Theories as modern myths: Giving up the pursuit of good theory to focus on good theorizing

Mills discusses the notion of myth and links it to a discussion of theory. While he does not consider myth and theory to be synonymous, I attempt to close the gap between these two notions even further. This argument is accomplished by discussing theorists that have theorized about theory and aligning their claims with Mills’ claims about myth. I propose that Mills cannot rely on coherence to substantiate good myth/theory and, instead, suggest the consideration of what constitutes good quality theorizing. Good theorizing involves deep understanding of different theories/myths and comparing them to generate innovation.     

Recognizing Structural Nonidentifiability: When Experiments Do Not Provide Information About Important Parameters and Misleading Models Can Still Have Great Fit

In the quest to model various phenomena, the foundational importance of parameter identifiability to sound statistical modeling may be less well appreciated than goodness of fit. Identifiability concerns the quality of objective information in data to facilitate estimation of a parameter, while nonidentifiability means there are parameters in a model about which the data provide little or no information. In purely empirical models where parsimonious good fit is the chief concern, nonidentifiability (or parameter redundancy) implies overparameterization of the model. In contrast, nonidentifiability implies underinformativeness of available data in mechanistically derived models where parameters are interpreted as having strong practical meaning. This study explores illustrative examples of structural nonidentifiability and its implications using mechanistically derived models (for repeated presence/absence analyses and dose–response of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and norovirus) drawn from quantitative microbial risk assessment. Following algebraic proof of nonidentifiability in these examples, profile likelihood analysis and Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo with uniform priors are illustrated as tools to help detect model parameters that are not strongly identifiable. It is shown that identifiability should be considered during experimental design and ethics approval to ensure generated data can yield strong objective information about all mechanistic parameters of interest. When Bayesian methods are applied to a nonidentifiable model, the subjective prior effectively fabricates information about any parameters about which the data carry no objective information. Finally, structural nonidentifiability can lead to spurious models that fit data well but can yield severely flawed inferences and predictions when they are interpreted or used inappropriately.     

我国幼儿教师职业道德研究回顾与前瞻——基于2009至2018年CNKI学术期刊论文的分析

采用文献计量学研究方法和主题内容分析法，回顾了2009至2018年我国幼儿教师职业道德研究的概貌，发现该领域文献研究的热点方向依次为：幼师师德失范与因应对策、幼师专业学生职业道德培养、幼师师德的规范建构与评价等。为进一步推动我国幼儿教师职业道德研究，关切该问题的学者可以形成研究共同体，从均衡研究维度着手，不断拓展研究视野的广度，并通过开展后续研究推进成果转化。     

威廉·坦普尔的园林理论初探——以《论伊壁鸠鲁的园林,或论园艺》为分析对象

威廉·坦普尔爵士园林思想的研究,一直是学术界研究的薄弱之处。实际上,坦普尔在《论伊壁鸠鲁的园林,或论园艺》中系统地探讨了园林的起源、伦理意义和审美形态等问题。他从病原学的角度出发,把园林作为治疗人们过剩欲望的理想之地。他虽然赞同伊壁鸠鲁主义的退隐思想,却从政治德性、顺从自然、自由选择3个方面阐述了园林的退隐伦理。在园林之美上,他认为美在于形式,但是这种形式既包括欧洲的规则式之美,也包括中国的不规则之美。坦普尔的园林理论对我国当下的疗养院园林、私家园林的建设等有一定的指导意义。     

“游戏成瘾”与健康性应对——兼论健康传播在游戏中的适应性

《国际疾病分类》正式将"游戏成瘾"收录其中，在强调成瘾危害的同时，也认可其作为社会问题医学化的某种待研究领域。实际上，"游戏成瘾"已经构成了现代意义上的"疾病"认知，在与健康传播的缠绕之中既形成了独特的研究范式，也面临着自身困境。立足于此，应从游戏量级、游戏内容、游戏情境及游戏关联等方面进行相关的健康应对，并在健康支出、文本、体验及情感等传播变量中予以规制及改善。同时，以游戏"情商加油站"为个案，探讨健康传播作为一种研究视角，在游戏适应中的严肃化转向及可行性。     

Maboo wirriya,be healthy: Community-directed development of an evidence-based diabetes prevention program for young Aboriginal people in a remote Australian town

Supporting healthy lifestyle behaviours is a key aspect of preventing type 2 diabetes which disproportionately affects disadvantaged groups from a younger age. Formative participatory research was undertaken to design a program for young Aboriginal people in a remote town in North West Australia with a high level of health needs and relatively few prevention initiatives. Focus groups and advisory discussions with Aboriginal community members were used to determine the nature of the program. The need for a comprehensive program was consistently expressed and limited healthy lifestyle knowledge and difficulties with healthy eating influenced by food environments were noted to be important. With guidance from the Derby Aboriginal Health Service, findings were integrated with previous international research evidence to develop a program tailored to local Aboriginal people aged 15–25 years and refine it after piloting. This 8-session program, ‘Maboo wirriya, be healthy’ involved an education component consistent with the US Diabetes Prevention Program and practical activities including group exercise. Changes to program structure and documentation were made after piloting for future use. The community-directed approach used in this study is vital to ensure relevance of localised chronic disease prevention programs in a range of settings.     

‘It simplifies research!’: impact of a song lyrics exercise among MSW students

ABSTRACT

The use of pop culture sources in social work education enhances the learning of MSW students in the human behavior, policy and diversity courses. Pop culture sources can enhance learning because of the potential for a quicker recall of content, revealing hidden talents and sophisticated understanding of the concepts, and making the assignments more enjoyable for students. However, the impact of utilizing pop culture sources among MSW students in research courses remains unknown. It is imperative that contemporary teaching modalities be implemented in research courses because MSW students have mixed feelings about taking research classes and conducting research of their own. The purpose of this article is to report findings of the implementation of a pop culture source-analyzing song lyrics-in an introductory MSW research class at one university in the USA. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from (N = 17) MSW students. Findings lend support to utilizing the song lyrics exercise, as students reported enhanced self-efficacy and knowledge of the research process. Future research should assess the impact of this activity with larger samples.     

The problem of intersectionality as an approach to digital activism: the Women’s March on Washington’s attempt to unite all women

ABSTRACT

This study examined the convergence of activism and intersectionality to understand how communicators create messages about social justice issues using social media. This is particularly relevant for public relations today, as digital activism almost ubiquitously involves bringing together conflicting publics who are active and social media-savvy, meanwhile maintaining an organizational brand/mission. Using the 2017 Women’s March on Washington (WMW) as an object of study, we explored how campaign messages reflected principles of intersectionality, consensus- and dissensus-based communication, and organizational self-reflection. We conducted a thematic analysis of posts from the WMW’s social media accounts as well as media quotes by the organizational leaders to get at the leaders’ intentions in their message design. Data suggested that messages of inclusivity as well as of necessary discord were employed to enact political change for WMW’s publics. We argue that although the WMW was not wholly intersectional, particularly in determining its political agenda, the efforts toward intersectionality are notable for theory-building and reflective practice, particularly for social mediated campaigns. The study proposes a theory for digital intersectional communication to guide future research and advocacy work.     

Taking the longer view: Explaining Multicultural London English and Multicultural Paris French

The article explores the perplexing outcomes of comparative research projects in London and Paris on language change in multilingual areas of the cities populated by large numbers of recent immigrants with very diverse language backgrounds. In London, as in many other northern European cities, language contact on such a large scale has resulted in the emergence of a “multiethnolect”: a repertoire of innovative linguistic forms used by young people of all ethnicities, including monolingual non‐immigrant speakers. In Paris, however, there was no such repertoire. I propose four factors that are necessary for a multiethnolect to emerge and that explain why similar processes of population movement, immigration, and globalization have produced such different linguistic outcomes in London and Paris. These factors remind us that language evolution, like language use, is constrained not only by the social characteristics of individuals but also by the socio‐cultural historical contexts in which individuals live.