Toward Father‐friendly Parenting Interventions: A Qualitative Study

Levels of father participation in parenting interventions are often very low, yet little is known about the factors which influence father engagement. We aimed to qualitatively explore perceived barriers to, and preferences for, parenting interventions in a community sample of fathers. Forty‐one fathers across nine focus groups were interviewed using a semi‐structured interview. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Key barriers to father participation identified included: the perception that interventions are mother‐focused; beliefs about gender roles regarding parenting and help‐seeking; mothers’ role as ‘gatekeeper’; lack of knowledge and awareness of parenting interventions; and lack of relevance of interventions. Fathers reported preferences for specific content and intervention features, facilitator characteristics, practical factors, and highlighted the need for father‐targeted recruitment and advertising. Many of the barriers and preferences identified are consistent with previous research; however, fathers’ beliefs and attitudes around gender roles and help‐seeking, as well as the perception that interventions are predominantly mother‐focused, may be key barriers for community fathers. Strategies to overcome these barriers and better meet the needs of fathers in promoting and delivering parenting interventions are discussed.     

出生人口性别比与和谐社会建设:一个定性和定量分析

20世纪80年代中期以来,中国的出生性别比持续攀升,出生人口性别结构严重失衡。运用定性和定量相结合的研究方法,探讨出生性别比失衡的潜在因素和制度因素。分析结果表明,农村地区出生性别比的失衡与儿子预期的经济价值和文化功用相关。最后提出具有针对性的缓解出生性别比失衡的建议。     

The significance of meaning. Why IPBES needs the social sciences and humanities

The term “biodiversity” is often used to describe phenomena of nature, which can be studied without a reference to the socially constructed, evaluative, or indeed normative contexts. In our paper, we challenge this conception by focusing particularly on methodological aspects of biodiversity research. We thereby engage with the idea of interdisciplinary biodiversity research as a scientific approach directed at the recognition and management of contemporary society in its ecological embedding. By doing this, we explore how research on and assessments of biodiversity can be enhanced if meaning, aspiration, desires, and related aspects of agency are methodically taken into account. In six sections, we substantiate our claim that the discourse on biodiversity (including the IPBES (Intergovernmental science-policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services) debate) is incomplete without contributions from the social sciences and humanities. In the introduction, a brief overview of biodiversity’s conceptual history is provided showing that “biodiversity” is a lexical invention intended to create a strong political momentum. However, that does not impede its usability as a research concept. Section 2 examines the origins of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) by way of sociological discourse analysis. Subsequently, it proposes a matrix as a means to structure the ambiguities and tensions inherent in the CBD. The matrix reemphasizes our main thesis regarding the need to bring social and ethical expertise to the biodiversity discourse. In Section 3, we offer a brief sketch of the different methods of the natural and social sciences as well as ethics. This lays the groundwork for our Section 4, which explains and illustrates what social sciences and ethics can contribute to biodiversity research. Section 5 turns from research to politics and argues that biodiversity governance necessitates deliberative discourses in which participation of lay people plays an important role. Section 6 provides our conclusions.     

从“志在富民”到“文化自觉”:费孝通先生晚年的思想转向

本文是对费孝通先生晚年思想转向之成因的研究。费孝通晚年的研究强调理论与实践并重,力倡"文化自觉",由早年注重西方文化变而偏重于中国传统文化。通过对费孝通晚年著作的详细考察,本文认为,费孝通的思想转向是他在对中国现实社会的不间断的调查、实践和反思中形成的。这种思想转向是一种"社会科学"的转向,而不是文化立场的转变。本文以四个部分来论述这种转向的发生。前两个部分讨论费孝通晚年谱写的"两篇文章",即小城镇和乡镇企业研究、民族和边区开发研究。在这两个领域的经验研究中,费孝通都遇到了社会学和人类学上的挑战,他发现：乡村工业、民族和边区的发展都不只是经济社会政策的问题,甚至也不是经济和社会结构的问题,而是和其背后"只能意会、不能言传"的心态和文化有关。如何把握这些心态和文化,是本文的第三个部分,即费孝通晚年社会学方法论的主要内容。费先生从英国人类学家Leach因《江村经济》所提出的两个方法论问题入手,在生命的最后十多年里展开了漫长而严谨的反思。反思的结果一方面是对社会学研究方法论的新看法,也是对上述两个经验问题的总回答,另一方面是对"文化自觉"理论的方法论补充。本文的最后一个部分讨论的是费孝通作为一个社会科学家,晚年如何身体力行,在"差序格局"中"推己及人",延续了中国传统文化中以天下为己任的士大夫精神,是为真正的"文化自觉"。     

The Scalability of the Shack/Slum Dwellers International Methodology: Context and Constraint in Cape Town

Shack/Slum Dwellers International (SDI) was created by the Indian Alliance and South African partners. SDI has affiliates in 33 countries and is probably the world's largest network of community peer‐to‐peer knowledge exchange in the area of slum/informal settlement upgrading. Common to the Indian Alliance's ‘Federation Model’ and the SDI methodology are a commitment to community organization and community‐led upgrading that is undertaken in partnership with local government. In a context where it is projected that there will be two billion slum dwellers by 2030, the ambition is to enable tens of millions of households to obtain upgraded housing and services. This article questions the scalability and universality of the SDI methodology in Cape Town, where the SDI Secretariat is located.     

Pierre Bourdieu: theorizing the digital

ABSTRACT

Pierre Bourdieu is known for his research in the areas of education and cultural stratification that led to a number of theoretical contributions informing the social sciences. Bourdieu’s interrelated concepts of field, capital, and habitus have become central in many approaches to inequality and stratification across the social sciences. In addition, we argue that Bourdieu’s ideas also feature in what is increasingly known as ‘digital sociology.’ To underscore this claim, we explore the ways in which Bourdieu’s ideas continue to have a major impact on social science research both on and with digital and Internet-based technologies. To do so, we offer a review of both Bourdieusian theorizing of the digital vis-à-vis both research on the social impacts of digital communication technologies and the application of digital technologies to social science research methods. We contend that three interconnected features of Bourdieu’s sociology have allowed his approach to flourish in the digital age: (1) his theories’ inseparability from the practice of empirical research; (2) his ontological stance combining realism and social constructionism; and (3) his familiarity with concepts developed in other disciplines and participation in interdisciplinary collaborative projects. We not only reason that these three factors go some way in accounting for Bourdieu’s influence in many sociological subfields, but we also suggest that they have been especially successful in positioning Bourdieusian sociology to take advantage of opportunities associated with digital communication technologies.     

Predicting Attitudes Toward Lesbian and Gay Parent Families Among Portuguese Students from Helping Professions

The authors' goal was to characterize predictors of attitudes toward lesbian and gay parent families (LGPF), held by students enrolled in psychology, social work, medicine, nursing, elementary, and preschool education programs in Portugal. The authors examined the predictive value of students' (n = 600) sociodemographic characteristics when assessing their attitudes toward LGPF. Participant's gender, interpersonal contact with lesbians and gay men, gender role attitudes had indirect effects on attitudes toward LGPF, through attitudes toward lesbians and gay men. Understanding characteristics associated with attitudes toward LGPF may inform decisions in terms of the education and training of helping professionals.     

Supervision of students in social care education: practice teachers’ views of their role

This paper presents findings from research about how practice teachers in social care education in Ireland view their role, in particular what elements they prioritise and what they see as relatively unimportant. The aim of the research was exploratory, seeking to discover commonalities and differences in how practice teachers saw their role in the supervision of social care students. Q methodology was used to compare the participants’ viewpoints. Twenty practice teachers, from varying practice backgrounds and levels of experience, sorted statements outlining aspects of the practice teacher’s role, during individual interviews. Analysis indicates participants had two ways of conceptualising the role. One focuses within the agency, prioritising students’ awareness of the clients using the social care service and policies as guiding practice. The second encapsulates a broader view of learning beyond the agency, focusing on the practice teacher assisting the student to integrate theory with practice and using reflection as a learning tool. Conclusions are drawn in relation to social care education.     

Positive Identity Experiences of Young Bisexual and Other Nonmonosexual People: A Qualitative Inquiry

The majority of LGBTQ psychological research focuses on dysfunction. The exclusion of strengths-based perspectives in LGBTQ psychology limits the understanding of LGBTQ mental health. In this article we report experiences that young bisexual and other nonmonosexual people perceive as affirming of their sexual identity. A 28-day, daily diary study was used to investigate whether bisexual-identified participants encountered positive experiences related to their sexual identity, and which type of experiences they perceived to be positive. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, participants’ experiences were organized according to a social ecological model. Experiences were reported at the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and institutional levels, but most positive sexual identity experiences occurred at the interpersonal level. Implications for positive health outcome research and the integration of positive psychology with LGBTQ psychology are discussed, as well as study limitations.     

Prevalence of low bone health using quantitative ultrasound in Indian women aged 41–60 years: Its association with nutrition and other related risk factors

The purpose of this study was to find the prevalence of low bone health conditions and assess associated nutritional and other risk factors in Indian women aged 41–60 years. A total of 1,911 women participated in this cross-sectional study. Bone health was assessed using an Omnisense multisite quantitative ultrasound bone densitometer on two sites (radius and tibia). Crude prevalence of osteopenia and osteoporosis was found to be 30.09% and 19.89%, respectively. The Indian women were deficient in a majority of nutrients. Postmenopause, hysterectomy, hyperthyroid, hypothyroid, hypertension, low physical activity, low sun exposure, high stress levels, and low calcium levels were found to be independent risk factors of low bone health.