Teaching Sociological Practice: Starting with Something Special

A scholar-practitioner might want to decide what concept, value, or framework in sociological practice is particularly important for students to know at the very beginning of a course. This special emphasis approach is detailed using four examples: cultural competence in a course on mediation skills; humanism in courses or presentations on social theory, ethics, social planning, or intervention; participatory action research in a social science research course; and empowerment in intervention, community, social planning, or social policy courses. Clinical and applied sociologists are invited to consider an up front and personal approach in at least some of their courses and to choose and explicitly emphasize, in their own special way, an important value, concept, or perspective at the beginning of a course.     

Empowering Homeless Youth: Building Capacity through the Development of Mobile Technology

Information-communication technologies, like computers and cell phones, are popular among young people. This article details a youth-centered participatory action study in which 12 homeless youth designed and developed a mobile application for other homeless youth. We frame our analysis through a theory of critical youth empowerment and discuss the steps taken to develop the application, as informed by the method of spiral technology action research. Developing the application allowed these young people to express their opinions and frustrations, while also providing an opportunity for them to make the lives of their peers better through improved access to supports and services.     

PARTICIPATORY EVALUATION: NAVIGATING THE EMOTIONS OF PARTNERSHIPS

This paper describes the processes involved in evaluating a Sure Start programme in one inner city area. The evaluation was set up in the spirit of participatory action research in which the researchers aimed to work in partnership with key stakeholders to both enable and sustain supportive evaluative processes. The evaluation supported the aspirations espoused by the national Sure Start agenda to improve the lives of children under four, their parents and communities through an expressed commitment to partnership working. The paper draws on ethnographic reflections to describe and analyse the processes involved in setting up the evaluation over two years. Issues of trust, ambiguity and conflict associated with partnership working are explored. In particular the emotional components of relationships required to work in partnership are described as a means of managing ambiguity and conflict and promoting trust. Emotional labour is taken as a conceptual starting point to analyse the relationships and the organisational conditions required to sustain partnerships. Further psychoanalytic and sociological studies are drawn upon to aid the analysis and in particular to understand the emotional components of partnerships in the relatively uncharted waters of inner city regeneration work.     

Cultivating citizen science for all: ethical considerations for research projects involving diverse and marginalized populations

ABSTRACT

In this paper we argue that investigators using citizen science should attend, as much as possible, to certain ethical considerations when conceptualizing projects by embracing 1) inclusivity (finding ways to include those who have traditionally been excluded), 2) adaptation (modifying projects to provide greater opportunities for varied participation), 3) sensitivity (ensuring projects take into account and respect cultural traditions and beliefs), 4) safety (protocols that protect the physical, psychological, and cultural safety of citizen scientists and society at large), and 5) reciprocity (benefits for citizen scientists). These recommendations are particularly important when engaging in collaborative or co-created citizen science projects with marginalized groups. We provide examples of how citizen science projects can be designed and adapted in ways that ensure that they follow The Golden Rule, and make them appealing to, and achievable for, a greater number of individuals in our diverse global society.