Constructions of Europe in the run-up to the EU referendum in the UK

The paper reports findings from a focus group study on representations of Europe, conducted in England in the run-up to the UK EU referendum. Four themes were identified in the analysis: ‘cultured Europe’; ‘little Europe/global Britain’; ‘Europe as a cultural threat’; and ‘Eastern vs. Western Europe’. Analysis of these themes showed that Europe was an ambivalent identity category that could encapsulate contrary ideas such as cosmopolitanism/isolationism and cultural enrichment/undermining. Europe’s relation to Britain was also ambivalent in the data. Britain could be positioned as superior to Europe, sometimes being seen as closer to the ‘European essence’ in the context of the EU’s eastward expansion, which was seen as diluting European culture. But, Britain could also be seen as backward compared to the idea of cosmopolitan continental Europe. These different lines of argument and their ideological underpinnings are explored in the discussion of the findings.     

On the relation between corruption and market competition

We construct a model where bureaucrats are corruptible, in the sense that they may accept bribes in order to mislead the authorities on the actual circumstances of firms that do not comply with a government regulation. We show that corruption increases the number of competing firms. We also show that increased competition (i) increases the likelihood that corruptible bureaucrats will actually transgress, and (ii) increases the bribe that corrupt bureaucrats will demand from each firm. These results are consistent with existing evidence showing a positive relation between competition and corruption, and that this causal relation operates in both directions.     

Taking pleasure seriously: the political significance of subcultural practice

This paper demonstrates that subcultural theory continues to provide a relevant and useful analysis of youth leisure practices and their political significance in contemporary society. It achieves this by analysing the theoretical antecedents to both subcultural theory and the post-subcultural theory that followed it. It is argued that the post-subcultural turn to studying affects and everyday lives resonates deeply with the Gramscian perspective informing subcultural theory. It is thus possible to interpret post-subculturalism as augmenting rather than negating its predecessor. Deploying an analysis that combines these perspectives allows for an account of contemporary youth leisure practices that demonstrates a number of different forms of politics explicated within the paper: a politics of identity and becoming; a politics of defiance; a politics of affective solidarity and a politics of different experience. Whilst not articulated or necessarily conscious, there is a proto-politics to youth leisure that precludes it from being dismissed as entirely empty, hedonistic and consumerist. This paper demonstrates how the lens of post-subculturalism focuses on the affective spaces where this politics is most apparent and provides a means of updating subcultural theory to understand contemporary youth practices.     

Disability studies as a framework to design disability awareness programs: no need for ‘magic’ to facilitate children’s understanding

Abstract

This paper presents and critically discusses a disability awareness program that was addressed to non-disabled children aged between 6-8 years old in Cyprus. The main aims were to explore how disability studies and anti-oppressive pedagogies could inform decisions on structured activities and materials to support children understand disability as condition of life, and recognize disabling practices. Artefacts from children’s work and narratives are presented throughout the paper to inform decisions and choices in relation to the program. The discussion draws on international literature and critically examines: a. how disability feminists’ focus on experiences of disability can have a central place in awareness raising programs, and can be further strengthened by a social model understanding of disability, b. the local context and the use of language as raised by postmodernists/poststructuralists, and c. the use of cartoons as a form of art that can help recognize and challenge dominant disability stereotypes.     

Brain Emotion Systems,Personality, Hopelessness,Self/Other Perception,and Gambling Cognition: A Structural Equation Model

The aim of this study was to explore the relations between gambling, brain emotion systems, personality, self/other perception, and hopelessness in an Italian community. Dimensions of gambling, positive and negative emotions, self/other perception, personality and hopelessness were assessed in a community sample of 235 adults aged 19–59 years. Two structural models were tested. We found a significant correlation between problem gambling and impulsivity, which in association with aggressivity and negative personality dimensions may help explain the psychopathology factor, i.e. a latent variable involving neurotic personality, hopelessness, high sensation seeking, low metacognitive responsiveness, and disorganized patterns of interpersonal relationships. These results contribute to develop a theoretical framework of gambling in relation with personality factors and provide a new approach for clinical intervention of problem gambling that relies on a solid multidimensional perspective.     

A Comparison of Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men Among Students of Helping Professions in Crete,Greece: The Cases of Social Work,Psychology, Medicine,and Nursing

This study investigated the attitudes toward lesbians and gay men among social work, psychology, medical, and nursing students in Crete, Greece, using Herek’s ATLG scale. No respondents held completely heterosexist attitudes; only 1.6% held completely non-heterosexist attitudes. The 44.96 total ATLG score indicates a slightly positive attitude toward lesbians and gay men. Psychology students scored higher than all others on positive attitudes, followed by social work students, medical students, and nursing students. Gender, having lesbian or gay acquaintances or friends, and religiosity were significant factors influencing students’ attitudes, while no impact on attitudes due to the effects of higher education could be discerned. Implications for curriculum design and teaching methods are discussed.     

Team adaptation triggers: A categorization scheme

In the present study of the journal of Gruppe. Interaktion. Organisation, the purpose was to identify the types of events that activate team adaptive behavior during goal achievement and to provide a roadmap for future research into how team adaptation responses may differ depending on the demands faced. Two hundred and eight engineering students involved in an eight-week team project, participated in our study. They reported, at three time points, 271 events that triggered their team to change their way of functioning. We applied qualitative content analysis to identify the underlying categories of the collected triggers and identified three main categories of internal (interpersonal dynamics, task-related activities, reaching a milestone), and three main categories of external team adaption triggers (change in resources, interventions, alterations in framework), with various subcategories. Our findings demonstrated that team adaptation triggers can stem from the team’s environment and from the team itself. Furthermore, our results suggested that positively connoted events (e.g. achievement of subgoals) as well as negatively connoted events (e.g. loss of a member) are perceived as relevant team adaptation triggers. Our study opens a new avenue for team adaptation theory and research by providing the first categorization scheme of team adaptation triggers. Future studies can from now provide insight into the relationship between trigger features and team adaptation processes, exploring team adaptation success in various contexts.

     

What do urban college students really think about health insurance? A qualitative study

Abstract

Objective: To determine barriers and opportunities to health insurance enrollment among an undergraduate students at a large urban university. Participants: Participants were 31 college students enrolled in 4-year and community colleges in the City University of New York (CUNY), and six health services and insurance enrollment specialists who facilitate and assist in the health insurance enrollment process for CUNY students. Methods: Focus groups were conducted with students and in-depth interviews with key informants in May 2017. Results: The research revealed important insights into how students perceive and value insurance and yielded recommendations for the university to improve enrollment of its students. Conclusions: Many colleges can increase student enrollment in health insurance by informing and educating students about the process. Improving enrollment processes can increase insurance rates and improve student population health.     

Understanding the development of differentiated instruction for students with and without disabilities in co-taught classrooms

Differentiation has gained international attention as a strategy associated with responsive teaching, and as a means for ensuring access to the curriculum for all pupils. This study investigates the development of differentiated instruction in 34 Greek co-taught classrooms. The aim is to explore how co-teachers understand the term ‘differentiated instruction’, and to identify the conditions surrounding its implementation as an inclusive strategy. Sixty-eight semi-structured interviews and 57 unstructured narrative observations were implemented with mainstream and special education co-teachers. We suggest that co-teachers understood differentiated instruction as a ‘child’s deficit-oriented activity’ for students with disabilities and not as a ‘context-oriented approach’ for all students. Co-teachers attributed the limited differentiated instruction observed to several contextual factors. However, we argue that the understanding of disability through the medical model and Foucault’s ‘medical gaze’ results in the construction of differentiated instruction as a remedial approach and, by extension, its limited use in mainstream classrooms.