More visualising, more methodologies: on video, reflexivity and qualitative research

This article was conceived as a response to Ruth Holliday's article published in The Sociological Review in 2001 (48 (4): 503–22) ‘We've been framed: visualising methodology’. Whilst recognising that Holliday's work makes both an important contribution to her substantive area and describes an innovative use of video in qualitative research, her critique of visual anthropology as a discipline that uses reflexivity as a muse to hide its positivist truth quest has some serious problems that need to be redressed. Here I shall draw from existing work to discuss how reflexivity has been a key theme in the development of visual anthropology since the latter part of the twentieth century.     

Crime in the Movies: Investigating the Efficacy of Measures of Both Sex and Gender for Predicting Victimization and Offending in Film

In the wake of several recent school shootings claims have been made that teens, particularly males, learn violence from the media. This paper investigates depictions of criminals and victims in film, specifically in reference to the gendered nature of violent crime, utilizing a content analysis of popular domestic movies in 1996. We develop a gender measure that is separate and distinct from sex in order to test the relationship between both variables and movie offending and victimization. In our sample, masculinity was significantly related to both movie offending and victimization, but sex was not. This pattern of results indicate that the media may be influential in establishing values that accept violence as one means to accomplish masculinity.     

Any Difference? An Analysis of Gender and Divisional Management Styles in a Large Airline

There has been much debate as to whether women manage differently from men and whether this may constitute a reason for women's lack of progress to the top echelons of organizations (Tanton 1994; Coyle 1993; Still 1994; Wajcman 1998). This article locates the sameness/difference debate in a wider analysis of management styles, with particular attention paid to the business function. It is also suggested that any debate on styles must take place within a feminist theoretical framework which acknowledges inequalities of power, economic and patriarchal interests. Management skills are socially constructed (Phillips and Taylor 1980) and change according to social and economic conditions. The article shows that business function is the most important influence on management style. The author contends, like others, that even in times of great change, men seem to be able to hold on to the most powerful positions in organizations (Cockburn 1986; Savage and Witz 1992; Collinson et al. 1990). The convergence of patriarchal interests with business interests ultimately determines what style is valued. The much vaunted feminization of management (Rosener 1990) does not mean that more women are to be found in senior positions in organizations. Nor do large numbers of women managers necessarily lead to a more feminized management style (Kanter 1977). Stereotypes of women still act against their acceptance into positions of power while men's ability to adopt some of traditionally feminine skills of communication means that women's supposed advantage (Rosener 1990) may have been leapfrogged.     

Beyond Assessment: Social Work Intervention in Family Court Enquiries

Most parents or carers who separate or divorce are able to makearrangements themselves about where their children will resideand how the children’s contact with the non-resident parentwill be managed. A further group of parents or carers are ableto come to agreement with the assistance of community- or court-baseddispute resolution/ mediation services. There are times, however,when disputes cannot be resolved without recourse to the courtsand, when this happens, the court will normally request thata welfare report be prepared by a CAFCASS (Children and FamilyCourt Advisory and Support Service) practitioner. While theboundary between assessment and intervention in social workis often less than clear, the commissioning of a court welfarereport in family proceedings strongly suggests an assessmentfocus and appears to carry little expectation that the practitionershould intervene in order to meet the needs of the childrenor adults involved. This article presents recent research findingsthat illustrate ways in which CAFCASS practitioners do go beyondthe assessment role expected of them in the course of the enquiriesthey undertake. Implications for policy and practice in thisarea of social work are then discussed.     

Micro‐provision of Social Care Support for Marginalized Communities – Filling the Gap or Building Bridges to the Mainstream?

As English social care services reconstruct themselves in response to the personalization agenda, there is increased interest in the contribution of micro‐providers – very small community‐based organizations, which can work directly with individuals. These micro‐providers are assumed to be able to cater for the ‘seldom heard’ groups which have been marginalized within mainstream social care services. This article reviews recent literature from the UK published in peer‐reviewed journals from 2000 to 2013 on support provision for people with protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010. It considers the marginalising dynamics in mainstream, statutory social care support provision, and how far local community, specialist or small‐scale services are responding to unmet need for support and advice among marginalized groups. The review found that there is a tradition of compensatory self‐organization, use of informal networks and a mobilization of social capital for all these groups in response to marginalization from mainstream, statutory services. This requires recognition and nurturing in ways that do not stifle its unique nature. Specialist and community‐based micro‐providers can contribute to a wider range of choices for people who feel larger, mainstream services are not suitable or accessible. However, the types of compensatory activity identified in the research need recognition and investment, and its existence does not imply that the mainstream should not address marginalization.     

Divorce in sub‐Saharan Africa: Are Unions Becoming Less Stable?

Divorce is one of the main drivers of family instability in sub‐Saharan Africa. Using data from 101 Demographic and Health Surveys and novel estimation techniques, we 1) provide the first systematic estimates of divorce across 33 countries; 2) assess trends in divorce in 20 countries; and 3) investigate the key country‐level correlates of divorce both across and within countries. Despite considerable geographic variation, our estimates show that divorce is common in most countries. Contrary to expectations, however, we find no evidence that divorce is increasing. Instead, divorce has been either stable or declining in recent decades. We show that socioeconomic factors associated with industrialization have countervailing effects on divorce. Urbanization and female employment are associated with higher levels of divorce, while age at first marriage and female education correspond to lower rates. These findings have implications for current and future family dynamics in sub‐Saharan Africa.     

The Effect of Prenatal Natural Disaster Exposure on School Outcomes

This study looks at the impact of exposure to natural disasters during pregnancy on the educational outcomes of North Carolina children at the third grade level. A broad literature relates negative birth outcomes to poor educational performance, and a number of recent studies have examined the effect of prenatal exposure to natural disasters on birth outcomes. This study takes the next step by considering how prenatal exposure affects later outcomes. Combining North Carolina administrative data on births and school performance with disaster declarations from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) allows for the identification of children who were exposed to disasters during prenatal development. These children are compared with other children born in the same county who were not exposed to disasters while in utero. Regression results suggest that children exposed to hurricanes prenatally have lower scores on third grade standardized tests in math and reading. Those exposed to flooding or tornadoes also have somewhat lower math scores. Additionally, results suggest that these negative effects are more concentrated among children in disadvantaged subgroups, especially children born to black mothers. However, no evidence exists that these effects are mediated by common measures of birth outcomes, including birth weight and gestational age.     

Instagrowth: A Longitudinal Growth Mixture Model of Social Media Time Use Across Adolescence

This study examined differential patterns of time spent using social media in a sample of 457 adolescents over a 6‐year period. The majority of adolescents (83%), termed moderate users, reported steady social media use over time. A second group (increasers: 12%) reported low social media use that increased gradually and ended high at the end of the study. A third group, called peak users (6%), reported low social media that increased quickly after a few years and then returned to baseline levels. Low self‐regulation predicted being an increaser or peak user. Being a moderate user tended to be related to lower levels of depression, aggression, delinquency, social media problems, and cyberbullying across time, as compared with the other groups.     

Aspekte der Gesundheitsförderung für LehrerInnen

For future actions in workplace health promotion programs for teachers in secondary school, specific (health-related) work strain and resources should be examined. By means of a mail survey (return rate 55%) indicators of work strain, work-related resources, work-related wellbeing (self efficacy and job satisfaction) and indicators of subjective health state (GHQ-12, somatic symptom list and two global ratings of the state of health) were collected. Results show, that compared to other populations significant poorer health ratings for teachers are observed. According to the main presumption, the individual state of health is explainable to a great extent by work strain, resources and work related wellbeing (explained variance between 13 and 29%). The results show however, that the association between the perceived strength of several dimensions of work strain and resources at the one hand and subjective health state on the other hand is limited. Usually, actions in workplace health promotion are based on an empirical investigation concerning the working conditions. Actions that only focus on dimensions of work strain (or lacking resources) which are most emphasised by the employees may risk mischief, as other — more outstanding health related — aspects are possibly neglected. Foregoing investigations prior to workplace health promotions should therefore put more emphasise on the association of work strain, resources and indicators of health.