioural traits not social context affects learning about novel objects in archerfish

2021 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick A. R. Jones ◽  
Helen C. Spence-Jones ◽  
Mike Webster ◽  
Luke Rendell
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Behavioural Phenotype ◽  
Social Species ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Animals ◽  
Novel Objects ◽  
The Individual

Abstract Learning can enable rapid behavioural responses to changing conditions but can depend on the social context and behavioural phenotype of the individual. Learning rates have been linked to consistent individual differences in behavioural traits, especially in situations which require engaging with novelty, but the social environment can also play an important role. The presence of others can modulate the effects of individual behavioural traits and afford access to social information that can reduce the need for ‘risky’ asocial learning. Most studies of social effects on learning are focused on more social species; however, such factors can be important even for less-social animals, including non-grouping or facultatively social species which may still derive benefit from social conditions. Using archerfish, Toxotes chatareus, which exhibit high levels of intra-specific competition and do not show a strong preference for grouping, we explored the effect of social contexts on learning. Individually housed fish were assayed in an ‘open-field’ test and then trained to criterion in a task where fish learnt to shoot a novel cue for a food reward—with a conspecific neighbour visible either during training, outside of training or never (full, partial or no visible presence). Time to learn to shoot the novel cue differed across individuals but not across social context. This suggests that social context does not have a strong effect on learning in this non-obligatory social species; instead, it further highlights the importance that inter-individual variation in behavioural traits can have on learning. Significance statement Some individuals learn faster than others. Many factors can affect an animal’s learning rate—for example, its behavioural phenotype may make it more or less likely to engage with novel objects. The social environment can play a big role too—affecting learning directly and modifying the effects of an individual’s traits. Effects of social context on learning mostly come from highly social species, but recent research has focused on less-social animals. Archerfish display high intra-specific competition, and our study suggests that social context has no strong effect on their learning to shoot novel objects for rewards. Our results may have some relevance for social enrichment and welfare of this increasingly studied species, suggesting there are no negative effects of short- to medium-term isolation of this species—at least with regards to behavioural performance and learning tasks.

scholarly journals Achieving Social and Ecological Outcomes in Collaborative Environmental Governance: Good Examples from Swedish Moose Management

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 2329
Author(s):  
Sabrina Dressel ◽  
Annelie Sjölander-Lindqvist ◽  
Maria Johansson ◽  
Göran Ericsson ◽  
Camilla Sandström
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Collaborative Governance ◽  
Theory Of Change ◽  
Ecological Context ◽  
Discretionary Power ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Resource Governance ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
The Social

Collaborative governance approaches have been suggested as strategies to handle wicked environmental problems. Evaluations have found promising examples of effective natural resource governance, but also highlighted the importance of social-ecological context and institutional design. The aim of this study was to identify factors that contribute to the achievement of social and ecological sustainability within Swedish moose (Alces alces) management. In 2012, a multi-level collaborative governance regime was implemented to decrease conflicts among stakeholders. We carried out semi-structured interviews with six ‘good examples’ (i.e., Moose Management Groups that showed positive social and ecological outcomes). We found that ‘good examples’ collectively identified existing knowledge gaps and management challenges and used their discretionary power to develop procedural arrangements that are adapted to the social-ecological context, their theory of change, and attributes of local actors. This contributed to the creation of bridging social capital and principled engagement across governance levels. Thus, our results indicate the existence of higher-order social learning as well as a positive feedback from within-level collaboration dynamics to between-level collaboration. Furthermore, our study illustrates the importance of institutional flexibility to utilize the existing knowledge across stakeholder groups and to allow for adaptations based on the social learning process.

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