Decision-making processes in community transport organisations: a comparative case study of service providers

Transport services provided by voluntary organisations have grown dramatically in recent years. However, little systematic research has been undertaken on the functioning of these organisations. The aim of the research on which this paper is based was to rectify the lack of information on how decisions relating to service provision are made by such organisations — often called community transport (CT) operators. Three organisations were selected for a comparative case study approach. The results show that the leadership approach of their key staff was of particular significance. Each organisation is moving in the direction of greater professionalism and away from its community roots. This cultural change can be attributed to responses to external forces, especially those affecting resources. Evidence suggests they are being forced towards adopting practices of the private sector, but that this need not be the case. Community transport provision is in a period of transition, the outcome of which may radically alter both its structure and its survival capacities.The research on which this paper is based was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. The authors would also like to place on record their thanks to the three organisations who participated in this study.     

A case study of action research in probation : The improved correctional field services project

This case study of the Improved Correctional Field Services Project describes the pre-implementation history of an action research project—in this case a project to improve probation services. That history encompasses a period of about five years (1974–1978). ICFS represented a major initiative in probation programming by the now defunct Law Enforcement Assistance Administration. It was intended to be a test of some of the principle ideas for making probation more effective. Its history illustrates the pitfalls that may confront a program developer and evaluator. Further, it illustrates how concepts and objectives can change within the life-time of a given project.     

Secularization and the politics of traditionalism: The case of the right-to-life movement

Research on the traditionalist movement against abortion needs alignment with currents in historical sociology, the theory of social movements and the sociology of politics. The religious (specifically, Christian) basis of the right-to-life movement has attracted considerable attention in the literature. The movement is seen as a traditionalist bloc claiming to oppose secularization and return to customary restrictions. However the tradition in question appears to be a recent social construction. There is slim warrant in the actual traditions of Western religion for asserting a categorical right to life. As a result, the movement's ideology is best approached as the product of—rather than the antidote to—secularizing processes (including the demographic transition, discourse about rights, markets for symbolic entrepreneurs and the separation of church and state) and possibly as an unintended import from non-Western religion. Implications for traditionalism, the functions of religion, and the study of countermovements are explored. This case illustrates the value of attending to historical sequences and the external cultural environments of social movements.     

Aging as intracohort differentiation: Accentuation,the Matthew effect,and the life course

Recent contributions of sociologists and others have brought a new awareness and new theoretical understanding of the extent to which human aging and life-course patterns are shaped by social conditions and influenced by social change. Yet the potential of many social processes to account for individual aging patterns remains untapped, because research and theory have focused heavily upon comparisons between cohorts rather than the internal differentiation of cohorts. This paper shows that focusing upon intracohort differentiation over the life course leads to a mobilization of sociological findings whose age-related implications have not been exploited. Using the phenomenon of aged heterogeneity as an illustrative case, it is suggested that intracohort differentiation—operating through macro-level, organizational, and micro-level processes—can explain significant phenomena of aging previously neglected by theory, or else assumed to be psychological in origin. These processes specify Merton's Matthew effect. Implications for biological aging and for research are briefly discussed.     

Evaluating and rethinking the case study

This paper will first explore briefly how the case study fell out of favour as a legitimate research tool, and how case study researchers responded to the critique that case study research lacked internal and external validity. Some case study advocates attempted to meet this critique by using the case to compare different theoretical predictions, dividing the case into subcases, or treating the case as an experiment. A more effective response distinguishes between ‘extensive’ and ‘intensive’ research designs, and critiques the extensive model. The paper then provides a clarification of purpose and a revived emphasis on theory, history, and intervention to develop the case study method. This paper will begin to construct a comprehensive case study methodology independent of the old critiques, and will show the crucial place which case studies must occupy in our craft.     

Post-war reconstruction. Participatory approaches to rebuilding the damaged villages of Lebanon: a case study of al-Burjain

This paper focuses on the reconstruction of war-damaged villages in Lebanon destroyed during the civil war (1975–1991). It presents a holistic approach that considers the complexity of socio-economic, cultural and organisational issues involved in shaping the built environment, in contrast to conventional top–down approaches, which concentrate largely on physical aspects. Therefore, the paper attempts to gain an insight into the socio-cultural conditions of the communities prior to disaster and into the specific situations, which emerged after the destruction of the villages. This will be illustrated by means of a detailed case study of one Lebanese village—namely al Burjain. It develops an understanding of the conditions of the people, their needs and perceptions about rebuilding the village and derives the specific and general principles that should guide the reconstruction process. The paper is based on fieldwork, which employs a qualitative approach that offers flexibility and suits the practical conditions in the field. This allows dynamic discussions with the community under study and permits better understanding of the local conditions. The developmental approach proposed for reconstruction presents principles and good practices appropriate for rebuilding the villages in Lebanon in particular and in similar reconstruction contexts in general.     

Methodical failure: the use of case study method by public relations researchers

Case studies comprise up to a third of published articles in the public relations literature. There has, however, been little discussion in the literature of their methodological advantages or shortcomings as a research tool, or reflection on the quality of published case studies. This paper reviews the literature on case-study research, and surveys 5 years of case studies published in Public Relations Review to determine the quality of their methodology. The results indicate that few researchers understand or apply good case method.The paper concludes that case studies, if thoughtfully conceived and well executed are a research tool well suited to the study of public relations. It is suggested that poor methodology has undermined the role of case research in the development of theory. If properly applied case research could usefully balance the influence of quantitative research which tends to isolate research problems from the processes of public relations practice that are embedded in social or organizational contexts.     

School choice from a household resource perspective: Preliminary findings from a north of England case study

This paper seeks to widen the conceptual lens of school choice debate and analysis to account for multiple, intersecting economies, cultures, and infrastructures of daily life. Preliminary findings are presented in the case of primary school enrolment in the north of England city of Newcastle upon Tyne. The national context is one in which public service delivery has been influenced by the language of ‘choice’, notably a parent's ‘right to choose’ a school other than that nearest to their child's home, and ‘responsibility’ to exercise choice as self-determined consumer-citizens. At the metropolitan level this translates as market-led competitive enrolment and a tendency for more children to travel longer distances to school and for there to be greater variation in journey length, as some parents are able to use superior transport and personnel as leverage in their quest for a better choice of state school. Findings are presented from a multi-method pilot study combining daily diary, resource audit, and biographic analysis for a sample of 18 families drawn from two case study schools. One school (Town) attracts pupils from an area of low-income population, to which most children journey on foot; the other school (Woodland) attracts pupils from further away, situated within a largely middle-class area, to which most children are driven in their parent's car. The findings show how the market model assumes and rewards a particular mode of choice-making which fails to recognise that some parents seek less instrumentally for their child to be happy. Discussion combines theory, empirical findings, and critical analysis to expose the subtle inequities of school choice in relation to neo-liberal thinking.     

Psychodynamic and developmental aspects of expectant and new fatherhood: Clinical derivatives from the literature

Expectant and new fatherhood has received increasing attention in the literature. During this major adult transitional period, earlier developmental conflicts are reactivated. These in turn influence adaptation to current life processes, consistent with psychoanalytic theory. Three major psychodynamic and developmental findings that repeatedly emerge in the literature—rearoused sibling rivalry, intensified dependency needs, and reawakened oedipal conflicts—are delineated. Less prominent psychosocial manifestations reported in the literature are also identified and discussed. Knowledge of the psychodynamic and developmental issues of this life transition is helpful to clinicians.     

Alone together: Public and private dimensions of a Tel-Aviv cafe

An illustrative case is presented which analyzes the temporal, physical, social and cultural borders of a Tel-Aviv cafe. The paper shows how the boundaries of a social setting change so that a private space becomes public, and vice versa, and how people themselves can feel they are in a private and public space at the same time. The findings are examined in view of the sociological discussion of public and private spaces. The conclusions point to the dynamic and elastic nature of social places as expressed in the specific cultural context of Israeli society, which is characterized by a unique blend of aloneness and togetherness. Finally, the study is related to the current theoretical debate between the interactionist and the structuralist approaches to everyday life.We would like to thank our colleagues, in particular Haim Hazan and Eviatar Zerubavel, for their valuable comments on earlier versions of this paper. We are also indebted to our friends at Afarcemon—owners and customers—for their cooperation.     

Kernberg Versus Kohut: A (Case) Study in Contrasts

In this paper, the main concepts of Otto Kernberg and Heinz Kohut—two theorists who have greatly influenced clinical social work practice with severely disturbed patients—are presented, and then compared by using a case from the practice of the author. The case illustrates the value of utilizing some of the treatment principles put forward by Kernberg and Kohut without becoming too wedded to either of the overall treatment approaches they have formulated. Some aspects of the manner in which the practitioner determines when the treatment approach needs to be modified—to avoid the pitfalls of either being too wedded to an approach or too eclectic—are discussed as well.     

Reinventing religious land as urban open space: The case of kuang in Chiang Mai (Thailand)

Urban open spaces are highly valued for their contribution to the quality of life in the cities [Tenkel (1963). Cities and space: The future use of urban land. Baltimore:Johns Hopkins Press; Burgess, Harrison and Limb (1998). Urban Studies, 25, 455–473; Madanipour (1999). Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, 26, 879–891]. Third world cities, for example, Chiang Mai (Thailand), are no exception with regard to the role of urban open space in achieving such a goal [Tantayanusorn (2003). Unpublished doctoral thesis. Melbourne:Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology]. However, the provision of urban open space as a social public facility is coming low in priority in comparison to other market-demanded facilities in the form of roads, car parks, clean water, electricity and the like. Such a fact was corroborated by a study conceived by Thailand's Social Research Institute (1996) which reveals that 73% of Chiang Mai population wanted more public open space.This paper aims at exploring the revitalization of existing traditional open spaces (kuang)—which is usually categorized as ‘religious land’, hence it is a religious property—in Chiang Mai as an intermediate strategy in providing the much needed public open space. In doing so, the physical and cultural characteristics of kuang have to be elaborated, while at the same time the local aspirations on urban open space were canvassed. The combined analysis of those two inquiries resulted in a proposal of kuang wat—a variance of kuang—utilization as an agent of urban open space provision in the project of achieving quality of urban life in Thai city of Chiang Mai.     

People in a World Between: Psychodynamic Themes in the Treatment of Bisexual Patients

Normal sexual behavior is on a continuum—with homosexuality at one end, heterosexuality at the other, and bisexuality at the midpoint. Most people have some bisexual potential. A bisexual person is capable of having intimacy with either a man or women but may be made uncomfortable by the ambiguity of their libidinal longings, feel different, isolated, and long to make a clearer gender choice—homosexuality or heterosexuality. The sacrifice to the self and the psychic conflicts that block such a lifestyle resolution brings these bisexuals into treatment and clinicians are confronted with a need to apply psychodynamic theory in new and more flexible ways. Using two case studies this paper discusses forms of androgynous transference, pregnancy fantasy, and dream interpretation that can unfold in the psychotherapy of bisexual patients.     

Constructing case vignettes for evaluating clinical judgment: An empirical model

Studies of clinical judgment are frequently based on analogue research, which uses experimenter-controlled stimuli to elicit judgments. The stimuli may be live models, audio- or video-taped models, or written case vignettes describing a clinical encounter. A major challenge of analogue research is to construct stimuli that maintain a balance between experimental rigor and clinical reality. An ideal set of case vignettes, for example, will contain summaries that resemble actual case histories and that are varied only on the specific clinical factors being studied. The model presented here demonstrates the empirical development of written case analogues in which several variables are studied simultaneously. The model can be adapted to any setting in which professionals are required to make judgments or decisions about individuals. The vignettes described here have been used in a variety of clinical settings to assess the reliability of clinicians'judgments and to aid in evaluation and program planning.     

Understanding labour processes in global production networks: a case study of the football industry in Pakistan

ABSTRACT

Over the last few decades, the changing nature of global production and distribution processes has raised a number of critical questions regarding work and employment relations. Presenting a qualitative case study of the football industry in Pakistan as an example of the general mechanism of the social relations of re/production in a global system of industrial organization, this research highlights how and under what conditions informal workers are embedded in extended global production networks. By drawing on the integrated conceptual framework of the global production network (GPN) and labour process theory (LPT), this research sheds light on the working conditions and living realities of informal workers. A potential contribution of this paper is to extend the horizon of production network theory by analysing the work and employment conditions of informal workers, which are absent in existing discussions of these conceptual frameworks.     

The quest for a general theory of aging and longevity

Extensive studies of phenomena related to aging have produced many diverse findings, which require a general theoretical framework to be organized into a comprehensive body of knowledge. As demonstrated by the success of evolutionary theories of aging, quite general theoretical considerations can be very useful when applied to research on aging. In this theoretical study, we attempt to gain insight into aging by applying a general theory of systems failure known as reliability theory. Considerations of this theory lead to the following conclusions: (i) Redundancy is a concept of crucial importance for understanding aging, particularly the systemic nature of aging. Systems that are redundant in numbers of irreplaceable elements deteriorate (that is, age) over time, even if they are built of elements that do not themselves age. (ii) An apparent aging rate or expression of aging is higher for systems that have higher levels of redundancy. (iii) Redundancy exhaustion over the life course explains a number of observations about mortality, including mortality convergence at later life (when death rates are becoming relatively similar at advanced ages for different populations of the same species) as well as late-life mortality deceleration, leveling off, and mortality plateaus. (iv) Living organisms apparently contain a high load of initial damage from the early stages of development, and therefore their life span and aging patterns may be sensitive to early-life conditions that determine this initial damage load. Thus, the reliability theory provides a parsimonious explanation for many important aging-related phenomena and suggests a number of interesting testable predictions. We therefore suggest adding the reliability theory to the arsenal of methodological approaches applied to research on aging.     

Theoretical perspectives of male sexual abuse: conceptualization of a case study

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the traumatic impact that sexual abuse can have on a young male's development by addressing mediating dispositions that can render a child vulnerable to the effects of sexual abuse. Consideration is given to three different theoretical perspectives that are not exclusive to male victims but shed light on the impact that sexual abuse can have on the development of a young boy. These perspectives include early family relationships and attachment theory, developmental psychopathology, and trauma theory. These theoretical lenses provide a conceptual understanding into why some victims are vulnerable to the effects of sexual abuse. Each theoretical view is applied to a case study of an adolescent male with a history of early trauma and sexual abuse. Clinical implications are discussed.     

The Octagon Model of Volunteer Motivation: Results of a Phenomenological Analysis

Individual motivation is the core of the actualization and continuity in voluntary work from both the standpoint of theoretical research and practical volunteerism. Volunteer motivation also provides an excellent research area for investigating the wider sociological theme of late-modern participation. This study, based on the data from 18 interviews, explores volunteer motivation utilizing a phenomenological approach to individual experience and the meaning of volunteerism. Using a phenomenological approach illuminates the nature of volunteer motivation more holistically. The research includes 767 motivational elements in 47 themes and develops an innovative four-dimensional octagon model of volunteer motivation—the theoretical and practical applications of which are discussed.     

Counter-geographies: The campaign against rationalisation of agricultural research stations in New South Wales, Australia

This paper discusses an example of community action mounted in a rural region of New South Wales, Australia, in response to proposals by the State Government to rationalise agricultural research stations operated by the Department of Primary Industries. Informed by a Foucaultian understanding of power and the concept of governmentality, neoliberalism is theorised as being the broad governmental context in which rationalisation proposals were put forward. Recent literature drawing on this theoretical perspective has emphasised that neoliberalism is enacted through a relationship of power, and is not monolithic or inevitable. Neoliberalism is always negotiated by those seeking to govern and those who are the object of such governmental actions. This paper analyses how plans to rationalise publicly funded agricultural research stations were opposed by those seeking to keep research facilities open in the case study area. The paper discusses the methods and scope of community action and, drawing on interviews, identifies a series of discourses articulated by campaigners. Non-local actors were depicted as uncaring and insensitive. In contrast, campaigners discussed the emergence of a ‘city-country divide’ in domestic politics; the need for specialist agricultural knowledge given the region's unique geographical location; and local impacts of an economic, social and emotional nature. Central were discourses of maintaining community, tradition, and continuity in unique local places defined by their climate, biophysical environment and economy. These were ‘counter-geographies’ that sought (successfully, it would transpire) to disrupt the state's imagined geography of a homogenous and flexible administrative space in which research services could be relocated wherever most efficient. Important too were embodied resistances to the way rural industries and people were subjected. Campaigners refused to accept preferred codes of neoliberal behaviour (particularly mobility and rationality) and instead demanded respect for their careers, families and communities. Important considerations are suggested for further research on impacts and negotiations of neoliberalism. This study particularly highlights the successes—as well as contradictions and limitations—of arguments that construct rural places as socialised, unique and unfairly treated (by governments), in opposition to metropolitan dominance and ‘placeless’ neoliberalism.     

Documenting the quick and the dead: a study of suicide case files in a coroner's office

In keeping with recent critiques of literature on the body and the life course, the argument of this paper is that social identities can, to a certain extent, be constructed post‐mortem and in the absence of a living body. The authors make this case with reference to a sociological autopsy study of a hundred suicide case files in a coroner's office in a medium‐sized British city. The research draws on ethnographic approaches to the study of documents. There is discussion of some of the diverse artefacts in the coroners' files: medical reports, witness statements and suicide notes. The identity work revealed in these sources is as much about the living as the dead and is especially bound up in the process of avoiding blame.