When Technologies are Not Enough: The Challenges of Digital Interventions to Address Loneliness in Later Life

This article discusses sociotechnical challenges of technology-based interventions to address loneliness in later life. We bring together participatory and multidisciplinary research conducted in Canada and Australia to explore the limits of digital technologies to help tackle loneliness among frail older people (aged 65+). Drawing on three case studies, we focus on instances when technology-based interventions, such as communication apps, were limiting or failed, seeming to enhance rather than lessen loneliness. We also unpack instances where the technologies being considered did not match participants’ social needs and expectations, preventing adoption, use, and the intended outcomes. To better grasp the negative unintended consequences of these technological interventions, we combine a relational sociological approach to loneliness with the Strong Structuration Theory developed by sociologist Rob Stones. This combined lens highlights the connection between sociotechnical factors and their agentic and structural contexts, facilitating a rich understanding of why and when technologies fail and limit.

Understanding political accountability in a strong structuration framework

PurposeResearch was conducted to investigate whether, and how, political accountability might stabilise when agents are faced with profound changes in external structures such as competition laws and austerity policies.Design/methodology/approachWe performed a field study from 2007 to 2015 in a regional hub in Finland and worked with data from document analysis, interviews and meeting observations. We have used embedded research design, where we apply methodological bracketing as well as composite sequence analysis for field research.FindingsAccountability declined when irresistible external structures were the dominant influence on the unreflective actions of agents-in-focus. With time, however, the agents started acting critically by drawing on structures that could facilitate strategic actions to stabilise political accountability.Research limitations/implicationsThe field research and interpretation of the data were limited to the organisation analysed; however, the theoretical arguments allow for analytical generalisations.Practical implicationsThe research demonstrates how public officials and political decision-makers can eventually adopt a strategic approach when faced with irresistible change in external structures.Social implicationsThe research demonstrates how public officials and political decision-makers can eventually adopt a strategic approach when faced with irresistible changes in external structures.Originality/valueThe study locates political accountability in the context of strong structuration theory and discusses how it is redefined by external structures.

Strengthening friendship and pursuing artist dreams by informal musical practices: Musical agency in a cross-cultural context

This article builds upon an ethnographic study of how young people growing up in cross-cultural contexts perform their musical agency (Strøm, 2016). The twofold focus of the article concerns the ways in which the pop duo GunnInga perform their collective musical agency as well as how they strengthen their friendship and fulfill their artist dreams through informal musical practices. The theoretical framework of the article builds upon Stones’s (2005) strong structuration theory. The analysis is structured using Karlsen’s (2011) musical agency lens as a point of departure. In line with Liamputtong’s (2010) request to cross-cultural researchers, the analysis also applies a poem as an analytical tool. The term cross-cultural is applied to situate the pop duo in a context characterized by diversity in terms of both nationalities and options when it comes to activities, concerts, projects, workshops and so on, offered by both municipal and private cultural agents attempting to respond to this reality.

Understanding the multiple health system and contextual barriers to hypertension control: Towards a new framework and its application to the Philippines

Reducing the burden of CVD is critically important, especially among poor individuals in in LMICs, where the treatment gap is widest. In order to address this inequity, evidence is needed on the experiences of economically marginalised individuals in LMICs diagnosed with CVDs. At present, there is little focus on the experiences of such individuals as they make sequential decisions regarding their care over time. Moreover, the evidence base is hampered by the lack of a clear framework encapsulating both individual agency and societal structures in conceptualising this chronology of behaviour. We aim to address this gap by capturing patient pathways of individuals diagnosed with hypertension in Malaysia and the Philippines drawing on a framework informed by strong structuration theory (SST). This lens allows examination of the social, economic and environmental forces that influence accessibility and quality of health services available to low-income residents in LMICs.

Systematic review of frameworks used to conceptualise health pathways of individuals diagnosed with cardiovascular diseases

The treatment of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is managed inadequately globally. Theoretically informed frameworks have the potential to account for the multiple elements which constitute the CVD patient pathway, and capture their inter-relationships and processes of change. However, a review and critique of such frameworks is currently lacking. This systematic review aims to identify and critically assess frameworks of access to and utilisation of care which capture the pathways of patients diagnosed with one or more CVDs. The specific objectives are to (1) review how existing frameworks have been used and adapted to capture CVD patient pathways and (2) draw on elements of Strong Structuration Theory to critically appraise them, in terms of their ability to capture the dynamics of the patient journey and the factors that influence it. Five bibliographic databases were searched in January 2019. We included qualitative and quantitative studies containing frameworks used to capture the patient pathway of individuals with CVD, encompassing symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and long-term management. Data on patient behaviour and structural factors were interpreted according to elements of Strong Structuration Theory to assess frameworks on their ability to capture a holistic patient journey. The search yielded 15 articles. The majority were quantitative and all focused on management of CVDs, primarily hypertension. Commonly used frameworks included the common-sense self-regulation model, transtheoretical model and theory of planned behaviour. A critique drawing on elements of Strong Structuration Theory revealed these frameworks narrowly focused on patient attributes (patient beliefs/attitudes) and resulting patient action, but neglected external structures that interacted with these to produce particular outcomes, which results in an individualistic and linear view of the patient pathway. We suggest that a framework informed by Strong Structuration Theory is sufficiently flexible to examine the patient pathway, while avoiding a strict linear view facilitated by other frameworks.

Strategic investment decision-making: A theoretical perspective

There is a stream of research that has introduced strategic investment decision-making (SIDM) through case studies and organisation-based fieldwork. However, a systematic theorisation around SIDM processes and practices still under-presented in the literature. This research aims to show how strong structuration theory (SST) could be used as an appropriate theoretical lens to explore how SIDM studies are theorised and conducted. Through employing the parameters and the concepts of SST within the SIDM context, we found that SID is a judgemental decision that is constructed by various influences. SIDs are not isolated from the social, political, and economic aspects. Subjective judgements and the decision-makers’ intuition are crucial throughout the process of SIDM. Therefore, SIDs cannot be abstracted as an objective decision-based on applying investment appraisal technical methods. The theoretical lens presented in this paper will enable researchers to drill down into the ‘ontic’ level to empirically explore in-depth the complex interrelationships between various agents and structures which, arguably, fits the SID context. Furthermore, this paper will help scholars understand how SID is made from SST perspective and guide them to conduct future research to build on and also help executives to be guided by

Understanding Jordanian corporate reporting regulation change using strong structuration theory

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the change of the Jordanian corporate reporting requirements in 1998. The reasons as to why International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) were adopted in Jordan are outlined on the basis of strong structuration theory’s (SST) quadripartite structure. Design/methodology/approach This study is interpretive, as perceptions of the study’s participants are analysed regarding the adoption of IFRS in emerging economies. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken to collect Jordanian experts’ perceptions. The study uses elements of Stones’ strong structuration to illustrate and analyse the current study’s data. Findings The analysis illustrated that various elements pushed for the adoption of IFRS in Jordan – external structures that cause adoption of IFRS are the Gulf War and the immediate impact this had on Jordan. The internal structures seek to adopt new regulation in order to protect and support the Jordanian economy, which is part of agents-in-focus’ dispositions, and gain foreign direct investment. Agents-in-focus found that some corporations comprehended the needs of external investors, thus, sought to provide such information voluntarily. Research limitations/implications A limitation of this paper is the number of participants, which for future studies needs to be considered. Practical implications Reasons as to why new regulation is adopted are illustrated, which can support other countries seeking to do adopt new corporate reporting rules. Originality/value This study contributes to the sparse body of studies using SST in financial accounting. It is also one of the few studies investigating the change of regulation and the reasons for this adoption in the Middle Eastern and Jordanian context, in an interpretive study.