Theoretical and Methodological Perspectives on Domestic Violence: Implications for Social Action

Theoretical and methodological paradigms used by researchers and applied workers to conceptualise domestic violence are examined, with particular emphasis on the implications for social action. It is argued that the gender assumptions underlying the theoretical framework adopted are often implicit, unacknowledged, and that when they assume equal power between men and women may do a disservice to female victims. We maintain that the consequence of discrepant approaches of professionals encountering domestic violence is insufficient dialogue between researchers and applied workers, reducing the potential for effective social remedy. Some resolutions of this dilemma are proposed; specifically, these concern the adoption of feminist paradigms, the importance of making victims more visible, and empowering women to overcome violent oppression.     

Theoretical and Methodological Problems in Cross-Cultural Psychology

Carl Ratner and Lumei Hui, Theoretical and Methodological Problems in Cross-Cultural Psychology, pp. 67–93.
Although cross-cultural psychology has advanced our understanding of cultural aspects of psychology, it is marred by theoretical and methodological flaws. These flaws include misunderstanding cultural issues and the manner in which they bear on psychology; obscuring the relation between biology, culture, and psychology; inadequately defining and measuring cultural factors and psychological phenomena; erroneously analysing data and drawing faulty conclusions about the cultural character of psychology. This article identifies fundamental theoretical and methodological errors that have appeared in prominent cross-cultural psychological research. Suggestions for overcoming them are then outlined.     

The Ethical Implications of Current Theoretical Developments in Social Work

Correspondence to Dr Mel Gray, Department of Social Work, University of Natal, King George V Ave, Durban 4001, South Africa. Summary The paper examines the ethical implications of current theoreticaldevelopments in social work and discusses important ways inwhich efforts at understanding within social work can be guidedby moral values. At the present time, there are a variety oftheories through which the world of social work can be understood.In attempting to achieve as accurate an understanding of socialwork reality as possible, it is suggested that social work needsto move beyond empirical rigidity, technological approachesand ideological dogma to a critical, reflective epistemologicalstance which takes account of the profession's worthwhile ideals.To this end, the paper discusses the notion of the autonomousmoral self and examines the implications of critical and constructivistthinking on this notion of selfhood. It considers what it meansto develop an adequate understanding of social work realityand re-examines the meaning of objectivity. Finally, it highlightsthe need for reflection on, and an appreciation of, the allencompassing nature of morality.     

Understanding Accountability: Theoretical Models and their Implications for Social Service Organizations

This article examines the concept of accountability and its implications for social service organizations. Accountability, it is argued, is a theoretically embedded concept, with each theory producing various conflicting models of accountability. The article seeks to map and structure the various models of accountability, highlighting the differences between the models and their implications for social service organizations. The models chosen are relevant to the Aotearoa/New Zealand context and also to countries in western Europe as they include the systems of political economy present within recent history: social democratic and neo-liberal, and also a coherent alternative, the communitarian model.     

The Presence of Self in the Person: Reflexive Positioning and Personal Constructs Psychology

Tan and Moghaddam's (1995) 'reflexive positioning' expansion of Harré's positioning theory provokes consideration of psychological factors underlying the discursive production of selves. However, it understates the issue, why do people appropriate particular positions, hearable in utterances, as applicable to themselves. Some of the theoretical ambiguities dissipate when positioning is approached from a personal-constructs perspective (Kelly 1995), which draws attention to personal construction of selves, as distinct from social construction, and describes the dynamics of individual continuity, though understating the concrete contextuality of personal becoming. The present essay considers the compatibility of the personal constructs approach with Harré's positioning theory.     

Strengthening the Professional Selves of Social Workers Through the Lens of Self Psychology

New social workers have been shown to experience higher rates of burnout, vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, and vocational turnover. It is critical to find ways to support the growth and development of competent and resilient social workers. Yet, due to current contextual issues in the workplace, social workers are often not in environments that are conducive to fostering the growth of strong professional selves. A self psychology lens is used to assess and form the basis for recommendations for agencies/organizations and individuals to strengthen the professional selves of individual social workers and, in turn, the profession itself.     

理论的贫乏与方法的翻新:关于后现代主义的再思考

严格地讲 ,后现代主义根本不能算作一种理论 ,它只是对其他各种文化理论提出的一个特殊问题 :当代西方社会在文化或政治经济方面是否已经经历了一场意义深远的转变 ,从而标志着现代性的终结和“后现代”的开始。从这个意义上讲 ,后现代主义是对整个当代文化理论的重新质疑。     

Chinese Relationalism: Theoretical Construction and Methodological Considerations

The goal of this article is attempting to establish a research tradition of Chinese relationalism on the methodological grounds of constructive realism. Two of Ho's (1993, 1998a) key concepts, person-in-relations and persons-in-relation, are carefully examined and reinterpreted. Three of my theoretical models, namely, my Face and Favor model (Hwang, 1987), Confucian ethics for ordinary people (Hwang, 1995), and a conflict resolution model (Hwang, 1997-8), are conceived of as microworlds for illustrating an account of person-in relations in Chinese culture. The manifestation of Confucian ethics for ordinary people in one's lifeworld results in the phenomenology of persons-in-relations as depicted by Fei's (1948) differential order or Hsu's (1971a) psychosociogram. Applying constructive realism to my models and using the result as a framework for studying Chinese social behavior constitutes Chinese relationalism.     

社会表征理论述评——一种旨在整合心理与社会的理论视角

本文梳理了社会表征理论的历史脉络及其内涵,评述了其理论创新之处及其相关研究,认为社会表征理论作为一种重返人文主义话语形态的新生理论,对美国社会心理学话语霸权具有不可低估的解构作用,但有待于进一步精致化。     

Intergenerational Relations with In-Laws in the Context of the Social Convoy: Theoretical and Practical Implications

Intergenerational relations among in-laws are involuntary ties emerging as a consequence of marriage. As such, these relations provide a window through which the dynamics involved in restructuring social networks following life transitions may be observed. A questionnaire, based on the social convoy model, was given to an ethnically diverse sample of adults with living in-laws (N = 170), married 2–15 years. About half of the respondents included in-laws in a concentric circle network diagram of persons close and important to them. The strongest unique predictors of convoy placement for the mother-in-law were support, frequency of contact, relationship quality, and length of marriage, and for the father-in-law were support, relationship quality, and value similarity. This study sheds light on the dynamics of an intergenerational relationship that has been largely ignored in the literature, laying the groundwork for conceptualizing ways to foster positive in-law relationships as a necessary tool in managing the care of the growing numbers of elderly in the new millennium.     

The Social Psychology of Physical Disability: 1948 and 1988

The editor of JSI's 1948 special issue on the social psychology of physical disability recalls some of the circumstances associated with its creation. He epitomizes the Zeitgeist in this field in 1948 and 1988, speculates on the influence of the JSI issue in the changes that occurred over those 40 years, and discusses several variables that may influence further developments by the year 2000.