Improving research about us,with us: a draft framework for inclusive autism research

It is both epistemologically as well as ethically problematic if the autistic voice is not heard in relation to social scientific research seeking to further develop knowledge of autism. Ever since autism first emerged, it has remained medicalised and almost exclusively the preserve of non-autistic researchers. More recently, autistic individuals have begun to contribute to autism research. However, the vast majority of research in autism is still undertaken on autistic people, rather than with them, and is often not concerned with improving the day-to-day lives of people with autism. We discuss the concepts of participatory research and emancipatory research before presenting a draft framework for what we regard as truly inclusive research in autism. Our proposals are firmly based on ideas developed by the members of a university-based group of autistic adults (the Asperger’s Consultation Group) as well as the knowledge and experience of the other contributors.     

Eating together and eating alone: meal arrangements in British households

Sociology traditionally accounts for eating in terms of the social organization of meals, their provision and consumption. A recurrent public concern is that the meal is being subverted. This paper examines meal arrangements in British households in 2012, drawing on an online survey in the format of a food diary administered to 2784 members of a supermarket consumer panel. It charts the organization of contemporary eating occasions, paying attention to socio‐demographic variation in practice. Especially, it explores companionless meals, putting them in contexts of food provisioning and temporal rhythms. Findings show that eating alone is associated with simpler, quicker meals, and that it takes place most commonly in the morning and midday. Those living alone eat alone more often, but at similar meal times, and they take longer over their lone meals. Comparison with a similar study in 1955–6 suggests some fragmentation or relaxation in collective schedules. The implications are not straightforward, and the causes probably lie more in institutional shifts than personal preferences. Declining levels of commensality are, however, associated with a reduction in household size and, especially in households with children, difficulties of coordinating family members’ schedules.     

Assessing Corporate Social Responsibility in China’s Sports Lottery Administration and Its Influence on Consumption Behavior

The purpose of this study was to identify and examine consumer perception of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in China's sports lottery industry, and the effect of perceived CSR initiatives on sports lottery consumption behavior. Research participants (N = 4,980), selected based on a computer-generated, randomly stratified multistage sampling process, comprised Chinese residents who had purchased sports lottery tickets in the past 12 months. They completed a questionnaire that was derived from a qualitative research process. A factor analysis extracted two factors associated with perceptions of CSR in China's sports lottery administration: Regulatory and Prevention Responsibilities and Product Development Responsibility. Logistic regression analyses revealed that these two factors were influential of consumer behavior (i.e., relative and absolute expenditure, purchasing frequency, and time commitment). This study represents an initial effort to understand the dimensions of perceived CSR associated with Chinese sports lottery. The findings signify the importance of enforcing CSR in sports lottery administration.     

Mixed Emotions to Near-Miss Outcomes: A Psychophysiological Study with Facial Electromyography

Near-misses occur across many forms of gambling and are rated as unpleasant while simultaneously increasing the motivation to continue playing. On slot machines, the icon position relative to the payline moderates the effects of near-misses, with near-misses before the payline increasing motivation, and near-misses after the payline being rated as aversive. Near-misses are also known to increase physiological arousal compared to full-misses, but physiological measures to date have not been able to dissociate positive and negative emotional responses. The present study measured facial electromyography at the corrugator (brow) and zygomaticus (cheek) sites, as well as electrodermal activity (EDA), following gambling outcomes on a two-reel slot machine simulation in 77 novice gamblers. Behavioral data was collected using trial-by-trial ratings of motivation and valence. Wins were rated as more pleasant and increased motivation to continue playing, compared to non-win outcomes. Wins were also accompanied by increased EDA and zygomaticus activity. Near-misses after the payline were rated as more aversive than other non-wins, and this was accompanied by increased EDA and zygomaticus activity. Near-misses before the payline increased motivation to continue playing, and were accompanied by increased EDA. Thus, both subjective and physiological responses to near-misses differ for events falling either side of the payline. The ‘near-miss effect’ is not a unitary phenomenon. Facial EMG has differential sensitivity to positive and negative valence and may be a useful measure for future studies of gambling behavior.     

Residential Child Care Agencies as Learning Organisations: Innovation and Learning from Mistakes

The residential child care sector has been scrutinised via numerous inquiries following revelations of abusive and poor practice. These inquiries have made numerous recommendations which involve changes in practice and organisational culture, much of which is congruent with the features of a learning organisation. This article details research which evaluates the extent to which residential child care agencies exhibit the characteristics of a learning organisation. The research involved qualitative and quantitative methods, drawing on the experiences of a range of staff from the residential child care sector within Scotland. The findings revealed that residential child care agencies exhibit many features of a learning organisation, yet the extent to which these characteristics are perceived to exist differs significantly in line with the position staff occupy. Most significant were the findings that many staff do not feel supported to take risks nor encouraged to develop innovative practice; mistakes are not used as learning opportunities and a culture of blame is felt to exist. The implications of this are significant and this article identifies changes necessary to allow residential child care agencies to operate as learning organisations.     

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Lifetime Prevalence of Homelessness in the United States

Homelessness in the United States is often examined using cross-sectional, point-in-time samples. Any experience of homelessness is a risk factor for adverse outcomes, so it is also useful to understand the incidence of homelessness over longer periods. We estimate the lifetime prevalence of homelessness among members of the Baby Boom cohort (n = 6,545) using the 2012 and 2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative survey of older Americans. Our analysis indicates that 6.2 % of respondents had a period of homelessness at some point in their lives. We also identify dramatic disparities in lifetime incidence of homelessness by racial and ethnic subgroups. Rates of homelessness were higher for non-Hispanic blacks (16.8 %) or Hispanics of any race (8.1 %) than for non-Hispanic whites (4.8 %; all differences significant with p < .05). The black-white gap, but not the Hispanic-white gap, remained significant after adjustment for covariates such as education, veteran status, and geographic region.     

Reimagining dialogue in public relations: Bakhtin and open dialogue in the public sphere

Over the past several decades, public relations scholarship has added significant richness to its understanding of dialogue. Such research has followed a theoretical trajectory centered on the “I and Thou” philosophy of Martin Buber. Drawing from Mikhail Bakhtin’s Dialogic Imagination, this essay puts public relations dialogic scholarship into conversation with the concept of dialogue in a broader societal context. Bakhtin’s work provides additional understanding of public relations’ roles in dialogue, particularly in regards to facilitating public conversations. Bakhtin’s emphasis on contextual and individually generated meanings illuminates the nature and structure of public conversations and the potential for public relations practitioners to play a more active and positive role in the enactment of open dialogue.     

Exploring Accountability in Social Enterprise: Priorities,Practicalities, and Legitimacy

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - This paper draws upon accountability and legitimacy theories to explore for what social enterprises are accountable, how...