The Significance of Shift Work: Current Status and Future Directions

This paper provides a review and synthesis of research literature on the effects of shift work on workers’ physical health, mental health/well-being, and family life. The focus is on current knowledge, unanswered questions, and new directions for future research. The selection of research literature is guided by a general conceptual framework that identifies predictor variables, moderating variables, and outcome variables. The paper concludes with a discussion of the variables that should be incorporated into an agenda for future research.     

Practitioners' views on elder mistreatment research priorities: recommendations from a Research-to-Practice Consensus conference

This article presents recommendations from expert practitioners and researchers regarding future directions for research on elder abuse prevention. Using the Research-to-Practice Consensus Workshop model, participants critiqued academic research on the prevention of elder mistreatment and identified practice-based suggestions for a research agenda on this topic. The practitioners' critique resulted in 10 key recommendations for future research that include the following priority areas: defining elder abuse, providing researchers with access to victims and abusers, determining the best approaches in treating abusers, exploiting existing data sets, identifying risk factors, understanding the impact of cultural factors, improving program evaluation, establishing how cognitive impairment affects legal investigations, promoting studies of financial and medical forensics, and improving professional reporting and training. It is hoped that these recommendations will help guide future research in such a way as to make it more applicable to community practice.     

An agenda for research on work and class in the postsocialist world

This article reviews the scholarly treatment of work and class in postsocialist states. It traces how class discourses under socialism led to a lack of meaningful working class studies in the postsocialist academy. It offers as an agenda for future research three points of departure: (a) greater confrontation of the one‐sided discourse on class in these societies and the academy itself (class blindness of research). (b) The value in studying postsocialist societies both comparatively to global North and South, and as an intermediate positioning for worker exploitation and responses in global capitalism. (c) To achieve the first 2 agenda items, a more grounded methodological approach proceeding from the lived experience of class and work is proposed. Current research on social networks, memory studies and personhood, the informal economy, deindustrialization, and the “domestication” of neoliberalism show that empirically grounded work on postsocialist working classes can make important contributions to wider social science debates. Studying the “losers” of postcommunist transition can tell us much about populist politics, the rise of the global working class outside the global North and the nature of global capitalist exploitation more generally. In addition, this agenda serves as an important point of departure from the dominant middle class focus of research in postsocialism.     

Is interpersonal trust a necessary condition for organisational learning?

Abstract

The organisational behaviour and management literature has devoted a lot attention on various factors affecting organisational learning. While there has been much work done to examine trust in promoting organisational learning, there is a lack of consensus on the specific type of trust involved. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of interpersonal trust in promoting organisational learning and propose a research agenda to test the extent of interpersonal trust on organisational learning. This paper contributes to the existing organisational learning literature by specifying a specific form of trust, interpersonal trust, which promotes organisational learning and proposing a future research direction. The paper is organised as follows: firstly, a common conceptualisation of organisational learning is revisited. Secondly, the existing literature on trust reviewed and salient points on how interpersonal trust enhances organisational learning discussed. Finally, a research agenda to test the extent of interpersonal trust on organisational learning is being set out.     

A research agenda for the black middle class: work stress, survival strategies, and mental health

In this article we discuss the social position of the black middle class and two forms of work stress that appear unique to this group: token stress and social rejection. We outline a research agenda for studying: (1) the relationship between these stressors and mental health in the context of the work environment, and (2) the type of strategies that appear especially efficacious (or problematic) with regard to these problems. We begin the paper with a contextual discussion of the black middle class. We then offer a set of theoretical predictions about the relationship between work stress and mental health among middle class African Americans. We conclude the article with recommendations for future research, and we identify the implications of the research agenda for social policy efforts to diversify the workplace.     

The ethics of gambling research: an agenda for mature analysis

The purpose of this article is to explore the ethics of both the anti-gambling and pro-gambling groups as they present their research into the gambling phenomenon. The type of ethical thinking that each group uses will be characterized to show how their ethical views have caused their research to be biased. The second part of this article proposes a modest research agenda for future gambling studies. This agenda rests a foundation of a mature ethical thinking.     

Robin Williams and the Long Twentieth Century of American Sociology … or Back to the Future

In this essay, I reflect on the ways elements of Robin M. Williams Jr.'s research agenda might be carried forth in a meaningful way to sociological studies of twenty-first-century phenomena—in particular identifying the ways in which the facts of human interaction, of human expectation, and of human influence shapes outcomes of significance for our present, our future, and, therefore, our past.     

Equity: Not Only for Idealists

Growing disparities in development outcomes are storing up trouble for current and future generations. In addition to the moral issues raised and the intrinsic welfare effects for those experiencing relative deprivation, this article argues that recent research supports a stronger public‐policy focus on equity. Increasing inequity blunts both growth and the ability of growth to translate into human‐development outcomes, and puts institutions, social cohesion and the productivity of future generations at risk. The article highlights new micro evidence suggesting that a focus on the most marginal might well lead to higher benefit:cost ratios, and outlines the choices that need to be made to generate a more equity‐focused policy agenda.     

Nature and Nurture in the Family

SUMMARY

Behavioral genetic research provides the best evidence we have for the importance of the environment. Heritabilities rarely exceed 50%, which means that, on average, half of the variance for behavioral dimensions and disorders is not genetic in origin. However, no one needed to be convinced that environmental factors contribute importantly to behavior. The two findings that stand out as the most important from behavioral genetics both involve nurture rather than nature. This volume reviews these findings and lays out the agenda for future research in this area. Some of the ideas described in these papers may be unfamiliar to marriage and family researchers, in part because they are so novel and revolutionary. Nonetheless this volume will reward careful reading as it represents an exciting glimpse of the future of research in this area.     

Nonprofit Comparative Research: Recent Agendas and Future Trends

Comparative research on nonprofit organizations (NPOs) has been a prominent approach for advancing our understanding of these organizations. This article identifies the primary drivers that shape the NPO comparative research agenda and explores new research trends. Based on a systematic literature review, nine definitional aspects and ten impulses are identified as drivers of NPO research. This article conducts a correspondence analysis to study the relationships between the definitional aspects and impulses that are discussed in 111 articles that were published in philanthropic and third-sector journals in the period January 2001–January 2015. Based on our results, we suggest three new clusters for future comparative research: investment and growth, participation and social impact, and social cohesion and civil society.     

Relationship education research: current status and future directions

The overarching aim of this article is to review the research on relationship education programs and approaches that has been published or accepted for publication since the last review article in 2003. This article provides a critical overview of the relationship education field and sets an agenda for research and practice for the next decade. A theme weaved throughout the article is the ways in which relationship education is similar and different from couples therapy, and we conclude that there can be a synergistic, healthy marriage between the two. We then provide recommendations for future directions for research in the relationship education field. Finally, the coauthors comment on our experiences in both the relationship education field and the couples therapy field as both researchers and interventionists.     

Personal(ized) Health Monitoring,Personalization, and Personality

Use of technology in individual health monitoring is predicted to be widespread in near future healthcare systems and in smart home environments. The term Personalized Health Monitoring (PHM) is proposed for these applications. A framework describing aspects of personalization and personality that are relevant to personalized health monitoring is presented. The framework addresses personal data, adaptability, feedback, and personality. Influence of personality on approach, interaction, and adherence to PHM technology are discussed. Personality is both a variable influencing monitored data, as well as a variable that can be monitored itself. An agenda for future research in the field of Personal and Personalized Health Monitoring is presented.     

Developing an African research network and research agenda on work–family interface

In this article we aim to provide a narrative of the critical engagement on work–family issues in Africa that took place during the inaugural workshop of the African Research Network on Work–Family held at the University of Pretoria, South Africa in September 2015. The inter-disciplinary experts at the workshop agreed that with funding and appropriate local data, the Network has the potential to make a substantial contribution to strengthening and amplifying African voices in the global work–family discourse, which is currently dominated by research findings and literature from the Global North. A future research agenda was also proposed.     

Exercise and health in frail elderly people: a review of randomized controlled trials

Frailty is a physiological syndrome that increases the risk of poor health. Although some research has been conducted to study the benefits of physical exercise in frail elderly populations, different operational definitions of frailty have been used, and this makes the studies difficult to compare. The present review was aimed at examining the influence of exercise on health in frail older adults. Studies using randomized controlled trials that administered an exercise program to a frail elderly population and that had an operational definition of frailty were selected from publications between January 2000 and October 2008. Information about the study population, frailty criteria, exercise program, principles of exercise training, randomization procedures, main and secondary outcome measures, study follow-up, and control group characteristics was taken from these studies, and the results from a final sample of 28 articles are discussed. Exercise training seems to be a safe and effective tool for promoting and maintaining optimal health levels in a wide variety of vulnerable older adults. However, the lack of studies on a well-defined frail older adult sample with selection procedures based on current knowledge in this field does not allow us, at the present time, to conclude that exercise influences health in this population. Further research is needed to confirm the benefits of exercise on health in frail older adults. The study population must be selected based on current knowledge in the area of frailty, and the design of the exercise program must be based on principles of training.     

New frontiers in qualitative longitudinal research: an agenda for research

This paper outlines the state of the art in qualitative longitudinal methodology, reflecting on more than 10 years of development since a previous special issue on qualitative longitudinal research was published by the International Journal of Social Research Methodology in 2003. The papers presented in this special issue emerge from a methodological innovation network that brought together an international community of researchers in order to map new frontiers for the method. This paper summarises the development of the method from a design to a sensibility, identifying three new frontiers as part of a future research agenda including: the need for a processual imaginary; experimentation with temporal perspectives and orientations and explicating the temporal affordances of our methods.     

‘Widening cross-disciplinary research for mental health’: what is missing from the Research Councils UK mental health agenda?

This current issues article is a brief critical examination of the recent Research Councils UK agenda and call for cross-disciplinary research in mental health. Our argument is based on the fact that patient and public involvement (PPI) is the only involvement and influencing strategy for service users and survivors in the agenda. Service user and survivor research as a discipline in itself remains unacknowledged. We conclude that service user and survivor research is distinct and is different to PPI, and should be recognised in any mental health research agenda.     

Hispanic adolescent fathers: At risk and underresearched

The literature on adolescent fathers largely ignores hispanic Americans. Studies of adolescent fathers, most often involving black males, suggest directions for research among hispanic males. In this paper, we review the small literature on adolescent fathers relative to several nonexclusive dimensions. These dimensions are adolescent fathers' needs and problems; relationships to the adolescent mothers; social supports and help seeking behavior; and attitudes toward fatherhood and contraception, perception of locus of control, and academic achievement. Using the existing empirical literature and integrating knowledge of the hispanic culture and community, a future research agenda on hispanic adolescent fathers is outlined.     

Frailty and the aging male

Frailty occurs in aging males for a variety of reasons. It is less common in males than females. Diseases which are particularly associated with frailty are diabetes mellitus, atherosclerosis, anemia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Insulin resistance syndrome plays a pathogenetic role in the “fat-frail” syndrome. Sarcopenia occurs predominantly because of hormone deficiency and cytokine excess. Pain and anorexia are also associated with frailty. Stem cell research represents a potential promise for the treatment of frailty.     

Nothing to Fear? Thoughts on the History of Family Therapy and the Potential Contribution of Research

The aim of this plenary address is to advocate for the role that research can play in family therapy, with particular reference to our future as a field in Australia. I will argue: 1) that we have been in transition as a field in the past 15 years or so, from a fairly closed system, to one that is more amenable to holding itself to account through research; 2) that we hold a number of misconceptions about research that need to be explored if we are to continue; 3) that we need to develop a research agenda that is consistent with our values and 4) that there are a host of research methodologies that are consistent with our epistemologies and modes of practice.     

Forging and sustaining research-minded professionals: teaching undergraduate research through student-community partnerships

The teaching of research is a well-established core component of social work curricula around the world. While educators in social work recognize the value, and need for research they have encountered persistent discomfort and reluctance from students to recognize this need. Practitioners in the field of social work often share this reserve either due to limited self-efficacy with regard to research knowledge and skills or practical constraints. With the growing need for practice-based knowledge, accountability and evidence-based practices to drive outcomes and service effectiveness, it is becoming imperative to not only prepare future social work professionals with the required skill sets but also support current professionals to meet these expectations. This paper showcases a pedagogical endeavor with an undergraduate research course in an American rural university, designed and implemented to create and support research-minded professionals through student–agency research partnerships. Through a collaborative, service-oriented learning, students have gained a new appreciation for research and agency connections while agencies have welcomed the path created to pursue their research agenda. This experience has valuable implications for research capacity building, and for community engaged research empowering future and current professionals to suitably use research toward effective and meaningful service provision.