Looking Forward in Candidate Gene Research: Concerns and Suggestions

Candidate Gene × Environment (cGxE) interaction research holds promise for helping us understand for whom and why environments matter for families and development. In their commentary on our target article (G. L. Schlomer, G. M. Fosco, H. H. Cleveland, D. J. Vandenbergh, & M. E. Feinberg, 2015), J. E. Salvatore and D. M. Dick (2015) present their view of the current state and future of cGxE research and frame the debate regarding its merits for advancing knowledge of gene–environment interplay. In this reply, we discuss points of agreement and departure and provide a list of 5 domains by which the quality of cGxE research should be evaluated. Our hope is that researchers will use this list as a guide for their own work.     

Where We Are Now with Intergenerational Developments

ABSTRACT

Intergenerational programs are beginning to burgeon in England. They are relatively recent in their development. The systemic absence of connectiveness between policy developments and services relating to older people and those relating to children and young people is identified. The key strategic players are described. Questions about future developments and research are discussed.     

A Research Note on Canada's LGBT Data Landscape: Where We Are and What the Future Holds

There is a growing international literature on the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals. One of the biggest limitations for researchers in this field continues to be the dearth of population‐based surveys that include questions on sexual orientation, gender identity, and high‐quality demographic, health, social, political, or economic variables. This research note provides an overview of the current LGBT data landscape in Canada. We start with some of the challenges for researchers studying the LGBT community, including issues of sample size, measurement, response bias, and concealment. Next, we provide an overview of Canadian surveys that include questions on sexual orientation and/or gender identity, including the strengths and weaknesses of each. We end with a brief discussion on newly available administrative data and provide recommendations for researchers and policymakers moving forward.     

Sexual Harassment: Where We Were,Where We Are and Prospects for the New Millennium Introduction to the Special Issue*

L'article qui suit présente les documents qui existent sur le harcèle-ment sexuel et examine brièHvement les questions qui restent en suspens et la manière dont on pourrait les aborder. II donne des définitions et des concepts, se penche sur la question de la fréquence et de la Constance du harcèlement sexuel, et étudie les corrélations, les stratégies mises sur pied pour réagir et leurs effets. II discute des modèles de pouvoir en place dans les entreprises et dans la société patriarcale ainsi que des théories des rôles et de l'attribution; l'article propose aussi un modèle de responsabilité sociale à multiples facettes. Enfin, il détermine les obstacles qui empêchent encore les femmes de travailler et de vivre dans un milieu sécuritaire. In this article, I summarize the major highlights of the burgeoning literature on sexual harassment and briefly review the remaining issues and how they may be addressed. Definitions and conceptualizations, as well as the incidence and perseverance of sexual harassment are summarized along with correlates, response strategies and effects. Organizational and patriarchal power models as well as role and attribution theories are discussed, leading to a proposal of a multifaceted social responsibility model to better deal with the complexities of sexual harassment. The paper ends with an assessment of the contribution of this special issue to the field, and identifies remaining barriers to safe work and leisure environments for women.     

Examining Where We Were and Where We Are: Clinical Issues in Adoption 1985–1995

This article examines the changes in adoption practices over the past decade by referencing a series of 1985 articles published by Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal that presented theoretical considerations for maintaining closed adoptions. The author uses her own experience as an adoption professional, those articles currently published in the field of adoption and the experience of those most impacted by adoption, birthparents, adoptive parents and adoptees, in examining and presenting the benefits and value of open adoption.     

Does Marriage Moderate Genetic Effects on Delinquency and Violence?

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (N = 1,254), the authors investigated whether marriage can foster desistance from delinquency and violence by moderating genetic effects. In contrast to existing gene–environment research that typically focuses on one or a few genetic polymorphisms, they extended a recently developed mixed linear model to consider the collective influence of 580 single nucleotide polymorphisms in 64 genes related to aggression and risky behavior. The mixed linear model estimates the proportion of variance in the phenotype that is explained by the single nucleotide polymorphisms. The authors found that the proportion of variance in delinquency/violence explained was smaller among married individuals than unmarried individuals. Because selection, confounding, and heterogeneity may bias the estimate of the Gene × Marriage interaction, they conducted a series of analyses to address these issues. The findings suggest that the Gene × Marriage interaction results were not seriously affected by these issues.     

Methodological challenges of evaluating the impact of the Global Environment Facility's biodiversity program

In this paper, we explore some of the methodological challenges that evaluators face in assessing the impacts of complex intervention strategies. We illustrate these challenges, using the specific example of an impact evaluation of one of the six focal areas of the Global Environment Facility; its biodiversity program. The discussion is structured around the concepts of attribution and aggregation, offering the reader a framework for reflection. Subsequently, the paper discusses how theory-based evaluation can provide a basis for addressing the attribution and aggregation challenges presented.     

We did it together: a participatory action research study on poverty and disability

This article presents the perspective of both non-disabled and developmentally disabled people working together in a research project on poverty and disability. Our study used a participatory action research approach that challenges the norm of exclusion in the research process. Control of the research agenda has been inclusive and shared to varying degrees in accordance with the needs and desires of the members of an advisory committee of developmentally disabled people living with low income. We reflect on our process of working together according to four principles of participatory action research with disabled people. We discuss our successes and challenges enacting these principles in the hopes that future researchers can build upon our experience to be more inclusive of developmentally disabled people in their work.     

The Status of Sociology within the Academy: Where We Are, Why We’re There, and How to Change It

We present data from a survey of deans at colleges and universities throughout the USA on the relative status of disciplines. Findings indicate that the relative status of Sociology within the academy is low, although there are several specific areas of high status—namely, concerning community involvement and engagement. Our analyses also investigate which areas of activity are most closely associated with the overall prestige of disciplines. Findings indicate that research-oriented activities are the most influential, while student-oriented activities have a more ambivalent association with status. Based on those findings, we offer suggestions for raising the status of the discipline, based on the cultivation of natural synergies linking research, community engagement, student training, and focusing on the benefits of establishing social science research centers associated with Sociology departments.     

Meeting Families Where There Are

SUMMARY

This article focuses on families in general, both those we as social workers and other mental health professionals work with and those within which we live. Specifically, the focus is on ways that growth may be facilitated as family members operate according to the principles of acknowledging connectedness, suspending judgment, trusting the universe, creating realities, and walking the path with heart. The ramifications for individuals, families and society of the choice to pursue soul healing, or to undertake consciously a journey toward wholeness, also is discussed.     

Feminist Phase Analysis in Public Relations: Where Have We Been? Where Do We Need to Be?

Feminist phase theory provides a classification system for analyzing any evolution in our thinking about women across the disciplines. The 2-fold purpose of this article is, first, to suggest further avenues through which to apply Tetreault's (1985) groundbreaking work and, second, to propose a sixth stage relevant to public relations research. Feminist phase theory defines 5 phases of such research: male scholarship, compensatory, bifocal, feminist, and multifocal. Now, 6 years into the new millennium, I propose adding a sixth, integrative phase. That stage, I argue, will conceptualize women and men in public relations not only as communication professionals, but as human beings often struggling to integrate their work, family, and community lives.     

Doing collaborative research: doing what feels right and makes sense

Drawing on current doctoral research in the UK, this paper discusses the benefits, challenges and dilemmas associated with adopting a collaborative approach to exploring the experiences of women offenders as consumers of community-based health and social care services. The initial focus is on the rationale for setting up an advisory group of 'expert advisers/knowers', as a means of collaborating with women with direct and personal experience of the criminal justice system. In addition, the group's role in supporting, advising and guiding the research process is explored with particular emphasis on examining the practice of building long-term relationships with 'vulnerable' groups of women. Both short and long-term ethical issues are considered, for example, the implications of adopting an approach based on reciprocity, mutual disclosure and 'friendship' and the impact of 'role reversal' where it is the researcher who ultimately feels powerless and abandoned in the relationship. A key theme that underpins the work is the notion that in this context, 'doing' collaborative research essentially embraced 'doing' what fundamentally 'felt right' and 'made sense' thus ensuring that the study was meaningful to all involved.     

How Public Are We? Coverage of Sociology by the Associated Press

The recent and prolific attention to public sociology has involved a great deal of theoretical debate about its merits, flaws, and potential future within the discipline. Despite the loud call for becoming more public, existing research on the discipline lacks both an empirical understanding of where we are as well as a methodological rubric to guide future inquiry. This project explores one outlet for public sociology—the press—as a starting point for this line of research. Through an investigation of Associated Press stories featuring sociology and sociologists, we seek to provide a baseline for consideration of public sociology efforts by describing the current state of how our discipline and its members are portrayed in the press. Further, based on our findings we provide some insights for future research.     

Family Law and Foster Care

Abstract

There are challenges associated with teaching family law and public policy; however, cooperative learning, a recognized teaching strategy that serves to enhance students' overall development, including academic, cognitive, and social growth, can be used successfully to teach this subject matter. In this paper, we describe how we taught students about some aspects of qualitative research methods, foster care policies, and pertinent family law concepts and practices; this was done through the initiation of a research team of undergraduate and graduate students. We explain the development of a cooperative research team, and the methods used to teach family law, using foster care as a context. The observed outcomes for students and faculty members are offered to readers.     

Where Are the Missing Coauthors? Authorship Practices in Participatory Research

Originally marginal, participatory research has become an increasingly important methodology in the social, biophysical, and interdisciplinary sciences. The overall increase in publications based on participatory research has raised questions about crediting the contributions of nonacademic collaborators. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, we analyzed trends and patterns in authorship and acknowledgment practices in a sample of 262 journal articles reporting on participatory research on rural livelihoods published from 1975 to 2013. Six percent of the researchers recognized the intellectual contributions of their nonacademic collaborators with coauthorship and 51 percent with acknowledgment. Through interviews with lead authors of coauthored articles, we analyzed factors that shaped whether authorship was shared with nonacademic collaborators. Despite facing numerous barriers, researchers were motivated to coauthor in order to recognize intellectual contributions, practice research ethics, and work toward epistemic decolonization. We argue that coauthorship can be an important component of epistemic justice in participatory research and encourage participatory researchers to discuss authorship with their nonacademic collaborators as a routine component of engaged scholarship. We also note that nonacademics’ contributions to scientific knowledge need to be taken into account in understandings of the practice of science.     

Meeting the needs of sexually exploited young people: the challenge of conducting policy‐relevant research

This article is concerned with the relationship between research, policy and service development. It outlines some of the findings of a two‐year research study exploring the extent of, and responses to, the service needs of young people at risk of sexual exploitation in London. The study is described as a case study in conducting policy‐relevant research into a ‘hidden’ social problem. Some challenges of such research are identified. In particular, we discuss our utilisation of the Multiple Indicator Method as a means of estimating a ‘hard to count’ population. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The power of difference in inclusive research

Inclusive research involves people with intellectual disabilities actively and strives for empowerment and normalisation. Less is written about the power dynamics in a research team consisting of researchers and people with intellectual disabilities and the possible value of such collaboration. In this auto-ethnography we reflect on these aspects and the challenges along the way. We conclude that striving for normalisation can be paralysing; ‘doing the same’ is not always possible and can be disempowering for all members of the research team. Acknowledging differences and uniqueness enriches research outcomes and makes us reflect on our own, sometimes rigid, academic frameworks.     

Benefits of an Arts-Based Mindfulness Group Intervention for Vulnerable Children

We discuss qualitative and quantitative research findings from a study exploring the benefits and effectiveness of a 12-week arts-based mindfulness group program for vulnerable children (children who were involved with the child welfare or mental health systems and experienced a variety of challenges). Using post-group individual interviews with children/guardians, and pre and post-intervention self-report data (using the Piers-Harris Children’s Self-Concept Scale and the Resiliency Scales for Children and Adolescents), we hypothesized that children would have improved resilience and self-concept after having completed the program. Interpretive thematic qualitative analysis was conducted using transcribed interview data collected from 47 children (30 girls and 17 boys with a mean age of 10.38 years). The perceived benefits of participating in the group included improved (a) emotion regulation, (b) mood, (c) coping/social skills, (d) confidence and self-esteem, (e) empathy, and (f) ability to pay attention and focus. The quantitative analysis used self-report data from 77 children (43 girls and 34 boys with a mean age of 10.34 years). A repeated measures MANOVA was used to examine changes across the intervention period. Our hypothesis that children would have better scores on self-concept after having completed the program was partially supported and this result reflected the perceived improvements derived from the qualitative analysis. The hypothesis that resilience would improve post-group was not supported. Using these promising results, we discuss how strengths-based and arts-based mindfulness group methods may be effective in engaging vulnerable children in a beneficial helping process.     

“We’re Who We’ve Been Waiting For”: Intergenerational Community Organizing for a Healthy Community

This study, guided by principles of community-based participatory research (CBPR), presents the processes, challenges, and effects of intergenerational community organizing practice of a local grassroots organization to promote community health in multiracial and historically marginalized communities. Three major lessons emerged: (1) the central role of experiential communal learning and critical analysis in collective knowledge creation, (2) development of collective efficacy through a genuine sense of connection and mutual affirmation, and 3) the importance of a co-learner stance in fostering intergenerational leadership. The interconnection between process and product is emphasized as the central tenet in both community organizing and CBPR processes.     

Making feminism count: integrating feminist research principles in large-scale quantitative research on violence against women and girls

ABSTRACT

Applying a feminist approach to research on ending violence against women and girls (VAWG) is critical because gender inequality is an underlying driver of VAWG, and feminist research aims to empower women and girls, as well as challenge prevailing inequalities through the research process itself. However, feminist research approaches have not historically been applied in the international development sector, although statistical evidence on what works to end VAWG is in high demand from governments and donors. In this article, we explore how researchers could practically reconcile an explicitly feminist undertaking, like ending VAWG, when accepted research practices within this field employ methods that are historically not informed by feminist praxis. We argue that quantitative research and feminist research approaches are not mutually exclusive, rather, they can (and do) overlap. Drawing on five decades of combined experience conducting quantitative studies on VAWG in low- and middle-income countries around the world, we highlight the challenges and opportunities for incorporating feminist research principles throughout the research process – from design, community engagement, data collection, analysis, dissemination, and policy influence. We draw on practical examples from research conducted in countries as diverse as Timor-Leste, Kiribati, and Sri Lanka, among others, illustrating that it is not only possible to apply feminist research principles to large-scale, quantitative survey research on VAWG, but that this should become a priority for good development practice.