In whose interests? When relational engagement to obtain a social license leads to paradoxical outcomes

Social license to operate (SLO) is typically associated with seemingly positive outcomes for both communities and organizations. Similarly, relational engagement is typically favored over more instrumental or episodic forms. This paper presents a case study, however, of an organization that undertook ostensibly dialogic and relational processes of engagement with its stakeholders to generate social capital and a SLO, yet also to obtain political power. While the organization arguably provided substantial benefit to the local community, paradoxically it also wielded significant power over the community. The findings from the case suggest that the evaluation of SLO – and by extension, normative engagement – should move beyond assessing positive outcomes, to critically asking whether or not the organization contributes to a fully functioning society.     

Is theory development essential for the social work dissertation?

Grounded theory methodology (GTM) is a popular methodology used in social work dissertation research. GTM entails the development of theory ‘grounded in’ and generated from data systematically gathered and analyzed through qualitative methods. But little is known of its theory development and relationship to social work education at the doctoral level. In this article, we reflect on contemporary usage of GTM with respect to the state of theory development in social work education by reviewing a sample of Canadian social work doctoral dissertations that utilize GTM, identifying if and how theory was developed. Our analysis draws from a broader review of GTM research published as social work doctoral dissertations in Canada using the Qualitative Research Quality Checklist (QRQC). The findings indicate that almost half of the dissertations in the sample did not contribute to theory development, and for many, theory development was not the intention. This raises a question about whether theory development when utilizing GTM is essential in social work dissertation research, and perhaps, whether the focus should be on exploring a social work issue rather than generating theory. The paper concludes with considerations for social work educators in regards to research methodology, epistemology, and theory.     

Elder care as "frustrating" and "boring": Understanding the persistence of negative attitudes toward older patients among physicians-in-training

ObjectivesThis study explores the attitudes of physicians-in-training toward older patients. Specifically, we examine why, despite increasing exposure to geriatrics in medical school curricula, medical students and residents continue to have negative attitudes toward caring for older patients.MethodsThis study used ethnography, a technique used by anthropologists that includes participant-observation, semi-structured interviews, and facilitated group discussions. Research was conducted at two tertiary-care academic hospitals in urban Northern California, and focused on eliciting the opinions, beliefs, and practices of physicians-in-training toward geriatrics.ResultsWe found that the majority of physicians-in-training in this study expressed a mix of positive and negative views about caring for older patients. We argue that physicians-in-trainings' attitudes toward older patients are shaped by a number of heterogeneous and frequently conflicting factors, including both the formal and so-called “hidden” curricula in medical education, institutional demands on physicians to encourage speed and efficiency of care, and portrayals of the process of aging as simultaneously as a “problem” of inevitable biological decay and an opportunity for medical intervention.DiscussionEfforts to educate medical students and residents about appropriate geriatric care tend to reproduce the paradoxes and uncertainties surrounding aging in biomedicine. These ambiguities contribute to the tendency of physicians-in-training to develop moralizing attitudes about older patients and other patient groups labeled “frustrating” or “boring”.     

Public relations,futures planning and political talk for addressing wicked problems

This conceptual article highlights the separate shortcomings of stakeholder engagement broadly, deliberative engagement specifically, and scenario planning in their separate application to address future problems, especially those termed as ‘wicked’ problems. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, we combine the most relevant and useful aspects of these concepts and outline how, when taken together, they can be used by public relations (PR) practitioners to open ‘political talk’ in order to address wicked societal problems. In doing so, this article follows Turk’s (1986) call to look to future methodologies as way of expanding PR practice beyond the technical, functional skills that have typically defined the field. It also takes up Willis’ (2016) call for PR to take a wider role in helping governments and society tackle wicked problems.     

Cheats,charity cases and inspirations: disrupting the circulation of disability-based memes online

With the increasing part online self-performance plays in day-to-day life in the twenty-first century, it is not surprising that critiques of the way the daily social drama of disability plays out in online spaces and places have begun to gain prominence. In this article, I consider memes as a highly specific style or strategy for representing disability via social media sites. I identify three commonly circulating categories of meme – the charity case, inspiration and cheat memes – all of which offer representations that people with disabilities find highly problematic. I then investigate the ways in which disabled people have begun to resist the representation and circulation of these commonly circulating categories of memes, via the production of counter or parodic memes. I focus, in particular, on the subversive potential of these counter memes, within disability communities online and within broader communities online.     

The Moderating Effects of Pubertal Timing on the Longitudinal Associations Between Parent–Child Relationship Quality and Adolescent Substance Use

This prospective, longitudinal study investigated the moderating role of pubertal timing on reciprocal links between adolescent appraisals of parent–child relationship quality and girls' (N=1,335) and boys' (N=1,203) cigarette and alcohol use across a 12‐month period. Reciprocal effects were found between parent–child relations and on‐time maturing boys and girls' cigarette and alcohol use, after estimating stability in these constructs across time. Parent–child relationship quality was associated with increased alcohol use 12 months later for early maturing girls. Cigarette and alcohol use were associated with increased problems in the parent–child relationship for late maturing girls. No effects were observed for early and late maturing boys in the pathways between parent–child relationship quality and substance use. Pubertal timing moderated the pathway linking parent–child relationship quality with cigarette use 1 year later such that the association was stronger for late maturing girls compared with early and on‐time maturing girls. The findings indicate interplay between the psychosocial aspects of maturation, family relationships, and adolescent substance use and highlight possible gender‐specific influences.     

La règle et la pratique. La cas du conflit israélo-palestinien dans le dernière décennie (2004–2014)

Cette contribution analyse le gouvernement par les normes dans le conflit israélo palestinien depuis une décennie. L’hypothèse est que le droit et l’ensemble des dispositifs sécuritaires et juridiques, s’ils sont intimement liés à l’ordre du contrôle et d’une certaine domination, donnent lieu à différentes représentations cognitives. L’enjeu est pour certains agents de se saisir des règles à l’?uvre dans les dispositifs de contrôle et d’en faire un usage pratique, voire stratégique. L’étude questionne ainsi la porosité morale des dispositifs de gestion de ce conflit et la diversité des conduites morales. Différents cas de figures (la mobilité économique et résidentielle, la lutte contre les expropriations ou la conquête des droits au travail) permettent de poser un regard contrasté sur la qualification de cette réalité sécuritaire par les citoyens Palestiniens de Cisjordanie ou de Jérusalem. L’étude s’appuie sur un ensemble de matériaux d’enquête, qui renvoient à des évènements différents propres à fonder des configurations socio spatiales, permettent d’analyser certaines justifications ou les motifs d’action de citoyens, pris dans les dispositifs juridico-normatifs.