Regenerating Rural Social Space? Teacher Education for Rural-Regional Sustainability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reid, Jo-Anne; Green, Bill; Cooper, Maxine; Hastings, Wendy; Lock, Graeme; White, Simone

2010-01-01

The complex interconnection among issues affecting rural-regional sustainability requires an equally complex program of research to ensure the attraction and retention of high-quality teachers for rural children. The educational effects of the construction of the rural within a deficit discourse are highlighted. A concept of rural social space is…

Class-first analysis in a continuum: an approach to the complexities of schools, society, and insurgent science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valdiviezo, Laura Alicia

2010-06-01

This essay addresses Katherine Richardson Bruna's paper: Mexican Immigrant Transnational Social Capital and Class Transformation: Examining the Role of Peer Mediation in Insurgent Science, through five main points . First, I offer a comparison between the traditional analysis of classism in Latin America and Richardson Bruna's call for a class-first analysis in the North American social sciences where there has been a tendency to obviate the specific examination of class relations and class issues. Secondly, I discuss that a class-first analysis solely cannot suffice to depict the complex dimensions in the relations of schools and society. Thus, I suggest a continuum in the class-first analysis. Third, I argue that social constructions surrounding issues of language, ethnicity, and gender necessarily intersect with issues of class and that, in fact, those other constructions offer compatible epistemologies that aid in representing the complexity of social and institutional practices in the capitalist society. Richardson Bruna's analysis of Augusto's interactions with his teacher and peers in the science class provides a fourth point of discussion in this essay. As a final point in my response I discuss Richardson Bruna's idea of making accessible class-first analysis knowledge to educators and especially to science teachers.

Statistics and Data Interpretation for Social Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosenthal, James A.

2011-01-01

Written by a social worker for social work students, this is a nuts and bolts guide to statistics that presents complex calculations and concepts in clear, easy-to-understand language. It includes numerous examples, data sets, and issues that students will encounter in social work practice. The first section introduces basic concepts and terms to…

University Access and Theories of Social Justice: Contributions of the Capabilities Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson-Strydom, Merridy

2015-01-01

Issues of social justice in higher education together with a focus on access or widening participation have become of increasing importance globally. Given the complex theoretical terrain of social justice and the tensions inherent in applying social justice frameworks within higher education, and particularly in the area of access, this paper…

Everyday value conflicts and integrative complexity of thought.

PubMed

Myyry, Liisa

2002-12-01

This study examined the value pluralism model in everyday value conflicts, and the effect of issue context on complexity of thought. According to the cognitive manager model we hypothesized that respondents would obtain a higher level of integrative complexity on personal issues that on professional and general issues. We also explored the relations of integrative complexity to value priorities, measured by the Schwartz Value Survey, and to emotional empathy. The value pluralism model was not supported by the data collected from 126 university students from social science, business and technology. The cognitive manager model was partially confirmed by data from females but not from males. Concerning value priorities, more complex respondents had higher regard for self-transcendence values, and less complex respondents for self-enhancement values Emotional empathy was also significantly related to complexity score.

The complexities of governing in a social media world.

PubMed

Philpott, Thomas G; Swettenham, Julie

2012-01-01

The complexity of governing has increased with the Internet's introduction of social media. Boards need to be aware of social media impact upon external stakeholder relations, as well as legal responsibilities within the organization. This paper outlines the various implications of social media that a board needs to consider. A governance framework is used to help put the issues in perspective. The conclusion is that boards need to take social media seriously and ensure that their organization has a social media risk mitigation strategy for external communications, as well as eDiscovery. Various other strategies and tactics are suggested to help boards address the challenge.

A Citizen's Guide to U.S. Foreign Policy: Election '88. Nonpartisan Briefs on 18 Key Issues.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoepli, Nancy, Ed.; And Others

In order to make informed voting decisions citizens need background information on complex foreign policy issues facing the United States. This guide presents current issues and provides information to help citizens cast a thoughtful vote. The guide is divided into six main headings: Leadership; Security; Economic and Social Issues; Critical…

Social network extraction based on Web: 1. Related superficial methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khairuddin Matyuso Nasution, Mahyuddin

2018-01-01

Often the nature of something affects methods to resolve the related issues about it. Likewise, methods to extract social networks from the Web, but involve the structured data types differently. This paper reveals several methods of social network extraction from the same sources that is Web: the basic superficial method, the underlying superficial method, the description superficial method, and the related superficial methods. In complexity we derive the inequalities between methods and so are their computations. In this case, we find that different results from the same tools make the difference from the more complex to the simpler: Extraction of social network by involving co-occurrence is more complex than using occurrences.

Music Education: Cultural Values, Social Change and Innovation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walker, Robert

2007-01-01

This is an important work that addresses the complex issues surrounding musical meaning and experience, and the Western traditional justification for including music in education. The chapters in this volume examine the important subjects of tradition, innovation, social change, the music curriculum, music in the twentieth century, social strata,…

Enhancing the Cognitive Complexity in Social Studies Assessments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stobaugh, Rebecca; Tassell, Janet Lynne; Day, Martha M.; Blankenship, Hannah

2011-01-01

Social studies teachers are charged with the task of developing students' understandings as students engage in critical examination of social studies issues and topics. Teachers often use test items from textbooks or instructional resources, or create their own classroom assessments with no specific pedagogical foundation. All too often, these…

Mathematics and Social Justice in Grade 1: How Children Understand Inequality and Represent It

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murphy, M. Shaun

2009-01-01

Social justice might be considered too complex a topic to address with 6- and 7-year-olds, particularly through mathematics. How would first-graders understand social justice? The author believes that by focusing on inequality in relation to power and access to resources, freedom, and diversity, children could understand social justice issues. The…

Using Memes and Memetic Processes to Explain Social and Conceptual Influences on Student Understanding about Complex Socio-Scientific Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yoon, Susan

2008-01-01

This study investigated seventh grade learners' decision making about genetic engineering concepts and applications. A social network analyses supported by technology tracked changes in student understanding with a focus on social and conceptual influences. Results indicated that several social and conceptual mechanisms potentially affected how…

Leadership, Social Capital and Coastal Community Resource Governance: the Case of the Destructive Seaweed Harvest in West Bali.

PubMed

Warren, Carol

This paper concerns resource governance in a remote Balinese coastal community, which faces severe environmental challenges due to overexploitation and habitat destruction. It explores some of the issues raised in 'social capital' debates regarding leadership and public participation toward sustainable natural resource governance. Given the strength of Balinese customary law and the high degree of participation required in the ritual-social domain, Bali represents a model context for examining these issues. Through a case study of destructive resource exploitation and evolving rules-in-use, this paper analyses the ambiguous role of 'bonding' social capital and the complexities of negotiating collective action on environmental problems where conflicting interests and dense social ties make local action difficult. The paper finds that a more complex appreciation of vertical (authority) and horizontal (solidarity) relationships between leaders and ordinary villagers is required, and that a more nuanced institutional bricolage and exploratory scenario approach to analysis of evolving rules in use would enhance associated policy interventions.

Social Media in the Dental School Environment, Part A: Benefits, Challenges, and Recommendations for Use.

PubMed

Spallek, Heiko; Turner, Sharon P; Donate-Bartfield, Evelyn; Chambers, David; McAndrew, Maureen; Zarkowski, Pamela; Karimbux, Nadeem

2015-10-01

Social media consist of powerful tools that impact not only communication but relationships among people, thus posing an inherent challenge to the traditional standards of who we are as dental educators and what we can expect of each other. This article examines how the world of social media has changed dental education. Its goal is to outline the complex issues that social media use presents for academic dental institutions and to examine these issues from personal, professional, and legal perspectives. After providing an update on social media, the article considers the advantages and risks associated with the use of social media at the interpersonal, professional, and institutional levels. Policies and legal issues of which academic dental institutions need to be aware from a compliance perspective are examined, along with considerations and resources needed to develop effective social media policies. The challenge facing dental educators is how to capitalize on the benefits that social media offer, while minimizing risks and complying with the various forms of legal constraint.

Contrasting the Socialization Experiences of Doctoral Students in High- and Low-Completing Departments: A Qualitative Analysis of Disciplinary Contexts at One Institution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gardner, Susan K.

2010-01-01

Socialization has become the common theoretical framework used to better understand the complexity of the doctoral student experience. In particular, theories of socialization have been connected to the issue of attrition in doctoral education, with researchers often attributing poor or inappropriate socialization to a student's decision to depart…

Social Skills Assessment and Training for the Learning Disabled: Who's on First and What's on Second? Part II.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schumaker, Jean B.; Hazel, J. Stephen

1984-01-01

The authors review research on techniques to change social behavior, ranging from relatively simple manipulations of antecedent and consequent conditions to complex instructional "packages" involving didactic, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback procedures and examine issues involved in generalization of social skills training as well as ethical…

Planning and evaluation parameters for offshore complexes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sincoff, M. Z. (Editor); Dajani, J. S. (Editor)

1976-01-01

Issues are presented for consideration in the planning and design of offshore artificial complexes. The construction of such complexes, their social, economic, and ecological impacts, and the legal-political-institutional environments within which their development could occur, are discussed. Planning, design, and construction of near-shore complexes located off the Mid-Atlantic coast of the United States is emphasized.

THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL CAPITAL ON ENVIRONMENTAL RISK REDUCTION IN MONCURE

EPA Science Inventory

Despite rigorous efforts to understand and resolve environmental justice (EJ) issues, the complexity of the issues associated with many of these EJ communities continues to bring challenges to community residents and environmental researchers. Moncure, NC, located in northern Cha...

'Change of Heart!': A New E-Learning Model Geared to Addressing Complex and Sensitive Public Health Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hillier, Dawn; Mitchell, Alice; Millwood, Richard

2005-01-01

Psychosocial risk factors for poor health show that we are highly sensitive to particular dimensions of the social and work environments. Central is the contrast between mutually supportive collaborative relationships versus stressful relationships of social dominance--in the workplace and at home. These social ordeals can exacerbate the effect of…

How is unemployment among people with mental illness conceptualized within social policy? A case study of the Ontario Disability Support Program.

PubMed

Gewurtz, Rebecca E; Cott, Cheryl; Rush, Brian; Kirsh, Bonnie

2015-01-01

Government policy shapes and is shaped by society's views of important social issues such as employment among people with disabilities. This article explores how unemployment among people with mental illness has been understood and characterized within social policy. Drawing on a qualitative case study that explored the construction and implementation of policy reform within the employment support branch of the Ontario Disability Support Program, this paper examines assumptions about unemployment among people with mental illness that underlie social policy and their impact on employment services and supports. The most prominent messages that emerged from the data focused on unemployment among people with mental illness as a function of personal responsibility, limitations and a lack of motivation. Although there was awareness of the role of social and systemic factors, these issues were given less weight, especially when describing employment support practices. There is a lack of sufficient attention to complex and deeply-rooted social and systemic inequalities within social policy and employment services. There is a need to expand conceptualizations of unemployment among people with mental illness within social policy, and develop interventions that address complex social factors and systemic constraints that can limit employment opportunities.

Clinical social work practice and technology: personal, practical, regulatory, and ethical considerations for the twenty-first century.

PubMed

Dombo, Eileen A; Kays, Lisa; Weller, Katelyn

2014-10-01

The world that social work exists in is no longer defined by traditional physical settings and boundaries, such as schools, agencies, or even offices. With the advent of the Internet and digital communications, social work now exists in a far more complex reality, with clients and social workers engaging across multiple platforms, and sometimes even unintentionally and without one another's awareness. The implications of this can be ethical, practical, regulatory, and personal. This article explores these areas of concern and suggests strategies professionals can use to navigate these complex issues related to technology and clinical practice.

Using complexity science and negotiation theory to resolve boundary-crossing water issues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Islam, Shafiqul; Susskind, Lawrence

2018-07-01

Many water governance and management issues are complex. The complexity of these issues is related to crossing of multiple boundaries: political, social and jurisdictional, as well as physical, ecological and biogeochemical. Resolution of these issues usually requires interactions of many parties with conflicting values and interests operating across multiple boundaries and scales to make decisions. The interdependence and feedback among interacting variables, processes, actors and institutions are hard to model and difficult to forecast. Thus, decision-making related to complex water problems needs be contingent and adaptive. This paper draws on a number of ideas from complexity science and negotiation theory that may make it easier to cope with the complexities and difficulties of managing boundary crossing water disputes. It begins with the Water Diplomacy Framework that was developed and tested over the past several years. Then, it uses three key ideas from complexity science (interdependence and interconnectedness; uncertainty and feedback; emergence and adaptation) and three from negotiation theory (stakeholder identification and engagement; joint fact finding; and value creation through option generation) to show how application of these ideas can help enhance effectiveness of water management.

Theory testing in prehistoric North America: fruits of one of the world's great archeological natural laboratories.

PubMed

Bingham, Paul M; Souza, Joanne

2013-01-01

This paper has several interconnected goals. First and most generally, we will review the project represented by the papers in this dedicated issue and the SAA Symposium (2012) on Social Complexity and the Bow. This project centers on the ever-stronger and broader theory testing now becoming feasible in archeology and anthropology, in this case exploiting the unique natural laboratory represented by what we refer to as the North American Neolithic transitions. Second, we will strive to synopsize the papers in this issue as opportunities to falsify two general theories of the cause of increases in social complexity associated with the North American Neolithic: warfare and social coercion theories.(1) We argue that, though much work remains to be done, the current evidence supports one of the central predictions of both these theories, that the local arrival of elite bow technology was a central driver of local transitions to increased social complexity. This conclusion, if ultimately verified, has profound implications for the possibility of general theories of history. Third, we will argue that several important details of this evidence falsify warfare theory and support (fail to falsify) social coercion theory (the authors' favored perspective). Moreover, several potential falsifications of social coercion theory are amenable to alternative interpretations, leading to new falsifiable predictions. Finally, we discuss how interactions with our colleagues in this project produced new insights into several details of the predictions of social coercion theory, improving our interpretative capacity. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Strategies for Teaching Social and Emotional Intelligence in Business Communication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sigmar, Lucia Stretcher; Hynes, Geraldine E.; Hill, Kathy L.

2012-01-01

Incorporating social and emotional skills (EI) training into the business communication curriculum is important for preparing students to function effectively in a global workplace with its complex informal networks, intercultural issues, team emphasis, and participatory leadership. EI skills enhance communication behavior in work groups and…

The Teaching of Evidence-Based Practice in Social Work Higher Education--Living by the Charlie Parker Dictum: A Response to Papers by Shlonsky and Stern, and Soydan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Springer, David W.

2007-01-01

This article, as a response to two papers, identifies five critical issues and themes related to the teaching of evidence-based practice (EBP) in social work higher education. These five themes are: defining EBP; modeling the complexity of EBP in teaching; examining social work curriculum; coordinating social work professional organizations; and…

Bringing the Law to the Gerontological Stage: A Different Look at Movies and Old Age

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doron, Israel

2006-01-01

Films often portray the complexities of real-life aging issues, showing how they are apparently handled outside of and around the law or legal issues. Furthermore, films considering the aged and the social issues associated with aging also reveal how the law actually functions as a framework around and within which people develop customs, habits,…

Using Social Network Graphs as Visualization Tools to Influence Peer Selection Decision-Making Strategies to Access Information about Complex Socioscientific Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yoon, Susan A.

2011-01-01

This study extends previous research that explores how visualization affordances that computational tools provide and social network analyses that account for individual- and group-level dynamic processes can work in conjunction to improve learning outcomes. The study's main hypothesis is that when social network graphs are used in instruction,…

Social scientist's viewpoint on conflict management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ertel, Madge O.

1990-01-01

Social scientists can bring to the conflict-management process objective, reliable information needed to resolve increasingly complex issues. Engineers need basic training in the principles of the social sciences and in strategies for public involvement. All scientists need to be sure that that the information they provide is unbiased by their own value judgments and that fair standards and open procedures govern its use.

Exploring the Sociopolitical Dimensions of Global Warming

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sadler, Troy D.; Klosterman, Michelle L.

2009-01-01

The authors present an activity to help high school students conceptualize the sociopolitical complexity of global warming through an exploration of varied perspectives on the issue. They argue that socioscientific issues such as global warming present important contexts for learning science and that the social and political dimensions of these…

DASEES: A decision analysis tool with Bayesian networks from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Sustainable and Healthy Communities Research Program

EPA Science Inventory

Tackling environmental, economic, and social sustainability issues with community stakeholders will often lead to choices that are costly, complex and uncertain. A formal process with proper guidance is needed to understand the issues, identify sources of disagreement, consider t...

Workplace Learning to Create Social Quality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thijssen, Thomas

2014-01-01

Purpose: The present study aims to focus on workplace learning and understanding learning as creation (Kessels, 1995, 1996, 2001; Verdonschot, 2009; Billett and Choy, 2013) to bridge the gap between education and practice addressing the complex real world issue of poverty and social exclusion in The Netherlands. When researchers and practitioners…

Growing Social Capital in the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arriaza, Gilberto; Rocha, Christie

2016-01-01

Sharing school supplies appears, indeed, a simple, even an irrelevant routine activity, but upon closer examination one realizes that deeper and complex issues are at stake. This article aims at explaining how seemingly uneventful classroom activities contain the potential to building social capital in the classroom, which occurs when and if…

Using Audience Segmentation to Tailor Residential Irrigation Water Conservation Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Warner, Laura A.; Chaudhary, Anil Kumar; Rumble, Joy N.; Lamm, Alexa J.; Momol, Esen

2017-01-01

Today's complex issues require technical expertise as well as the application of innovative social science techniques within Extension contexts. Researchers have suggested that a social science approach will play a critical role in water conservation, and people who use home landscape irrigation comprise a critical target audience for agriculture…

Environmental Modeling

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA's modeling community is working to gain insights into certain parts of a physical, biological, economic, or social system by conducting environmental assessments for Agency decision making to complex environmental issues.

Struggles for Equal Rights and Social Justice as Unrepresented and Represented in Psychological Research.

PubMed

Turiel, Elliot; Chung, Eunkyung; Carr, Jessica A

2016-01-01

Issues of equality and social justice remain important concerns for contemporary societies. Struggles for equal rights and fair treatment continue in both organized movements and in acts of everyday life. We first consider trends in psychological research that fail to address such struggles and may even impede theoretical understanding of the complex processes of thought and action involved when individuals confront situations of welfare, justice, and rights. Then, we consider research, which attempts to address these issues. We review studies on the development of moral judgments and on understandings of equality and distributive justice. We also discuss research that accounts for the varying social contexts of individual lives and conceives of human behavior as engaged in moral judgments, which often produce resistance and opposition to injustice. In conclusion, we call for more attention in psychological research to issues of equity and social justice. © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding health systems, health economies and globalization: the need for social science perspectives.

PubMed

Murray, Susan F; Bisht, Ramila; Baru, Rama; Pitchforth, Emma

2012-08-31

The complex relationship between globalization and health calls for research from many disciplinary and methodological perspectives. This editorial gives an overview of the content trajectory of the interdisciplinary journal 'Globalization and Health' over the first six years of production, 2005 to 2010. The findings show that bio-medical and population health perspectives have been dominant but that social science perspectives have become more evident in recent years. The types of paper published have also changed, with a growing proportion of empirical studies. A special issue on 'Health systems, health economies and globalization: social science perspectives' is introduced, a collection of contributions written from the vantage points of economics, political science, psychology, sociology, business studies, social policy and research policy. The papers concern a range of issues pertaining to the globalization of healthcare markets and governance and regulation issues. They highlight the important contribution that can be made by the social sciences to this field, and also the practical and methodological challenges implicit in the study of globalization and health.

Education and Training in the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences: A Plan of Action. A Report to the National Science Foundation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levine, Felice J.; Abler, Ronald F.; Rosich, Katherine J.

2004-01-01

Over the last quarter of a century, the world has undergone rapid change. Almost every aspect of human life is more complex and interdependent, requiring knowledge of human and social systems as well as physical and biological systems. The social, behavioral, and economic (SBE) sciences contribute penetrating insights on such issues as the causes…

Army Ecosystem Management Policy Study

DTIC Science & Technology

1997-03-01

natural resources. A new generation of environmental issues is now upon us, defined by greater political, economic, social , and even cultural complexity...be established according to physical and biological criteria, and should account for the regional political, social , economic, and cultural context...speaks to what is known or what is knowable about a problem or situation. This determination is heavily influenced by social values and perceptions. We

Expanding Horizons--Into the Future with Confidence!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Volk, Valerie

2006-01-01

Gifted students often show a deep interest in and profound concern for the complex issues of society. Given the leadership potential of these students and their likely responsibility for solving future social problems, they need to develop this awareness and also a sense of confidence in dealing with future issues. The Future Problem Solving…

Mind and Inferiority: Reflections on "English" as a University Discipline in a Black Context.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aitken, Richard

1987-01-01

The social/political issues facing university English departments in South Africa include problems of identity and definition, the need for instruction within the context of social and political history, the problems of cultural relativism, the corrosive implications of Black subordination, and the complex alternatives of private and public…

Critical Education for Work: Multidisciplinary Approaches. Social and Policy Issues in Education: The David C. Anchin Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lakes, Richard D., Ed.

This book expands the meaning of today's education for work by offering five multidisciplinary approaches--school-to-work transitions, gender equity, labor education, economic democracy, and vocational education--revealing the complexities of personal, social, and cultural transformation. "Critical Education for Work" (Richard D. Lakes)…

Teaching and Learning Processes for Social Transformation: Engaging a Kaleidoscope of Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rutherford, Gayle E.; Walsh, Christine A.; Rook, John

2011-01-01

To tackle the complexity of issues associated with homelessness, an interdisciplinary lens with direct input from service providers and community members is necessary. Within a community-university partnership between a larger inner-city multiservice shelter serving the homeless population, and faculties of social work and nursing in a Canadian…

"Who Are Your Friends?" Complexities in Multicultural Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Epstein, Shira Eve

2010-01-01

In this paper, I explore the experiences of fourth and fifth grade students engaged in Beyond Today, an urban after school program, that aimed to enact a social reconstructionist multicultural curriculum. The program gathered White, Black, and Latino/a youth to explore issues of discrimination and social justice and develop leadership towards…

From Moral Exclusion to Moral Inclusion: Theory for Teaching Peace

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Opotow, Susan; Gerson, Janet; Woodside, Sarah

2005-01-01

This article presents Moral Exclusion Theory as a way to systematize the study of complex issues in peace education and to challenge the thinking that supports oppressive social structures. The authors define its 2 key concepts: moral exclusion, the limited applicability of justice underlying destructive conflicts and difficult social problems;…

Where Sexual Harassment, Sexual Violence and Title IX Intersect

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abel, Kimberly

2017-01-01

Sexual harassment and sexual violence are complex social issues and a prevalent problem on college and university campuses. College students are an "at risk" population because of their age, developmental stage, proximity to one another, and their access to social activities influenced by peer pressure, alcohol, and other drugs. In this…

Selling health lifestyles: using social marketing to promote change and prevent disease.

PubMed

Langill, Donna

2004-11-01

As part of its continuing mission to serve trustees and staff of health foundations and corporate giving programs, Grantmakers In Health (GIH) brought together grantmakers, researchers, and public health professionals on May 20, 2004 to discuss the application of social marketing principles to health promotion and chronic disease prevention. As a behavior change technique, social marketing has proven effective in motivating people to make the complex and difficult behavior changes that can improve health and reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes. The Issue Dialogue used the lens of tobacco prevention and cessation, physical activity, and healthy eating to examine how health grantmakers can use social marketing principles and techniques to encourage and support the adoption of healthier behaviors across the lifespan. This Issue Brief incorporates the information and ideas shared at the meeting with a background paper on social marketing that was prepared for participants who attended the Issue Dialogue. It starts with an introduction of social marketing concepts and provides a framework for assessing whether social marketing is an appropriate approach to use in addressing a particular issue. Subsequent sections: (1) describe both the social marketing communications process and techniques, using examples from campaigns developed by health grantmakers and others; (2) describe how social marketing can be used to promote policy change; (3) provide information on communication strategies that can complement social marketing; and (4) present opportunities for grantmakers.

Language Policy in Canada: Current Issues. A Selection of the Proceedings of the Papers Dealing with Language Policy Issues in Canada at the Conference "Language Policy and Social Problems" (Curacao, Venezuela, December, 1983). Publication B-150.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cobarrubias, Juan, Ed.

The papers related to Canadian language policy at an international conference are presented: "Language Policy in Canada: Current Issues" (Juan Cobarrubias); "Multiculturalism and Language Policy in Canada" (Jim Cummins, Harold Troper); "Defining Language Policy in a Nationalistic Milieu and in a Complex Industrialized…

Exploring the Construction of Social Class in Educational Discourse: The Rational Order of the Nation State versus Global Uncertainties

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rassool, Naz

2004-01-01

This article aims to create intellectual space in which issues of social inequality and education can be analyzed and discussed in relation to the multifaceted and multi-levelled complexities of the modern world. It is divided into three sections. Section One locates the concept of social class in the context of the modern nation state during the…

Outsourcing Information Technology and the Insider Threat

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-03-01

the insider threat. However, “are of little value for examining complex social relationships or intricate patterns of interaction ” (Marshall and...As the previous section indicated, U.S. relations with the rest of the world will have some bearing over the social interactions , trends, and psyches...advances that bring economic and social issues into focus in a media rich environment. Technology trends have given organizations the ability to

Antecedents of the People and Organizational Aspects of Medical Informatics

PubMed Central

Lorenzi, Nancy M.; Riley, Robert T.; Blyth, Andrew J. C.; Southon, Gray; Dixon, Bradley J.

1997-01-01

Abstract People and organizational issues are critical in both implementing medical informatics systems and in dealing with the altered organizations that new systems often create. The people and organizational issues area—like medical informatics itself—is a blend of many disciplines. The academic disciplines of psychology, sociology, social psychology, social anthropology, organizational behavior and organizational development, management, and cognitive sciences are rich with research with significant potential to ease the introduction and on-going use of information technology in today's complex health systems. These academic areas contribute research data and core information for better understanding of such issues as the importance of and processes for creating future direction; managing a complex change process; effective strategies for involving individuals and groups in the informatics effort; and effectively managing the altered organization. This article reviews the behavioral and business referent disciplines that can potentially contribute to improved implementations and on-going management of change in the medical informatics arena. PMID:9067874

The human mouth: oral functions in a social complexity perspective.

PubMed

Eriksen, Harald M; Dimitrov, Vladimir

2003-06-01

In the dental and medical literature, the mouth and oral functions are usually presented in a biomedical context. However, there may be a need for a broader perspective if we are to appreciate the importance of the human mouth as an organ with diverse functions. The paradigm of complexity appears to be of relevance in our understanding the social and psychological characteristics of the human mouth in addition to its biological functions. Examples such as the pleasures of taste, social aspects of eating, the importance of linguistics and communication are illustrations of some of the social and psychological aspects of oral functions. Professional knowledge related to such issues is important in our understanding the patient's priorities and in performing the relevant diagnosis and treatment planning.

Integrated research in natural resources: the key role of problem framing.

Treesearch

Roger N. Clark; George H. Stankey

2006-01-01

Integrated research is about achieving holistic understanding of complex biophysical and social issues and problems. It is driven by the need to improve understanding about such systems and to improve resource management by using the results of integrated research processes.Traditional research tends to fragment complex problems, focusing more on the pieces...

Problematisations of Complexity: On the Notion and Production of Diverse Complexities in Healthcare Interventions and Evaluations

PubMed Central

Broer, Tineke; Bal, Roland; Pickersgill, Martyn

2017-01-01

Abstract Within the literature on the evaluation of health (policy) interventions, complexity is a much-debated issue. In particular, many claim that so-called ‘complex interventions’ pose different challenges to evaluation studies than apparently ‘simple interventions’ do. Distinct ways of doing evaluation entail particular ontologies and epistemologies of complexity. They differ in terms of whether they define complexity as a quantitative trait of interventions, whether they see evaluation as part of or outside the intervention, and whether complexity can be regarded as an emergent property of the intervention and its evaluation. In practice, evaluators and commissioners of large health care improvement programmes rely on different, sometimes contradictory, repertoires about what it means to conduct a ‘good’ evaluation. This is an ongoing matter negotiated between and among commissioners, researchers, and—sometimes—programme managers. In particular, notions of evaluability, usefulness and distance/independence are problematised in different ways and with diverse consequences, which, in turn, produce other notions and layers of complexity such as temporal, institutional and affective complexities. When (social science) researchers claim that one method or another is better able to grasp complexity, they elide the issue that any methodological choice emphasises some complexities and lets others fade into the background. Analysing the practicalities and emotions involved in evaluation studies opens up the notion of complexity to analytical scrutiny, and suggests a basis for co-theorising between biomedical, public health and social scientists (including Science and Technology Studies scholars). PMID:28515573

Issues in Community Research: Asian American Perspectives. Occasional Paper No. 5.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murata, Alice K., Ed.; Salvador-Burris, Juanita, Ed.

This document comprises a collection of workshop papers addressing the issues of doing research on the complex social and human problems faced in any community from an Asian American perspective. The following topics are discussed: (1) the nature of community research; (2) the pros and cons of pure basic and applied research; (3) the nature and…

Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges: Critical Discussion of Social Issues.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moss, Joy

Noting that picture books can invite students to engage in critical discussion of complex issues of race, class, and gender, this lesson plan helps students to confront the injustice of barriers that separate human beings from one another and to examine the role of prejudice and stereotypes in sustaining these barriers. During the five 45-minute…

The End of Innocence: Historiography and Representation in the Discursive Practice of LD

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Artiles, Alfredo J.

2004-01-01

In this article, I discuss two interrelated sets of challenges that the discursive practice of learning disability (LD) will need to address, namely, issues associated with the development of a historiography of special education and a more complex understanding of representation issues. I use social theory to address these challenges and raise…

Q Methodology for Post-Social-Turn Research in SLA

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Irie, Kay

2014-01-01

Q methodology, an approach to inquiry on the subjective views about a complex phenomenon/issue which has been increasingly employed in a wide range of social science fields has not yet been applied in language learning and teaching research. It is a unique approach that has characteristics of both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The…

Science, Technology and Society in Contemporary Egypt: Background Information for Social Studies Teachers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

1989

Egypt is having a very difficult time supplying enough food to meet the demands of its swelling population. This complex problem is analyzed and discussed from a variety of perspectives. Factors such as foreign aid, family planning, agriculture, demographics, and religious and social culture are examined, as well as more specific issues such as…

Academic and Social Adjustment of High School Refugee Youth in Newfoundland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Xuemei; Grineva, Marina

2016-01-01

This article addresses the complex academic and social adjustment issues of newcomer youth of refugee background at a high school in Newfoundland and Labrador, a province where the newcomer population is small but the percentage of refugees in relation to all newcomers is high. Data for this qualitative study include documents from educational…

Leveraging Leadership Efficacy for College Students: Disaggregating Data to Examine Unique Predictors by Race

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kodama, Corinne M.; Dugan, John P.

2013-01-01

Cultivating leaders who are prepared to tackle complex social issues is positioned as a critical outcome of higher education and a tool for diversification of the workforce. Both leadership studies literature and leadership development practice, however, are negligent in the attention directed at understanding the role of social identity in…

Bullying and Mobbing in Academe: Challenges for Distance Education and Social Media Applications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oravec, Jo Ann

2012-01-01

Bullying and mobbing are migrating to online realms, intensifying the damage involved and increasing the complexities of these issues. Social media (such as Facebook and Twitter) are intensely communal in many senses; they may serve to increase the negative aspects of bullying and mobbing as well as provide community-oriented tools for mitigation.…

Social science findings in the United States

Treesearch

Sarah McCaffrey; Eric Toman; Melanie Stidham; Bruce Shindler

2015-01-01

The rising number of acres burned annually and growing number of people living in or adjacent to fire-prone areas in the United States make wildfire management an increasingly complex and challenging problem. Given the prominence of social issues in shaping the current challenges and determining paths forward, it will be important to have an accurate understanding of...

Cultural competency training for public health students: integrating self, social, and global awareness into a master of public health curriculum.

PubMed

Cushman, Linda F; Delva, Marlyn; Franks, Cheryl L; Jimenez-Bautista, Ana; Moon-Howard, Joyce; Glover, Jim; Begg, Melissa D

2015-03-01

Cultural competency training in public health, medicine, social work, nursing, dental medicine, and other health professions has been a topic of increasing interest and significance. Despite the now burgeoning literature that describes specific knowledge, attitudes, and skills that promote cultural "competence," fully defining this complex, multidimensional term and implementing activities to enhance it remain a challenge. We describe our experiences in introducing a mandatory, full-day workshop to incoming Master of Public Health students, called "Self, Social, and Global Awareness: Personal Capacity Building for Professional Education and Practice." The purpose of the program is to provide a meaningful, structured environment to explore issues of culture, power, privilege, and social justice, emphasizing the centrality of these issues in effective public health education and practice.

Mapping ethical and social aspects of cancer biomarkers.

PubMed

Blanchard, Anne

2016-12-25

Cancer biomarkers represent a revolutionary advance toward personalised cancer treatment, promising therapies that are tailored to subgroups of patients sharing similar generic traits. Notwithstanding the optimism driving this development, biomarkers also present an array of social and ethical questions, as witnessed in sporadic debates across different literatures. This review article seeks to consolidate these debates in a mapping of the complex terrain of ethical and social aspects of cancer biomarker research. This mapping was undertaken from the vantage point offered by a working cancer biomarker research centre called the Centre for Cancer Biomarkers (CCBIO) in Norway, according to a dialectic move between the literature and discussions with researchers and practitioners in the laboratory. Starting in the lab, we found that, with the exception of some classical bioethical dilemmas, researchers regarded many issues relative to the ethos of the biomarker community; how the complexity and uncertainty characterising biomarker research influence their scientific norms of quality. Such challenges to the ethos of cancer research remain largely implicit, outside the scope of formal bioethical enquiry, yet form the basis for other social and ethical issues. Indeed, looking out from the lab we see how questions of complexity, uncertainty and quality contribute to debates around social and global justice; undermining policies for the prioritisation of care, framing the stratification of those patients worthy of treatment, and limiting global access to this highly sophisticated research. We go on to discuss biomarker research within the culturally-constructed 'war on cancer' and highlight an important tension between the expectations of 'magic bullets' and the complexity and uncertainty faced in the lab. We conclude by arguing, with researchers in the CCBIO, for greater reflexivity and humility in cancer biomarker research and policy. Copyright © 2016 The Author. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Understanding health systems, health economies and globalization: the need for social science perspectives

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

The complex relationship between globalization and health calls for research from many disciplinary and methodological perspectives. This editorial gives an overview of the content trajectory of the interdisciplinary journal ‘Globalization and Health’ over the first six years of production, 2005 to 2010. The findings show that bio-medical and population health perspectives have been dominant but that social science perspectives have become more evident in recent years. The types of paper published have also changed, with a growing proportion of empirical studies. A special issue on ‘Health systems, health economies and globalization: social science perspectives’ is introduced, a collection of contributions written from the vantage points of economics, political science, psychology, sociology, business studies, social policy and research policy. The papers concern a range of issues pertaining to the globalization of healthcare markets and governance and regulation issues. They highlight the important contribution that can be made by the social sciences to this field, and also the practical and methodological challenges implicit in the study of globalization and health. PMID:22938504

From Theory to Practice: A Path through Imperfection--Lessons from Evaluation of Policy Oriented Environmental Health Research in Belgium

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keune, Hans; Morrens, Bert; Loots, Ilse; Springael, Johan

2011-01-01

Background: Dealing with complex issues per definition bears the burden of imperfection. Whatever comforting theoretical concepts may promise, real life complexity will take its messy toll once travelling from conceptual ambition to real life practice. We specifically reflect on the social scientific contribution to these inter- and…

Introduction: social complexity and the bow in the prehistoric North American record.

PubMed

Bingham, Paul M; Souza, Joanne; Blitz, John H

2013-01-01

This Special Issue of Evolutionary Anthropology grew out of a symposium at the 2012 Society for American Archaeology (SAA) meeting in Memphis, Tennessee (April 18-22). The goal of the symposium was to explore what we will argue is one of the most important and promising opportunities in the global archeological enterprise. In late prehistoric North America, the initial rise of cultures of strikingly enhanced complexity and the local introduction of a novel weapon technology, the bow, apparently correlate intimately in a diverse set of independent cases across the continent, as originally pointed out by Blitz. If this empirical relationship ultimately proves robust, it gives us an unprecedented opportunity to evaluate hypotheses for the causal processes producing social complexity and, by extension, to assess the possibility of a universal theory of history. The rise of comparably complex cultures was much more recent in North America than it was elsewhere and the resulting fresher archeological record is relatively well explored. These and other features make prehistoric North America a unique empirical environment. Together, the symposium and this issue have brought together outstanding investigators with both empirical and theoretical expertise. The strong cross-feeding and extended interactions between these investigators have given us all the opportunity to advance the promising exploration of what we call the North American Neolithic transitions. Our goal in this paper is to contextualize this issue. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

[Public health, genetics and ethics].

PubMed

Kottow, Miguel H

2002-10-01

Genetics research has shown enormous developments in recent decades, although as yet with only limited clinical application. Bioethical analysis has been unable to deal with the vast problems of genetics because emphasis has been put on the principlism applied to both clinical and research bioethics. Genetics nevertheless poses its most complex moral dilemmas at the public level, where a social brand of ethics ought to supersede the essentially interpersonal perspective of principlism. A more social understanding of ethics in genetics is required to unravel issues such as research and clinical explorations, ownership and patents, genetic manipulation, and allocation of resources. All these issues require reflection based on the requirements of citizenry, consideration of common assets, and definition of public policies in regulating genetic endeavors and protecting the society as a whole Bioethics has privileged the approach to individual ethical issues derived from genetic intervention, thereby neglecting the more salient aspects of genetics and social ethics.

Ethical Issues in Integrated Health Care: Implications for Social Workers.

PubMed

Reamer, Frederic G

2018-05-01

Integrated health care has come of age. What began modestly in the 1930s has evolved into a mature model of health care that is quickly becoming the standard of care. Social workers are now employed in a wide range of comprehensive integrated health care organizations. Some of these settings were designed as integrated health care delivery systems from their beginning. Others evolved over time, some incorporating behavioral health into existing primary care centers and others incorporating primary care into existing behavioral health agencies. In all of these contexts, social workers are encountering complex, sometimes unprecedented, ethical challenges. This article identifies and discusses ethical issues facing social workers in integrated health care settings, especially related to informed consent, privacy, confidentiality, boundaries, dual relationships, and conflicts of interest. The author includes practical resources that social workers can use to develop state-of-the-art ethics policies and protocols.

Using Cross-Cultural, Intergenerational Play Narratives to Explore Issues of Social Justice and Equity in Discourse on Children's Play

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shimpi, Priya Mariana; Nicholson, Julie

2014-01-01

Discussion of children's play in international and diverse communities requires careful consideration of social, cultural and political contexts impacting children's lives, as well as recognition of the complexities revealed when these variables are identified and analysed. Using diverse conceptual frameworks represented in the research…

Physical Education Initial Teacher Educators' Expressions of Critical Pedagogy(ies): Coherency, Complexity or Confusion?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Philpot, Rod

2016-01-01

While an emphasis on social justice has emerged as a theme in initial teacher education (ITE) over the past decade, there is much debate about how to engage ITE students in foregrounding issues of equity and social justice in their own teaching. One strategy, the introduction of critical pedagogy in ITE, has been promoted in teacher education…

Teaching reproductive options through the use of fiction: the Cider House Rules project.

PubMed

Engstrom, Janet L; Hunter, Ramona G

2007-01-01

Alternative teaching strategies such as storytelling and the critical reading of literature are thought to help students develop their critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and cultural sensitivity and thereby better understand the context in which their patients live and make decisions. Such teaching methods are ideally suited for examining morally complex issues such as reproductive options. This article describes an alternative approach to teaching the complex personal, social, and moral issues surrounding the topic of reproductive options. The critical reading of the book, The Cider House Rules, provides a unique opportunity for students to obtain insight and understanding of the complex circumstances under which women and their families make reproductive decisions.

[Medico-social aspects of AIDS].

PubMed

Rabitti, G; Stati, A; Del Bove Orlandi, G; Gallese, A

1992-01-01

The AIDS crisis has brought us face to face with complex medical and social challenges unparalleled in this century. The magnitude of this tragic epidemic is measured not only in the cost in human lives, but also the enormous financial burdens of health care and lost productivity which each and every one of us, as well as future generations, will ultimately bear. This article presents an opportunity to explore a variety of health, social, economic, juridical and working issues of AIDS.

Problematizing Social Justice in Health Pedagogy and Youth Sport: Intersectionality of Race, Ethnicity, and Class.

PubMed

Dagkas, Symeon

2016-09-01

Social justice education recognizes the discrepancies in opportunities among disadvantaged groups in society. The purpose of the articles in this special topic on social justice is to (a) provide a critical reflection on issues of social justice within health pedagogy and youth sport of Black and ethnic-minority (BME) young people; (b) provide a framework for the importance of intersectionality research (mainly the intersection of social class, race, and ethnicity) in youth sport and health pedagogy for social justice; and (c) contextualize the complex intersection and interplay of social issues (i.e., race, ethnicity, social classes) and their influence in shaping physical culture among young people with a BME background. The article argues that there are several social identities in any given pedagogical terrain that need to be heard and legitimized to avoid neglect and "othering." This article suggests that a resurgence of interest in theoretical frameworks such as intersectionality can provide an effective platform to legitimize "non-normative bodies" (diverse bodies) in health pedagogy and physical education and sport by voicing positionalities on agency and practice.

Cultural Competency Training for Public Health Students: Integrating Self, Social, and Global Awareness Into a Master of Public Health Curriculum

PubMed Central

Delva, Marlyn; Franks, Cheryl L.; Jimenez-Bautista, Ana; Moon-Howard, Joyce; Glover, Jim; Begg, Melissa D.

2015-01-01

Cultural competency training in public health, medicine, social work, nursing, dental medicine, and other health professions has been a topic of increasing interest and significance. Despite the now burgeoning literature that describes specific knowledge, attitudes, and skills that promote cultural “competence,” fully defining this complex, multidimensional term and implementing activities to enhance it remain a challenge. We describe our experiences in introducing a mandatory, full-day workshop to incoming Master of Public Health students, called “Self, Social, and Global Awareness: Personal Capacity Building for Professional Education and Practice.” The purpose of the program is to provide a meaningful, structured environment to explore issues of culture, power, privilege, and social justice, emphasizing the centrality of these issues in effective public health education and practice. PMID:25706008

Social media for diabetes health education - inclusive or exclusive?

PubMed

Pal, B Rani

2014-01-01

Technological innovations are rising rapidly and are inevitably becoming part of the health care environment. Patients frequently access Social media as a forum for discussion of personal health issues; and healthcare providers are now considering ways of harnessing social media as a source of learning and teaching. This review highlights some of the complex issues of using social media as an opportunity for interaction between public- patient-healthcare staff; considers the impact of self- education and self-management for patients with diabetes, and explores some recent advances in delivering education for staff. When using any information technology, the emphasis should rely on being assessed rigorously to show it promotes health education safely, can be recognized as delivering up-to- date health information effectively, and should ensure there is no bias in selective communication, or disadvantage to isolated patient groups.

Proceedings of the Agent 2002 Conference on Social Agents : Ecology, Exchange, and Evolution

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Macal, C., ed.; Sallach, D., ed.

2003-04-10

Welcome to the ''Proceedings'' of the third in a series of agent simulation conferences cosponsored by Argonne National Laboratory and The University of Chicago. The theme of this year's conference, ''Social Agents: Ecology, Exchange and Evolution'', was selected to foster the exchange of ideas on some of the most important social processes addressed by agent simulation models, namely: (1) The translation of ecology and ecological constraints into social dynamics; (2) The role of exchange processes, including the peer dependencies they create; and (3) The dynamics by which, and the attractor states toward which, social processes evolve. As stated in themore » ''Call for Papers'', throughout the social sciences, the simulation of social agents has emerged as an innovative and powerful research methodology. The promise of this approach, however, is accompanied by many challenges. First, modeling complexity in agents, environments, and interactions is non-trivial, and these representations must be explored and assessed systematically. Second, strategies used to represent complexities are differentially applicable to any particular problem space. Finally, to achieve sufficient generality, the design and experimentation inherent in agent simulation must be coupled with social and behavioral theory. Agent 2002 provides a forum for reviewing the current state of agent simulation scholarship, including research designed to address such outstanding issues. This year's conference introduces an extensive range of domains, models, and issues--from pre-literacy to future projections, from ecology to oligopolistic markets, and from design to validation. Four invited speakers highlighted major themes emerging from social agent simulation.« less

"Scary Thing, Being an Eighth Grader:" Exploring Gender and Sexuality in a Middle School U.S. History Unit

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levstik, Linda S.; Groth, Jeanette

2002-01-01

The study reported here provides an example of the complex interface among historical study, current issues, and adolescents' complex social worlds. The authors investigated the ways in which a group of eighth grade students conceptualize the significance of gender in the context of a study of antebellum U.S. history. Fifty students participated…

The potential of social entrepreneurship: conceptual tools for applying citizenship theory to policy and practice.

PubMed

Caldwell, Kate; Harris, Sarah Parker; Renko, Maija

2012-12-01

Contemporary policy encourages self-employment and entrepreneurship as a vehicle for empowerment and self-sufficiency among people with disabilities. However, such encouragement raises important citizenship questions concerning the participation of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). As an innovative strategy for addressing pressing social and economic problems, "social entrepreneurship" has become a phrase that is gaining momentum in the IDD community--one that carries with it a very distinct history. Although social entrepreneurship holds the potential to be an empowering source of job creation and social innovation, it also has the potential to be used to further disenfranchise this marginalized population. It is crucial that in moving forward society takes care not to perpetuate existing models of oppression, particularly in regard to the social and economic participation of people with IDD. The conceptual tools addressed in this article can inform the way that researchers, policymakers, and practitioners approach complex issues, such as social entrepreneurship, to improve communication among disciplines while retaining an integral focus on rights and social justice by framing this issue within citizenship theory.

The role of nurses in comprehensive care management of pregnant women with drug addiction.

PubMed

McKeever, Amy E; Spaeth-Brayton, Sylvia; Sheerin, Sarah

2014-01-01

Drug addiction during pregnancy is a complex health and social issue that requires an interdisciplinary health care team providing nonjudgmental, comprehensive care. Critical challenges include onset of and attendance at prenatal care, potential obstetric complications, transition to extrauterine life and potential neonatal abstinence syndrome for the neonate, newborn feeding issues, postpartum depression and risk of relapse for women. © 2014 AWHONN.

Culture, Structure and Leadership Impacts on Gender Inclusion in the Security Sector

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-09-01

culture were outcomes of structural reform. A guided evolution in security sector culture occurred following persistent social pressure, compliance...brought about a change in national and organizational culture to address socially complex issues. As the orchestrators of large successful corporate...challenges them (Jolly 2002). In the process, we are influenced and shaped as we interact with local, national and international information. Likewise, we

Demonstrating the value of a social science research program to a natural resource management agency

Treesearch

Pamela J. Jakes; John F. Dwyer; Deborah S. Carr

1998-01-01

With ever tightening resources to address an increased number of diverse and complex issues, it has become common for scientists and managers to be called upon to demonstrate the value of their programs. In the spring of 1995, social scientists at the USDA Forest Service North Central Forest Experiment Station we so called upon. This paper discusses an effort to...

Sensemaking Training Requirements for the Adaptive Battlestaff

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-06-01

for the Adaptive Battlestaff Topic: Cognitive and Social Issues Celestine A. Ntuen1& Dennis Leedom2 1Army Center for Human-Centric Command...intelligent analysts. We need a new training strategy, paradigms, and methods for this purpose. The sensemaking trainability factors o must be identified...juxtapositions of social forces—a complex of network of information systems with people, technology, and domains of adversaries (tasks) that have been

Complexities and Challenges of Singapore Nurses Providing Postacute Home Care in Multicultural Communities: A Grounded Theory Study.

PubMed

Wong, Alfred Ka-Shing; Ong, Shu Fen; Matchar, David Bruce; Lie, Desiree; Ng, Reuben; Yoon, Kirsten Eom; Wong, Chek Hooi

2017-10-01

Studies are needed to inform the preparation of community nurses to address patient behavioral and social factors contributing to unnecessary readmissions to hospital. This study uses nurses' input to understand challenges faced during home care, to derive a framework to address the challenges. Semistructured interviews were conducted to saturation with 16 community nurses in Singapore. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and transcripts independently coded for emergent themes. Themes were interpreted using grounded theory. Seven major themes emerged from 16 interviews: Strained social relationships, complex care decision-making processes within families, communication barriers, patient's or caregiver neglect of health issues, building and maintaining trust, trial-and-error nature of work, and dealing with uncertainty. Community nurses identified uncertainty arising from complexities in social-relational, personal, and organizational factors as a central challenge. Nursing education should focus on navigating and managing uncertainty at the personal, patient, and family levels.

Interdisciplinary team care of cleft lip and palate: social and psychological aspects.

PubMed

Strauss, R P; Broder, H

1985-10-01

The organizational example of a university-based team and two patient case studies illustrate how team interaction affects decision making. The model presented for effective team organization is an egalitarian one. Interdependency, flexibility, and open communication among members are essential. Cleft lip and palate teams provide evaluation and treatment that include input from a variety of professional disciplines. The team context makes it possible for care to be coordinated and alleviates the fragmentation of seeking treatment from several independent specialists. Teams also have a special opportunity to address the complex social and psychological issues prevalent in treating persons with birth defects. Specialists, like psychologists and social workers, identify these issues so that surgeons, dentists, and other clinicians may provide a comprehensive treatment plan and management approach. If psychologists or social workers are not available to a team, the group may still successfully integrate a variety of social and personal factors into their decision making. Examples of problem areas and of issues that may be associated with difficulties in adjusting to cleft therapy are included in this article. Teams that effectively address the psychosocial needs of their patients will enhance patient satisfaction, cooperation, and treatment outcomes.

The importance of including dynamic social networks when modeling epidemics of airborne infections: does increasing complexity increase accuracy?

PubMed

Blower, Sally; Go, Myong-Hyun

2011-07-19

Mathematical models are useful tools for understanding and predicting epidemics. A recent innovative modeling study by Stehle and colleagues addressed the issue of how complex models need to be to ensure accuracy. The authors collected data on face-to-face contacts during a two-day conference. They then constructed a series of dynamic social contact networks, each of which was used to model an epidemic generated by a fast-spreading airborne pathogen. Intriguingly, Stehle and colleagues found that increasing model complexity did not always increase accuracy. Specifically, the most detailed contact network and a simplified version of this network generated very similar results. These results are extremely interesting and require further exploration to determine their generalizability.

Focus: Asian migration to Canada.

PubMed

Kobayashi, A

1988-01-01

This collection of 5 short essays on Asian migration to Canada focuses on the relationships between individual migrants and their social contexts, both Asian and Canadian. Papers by Anderson and Kobayashi adopt research perspectives of outsider and insider, respectively. Vibert provides a historical overview against which the substantive issues introduced in the other 3 papers can be understood, and he illustrates the links between circumstances of migration and the larger issues by which the course of Canadian social progress has been steered. Mercer provides an introduction to issues that dominate the agenda of contemporary research, to show that Canadian communities of Asian heritage continue to grow in size, diversity, and complexity, as they become more established on the Canadian landscape. This collection is as much about the geography of racism as it is about migration.

The ethics of creating genetically modified children using genome editing.

PubMed

Ishii, Tetsuya

2017-12-01

To review the recent ethical, legal, and social issues surrounding human reproduction involving germline genome editing. Genome editing techniques, such as CRISPR/Cas9, have facilitated genetic modification in human embryos. The most likely purpose of germline genome editing is the prevention of serious genetic disease in offspring. However, complex issues still remain, including irremediable risks to fetuses and future generations, the role of women, the availability of alternatives, long-term follow-up, health insurance coverage, misuse for human enhancement, and the potential effects on adoption. Further discussions, a broad consensus, and appropriate regulations are required before human germline genome editing is introduced into the global society. Before germline genome editing is used for disease prevention, a broad consensus must be formed by carefully discussing its ethical, legal, and social issues.

An overall approach to health care for indigenous peoples.

PubMed

King, Malcolm

2009-12-01

Indigenous peoples across all the continents of the globe live with major gaps in health status and health outcomes associated with well-described social determinants of health, such as poverty and poor education. Indigenous peoples face additional health determinant issues associated with urbanization, isolation from traditional territories, and loss of cultural continuity. Indigenous children are particularly vulnerable as they grow up in isolation from their cultural and social roots and yet are also separated from the mainstream environment of their society. Programs to address these difficult health issues should be viewed as complex clinical interventions with health researchers, social scientists, and clinicians working together with Indigenous peoples to identify the most pressing needs and most appropriate and workable solutions that will result in effective policies and practices.

Social marketing nutrition education for low-income population.

PubMed

Hagues, Rachel; Stotz, Sarah; Childers, Austin; Phua, Joe; Hibbs, Judy; Murray, Deborah; Lee, Jung Sun

2018-01-01

As access to healthy food (or lack thereof) could be considered a social justice issue, social workers should be concerned about this issue and willing to collaborate with colleagues of various disciplines to address it. This study was a formative evaluation conducted to understand best practices, recommendations, and feasibility of a social-marketing-based nutrition education program tailored to the needs of adults with limited income. The authors report findings from focus groups conducted with Cooperative Extension Agents (CEAs) and region coordinators (n = 45) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) (n = 69) eligible participants to inform the development of a social marketing nutrition intervention for SNAP-Ed in Georgia. Barriers to healthy eating included cultural preferences, costs of healthy food, lack of time, and lack of availability. Social marketing has a potential to deliver effective and efficient SNAP-Ed targeted to large, limited-resource Georgians. Segmenting the low-income population based on geographical location as well as best methods for outreach can allow tailored messages to meet identified needs, lifestyles, and other variables that make these individuals most likely to respond to the program. Food security and nutrition education are topics of concern for all health care professionals interested in addressing complex health issues of many low-income adults.

Looking at Leadership: Some Neglected Issues

DTIC Science & Technology

1977-10-01

problems. (3) Use of power Using social skills, rewards and punishments to control organizational events. A way to study leaders is to simulate the...conditions managers face. Simulation paradigms allow detailed ex- amination of the complex forces impacting on organizations from without and within...modifying the impacts of other variables. Given this horrendous complexity, it is no surprise that Vaill (in press) has questioned whether it makes much

The why of practice: utilizing PIE to analyze social work practice in Australian hospitals.

PubMed

Nilsson, David; Joubert, Lynette; Holland, Lucy; Posenelli, Sonia

2013-01-01

This research used a collaborative approach to gain a comprehensive, quantitative understanding of the breadth and depth of the social work role in health care. Data was collected from individual interviews with all employed hospital social workers (N = 120) across five Melbourne, Australia health networks about their most recently completed case. This data was coded using a revised version of the Karls and Wandrei (1994) Person-in-Environment (PIE) tool to retrospectively analyze the reasons for social work involvement over the course of the case. The findings demonstrate that the hospital social work role is multidimensional across a number of domains but centers predominantly on assisting clients and their significant others with issues of altered social roles and functioning; particularly in relation to role responsibility, dependency, and managing associated role-change losses. The findings of this study will assist hospital social workers, managers, and academics to better describe and effectively undertake this complex work. These findings will also assist in the development of professional training and education to up-skill social workers who operate within this complex setting.

In This Issue: Opiates, Tobacco, Social Determinants of Health, Social Accountability for Non-Profit Hospitals, More on PCMH, and Clinical Topics.

PubMed

Bowman, Marjorie A; Victoria Neale, Anne; Seehusen, Dean A

2017-01-01

This issue contains several articles about the factors contributing to the complex and deadly interplay between social determinants of health, pain, mental illness, and addictive substances such as opioids and tobacco. One article clearly is a call to action: more than half of opioid prescriptions in the United States are given to patients with mental health problems. Two articles report work on the next steps for social determinants of health in health care settings. Social accountability based on community health needs assessments required of community hospitals should lead to the creation of more family medicine residency positions. Patient-centered medical home (PCMH) recognition can be costly. A new typology for PCMHs is proposed. Other topics include group advance care planning visits, the interaction of dental and primary care, free clinics, a fix for a squeaking wrist, adherence to latent tuberculosis treatment, and more. © Copyright 2017 by the American Board of Family Medicine.

Sexual harassment: a concern for the athletic trainer.

PubMed

Velasquez, B J

1998-04-01

Sexual harassment is a vital social issue that affects the business community, educational institutions, and personnel in the U.S. military. Addressing sexual harassment in the athletic training clinical setting is an important issue for the athletic training professional. Athletic trainers need to understand the complex definitions of sexual harassment and how to identify and handle claims of sexual harassment in order to prevent sexual harassment from occurring and to prevent civil lawsuits of alleged sexual harassment. Professional journals, legal textbooks, policy handbooks, unpublished findings from the NATA Women in Athletic Training Committee report, and current news media sources were used to gain a greater understanding of this social problem. To make the athletic trainer aware of this important social issue and to offer suggestions for the athletic training staff to aid in preventing problems of sexual harassment. This article provides definitions and examples of sexual harassment, discussion of policy development, and suggestions for ways to eliminate sexual harassment in the athletic training environment.

Sexual Harassment: A Concern for the Athletic Trainer

PubMed Central

Velasquez, Benito J.

1998-01-01

Objective: Sexual harassment is a vital social issue that affects the business community, educational institutions, and personnel in the U.S. military. Addressing sexual harassment in the athletic training clinical setting is an important issue for the athletic training professional. Athletic trainers need to understand the complex definitions of sexual harassment and how to identify and handle claims of sexual harassment in order to prevent sexual harassment from occurring and to prevent civil lawsuits of alleged sexual harassment. Background: Professional journals, legal textbooks, policy handbooks, unpublished findings from the NATA Women in Athletic Training Committee report, and current news media sources were used to gain a greater understanding of this social problem. Description: To make the athletic trainer aware of this important social issue and to offer suggestions for the athletic training staff to aid in preventing problems of sexual harassment. Clinical Advantages: This article provides definitions and examples of sexual harassment, discussion of policy development, and suggestions for ways to eliminate sexual harassment in the athletic training environment. PMID:16558507

Toward an Informatics Research Agenda

PubMed Central

Kaplan, Bonnie; Brennan, Patricia Flatley; Dowling, Alan F.; Friedman, Charles P.; Peel, Victor

2001-01-01

As we have advanced in medical informatics and created many impressive innovations, we also have learned that technologic developments are not sufficient to bring the value of computer and information technologies to health care systems. This paper proposes a model for improving how we develop and deploy information technology. The authors focus on trends in people, organizational, and social issues (POI/OSI), which are becoming more complex as both health care institutions and information technologies are changing rapidly. They outline key issues and suggest high-priority research areas. One dimension of the model concerns different organizational levels at which informatics applications are used. The other dimension draws on social science disciplines for their approaches to studying implications of POI/OSI in informatics. By drawing on a wide variety of research approaches and asking questions based in social science disciplines, the authors propose a research agenda for high-priority issues, so that the challenges they see ahead for informatics may be met better. PMID:11320068

Ageing, dementia and the social mind: past, present and future perspectives.

PubMed

Higgs, Paul; Gilleard, Chris

2017-02-01

Accompanying the ageing of contemporary ageing societies is an increase in age associated morbidity, with dementia having an important impact. Mental frailty in later life is a source of fear for many and a major policy concern to all those concerned with health and welfare services. This introduction to the special issue on 'Ageing, dementia and the social mind' situates the selected papers within the context of debates about dementia and its social relations. In particular it draws attention to the importance of the social imaginary of the fourth age and what this means for the issue of personhood, care, social representations of dementia and its social contextualisation. The papers illuminating these themes draw on a variety of disciplines and approaches; from the social sciences to the humanities and from the theoretical to the empirical in order to help orientate future researchers to the complexities of dementia and the social and cultural matrix in which it exists. This paper provides an introduction to the potential for a more extended sociology of dementia; one which could combine the insights from medical sociology with the concerns of social gerontology. © 2017 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness.

Biogeography predicts macro‐evolutionary patterning of gestural display complexity in a passerine family

PubMed Central

Miles, Meredith C.; Cheng, Samantha; Fuxjager, Matthew J.

2017-01-01

Gestural displays are incorporated into the signaling repertoire of numerous animal species. These displays range from complex signals that involve impressive and challenging maneuvers, to simpler displays or no gesture at all. The factors that drive this evolution remain largely unclear, and we therefore investigate this issue in New World blackbirds by testing how factors related to a species’ geographical distribution and social mating system predict macro‐evolutionary patterns of display elaboration. We report that species inhabiting temperate regions produce more complex displays than species living in tropical regions, and we attribute this to (i) ecological factors that increase the competitiveness of the social environment in temperate regions, and (ii) different evolutionary and geological contexts under which species in temperate and tropical regions evolved. Meanwhile, we find no evidence that social mating system predicts species differences in display complexity, which is consistent with the idea that gestural displays evolve independently of social mating system. Together, these results offer some of the first insight into the role played by geographic factors and evolutionary context in the evolution of the remarkable physical displays of birds and other vertebrates. PMID:28240772

Large system change challenges: addressing complex critical issues in linked physical and social domains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Waddell, Steve; Cornell, Sarah; Hsueh, Joe; Ozer, Ceren; McLachlan, Milla; Birney, Anna

2015-04-01

Most action to address contemporary complex challenges, including the urgent issues of global sustainability, occurs piecemeal and without meaningful guidance from leading complex change knowledge and methods. The potential benefit of using such knowledge is greater efficacy of effort and investment. However, this knowledge and its associated tools and methods are under-utilized because understanding about them is low, fragmented between diverse knowledge traditions, and often requires shifts in mindsets and skills from expert-led to participant-based action. We have been engaged in diverse action-oriented research efforts in Large System Change for sustainability. For us, "large" systems can be characterized as large-scale systems - up to global - with many components, of many kinds (physical, biological, institutional, cultural/conceptual), operating at multiple levels, driven by multiple forces, and presenting major challenges for people involved. We see change of such systems as complex challenges, in contrast with simple or complicated problems, or chaotic situations. In other words, issues and sub-systems have unclear boundaries, interact with each other, and are often contradictory; dynamics are non-linear; issues are not "controllable", and "solutions" are "emergent" and often paradoxical. Since choices are opportunity-, power- and value-driven, these social, institutional and cultural factors need to be made explicit in any actionable theory of change. Our emerging network is sharing and building a knowledge base of experience, heuristics, and theories of change from multiple disciplines and practice domains. We will present our views on focal issues for the development of the field of large system change, which include processes of goal-setting and alignment; leverage of systemic transitions and transformation; and the role of choice in influencing critical change processes, when only some sub-systems or levels of the system behave in purposeful ways, while others are undeniably and unavoidably deterministic.

A Different Trolley Problem: The Limits of Environmental Justice and the Promise of Complex Moral Assessments for Transportation Infrastructure.

PubMed

Epting, Shane

2016-12-01

Transportation infrastructure tremendously affects the quality of life for urban residents, influences public and mental health, and shapes social relations. Historically, the topic is rich with social and political controversy and the resultant transit systems in the United States cause problems for minority residents and issues for the public. Environmental justice frameworks provide a means to identify and address harms that affect marginalized groups, but environmental justice has limits that cannot account for the mainstream population. To account for this condition, I employ a complex moral assessment measure that provides a way to talk about harms that affect the public.

Disciplinarity and Normative Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strandbrink, Peter

2018-01-01

Drawing on recent interdisciplinary, multidimensional research on civic and religious education in northern Europe, this article explores disciplinary epistemological economies in an era of mounting discontent with the narrowness of mono-disciplinary analyses of complex social and educational issues. It is argued in the article that under…

Development of Civic Engagement: Theoretical and Methodological Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lerner, Richard M.; Wang, Jun; Champine, Robey B.; Warren, Daniel J. A.; Erickson, Karl

2014-01-01

Within contemporary developmental science, models derived from relational developmental systems (RDS) metatheory emphasize that the basic process of human development involves mutually-influential relations, termed developmental regulations, between the developing individual and his or her complex and changing physical, social, and cultural…

Community structural characteristics and the adoption of fluoridation.

PubMed Central

Smith, R A

1981-01-01

A study of community structural characteristics associated with fluoridation outcomes was conducted in 47 communities. A three-part outcome distinction was utilized: communities never having publicly considered the fluoridation issue, those rejecting it, and those accepting it. The independent variables reflect the complexity of the community social and economic structure, social integration, and the centralization of authority. Results of mean comparisons show statistically significant differences between the three outcome types on the independent variables. A series of discriminant analyses provides furtheor evidence of how the independent variables are associated with each outcome type. Non-considering communities are shown to be low in complexity, and high in social integration and the centralization of governmental authority. Rejecters are shown to be high in complexity, but low in social integration and centralized authority. Adopters are relatively high on all three sets of variables. Theretical reasoning is provided to support the hypothesis and why these results are expected. The utility of these results and structural explanations in general are discussed, especially for public/environmental health planning and political activities. PMID:7258427

Economic aspects of rare diseases.

PubMed

Borski, Krzysztof

2015-01-01

Economic problems related to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases are presented paying particular attention to the costs of financing treatment, including the issue of its refund, which is a fundamental and difficult to solve economic problem of the health care system. Rare diseases, despite the low frequency of occurrence, together cover a large group of diseases being a serious medical, social and economic problem. The adoption of Polish National Plan for Rare Diseases resulting from the recommendations of the Council of the European Union, the extension of institutional activities related to the area of public health and social initiatives seeking innovative solutions to create a model of social support for patients and their families, with very high complexity of the issues regarding rare diseases, results in the need for a coherent, comprehensive, system operations and adoption of comprehensive solutions.

Applying Antonio Gramsci's philosophy to postcolonial feminist social and political activism in nursing.

PubMed

Racine, Louise

2009-07-01

Through its social and political activism goals, postcolonial feminist theoretical approaches not only focus on individual issues that affect health but encompass the examination of the complex interplay between neocolonialism, neoliberalism, and globalization, in mediating the health of non-Western immigrants and refugees. Postcolonial feminism holds the promise to influence nursing research and practice in the 21st century where health remains a goal to achieve and a commitment for humanity. This is especially relevant for nurses, who act as global citizens and as voices for the voiceless. The commitment of nursing to social justice must be further strengthened by relying on postcolonial theories to address issues of health inequities that arise from marginalization and racialization. In using postcolonial feminist theories, nurse researchers locate the inquiry process within a Gramscian philosophy of praxis that represents knowledge in action.

`You caught me off guard': Probing the futures of complex engineered nanomaterials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadowski, Jathan; Guston, David H.

2016-07-01

This paper applies principles and methods from the framework of anticipatory governance to the case of what the National Research Council calls "complex engineered nanomaterials" (CENM). This framework does not aim to generate crystal ball visions or definitive answers, but rather provides guidance for uncovering, understanding, and addressing social, ethical, environmental, and policy issues that stem from emerging technologies. Thus, in anticipation of increased CENM research, CENM products, and their different governance challenges, we aim to lay the groundwork for the anticipatory governance of CENMs by mapping out what—according to the engineers and scientists, we interviewed who are working at the research level of these CENMs—will be the main issues and themes that we need to pay attention to in the near future. The structured interviews focused on three groups of questions: (1) potential and/or actual applications and/or products from the participant's research; (2) environmental health and safety issues pertaining to both the participant's research and CENMs generally; and (3) the future of CENMs. Without a foundational understanding to build on, social scientists, policymakers, and regulatory agencies will be at a loss about how to govern CENMs before they are widely implemented in society.

Bridging the Gap between Health and Social Care for Rare Diseases: Key Issues and Innovative Solutions.

PubMed

Castro, Raquel; Senecat, Juliette; de Chalendar, Myriam; Vajda, Ildikó; Dan, Dorica; Boncz, Béata

2017-01-01

Bridging the gaps between health and social care for rare diseases is not only necessary but crucial to increase the life expectancy, quality of life and autonomy of people living with a rare disease, supporting them in the full realisation of their fundamental human rights.The complexity of rare diseases, their strong relation to disability and the current unmet social and daily life needs of people living with a rare disease must not be underestimated and require urgent attention from all stakeholders involved in care provision, from healthcare to social and community services.The Commission Expert Group Recommendations to Support the Incorporation of Rare Diseases into Social Services and Policies, adopted unanimously in April 2016, by the representatives of European Member States and the other rare disease stakeholders, clearly set the tone for the need to promote measures that facilitate multidisciplinary, holistic, continuous, person-centred and participative care provision to people living with rare diseases.These recommendations, sided by other recent policy developments at European and national levels, represent an important policy step into approaching rare diseases' complex challenges in regards to holistic care provision.Innovative approaches aiming at bridging the gap between health, social and community service and support providers are currently being developed and tested in different European countries: standards of care, networks of expertise, case management services, one-stop-shop services, amongst others.These ongoing pilot approaches, presented in this chapter, have the power to inspire future policies and the effective and efficient implementation of holistic care pathways for people living with a rare disease, bringing about significant changes for patients, carers, care providers, competent authorities and the society at large.Nonetheless, the challenges to fully address this issue remain numerous and other key issues will also need to be taken into account when moving forward with the implementation of measures that aim at bridging the gaps between care providers and providing holistic care to people living with a rare disease.

Providing Palliative Care to LGBTQ Patients.

PubMed

Barrett, Nina; Wholihan, Dorothy

2016-09-01

Nurses should be familiar with and equipped to address the challenges that arise when caring for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer-identified (LGBTQ) patients. LGBTQ individuals have increased rates of certain physical diseases and are at greater risk of suffering from stress-sensitive mental health issues. Negative social attitudes, widespread discrimination and stigma, physical and psychological victimization, and less social support with aging contribute to the complexity of care for these individuals. Open communication, welcoming and accepting attitudes and environments, and sensitivity to unique multidimensional issues improve care to LGBTQ patients with serious advanced illness. Nursing can reach this vulnerable minority and positively impact the quality of care. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Poetic inquiry as a research and engagement method in natural resource science

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Complex and “wicked” natural resource issues often require interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary research approaches—that is, methods that span boundaries among physical, natural and social sciences, and, increasingly, the humanities, and that engage multiple sectors of society in the research proc...

Community Bioethics: The Health Decisions Community Council.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gallegos, Tom; Mrgudic, Kate

1993-01-01

Sees health care decision making posing variety of complex issues for individuals, families, and providers. Describes Health Decisions Community Council (HDCC), community-based bioethics committee established to offer noninstitutional forum for discussion of health care dilemmas. Notes that social work skills and values for autonomy and…

Practising Conservation Biology in a Virtual Rainforest World

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schedlbauer, Jessica L.; Nadolny, Larysa; Woolfrey, Joan

2016-01-01

The interdisciplinary science of conservation biology provides undergraduate biology students with the opportunity to connect the biological sciences with disciplines including economics, social science and philosophy to address challenging conservation issues. Because of its complexity, students do not often have the opportunity to practise…

Flood, disaster, and turmoil: social issues in cleft and craniofacial care and crisis relief.

PubMed

Strauss, Ronald P; van Aalst, John A; Fox, Lynn; Stein, Margot; Moses, Michael; Cassell, Cynthia H

2011-11-01

To examine social issues in the conduct of cleft and craniofacial care through relief programs in disrupted crisis contexts. Social, health policy, and ethical analyses. At best, craniofacial team care is multidisciplinary, coordinated, and sustained, requiring a long-term relationship between team members, patients, and families. Disasters and societal turmoil interrupt such relationships, causing craniofacial care to become a secondary concern. Providing craniofacial team care in a crisis setting requires rebuilding disrupted coordination and communication. Crisis relief care involves a complex set of expectations and responsibilities and raises issues such as (1) quality assurance, infection control, appropriate standards of care, and follow-up care/continuity; (2) equity of access to services and clinical ethics in the context of war and/or deprivation; (3) training of visitors in the local nation or site; (4) disciplinary composition of teams, interprofessional communication/rivalry, and credentials of clinicians; (5) ownership of the site and local visitor relations; (6) fundraising and marketing strategies; and (7) ethical issues in the doctor-patient relationship. Specific ethical standards for international cleft and craniofacial care delivery also apply to domestic and global crisis relief contexts. Guidance on issues related to professional experience, informed consent, and continuity of care will help care providers address social and ethical issues raised in crisis relief programs. This paper proposes that the Position Paper of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association (ACPA) on International Treatment Programs should be used as a template to develop and disseminate a set of standards that apply to crisis relief.

Health and the life course: why safety nets matter.

PubMed Central

Bartley, M.; Blane, D.; Montgomery, S.

1997-01-01

This article argues that a life course approach is necessary to understand social variations in health. This is needed in order to take into account the complex ways in which biological risk interacts with economic, social, and psychological factors in the development of chronic disease. Such an approach reveals biological and social "critical periods" during which social policies that will defend individuals against an accumulation of risk are particularly important. In many ways, the authors of modern welfare states were implicitly addressing these issues, and the contribution of these policies to present day high standards of health in developed countries should not be ignored. PMID:9146402

Navigating through translational research: a social marketing compass.

PubMed

Wharf Higgins, Joan

2011-01-01

When prominent health issues are chronic, rooted in complex behaviors, and influenced by cognitive, behavioral, social, cultural, economical, and environmental variables, layered and coordinated interventions are needed. Finding solutions that are valid, reliable, and transferable represents a daunting task for researchers. We know that converting science into action is critical for advancing health, but we have failed to appropriately disseminate evidenced-informed research to practitioners. The purpose of this article is to suggest that a social marketing framework can be the compass down this road less traveled in academic research. An experience developing an evaluation toolkit is described as an example of applying social marketing strategies to knowledge translation.

Using an Ethical Decision-Making Model to Address Ethical Dilemmas in School Counseling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Timothy; Armstrong, Stephen A.; Bore, Samuel; Simpson, Chris

2017-01-01

School counselors frequently face ethical dilemmas. These dilemmas often involve relationships with principals, parents, and other stakeholders. School counselors may confront complex ethical issues involving confidentiality, student safety, parental rights,and social media. The American School Counselor Association recommends following an ethical…

Biogeography predicts macro-evolutionary patterning of gestural display complexity in a passerine family.

PubMed

Miles, Meredith C; Cheng, Samantha; Fuxjager, Matthew J

2017-05-01

Gestural displays are incorporated into the signaling repertoire of numerous animal species. These displays range from complex signals that involve impressive and challenging maneuvers, to simpler displays or no gesture at all. The factors that drive this evolution remain largely unclear, and we therefore investigate this issue in New World blackbirds by testing how factors related to a species' geographical distribution and social mating system predict macro-evolutionary patterns of display elaboration. We report that species inhabiting temperate regions produce more complex displays than species living in tropical regions, and we attribute this to (i) ecological factors that increase the competitiveness of the social environment in temperate regions, and (ii) different evolutionary and geological contexts under which species in temperate and tropical regions evolved. Meanwhile, we find no evidence that social mating system predicts species differences in display complexity, which is consistent with the idea that gestural displays evolve independently of social mating system. Together, these results offer some of the first insight into the role played by geographic factors and evolutionary context in the evolution of the remarkable physical displays of birds and other vertebrates. © 2017 The Author(s). Evolution published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Society for the Study of Evolution.

An examination of the social determinants of health as factors related to health, healing and prevention of foetal alcohol spectrum disorder in a northern context – the brightening our home fires project, Northwest Territories, Canada

PubMed Central

Badry, Dorothy; Felske, Aileen Wight

2013-01-01

Objective The Brightening Our Home Fires (BOHF) project was conceptualized as an exploratory project to examine the issue of the prevention of foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) from a women's health perspective in the Northwest Territories (NT). While dominant discourse suggests that FASD is preventable by abstention from alcohol during pregnancy, a broader perspective would indicate that alcohol and pregnancy is a far more complex issue, that is, bound in location, economics, social and cultural views of health. This project was prevention focused and a social determinant of health (SDH) perspective informed this research. Methods The BOHF project was a qualitative research project using a participatory action research framework to examine women's health and healing in the north. The methodology utilized was Photovoice. Women were provided training in digital photography and given cameras to use and keep. The primary research question utilized was: What does health and healing look like for you in your community? Women described their photos, individually or in groups around this central topic. This research was FASD informed, and women participants were aware this was an FASD prevention funded project whose approach focused on a broader context of health and lived experience. Results This project drew 30 participants from: Yellowknife, Lutsel ‘ke, Behchokö and Ulukhaktok. These four different communities across the NT represented Dene and Inuit culture. The qualitative data analysis offered themes of importance to women's health in the north including: land and tradition; housing; poverty; food; family; health, mental health and trauma, and travel. Photovoice provides a non-threatening way to engage in dialogue on complex health and social issues. PMID:23984290

Integrating natural and social sciences to inspire public confidence in radioactive waste policy case study - Committee on radioactive waste management

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Usher, Sam

2007-07-01

Integrating Natural and Social Sciences to Inspire Public Confidence in Radioactive Waste Policy Case Study: Committee on Radioactive Waste Management Implementing effective long-term radioactive waste management policy is challenging, and both UK and international experience is littered with policy and programme failures. Policy must not only be underpinned by sound science and technical rationale, it must also inspire the confidence of the public and other stakeholders. However, in today's modern society, communities will not simply accept the word of scientists for setting policy based purely on technical grounds. This is particularly so in areas where there are significant social andmore » ethical issues, such as radioactive waste disposal. To develop and implement effective policy, governments, waste owners and implementing bodies must develop processes which effectively integrate both complex technical and scientific issues, with equally challenging social and ethical concerns. These integrating processes must marry often intricate technical issues with broad public and stakeholder engagement programmes, in programmes which can expect the highest levels of public scrutiny, and must invariably be delivered within challenging time and budget constraints. This paper considers a model for how such integrating processes can be delivered. The paper reviews, as a case study, how such challenges were overcome by the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM), which, in July 2006, made recommendations to the UK government for the establishment of a long-term radioactive waste policy. Its recommendations were underpinned by sound science, but also engendered public confidence through undertaking the largest and most significant deliberative public and stakeholder engagement programme on a complex policy issue in the UK. Effective decision-making was enabled through the integration of both proven and bespoke methodologies, including Multi-criteria Decision Analysis and Holistic assessments, coupled with an overarching deliberative approach. How this was managed and delivered to programme demonstrates how important effective integration of different issues, interests and world views can be achieved, and the paper looks forward to how the continued integration of both natural and social sciences is essential if public confidence is to be maintained through implementation stages. This paper will be particularly relevant to governments, waste owners and implementing bodies who are responsible for developing and implementing policy. (author)« less

Learning to See the (W)holes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burns, Barbara A.; Jordan, Thomas M.

2006-01-01

Business managers are faced with complex decisions involving a wide range of issues--technical, social, environmental, and financial--and their interaction. Our education system focuses heavily on presenting structured problems and teaching students to apply a set of tools or methods to solve these problems. Yet the most difficult thing to teach…

A Comparison of Forgiveness and Pro-Social Development.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scobie, G. E. W.; Scobie, E. D.

2000-01-01

Considers how forgiveness is learned and what developmental features it has in common with other prosocial activities. Maintains that viewing forgiveness within a moral developmental framework does not consider its complex nature nor address related issues such as damage severity, restoring relationships, empathy, or altruism. Explores these areas…

Catalan in the Twenty-First Century

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Urla, Jacqueline

2013-01-01

This special issue devoted to Catalonia--one of the most successful and longstanding language movements in Europe--gives a unique opportunity to understand some of the complex social dynamics engendered as language revival unfolds and to appreciate the value of in-depth interviewing, focus groups, and ethnographic work in making sometimes subtle…

An Ethnomethodological Perspective on How Middle School Students Addressed a Water Quality Problem

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Belland, Brian R.; Gu, Jiangyue; Kim, Nam Ju; Turner, David J.

2016-01-01

Science educators increasingly call for students to address authentic scientific problems in science class. One form of authentic science problem--socioscientific issue--requires that students engage in complex reasoning by considering both scientific and social implications of problems. Computer-based scaffolding can support this process by…

Live Theatre: A Dynamic Medium for Engaging with Intercultural Education Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nelson, Cynthia D.

2013-01-01

In this paper, I discuss live theatre as a highly effective and dynamic medium for facilitating meaningful engagement with research on intercultural education. I make the case that ethnographic, or research-based, theatre can productively showcase challenging social issues and the sometimes confusing, poignant and humorous complexities of…

Facing and Transforming Hauntings of Race through the Arts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, Rosemarie A.

2011-01-01

This article examines the pedagogical processes through which dance choreography and performance embody issues of social injustices. The author draws on ethnographic data of prominent black choreographers/dancers/educators, Katherine Dunham and Ronald K. Brown, to consider the behind the scene complex, interdependent practices of embodiment and to…

A Global Village Is a Small World

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Volk, Valerie

2008-01-01

Gifted students often show interest in complex social and environmental issues and a heightened sensitivity to global problems, and this capacity for moral responsibility and leadership of this interconnected world should be developed to its full potential. This development, however, should also find ways to alleviate the concerns and sense of…

Interface between Global Education and Multicultural Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Randall, Ruth E.; And Others

Today global education and multicultural education are vital as all countries in the world face complex issues in economic, political, and social interdependence. This paper examines the interface between global education and multicultural education as a potential answer of how to prepare students for effective participation in a culturally…

Fostering Hope in Climate Change Educators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swim, Janet K.; Fraser, John

2013-01-01

Climate Change is a complex set of issues with large social and ecological risks. Addressing it requires an attentive and climate literate population capable of making informed decisions. Informal science educators are well-positioned to teach climate science and motivate engagement, but many have resisted the topic because of self-doubt about…

Capacity Building for Social Innovation: A Collective Impact Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Szarleta, Ellen J.

2017-01-01

Business, nonprofit, and government institutions generally agree that a vibrant economy is critical to addressing the multi-faceted, complex issues faced by urban communities. Yet, despite significant targeted efforts aimed at revitalizing economic activity over the past few decades, the state of many communities remains unchanged. A collective…

The Called, Chosen, and Faithful Leader

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Hartwell T. Paul

2009-01-01

Leaders are made, not born. Like so many other of life's complex issues, the question of nature vs. nurture in leadership is one that is analyzed, researched, and debated by educators, philosophers, social scientist, and even leaders themselves. Leadership has been dissected as to personality, character, and behavior. Researchers have developed…

Instructional Context and Student Motivation, Learning, and Development: Commentary and Implications for School Psychologists

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pendergast, Laura L.; Kaplan, Avi

2015-01-01

From an ecological perspective, learning and development in childhood and throughout the lifespan occur in the context of interactions within complex social networks. Collectively, the articles in this special issue illuminate three important themes related to teacher-student interactions within instructional contexts: relationships, competence,…

Teaching to Multiple Intelligence by Following a "Slime Trail"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Delaney, Carol J.; Shafer, Francie Keller

2007-01-01

In this age of teacher accountability and high-stakes testing, practicing middle school teachers face many complex issues. Because adolescents must deal with the challenges of physical, social, emotional, and intellectual change, they are considered the most diverse population in the public school system. One way to increase achievement and…

Debate on the Draft--Helping Students Decide Where They Stand.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Victory, James

1981-01-01

Presents four exercises to help secondary school social studies students understand the complex issues of the draft. Students participate in a mock draft lottery, analyze Phil Och's Draft Dodger Rag, examine how individual experiences affect attitudes, and compare writings by Bill Mauldin and Ron Kovic. (KC)

A 50-Year-Old Woman Addicted to Heroin

PubMed Central

O’Brien, Charles P.

2011-01-01

Heroin addiction is a complicated medical and psychiatric issue, with well-established as well as newer modes of treatment. The case of Ms W, a 50-year-old woman with a long history of opiate addiction who has been treated successfully with methadone for 9 years and who now would like to consider newer alternatives, illustrates the complex issues of heroin addiction. The treatment of heroin addiction as a chronic disease is reviewed, including social, medical, and cultural issues and pharmacologic treatment with methadone and the more experimental medication options of buprenorphine and naltrexone. PMID:18594026

Social Media and Suicide: A Public Health Perspective

PubMed Central

June, Jennifer D.; Fairall, Jonathan M.

2012-01-01

There is increasing evidence that the Internet and social media can influence suicide-related behavior. Important questions are whether this influence poses a significant risk to the public and how public health approaches might be used to address the issue. To address these questions, we provide an overview of ways that social media can influence suicidal behavior, both negatively and positively, and we evaluate the evidence of the risk. We also discuss the legal complexities of this important topic and propose future directions for research and prevention programs based on a public health perspective. PMID:22401525

Review of Social and Organizational Issues in Health Information Technology.

PubMed

Kuziemsky, Craig E

2015-07-01

This paper reviews organizational and social issues (OSIs) in health information technology (HIT). A review and synthesis of the literature on OSIs in HIT was conducted. Five overarching themes with respect to OSIs in HIT were identified and discussed: scope and frameworks for defining OSIs in HIT, context matters, process immaturity and complexity, trade-offs will happen and need to be discussed openly, and means of studying OSIs in HIT. There is a wide body of literature that provides insight into OSIs in HIT, even if many of the studies are not explicitly labelled as such. The two biggest research needs are more explicit and theoretical studies of OSI in HITs and more research on integrating micro and macro perspectives of HIT use in organizations.

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems for interpreting complex medical datasets.

PubMed

Altman, R B

2017-05-01

Advances in machine intelligence have created powerful capabilities in algorithms that find hidden patterns in data, classify objects based on their measured characteristics, and associate similar patients/diseases/drugs based on common features. However, artificial intelligence (AI) applications in medical data have several technical challenges: complex and heterogeneous datasets, noisy medical datasets, and explaining their output to users. There are also social challenges related to intellectual property, data provenance, regulatory issues, economics, and liability. © 2017 ASCPT.

If the face is familiar, the patient may be overusing healthcare.

PubMed

2014-01-01

Patients who use the healthcare system excessively, and often for avoidable issues, create a burden for hospitals and consume a significant portion of healthcare expenditures. Many frequent users have complex medical and psychosocial needs, are uninsured, or have behavioral health issues. Case managers should identify patients who are potential frequent utilizers and make sure they are connected with a primary care provider. Take the time to find out barriers to care and call in a social worker to help line up community resources.

Addressing the determinants of child mental health: intersectionality as a guide to primary health care renewal.

PubMed

McPherson, Charmaine M; McGibbon, Elizabeth A

2010-09-01

Primary health care (PHC) renewal was designed explicitly to attend to the multidimensional factors impacting on health, including the social determinants of health. These determinants are central considerations in the development of integrated, cross-sectoral, and multi-jurisdictional policies such as those that inform models of shared mental health care for children. However, there are complex theoretical challenges in translating these multidimensional issues into policy. One of these is the rarely discussed interrelationships among the social determinants of health and identities such as race, gender, age, sexuality, and social class within the added confluence of geographic contexts. An intersectionality lens is used to examine the complex interrelationships among the factors affecting child mental health and the associated policy challenges surrounding PHC renewal. The authors argue that an understanding of the intersections of social determinants of health, identity, and geography is pivotal in guiding policy-makers as they address child mental health inequities using a PHC renewal agenda.

Intranasal Oxytocin Failed to Affect Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) Social Behavior

PubMed Central

Calcutt, Sarah E.; Burke, Kimberly; de Waal, Frans B. M.

2017-01-01

Oxytocin has been suggested as a treatment to promote positive social interactions in people with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). However, it is difficult to test this effect outside of the laboratory in realistic social situations. One way to resolve this issue is to study behavioral changes in closely related species with complex social relationships, such as chimpanzees. Here, we use captive, socially housed chimpanzees to evaluate the effects of oxytocin in a socially complex environment. After administering intranasal oxytocin or a placebo to an individual chimpanzee (total n = 8), she was returned to her social group. An experimenter blind to the condition measured the subject's social behavior. We failed to find a behavioral difference between conditions. As one of the goals for oxytocin administration as a treatment for ASD is increasing prosocial behaviors during ‘real world’ encounters, it is problematic that we failed to detect behavioral changes in our closest living relatives. However, our null findings may be related to methodological challenges such as determining an effective dose of oxytocin for chimpanzees and how long oxytocin takes to cross the blood-brain barrier. Thus, more research on intranasal oxytocin dosing and uptake are needed to continue exploring whether oxytocin changes social behavior in naturalistic settings and as a treatment for ASD. PMID:28845444

Linear units improve articulation between social and physical constructs: An example from caregiver parameterization for children supported by complex medical technologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bezruczko, N.; Stanley, T.; Battle, M.; Latty, C.

2016-11-01

Despite broad sweeping pronouncements by international research organizations that social sciences are being integrated into global research programs, little attention has been directed toward obstacles blocking productive collaborations. In particular, social sciences routinely implement nonlinear, ordinal measures, which fundamentally inhibit integration with overarching scientific paradigms. The widely promoted general linear model in contemporary social science methods is largely based on untransformed scores and ratings, which are neither objective nor linear. This issue has historically separated physical and social sciences, which this report now asserts is unnecessary. In this research, nonlinear, subjective caregiver ratings of confidence to care for children supported by complex, medical technologies were transformed to an objective scale defined by logits (N=70). Transparent linear units from this transformation provided foundational insights into measurement properties of a social- humanistic caregiving construct, which clarified physical and social caregiver implications. Parameterized items and ratings were also subjected to multivariate hierarchical analysis, then decomposed to demonstrate theoretical coherence (R2 >.50), which provided further support for convergence of mathematical parameterization, physical expectations, and a social-humanistic construct. These results present substantial support for improving integration of social sciences with contemporary scientific research programs by emphasizing construction of common variables with objective, linear units.

Scientists: Engage the Public!

PubMed Central

Shugart, Erika C.

2015-01-01

ABSTRACT Scientists must communicate about science with public audiences to promote an understanding of complex issues that we face in our technologically advanced society. Some scientists may be concerned about a social stigma or “Sagan effect” associated with participating in public communication. Recent research in the social sciences indicates that public communication by scientists is not a niche activity but is widely done and can be beneficial to a scientist’s career. There are a variety of approaches that scientists can take to become active in science communication. PMID:26695633

Ethics in Community-University-Artist Partnered Research: Tensions, Contradictions and Gaps Identified in an 'Arts for Social Change' Project.

PubMed

Yassi, Annalee; Spiegel, Jennifer Beth; Lockhart, Karen; Fels, Lynn; Boydell, Katherine; Marcuse, Judith

Academics from diverse disciplines are recognizing not only the procedural ethical issues involved in research, but also the complexity of everyday "micro" ethical issues that arise. While ethical guidelines are being developed for research in aboriginal populations and low-and-middle-income countries, multi-partnered research initiatives examining arts-based interventions to promote social change pose a unique set of ethical dilemmas not yet fully explored. Our research team, comprising health, education, and social scientists, critical theorists, artists and community-activists launched a five-year research partnership on arts-for-social change. Funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council in Canada and based in six universities, including over 40 community-based collaborators, and informed by five main field projects (circus with street youth, theatre by people with disabilities, dance for people with Parkinson's disease, participatory theatre with refugees and artsinfused dialogue), we set out to synthesize existing knowledge and lessons we learned. We summarized these learnings into 12 key points for reflection, grouped into three categories: community-university partnership concerns ( n  = 3), dilemmas related to the arts ( n  = 5), and team issues ( n  = 4). In addition to addressing previous concerns outlined in the literature (e.g., related to consent, anonymity, dangerous emotional terrain, etc.), we identified power dynamics (visible and hidden) hindering meaningful participation of community partners and university-based teams that need to be addressed within a reflective critical framework of ethical practice. We present how our team has been addressing these issues, as examples of how such concerns could be approached in community-university partnerships in arts for social change.

A diffusion of innovations model of physician order entry.

PubMed

Ash, J S; Lyman, J; Carpenter, J; Fournier, L

2001-01-01

To interpret the results of a cross-site study of physician order entry (POE) in hospitals using a diffusion of innovations theory framework. Qualitative study using observation, focus groups, and interviews. Data were analyzed by an interdisciplinary team of researchers using a grounded approach to identify themes. Themes were then interpreted using classical Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) theory as described by Rogers [1]. Four high level themes were identified: organizational issues; clinical and professional issues; technology implementation issues; and issues related to the organization of information and knowledge. Further analysis using the DOI framework indicated that POE is an especially complex information technology innovation when one considers communication, time, and social system issues in addition to attributes of the innovation itself. Implementation strategies for POE should be designed to account for its complex nature. The ideal would be a system that is both customizable and integrated with other parts of the information system, is implemented with maximum involvement of users and high levels of support, and is surrounded by an atmosphere of trust and collaboration.

Proceedings for Lunch and Learn: Making science fun and exciting through social media

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Biron, Lauren; Haffner, Julie; Nellist, Clara

Social media channels are vital for outreach and offer huge opportunities for scientists to directly engage with the public using nontraditional methods – including lots of creativity and humor. The physics community’s presence is growing more significant, and this session (designed for early career researchers) provided a lively discussion with experts in the domain. We covered how to best use social media to raise public awareness of science, share excitement and progress, and cultivate support from followers. We also discussed some of the thornier issues in social media, such as capturing the complexity of both the scientific process and themore » science itself.« less

Integrating medical and environmental sociology with environmental health: crossing boundaries and building connections through advocacy.

PubMed

Brown, Phil

2013-06-01

This article reviews the personal and professional processes of developing an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the complex issues of environmental health in their community, political-economic, social science, and scientific contexts. This interdisciplinary approach includes a synthesis of research, policy work, and advocacy. To examine multiple forms of interdisciplinarity, I examine pathways of integrating medical and environmental sociology via three challenges to the boundaries of traditional research: (1) crossing the boundaries of medical and environmental sociology, (2) linking social science and environmental health science, and (3) crossing the boundary of research and advocacy. These boundary crossings are discussed in light of conceptual and theoretical developments of popular epidemiology, contested illnesses, and health social movements. This interdisciplinary work offers a more comprehensive sociological lens for understanding complex problems and a practical ability to join with scientists, activists, and officials to meet public health needs for amelioration and prevention of environmental health threats.

Interaction of mathematical modeling and social and behavioral HIV/AIDS research.

PubMed

Cassels, Susan; Goodreau, Steven M

2011-03-01

HIV is transmitted within complex biobehavioral systems. Mathematical modeling can provide insight to complex population-level outcomes of various behaviors measured at an individual level. HIV models in the social and behavioral sciences can be categorized in a number of ways; here, we consider two classes of applications common in the field generally, and in the past year in particular: those models that explore significant behavioral determinants of HIV disparities within and between populations; and those models that seek to evaluate the potential impact of specific social and behavioral interventions. We discuss two overarching issues we see in the field: the need to further systematize effectiveness models of behavioral interventions, and the need for increasing investigation of the use of behavioral data in epidemic models. We believe that a recent initiative by the National Institutes of Health will qualitatively change the relationships between epidemic modeling and sociobehavioral prevention research in the coming years.

Making sense of the emerging conversation in evaluation about systems thinking and complexity science.

PubMed

Gates, Emily F

2016-12-01

In the last twenty years, a conversation has emerged in the evaluation field about the potential of systems thinking and complexity science (STCS) to transform the practice of evaluating social interventions. Documenting and interpreting this conversation are necessary to advance our understanding of the significance of using STCS in planning, implementing, and evaluating social interventions. Guided by a generic framework for evaluation practice, this paper reports on an inter-disciplinary literature review and argues that STCS raises some new ways of thinking about and carrying out the following six activities: 1) supporting social problem solving; 2) framing interventions and contexts; 3) selecting and using methods; 4) engaging in valuing; 5) producing and justifying knowledge; and 6) facilitating use. Following a discussion of these issues, future directions for research and practice are suggested. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Beyond the checklist: understanding rural health vulnerability in a South African context.

PubMed

Vergunst, Richard; Swartz, Leslie; Mji, Gubela; Kritzinger, Janis; Braathen, Stine Hellum

2016-01-01

Vulnerability in the past has sometimes been measured and understood in terms of checklists or common understanding. It is argued here that vulnerability is a more complex issue than this. Although checklists of vulnerable groups are important, they do not capture the essence and dynamics of vulnerability. The case of rural health vulnerability in South Africa is discussed to show that classifying people into vulnerable groups does not portray the complexity and intricacies of what it means to have vulnerability. We also wish to show that there are different kinds of vulnerabilities, and the difference between access vulnerability and illness vulnerability is highlighted. As part of a larger study, this case study is presented to show how vulnerability in a poor rural community in South Africa has to be understood in a contextual and dynamic manner as opposed to a static manner. Family and social dynamics can influence health. For example, fractured families were seen as a vulnerable issue within the community, while being a person with a disability can lead to isolation and callous attitudes towards them. It is these family and social dynamics that lead proximally to vulnerability to ill health. A contextual approach can assist in giving a more layered understanding of vulnerability than a checklist approach can do. Interventions to change health cannot be addressed simply by medical means. Social conditions need to be changed, and part of changing social conditions is the process of assisting those who are isolated or experience themselves as vulnerable to reconnect with others in the community. Poverty leads to social exclusion; social and family inclusion may be key to well-being.

Understanding the role of contrasting urban contexts in healthy aging: an international cohort study using wearable sensor devices (the CURHA study protocol).

PubMed

Kestens, Yan; Chaix, Basile; Gerber, Philippe; Desprès, Michel; Gauvin, Lise; Klein, Olivier; Klein, Sylvain; Köppen, Bernhard; Lord, Sébastien; Naud, Alexandre; Payette, Hélène; Richard, Lucie; Rondier, Pierre; Shareck, Martine; Sueur, Cédric; Thierry, Benoit; Vallée, Julie; Wasfi, Rania

2016-05-05

Given the challenges of aging populations, calls have been issued for more sustainable urban re-development and implementation of local solutions to address global environmental and healthy aging issues. However, few studies have considered older adults' daily mobility to better understand how local built and social environments may contribute to healthy aging. Meanwhile, wearable sensors and interactive map-based applications offer novel means for gathering information on people's mobility, levels of physical activity, or social network structure. Combining such data with classical questionnaires on well-being, physical activity, perceived environments and qualitative assessment of experience of places opens new opportunities to assess the complex interplay between individuals and environments. In line with current gaps and novel analytical capabilities, this research proposes an international research agenda to collect and analyse detailed data on daily mobility, social networks and health outcomes among older adults using interactive web-based questionnaires and wearable sensors. Our study resorts to a battery of innovative data collection methods including use of a novel multisensor device for collection of location and physical activity, interactive map-based questionnaires on regular destinations and social networks, and qualitative assessment of experience of places. This rich data will allow advanced quantitative and qualitative analyses in the aim to disentangle the complex people-environment interactions linking urban local contexts to healthy aging, with a focus on active living, social networks and participation, and well-being. This project will generate evidence about what characteristics of urban environments relate to active mobility, social participation, and well-being, three important dimensions of healthy aging. It also sets the basis for an international research agenda on built environment and healthy aging based on a shared and comprehensive data collection protocol.

"Cane" and Its Discontents.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dyck, Reginald

2000-01-01

Explores how the issue of race is enmeshed in a complex web of social relations that also include love, sex, gender, economics, and violence. Suggests how a consideration of modernist primitivism and Sigmund Freud's ideas on the individual's relationship to society can provide frameworks for further analysis of two of the stories in Jean Toomer's…

Relations between Parenting Style and Children's Play Behavior. Issues in Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clawson, Mellisa A.; Robila, Mihaela

2001-01-01

Studied Baumrind's approach to parenting style to examine the relations between parenting style and preschool children's social competence manifested through peer play. Found that mothers' and fathers' parenting style is related to children's play with peers, with an authoritative parenting style correlating to more complex levels of play. (SD)

Teaching the Public Relations Case Studies/Campaigns Class.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cottone, Laura Perkins

The public relations case studies/campaigns class entails teaching students how to die and then come back to life. As students must learn to take a critical look at complex public and social issues, teachers should create an environment in which the students feel comfortable with the process of psychological reconstruction. Students must be taught…

Practical and Ethical Concerns in Collaborative Research with Criminal Justice Decision Makers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gottfredson, Gary D.

After discussing some of the complex, sensitive issues involved in doing policy-related research, this paper describes a strategy for social scientists to use in doing collaborative research with criminal justice agencies. The strategy calls for: (1) careful selection of programs or practices on which to conduct research; (2) collaboration with…

Career Development for College Students with Asperger's Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mynatt, Blair Sumner; Gibbons, Melinda M.; Hughes, Amber

2014-01-01

An increasing number of students with Asperger's syndrome are entering college today. Students with Asperger's syndrome face complex symptomology such as difficulty with social skills, narrowed interests, sensory issues, and lack of self-awareness that may affect their ability to complete college and successfully enter the workforce.…

The Ethics of Multiple Authorship: Power, Performativity and the Gift Economy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Macfarlane, Bruce

2017-01-01

The allocation of authorship credit in academic publication raises complex ethical issues but is comparatively under-researched, particularly in the social sciences. The paper analyses the results of research into attitudes to multiple authorship based on a survey questionnaire of academics working in education faculties in universities in Hong…

Guide to Population Issues for Students and Teachers [and] Curriculum Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Facing the Future, Lopez Island, WA.

As the world grapples with increasing environmental, social, and security problems, population is rarely considered a cause or contributing factor. The relationship of population to the human condition, and to the condition of the Earth, is often subtle and complex. But population growth affects almost every aspect of life from education to…

Implementing a Redesign Strategy: Lessons from Educational Change.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Basom, Richard E., Jr.; Crandall, David P.

The effective implementation of school redesign, based on a social systems approach, is discussed in this paper. A basic assumption is that the interdependence of system elements has implications for a complex change process. Seven barriers to redesign and five critical issues for successful redesign strategy are presented. Seven linear steps for…

We're Losing Our Minds: Rethinking American Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keeling, Richard P.; Hersh, Richard H.

2011-01-01

America is being held back by the quality and quantity of learning in college. This is a true educational emergency! Many college graduates cannot think critically, write effectively, solve problems, understand complex issues, or meet employers' expectations. We are losing our minds--and endangering our social, economic, and scientific leadership.…

Bilingualism and Bilingual Education in a Complex Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herrera, Lazaro Moreno; Wedin, Asa

2010-01-01

This article is based on results from a baseline study for an intended intervention project in bilingual-intercultural education in the Municipality of San Miguel Ixtahuacan, in the Department of San Marcos, Guatemala. To a great extent the article deals with issues of bilingual education from the perspective of social justice. It analyses the…

The Sociolinguistic Complexity of Quasi-Isolated Southern Coastal Communities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wolfram, Walt; And Others

A sociolinguistic study of Ocracoke, an island community in North Carolina's Outer Banks, investigated the social dynamics of language change and variation. Data were gathered in interviews with 43 island residents aged 12-82, most of whose families have been on the island for several generations. Several major sociolinguistic issues were…

Media Misrepresentations of a Mascot Controversy: Contested Constructions of Race and Gender

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gerstl-Pepin, Cynthia; Liang, Guodong

2010-01-01

This article examines media coverage of a high school Native American mascot controversy. Discourse analysis of media documents and artifacts was utilized to explore how the issue was socially constructed for public consumption. Critical race feminism was used as a framework to examine how media discourses can oversimplify the complex interaction…

Integrating Medical and Environmental Sociology with Environmental Health: Crossing Boundaries and Building Connections through Advocacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Phil

2013-01-01

This article reviews the personal and professional processes of developing an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the complex issues of environmental health in their community, political-economic, social science, and scientific contexts. This interdisciplinary approach includes a synthesis of research, policy work, and advocacy. To examine…

How High- and Low-Challenge Tasks Affect Motivation and Learning: Implications for Struggling Learners.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Samuel D.

2003-01-01

Describes how most reading and writing assignments do not require the demonstration of sophisticated cognitive, social, or self-regulation skills. Describes an intervention study addressing this issue, in which students read and wrote complex prose, offered feedback to classmates, and monitored their learning progress. Focuses on how these new…

Holding Up the Mirror: The Complexity of Seeing Your Ethnic Self in History

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Halagao, Patricia Espiritu

2004-01-01

With the growing inclusion of multicultural curriculum in social studies, educators must understand the issues students of color face when learning about their ethnic history and culture. Using personal document analysis and phenomenological interviewing, this study explored six Filipino American college students' experiences with Pinoy Teach, a…

The Multiple Possibilities of Decency: Family and Society in American History.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schlossman, Steven L.

This paper focuses on three family-related issues: (1) the extraordinary complexity with which families perform educational and socializing functions and the corresponding danger of using simplistic cause and effect models to explain family behavior; (2) the ability of historical and contemporary American families to adapt to massive changes in…

Graduation Rates: Real Kids, Real Numbers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swanson, Christopher B.

2004-01-01

Controversies over graduation rates and No Child Left Behind have raged in research, media and political circles for almost a year. All too often, though, when complex issues of social and economic importance collide with policy and politics, heat is generated but little light. As a result, it may be difficult for local educators to parse the…

Advancing Bullying Research from a Social-Ecological Lens: An Introduction to the Special Issue

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rose, Chad A.; Nickerson, Amanda B.; Stormont, Melissa

2015-01-01

Bullying has emerged as a distinct, pervasive subset of peer aggression that affects youth worldwide. Although bullying is a complex phenomenon, some subgroups of youth are at escalated risk based on individual characteristics, skill deficits, and peer group or societal norms. Therefore, the field needs reliable measurement systems, precise…

Rivers Run Through It: Discovering the Interior Columbia River Basin.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Shelley; Wojtanik, Brenda Lincoln; Rieben, Elizabeth

1998-01-01

Explores the Columbia River Basin, its ecosystems, and challenges faced by natural resource managers. By studying the basin's complexity, students can learn about common scientific concepts such as the power of water and effects of rain shadows. Students can also explore social-scientific issues such as conflicts between protecting salmon runs and…

Unveiling the Hijab

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Landorf, Hilary; Pagan, Luis

2005-01-01

The hijab, the veil worn by Muslim women, can be a touchstone issue to give students an entry into the complex nature of Islam. It allows students to discover for themselves how symbol is used as a political, social, and cultural expression of Islam by different groups, both inside and outside the religion. By starting with their own experiences…

American Identity in the USA: Youth Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jahromi, Parissa

2011-01-01

National identity, how one sees oneself as a member of a given nation, is an important form of social identity. Feelings toward one's country are a matter of both individual and collective concern. In an increasingly diverse world, the issue of identifying with a nation is complex and consequential for individual identity formation as well as…

Hidden dangers: Environmental consequences of preparing for war

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Birks, J.W.; Ehrlich, A.H.

1990-01-01

This compilation of chapters by some of the world's foremost non-governmental experts, focuses on the military's nuclear mess. Hidden Dangers suggests that in the end, events, not politics, changed operations' in the nuclear complex. After Chernobyl, safety became the pressing issue. Although the continuing stream of revelations of safety and environmental violations within the US nuclear weapons complex may make the 1990 book seem out of date, it remains an indispensable primer for those concerned with the social and environmental consequences of nuclear weapons production.

Capturing the experiences of patients across multiple complex interventions: a meta-qualitative approach

PubMed Central

Webster, Fiona; Christian, Jennifer; Mansfield, Elizabeth; Bhattacharyya, Onil; Hawker, Gillian; Levinson, Wendy; Naglie, Gary; Pham, Thuy-Nga; Rose, Louise; Schull, Michael; Sinha, Samir; Stergiopoulos, Vicky; Upshur, Ross; Wilson, Lynn

2015-01-01

Objectives The perspectives, needs and preferences of individuals with complex health and social needs can be overlooked in the design of healthcare interventions. This study was designed to provide new insights on patient perspectives drawing from the qualitative evaluation of 5 complex healthcare interventions. Setting Patients and their caregivers were recruited from 5 interventions based in primary, hospital and community care in Ontario, Canada. Participants We included 62 interviews from 44 patients and 18 non-clinical caregivers. Intervention Our team analysed the transcripts from 5 distinct projects. This approach to qualitative meta-evaluation identifies common issues described by a diverse group of patients, therefore providing potential insights into systems issues. Outcome measures This study is a secondary analysis of qualitative data; therefore, no outcome measures were identified. Results We identified 5 broad themes that capture the patients’ experience and highlight issues that might not be adequately addressed in complex interventions. In our study, we found that: (1) the emergency department is the unavoidable point of care; (2) patients and caregivers are part of complex and variable family systems; (3) non-medical issues mediate patients’ experiences of health and healthcare delivery; (4) the unanticipated consequences of complex healthcare interventions are often the most valuable; and (5) patient experiences are shaped by the healthcare discourses on medically complex patients. Conclusions Our findings suggest that key assumptions about patients that inform intervention design need to be made explicit in order to build capacity to better understand and support patients with multiple chronic diseases. Across many health systems internationally, multiple models are being implemented simultaneously that may have shared features and target similar patients, and a qualitative meta-evaluation approach, thus offers an opportunity for cumulative learning at a system level in addition to informing intervention design and modification. PMID:26351182

Incorporating Social System Dynamics into the Food-Energy-Water System Resilience-Sustainability Modeling Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Givens, J.; Padowski, J.; Malek, K.; Guzman, C.; Boll, J.; Adam, J. C.; Witinok-Huber, R.

2017-12-01

In the face of climate change and multi-scalar governance objectives, achieving resilience of food-energy-water (FEW) systems requires interdisciplinary approaches. Through coordinated modeling and management efforts, we study "Innovations in the Food-Energy-Water Nexus (INFEWS)" through a case-study in the Columbia River Basin. Previous research on FEW system management and resilience includes some attention to social dynamics (e.g., economic, governance); however, more research is needed to better address social science perspectives. Decisions ultimately taken in this river basin would occur among stakeholders encompassing various institutional power structures including multiple U.S. states, tribal lands, and sovereign nations. The social science lens draws attention to the incompatibility between the engineering definition of resilience (i.e., return to equilibrium or a singular stable state) and the ecological and social system realities, more explicit in the ecological interpretation of resilience (i.e., the ability of a system to move into a different, possibly more resilient state). Social science perspectives include but are not limited to differing views on resilience as normative, system persistence versus transformation, and system boundary issues. To expand understanding of resilience and objectives for complex and dynamic systems, concepts related to inequality, heterogeneity, power, agency, trust, values, culture, history, conflict, and system feedbacks must be more tightly integrated into FEW research. We identify gaps in knowledge and data, and the value and complexity of incorporating social components and processes into systems models. We posit that socio-biophysical system resilience modeling would address important complex, dynamic social relationships, including non-linear dynamics of social interactions, to offer an improved understanding of sustainable management in FEW systems. Conceptual modeling that is presented in our study, represents a starting point for a continued research agenda that incorporates social dynamics into FEW system resilience and management.

Review of Social and Organizational Issues in Health Information Technology

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Objectives This paper reviews organizational and social issues (OSIs) in health information technology (HIT). Methods A review and synthesis of the literature on OSIs in HIT was conducted. Results Five overarching themes with respect to OSIs in HIT were identified and discussed: scope and frameworks for defining OSIs in HIT, context matters, process immaturity and complexity, trade-offs will happen and need to be discussed openly, and means of studying OSIs in HIT. Conclusions There is a wide body of literature that provides insight into OSIs in HIT, even if many of the studies are not explicitly labelled as such. The two biggest research needs are more explicit and theoretical studies of OSI in HITs and more research on integrating micro and macro perspectives of HIT use in organizations. PMID:26279951

Reimagining community health psychology: maps, journeys and new terrains.

PubMed

Campbell, Catherine; Cornish, Flora

2014-01-01

This special issue celebrates and maps out the 'coming of age' of community health psychology, demonstrating its confident and productive expansion beyond its roots in the theory and practice of small-scale collective action in local settings. Articles demonstrate the field's engagement with the growing complexity of local and global inequalities, contemporary forms of collective social protest and developments in critical social science. These open up novel problem spaces for the application and extension of its theories and methods, deepening our understandings of power, identity, community, knowledge and social change - in the context of evolving understandings of the spatial, embodied, relational, collaborative and historical dimensions of health.

Ethical Legal and Social Issues of Biobanking: Past, Present, and Future.

PubMed

Bledsoe, Marianna J

2017-04-01

The past 15 years has seen considerable changes in the research environment. These changes include the development of new sophisticated genetic and genomic technologies, a proliferation of databases containing large amount of genotypic and phenotypic data, and wide-spread data sharing among many institutions, nationally and internationally. These changes have raised new questions regarding how best to protect the participants of biobanking research. In response to these questions, best practices for addressing the legal, ethical, and social issues of biobanking have been developed. In addition, new ethical guidelines related to biobanking have been established, as well as new regulations regarding privacy and human subject protections. Finally, changes in the science and the research environment have raised complex ethical issues related to biobanking, such as questions about the most appropriate consent models to use for biobanking research, commercial use and ownership issues, and whether and how to return individual research results to biobank participants. This article reviews some of the developments over the past 15 years related to the ELSI of biobanking with a look toward the future.

A dynamic social systems model for considering structural factors in HIV prevention and detection

PubMed Central

Latkin, Carl; Weeks, Margaret; Glasman, Laura; Galletly, Carol; Albarracin, Dolores

2010-01-01

We present a model for HIV-related behaviors that emphasizes the dynamic and social nature of the structural factors that influence HIV prevention and detection. Key structural dimensions of the model include resources, science and technology, formal social control, informal social influences and control, social interconnectedness, and settings. These six dimensions can be conceptualized on macro, meso, and micro levels. Given the inherent complexity of structural factors and their interrelatedness, HIV prevention interventions may focus on different levels and dimensions. We employ a systems perspective to describe the interconnected and dynamic processes of change among social systems and their components. The topics of HIV testing and safer injection facilities are analyzed using this structural framework. Finally, we discuss methodological issues in the development and evaluation of structural interventions for HIV prevention and detection. PMID:20838871

Complex Case Conferences Associated with Reduced Hospital Admissions for High-Risk Patients with Multiple Comorbidities

PubMed Central

Tuso, Philip; Watson, Heather L; Garofalo-Wright, Lynn; Lindsay, Gail; Jackson, Ana; Taitano, Maria; Koyama, Sandra; Kanter, Michael

2014-01-01

Objectives: Reducing avoidable hospital readmissions presents an opportunity to improve health care quality and reduce avoidable costs. We studied the effect person-focused care may have on reducing avoidable admissions to the hospital. Methods: Among patients with heart failure discharged from the hospital, we evaluated the effect on 30-day readmissions of transitions-in-care interventions: home health visits, follow-up phone calls, and physician office visits. We also used a standardized diagnostic tool to interview readmitted patients to identify social reasons that may have contributed to the readmission. Finally, we used the learnings from both interventions to develop a new intervention: a single complex disease case conference that included the entire health care team. We measured hospital admissions for 21 patients during the 6 months before and after their complex case conferences. Results: Observed-over-expected hospital readmission rates were lowest for patients receiving a postdischarge visit with a home health nurse and a follow-up visit with their physician (0.54), compared with solely a physician visit (0.81), home health visit (1.2), or phone call (1.55). Various social issues may contribute to hospital readmissions, including caregiver knowledge, ability to care for oneself at home, and issues related to medications (adherence, ability to pay, and knowledge about potential side effects). Substantially fewer hospital admissions occurred after complex case conferences. Conclusions: Complex case conferences with disease-focused and person-focused interventions may be associated with reduced hospital admissions for patients with heart failure and multiple comorbidities. PMID:24626071

A multisite audit to assess how women with complex social factors access and engage with maternity services.

PubMed

Rayment-Jones, Hannah; Butler, Eleanor; Miller, Chelsie; Nay, Christine; O'Dowd, Jennifer

2017-09-01

to audit women with socially complex lives' documented access to and engagement with antenatal care provided by three inner city, UK maternity services in relation to birth and neonatal outcomes, and referral processes. women living socially complex lives, including young mothers, recently arrived immigrants, non-English speaking, and those experiencing domestic violence, poor mental health, drug and alcohol abuse, and poverty experience high rates of morbidity, mortality and poor birth outcomes. This is associated with late access to and poor engagement with antenatal care. data was collected from three separate NHS trusts data management systems for a total of 182 women living socially complex lives, between January and December 2015. Data was presented by individual trust and compared to standards derived from NICE guidelines, local trust policy and national statistic using Excel and SPSS Version 22. Tests of correlation were carried out to minimise risks of confounding factors in characteristic differences. non-English speaking women were much less likely to have accessed care within the recommended timeframes, with over 70% of the sample not booked for maternity care by 12 weeks gestation. On average 89% primiparous women across all samples had less than the recommended number of antenatal appointments. No sample met the audit criteria in terms of number of antenatal appointments attended. Data held on the perinatal data management systems for a number of outcomes and processes was largely incomplete and appeared unreliable. this data forms a baseline against which to assess the impact of future service developments aimed at improving access and engagement with services for women living with complex social factors. The audit identified issues with the completeness and reliability of data on the perinatal data management system. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Social regulation of emotion: messy layers

PubMed Central

Kappas, Arvid

2013-01-01

Emotions are evolved systems of intra- and interpersonal processes that are regulatory in nature, dealing mostly with issues of personal or social concern. They regulate social interaction and in extension, the social sphere. In turn, processes in the social sphere regulate emotions of individuals and groups. In other words, intrapersonal processes project in the interpersonal space, and inversely, interpersonal experiences deeply influence intrapersonal processes. Thus, I argue that the concepts of emotion generation and regulation should not be artificially separated. Similarly, interpersonal emotions should not be reduced to interacting systems of intraindividual processes. Instead, we can consider emotions at different social levels, ranging from dyads to large scale e-communities. The interaction between these levels is complex and does not only involve influences from one level to the next. In this sense the levels of emotion/regulation are messy and a challenge for empirical study. In this article, I discuss the concepts of emotions and regulation at different intra- and interpersonal levels. I extend the concept of auto-regulation of emotions (Kappas, 2008, 2011a,b) to social processes. Furthermore, I argue for the necessity of including mediated communication, particularly in cyberspace in contemporary models of emotion/regulation. Lastly, I suggest the use of concepts from systems dynamics and complex systems to tackle the challenge of the “messy layers.” PMID:23424049

Assessment of public perception of radioactive waste management in Korea.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Trone, Janis R.; Cho, SeongKyung; Whang, Jooho

2011-11-01

The essential characteristics of the issue of radioactive waste management can be conceptualized as complex, with a variety of facets and uncertainty. These characteristics tend to cause people to perceive the issue of radioactive waste management as a 'risk'. This study was initiated in response to a desire to understand the perceptions of risk that the Korean public holds towards radioactive waste and the relevant policies and policy-making processes. The study further attempts to identify the factors influencing risk perceptions and the relationships between risk perception and social acceptance.

Therapeutic Issues with Transgender Elders.

PubMed

Carroll, Lynne

2017-03-01

Research demonstrates that transgender and nonconforming (TGNC) elders face social isolation and discrimination in policies and practices in mental and health care settings. The purpose of this article is to provide clinicians with practical input about therapeutic issues and interventions for use with TGNC elders. A case vignette describes the challenges and rewards of therapy with an elder trans woman. Her story illustrates the complex interplay between age, life phase, and sociocultural and historical contexts. Recommendations regarding research, practice, and advocacy are offered. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

GunderKids: Design of a Clinical Care Management Program for Parents With Substance Abuse and Their Newborn Children with a Focus on Preventing Child Abuse.

PubMed

Budzak-Garza, Ann E; Allmon Dixson, Allison L; Holzer, Renee A; Lillard-Pierce, Kaitlin E; Devine, Carolynn J

2018-03-01

In response to an increased need to care for babies born to mothers with substance abuse issues, we developed GunderKids, a care management program that provides integrated medical care beyond standard-of-care, well-child appointments for these socially complex families. The program incorporates frequent visits to the pediatrician and the care team, which includes pediatric nurses, a pediatric social worker, and a child psychologist. Enrollment is voluntary. Each visit addresses parenting challenges, home environment, basic needs, safety issues, and maintenance of sobriety, as well as child development and health issues. We found that mothers and fathers (or parents) welcome intense support following delivery, appreciate the relationship that is built with the care team, and prefer frequent visits at the medical center over in-home visits, which they perceive as potentially intrusive. We describe here the planning and implementation of the program, as well as insights gained in our first year. Copyright© Wisconsin Medical Society.

[Sanitary control of alcohol advertisement in Brazil: a study of the law bills from 1988 to 2004].

PubMed

Falcão, Isa Cristina Lopes; Rangel-S, Maria Ligia

2010-11-01

This study analyses law bills towards the sanitary control of alcohol advertisement in the mass media presented to the Brazilian Congress from 1988 to 2004. The sanitary control of this advertising is a controversial issue bringing about an ethical-political debate in which the health-protecting interests conflict with commercial ones even after scientific evidence has established increasing alcohol intake as a health and social issue worldwide. The content analysis of 67 of such law bills was carried out, and these proposals were shown to consist mostly of strategies to both cope with alcohol advertising by dissociating from the product those values that might interfere with the children and teenagers' building of their social identity and limit advertisement contents in the mass media given the higher vulnerability of the subjects in that age range. This study reveals complexes challenges for the control of alcohol advertisement that in turn lead to rethinking the action of the State apparatus in dealing with this major public health issue.

Technology to Support Parental Engagement in Elementary Education: Lessons Learned from the UK

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lewin, Cathy; Luckin, Rosemary

2010-01-01

This paper compares and contrasts two projects in order to better understand the complex issues surrounding the use of technology to support parental involvement with schools and their children's learning. The Becta-funded ICT Test Bed evaluation (2002-2006) had the intention of saturating schools (in three areas of social deprivation) with a…

Spotlight on Student Engagement, Motivation, and Achievement. No. 5 in the Harvard Education Letter Spotlight Series

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chauncey, Caroline T., Ed.; Walser, Nancy, Ed.

2009-01-01

Only when students feel engaged both socially and academically can schools and teachers lay the groundwork to motivate achievement. This volume, the fifth in the "Harvard Education Letter" Spotlight series, brings together fifteen seminal articles that examine research and practice on these complex and interrelated issues. Contributors include:…

Reconsidering Social Science Theories in Natural Resource Management Continuing Professional Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stummann, C. B.; Gamborg, C.

2014-01-01

Over 25 years ago, the "wicked problems" concept was introduced into forestry to describe the increasingly complex work situations faced by many natural resource management (NRM) professionals and at the same time the demand and frequency of public involvement in NRM issues also grew. Research on the impact of these changes for NRM…

An Anthropology of "The Good Life" in the Bolivian Plateau

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Calestani, Melania

2009-01-01

This paper addresses my understanding of well-being as harmonious relations in the city of El Alto, Bolivia. My approach shows the complexity of issues emerging when dealing with social relations. First of all, I analyse a specific case study showing the moral obligation involved among household members. Then I attempt to provide an insight into…

National land-cover data and national agricultural census estimates of agricultural land use in the northeastern United States

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The landscape of the northeastern United States is diverse and patchy, a complex mixture of forest, agriculture, and developed lands. Many urgent social and environmental issues require spatially-referenced information on land use, a need filled by the National Land-Cover Data (NLCD). The accuracy o...

Teaching Energy Concepts by Working on Themes of Cultural and Environmental Value

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Besson, Ugo; De Ambrosis, Anna

2014-01-01

Energy is a central topic in physics and a key concept for understanding the physical, biological and technological worlds. It is a complex topic with multiple connections with different areas of science and with social, environmental and philosophical issues. In this paper we discuss some aspects of the teaching and learning of the energy…

Citizenship and Citizenship Education in a Global Age: Politics, Policies, and Practices in China. Global Studies in Education. Volume 2

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Law, Wing-Wah

2011-01-01

This book examines issues of citizenship, citizenship education, and social change in China, exploring the complexity of interactions among global forces, the nation-state, local governments, schools, and individuals--including students--in selecting and identifying with elements of citizenship and citizenship education in a multileveled polity.…

An Online Synchronous e-Dialogue Series on Nuclear Waste Management in Canada

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dale, Ann; Newman, Lenore

2006-01-01

Online dialogues can meaningfully engage a diverse audience and provide a method to both educate and interest the public in complex environmental and social issues. This article discusses a series of e-dialogues conducted for the Nuclear Waste Management Organization of Canada in which the public engaged in discussions concerning the risk and…

The Complex and Elusive Nature of Religious Prosociality: Reply to Myers (2012) and Saroglou (2012)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galen, Luke W.

2012-01-01

This reply explores issues raised in comments by Myers (2012) and Saroglou (2012) on Galen (2012) regarding whether religiosity has any influence on prosociality. Areas of contention include (a) the distinction between religious belief and other influences, mainly the socialization effects of group behavior; (b) whether behavior largely restricted…

Action Learning for Organizational and Systemic Development: Towards a "Both-and" Understanding of "I" and "We"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rigg, Clare

2008-01-01

In public services delivery, action learning is increasingly employed in the hope of improving capacity to address complex, multi-casual and "wicked" social issues to improve the lives of citizens. Yet the understanding of how and why action learning might have potential for enhancing organizational or systemic capability rarely goes…

An Evaluation of a School-Based Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Program Using a Logic Model Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hulton, Linda J.

2007-01-01

Teenage pregnancy and the subsequent social morbidities associated with unintended pregnancies are complex issues facing school nurses in their daily work. In contemporary practice, school nurses are being held to higher standards of accountability and being asked to demonstrate the effective outcomes of their interventions. The purpose of this…

Discerning the Difference between "Feel Good" and "Real Good": Teaching the Complexity of Sustainable Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hogan, Theodore J.; Kelter, Paul

2015-01-01

Environmental issues can serve as a marvelous framework for high-level student analysis of critical scientific and social concerns. We describe a series of activities and discussions that motivate students to explore environmentalism, sustainable development, carbon offsets, and related ideas with an engaged learning format that helps students to…

Embracing Social Sustainability in Design Education: A Reflection on a Case Study in Haiti

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kjøllesdal, Anders; Asheim, Jonas; Boks, Casper

2014-01-01

Sustainable design issues are complex and multi-faceted and need integration in the education of young designers. Current research recommends a holistic view based on problem-solving and inter-disciplinary work, yet few design educators have brought these ideas to their full consequence. Sustainability education for designers is still often rooted…

Engineering 'Posthumans': To Be or Not to Be?

PubMed

Karamanou, Marianna; Papaioannou, Theodore G; Soulis, Dimitrios; Tousoulis, Dimitrios

2017-08-01

Emerging technological innovations have transformed some science fiction ideas into reality, promising radical changes in human nature. New philosophical and intellectual movements such as 'transhumanism' and 'posthumanism' try to foretell and even direct the future of our existence while dealing with new and complex ethical, social, political issues and dilemmas. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Real Who, What, When, and Why of Journalism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huber-Humes, Sonya

2007-01-01

Journalism programs across the country have rolled out new curricula and courses emphasizing complex social issues, in-depth reporting, and "new media" such as online news sites with streaming audio and video. Journalism education has rightly taken its cue from media outlets that find themselves not relevant enough for a new generation of readers,…

The Wildland-Urban Interface: Increasing Significance, Complexity and Contribution

Treesearch

John F. Dwyer; Sarah M. McCaffrey

2002-01-01

During the past two decades, presentations at International Symposia on Society and Resource Management (ISSRM) have covered an increasingly broad scope of topics on natural resource issues. The wildland-urban interface (WUI) was a key topic of discussion at the ninth ISSRM in 2002: a reflection of the response by social scientists to increasing residential development...

After "DeFunis": Affirmative Action and the Jewish Community. Analysis, No. 46.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frank, Steven

The problems raised by the development of affirmative action and by the Jewish community's response to the complex social and legal issue are analyzed. The analysis focuses upon: initiation of affirmative action by presidential decree and its interpretation and implementation by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in the areas of…

Investigating the Effects of Peer to Peer Prompts on Collaborative Argumentation, Consensus and Perceived Efficacy in Collaborative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harney, Owen M.; Hogan, Michael J.; Quinn, Sarah

2017-01-01

In a society which is calling for more productive modes of collaboration to address increasingly complex scientific and social issues, greater involvement of students in dialogue, and increased emphasis on collaborative discourse and argumentation, become essential modes of engagement and learning. This paper investigates the effects of…

Learning Relational Ways of Being: What Globally Engaged Scholars Have Learned about Global Engagement and Sustainable Community Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ulrich, Mary Eileen

2016-01-01

How does higher education contribute to finding workable and lasting solutions to complex social issues that face communities globally today? How does higher education contribute to global sustainable development goals? The scholarship of engagement encourages faculty, scholars, and students to work together with communities on solutions to…

Towards equity and sustainability of rural and remote health services access: supporting social capital and integrated organisational and professional development.

PubMed

Schoo, Adrian; Lawn, Sharon; Carson, Dean

2016-04-02

Access to rural health services is compromised in many countries including Australia due to workforce shortages. The issues that consequently impact on equity of access and sustainability of rural and remote health services are complex. The purpose of this paper is to describe a number of approaches from the literature that could form the basis of a more integrated approach to health workforce and rural health service enhancement that can be supported by policy. A case study is used to demonstrate how such an approach could work. Disjointed health services are common in rural areas due to the 'tyranny of distance.' Recruitment and retention of health professionals in rural areas and access to and sustainability of rural health services is therefore compromised. Strategies to address these issues tend to have a narrow focus. An integrated approach is needed to enhance rural workforce and health services; one that develops, acknowledges and accounts for social capital and social relations within the rural community.

Managing the integration and harmonization of national airspace for unmanned and manned systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mumm, Hans

This dissertation examines the leadership challenge created by the requirement to integrate unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into the national airspace system (NAS). The lack of UAV-related federal rules and regulations is a primary factor prolonging this integration. This effort focuses primarily on the leadership portion of the solution and not the technological requirements. The research explores an adaptation of the complexity theory that offers a potential leadership framework for the government, industry, and academia to use for achieving the full integration of UAVs into the NAS. Due to the large number of stakeholders and the multitude of interrelated issues, a complexity-theory-leadership methodology was created and examined as a potential way to help the FAA accelerate their rule-making efforts. This dissertation focuses on United States UAV issues. The United States is one of the leaders in the unmanned systems arena, to include the first significant use of recoverable autonomous weaponized systems in combat. Issues such as airspace, airworthiness, social issues, privacy issues, regulations, and the lack of policies, procedures, or governance are universal for all countries that are active in this technology area. This qualitative dissertation makes use of the grounded theory methodology as it combines a literature review and research along with interviews with subject matter experts, and information gained from attending UAV related gatherings/discussions. The investigation uncovered significant FAA process impediments as well as some possible break through concepts that could work well with the complexity-theory-leadership methodology. Keywords: Complexity theory, leadership, change management, UAV, unmanned aerial vehicle, National Airspace, NAS, FAA, Federal Aviation Administration.

Language Geography from Microblogging Platforms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mocanu, Delia; Baronchelli, Andrea; Perra, Nicola; Gonçalves, Bruno; Vespignani, Alessandro

2013-03-01

Microblogging platforms have now become major open source indicators for complex social interactions. With the advent of smartphones, the everincreasing mobile Internet traffic gives us the unprecedented opportunity to complement studies of complex social phenomena with real-time location information. In this work, we show that the data nowadays accessible allows for detailed studies at different scales, ranging from country-level aggregate analysis to the analysis of linguistic communities withing specific neighborhoods. The high resolution and coverage of this data permits us to investigate such issues as the linguistic homogeneity of different countries, touristic seasonal patterns within countries, and the geographical distribution of different languages in bilingual regions. This work highlights the potentialities of geolocalized studies of open data sources that can provide an extremely detailed picture of the language geography.

Global perspectives on nursing and its contribution to healthcare and health policy: thoughts on an emerging policy model.

PubMed

Shamian, Judith

2014-12-01

We know from rigorous evidence that nurses can exert an incredible impact on the everyday lives of people and their health. Nurses can also contribute in much wider spheres of influence by applying their knowledge and skills to address broader issues affecting population health across communities, nations and globally. Despite the prevalence of so many vexing health and social issues, nurses often fail to think globally, or even regionally, when they are lobbying for change. And while much political influence is local, some issues are simply too complex to rely on local influence alone. Importantly in all this, we must acknowledge the ways these complex health issues are shaped by economic and political agendas and not necessarily by healthcare agendas. As such, the nursing community has to act globally and locally, both within and outside of the nursing arena. This paper explores early thinking about an evolving model of spheres--or "bubbles"--of policy influence in which nurses can and must operate to more effectively impact key global health and healthcare challenges.

Integrated Approaches to Address the Social Determinants of Health for Reducing Health Inequity

PubMed Central

Mitlin, Diana; Mulholland, Catherine; Hardoy, Ana; Stern, Ruth

2007-01-01

The social and physical environments have long since been recognized as important determinants of health. People in urban settings are exposed to a variety of health hazards that are interconnected with their health effects. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have underlined the multidimensional nature of poverty and the connections between health and social conditions and present an opportunity to move beyond narrow sectoral interventions and to develop comprehensive social responses and participatory processes that address the root causes of health inequity. Considering the complexity and magnitude of health, poverty, and environmental issues in cities, it is clear that improvements in health and health equity demand not only changes in the physical and social environment of cities, but also an integrated approach that takes into account the wider socioeconomic and contextual factors affecting health. Integrated or multilevel approaches should address not only the immediate, but also the underlying and particularly the fundamental causes at societal level of related health issues. The political and legal organization of the policy-making process has been identified as a major determinant of urban and global health, as a result of the role it plays in creating possibilities for participation, empowerment, and its influence on the content of public policies and the distribution of scarce resources. This paper argues that it is essential to adopt a long-term multisectoral approach to address the social determinants of health in urban settings. For comprehensive approaches to address the social determinants of health effectively and at multiple levels, they need explicitly to tackle issues of participation, governance, and the politics of power, decision making, and empowerment. PMID:17393340

A qualitative exploration of the role of social networks in educating urban African American adolescents about sex.

PubMed

George, Anne E; Abatemarco, Diane J; Terry, Martha Ann; Yonas, Michael; Butler, James; Akers, Aletha Y

2013-01-01

To explore social network members' role in educating African American adolescents about sexual health issues. We conducted 21 focus groups with urban African American mothers (n=51), fathers (n=18), sons (n=20), and daughters (n=36) from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA, between December 2007 and March 2008. At least one biological parent (or legal guardian) and one adolescent aged 15-17 years from each family participated. Group conversations were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using directive content analysis and the constant comparison method. Two coders independently read each transcript to identify emergent themes. A broad range of people were reportedly involved in the education process. Older siblings, extended family, and peers were most commonly cited. However, unrelated adults were also described as playing important roles. Unrelated adults included the friends of an adolescent's parents and the parents of an adolescent's friends or romantic partners. Social network members were said to address three main issues: the facts about sex and sexuality, the social aspects of sexuality (e.g., appropriate dating behaviors, choosing dating partners), and promotion of family values. When educating adolescents about sex, social network members were described as playing eight functional roles, including that of a teacher, guide, challenger, confidant, shelterer, supervisor-chaperone, role model, and provider of access to reproductive health services. These roles were not mutually exclusive, meaning that social network members often assumed different roles depending on the situation. The influence of individuals who were not an adolescent's parent was highly dependent on adolescents' relationship with their parents or on their parents' comfort dealing with sexual issues. African American adolescents' social networks were described by parents and adolescents as dense, complex, and routinely involved in educating adolescents about sex.

Dynamics of analyst forecasts and emergence of complexity: Role of information disparity

PubMed Central

Ahn, Kwangwon

2017-01-01

We report complex phenomena arising among financial analysts, who gather information and generate investment advice, and elucidate them with the help of a theoretical model. Understanding how analysts form their forecasts is important in better understanding the financial market. Carrying out big-data analysis of the analyst forecast data from I/B/E/S for nearly thirty years, we find skew distributions as evidence for emergence of complexity, and show how information asymmetry or disparity affects financial analysts’ forming their forecasts. Here regulations, information dissemination throughout a fiscal year, and interactions among financial analysts are regarded as the proxy for a lower level of information disparity. It is found that financial analysts with better access to information display contrasting behaviors: a few analysts become bolder and issue forecasts independent of other forecasts while the majority of analysts issue more accurate forecasts and flock to each other. Main body of our sample of optimistic forecasts fits a log-normal distribution, with the tail displaying a power law. Based on the Yule process, we propose a model for the dynamics of issuing forecasts, incorporating interactions between analysts. Explaining nicely empirical data on analyst forecasts, this provides an appealing instance of understanding social phenomena in the perspective of complex systems. PMID:28498831

Health conditions and health-policy innovations in Brazil: the way forward.

PubMed

Victora, Cesar G; Barreto, Mauricio L; do Carmo Leal, Maria; Monteiro, Carlos A; Schmidt, Maria Ines; Paim, Jairnilson; Bastos, Francisco I; Almeida, Celia; Bahia, Ligia; Travassos, Claudia; Reichenheim, Michael; Barros, Fernando C

2011-06-11

Brazil is a large complex country that is undergoing rapid economic, social, and environmental change. In this Series of six articles, we have reported important improvements in health status and life expectancy, which can be ascribed largely to progress in social determinants of health and to implementation of a comprehensive national health system with strong social participation. Many challenges remain, however. Socioeconomic and regional disparities are still unacceptably large, reflecting the fact that much progress is still needed to improve basic living conditions for a large proportion of the population. New health problems arise as a result of urbanisation and social and environmental change, and some old health issues remain unabated. Administration of a complex, decentralised public-health system, in which a large share of services is contracted out to the private sector, together with many private insurance providers, inevitably causes conflict and contradiction. The challenge is ultimately political, and we conclude with a call for action that requires continuous engagement by Brazilian society as a whole in securing the right to health for all Brazilian people. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Factors Associated With Having a Physician, Nurse Practitioner, or Physician Assistant as Primary Care Provider for Veterans With Diabetes Mellitus

PubMed Central

Morgan, Perri; Everett, Christine M.; Smith, Valerie A.; Woolson, Sandra; Edelman, David; Hendrix, Cristina C.; Berkowitz, Theodore S. Z.; White, Brandolyn; Jackson, George L.

2017-01-01

Expanded use of nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) is a potential solution to workforce issues, but little is known about how NPs and PAs can best be used. Our study examines whether medical and social complexity of patients is associated with whether their primary care provider (PCP) type is a physician, NP, or PA. In this national retrospective cohort study, we use 2012-2013 national Veterans Administration (VA) electronic health record data from 374 223 veterans to examine whether PCP type is associated with patient, clinic, and state-level factors representing medical and social complexity, adjusting for all variables simultaneously using a generalized logit model. Results indicate that patients with physician PCPs are modestly more medically complex than those with NP or PA PCPs. For the group having a Diagnostic Cost Group (DCG) score >2.0 compared with the group having DCG <0.5, odds of having an NP or a PA were lower than for having a physician PCP (NP odds ratio [OR] = 0.83, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.79-0.88; PA OR = 0.85, CI: 0.80-0.89). Social complexity is not consistently associated with PCP type. Overall, we found minor differences in provider type assignment. This study improves on previous work by using a large national dataset that accurately ascribes the work of NPs and PAs, analyzing at the patient level, analyzing NPs and PAs separately, and addressing social as well as medical complexity. This is a requisite step toward studies that compare patient outcomes by provider type. PMID:28617196

Factors Associated With Having a Physician, Nurse Practitioner, or Physician Assistant as Primary Care Provider for Veterans With Diabetes Mellitus.

PubMed

Morgan, Perri; Everett, Christine M; Smith, Valerie A; Woolson, Sandra; Edelman, David; Hendrix, Cristina C; Berkowitz, Theodore S Z; White, Brandolyn; Jackson, George L

2017-01-01

Expanded use of nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) is a potential solution to workforce issues, but little is known about how NPs and PAs can best be used. Our study examines whether medical and social complexity of patients is associated with whether their primary care provider (PCP) type is a physician, NP, or PA. In this national retrospective cohort study, we use 2012-2013 national Veterans Administration (VA) electronic health record data from 374 223 veterans to examine whether PCP type is associated with patient, clinic, and state-level factors representing medical and social complexity, adjusting for all variables simultaneously using a generalized logit model. Results indicate that patients with physician PCPs are modestly more medically complex than those with NP or PA PCPs. For the group having a Diagnostic Cost Group (DCG) score >2.0 compared with the group having DCG <0.5, odds of having an NP or a PA were lower than for having a physician PCP (NP odds ratio [OR] = 0.83, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.79-0.88; PA OR = 0.85, CI: 0.80-0.89). Social complexity is not consistently associated with PCP type. Overall, we found minor differences in provider type assignment. This study improves on previous work by using a large national dataset that accurately ascribes the work of NPs and PAs, analyzing at the patient level, analyzing NPs and PAs separately, and addressing social as well as medical complexity. This is a requisite step toward studies that compare patient outcomes by provider type.

Tackling complexities in understanding the social determinants of health: the contribution of ethnographic research.

PubMed

Bandyopadhyay, Mridula

2011-11-25

The complexities inherent in understanding the social determinants of health are often not well-served by quantitative approaches. My aim is to show that well-designed and well-conducted ethnographic studies have an important contribution to make in this regard. Ethnographic research designs are a difficult but rigorous approach to research questions that require us to understand the complexity of people's social and cultural lives. I draw on an ethnographic study to describe the complexities of studying maternal health in a rural area in India. I then show how the lessons learnt in that setting and context can be applied to studies done in very different settings. I show how ethnographic research depends for rigour on a theoretical framework for sample selection; why immersion in the community under study, and rapport building with research participants, is important to ensure rich and meaningful data; and how flexible approaches to data collection lead to the gradual emergence of an analysis based on intense cross-referencing with community views and thus a conclusion that explains the similarities and differences observed. When using ethnographic research design it can be difficult to specify in advance the exact details of the study design. Researchers can encounter issues in the field that require them to change what they planned on doing. In rigorous ethnographic studies, the researcher in the field is the research instrument and needs to be well trained in the method. Ethnographic research is challenging, but nevertheless provides a rewarding way of researching complex health problems that require an understanding of the social and cultural determinants of health.

What needs to be done? Occupational therapy responsibilities and challenges regarding human rights.

PubMed

Galheigo, Sandra Maria

2011-04-01

Addressing human rights issues brings forth ethical and political responsibilities for occupational therapists and requires new epistemological and educational approaches. The way occupational therapists have faced these challenges has depended upon historical, cultural and social contexts. By means of literature review and historical analysis, this paper reflects on how occupational therapists have dealt with human matters issues and on the contemporary changes within the profession. The paper portrays how Latin American occupational therapists have engaged in social transformation by choosing not to transform ethical and political problems into technical matters. Taking into account experiences and views from South Africa, Brazil and Chile, the paper outlines the importance of developing political literacy and interdisciplinary professional/postprofessional education to prepare the new generation of occupational therapists to engage in social transformation. Addressing issues of invisibility and lack of access to human rights, the paper reflects on the need of developing conceptual tools and strategies for change, and discusses the transformations being produced in contemporary occupational therapy. Occupational therapists and scientists need to be attentive to human rights issues. They also need to answer the call for interconnectedness in the present-day complex societies, and engage in networking and a cross-bordering dialogue. Nevertheless, although necessary and welcome, international cooperation requires a permanent exercise of cultural sensitivity, political awareness and self-awareness. © 2011 The Author. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal © 2011 Australian Association of Occupational Therapists.

Health Sector Reform and Social Determinants of Health: building up theoretical and methodological interconnections to approach complex global challenges.

PubMed

Junior, Garibaldi Dantas Gurgel

2014-01-01

Health Sector Reform and Social Determinants of Health are central issues for the current international policy debate, considering the turbulent scenario and the threat of economic recession in a global scale. Although these themes have been discussed for a long time, three major issues still calls the attention of the scientific community and health policymakers. The first one is the matter of how to approach scientifically the intricate connections between them in order to understand the consequences of policies for healthcare services, once this debate will become much more tensioned in the coming years. The second one is the lack of explanatory frameworks to investigate the policies of reform strategies, simultaneously observed in a variety of countries within distinct health services, which aim to achieve multiple and contradictory goals vis-à-vis the so-called social determinants of health. The third one is the challenge that governments face in developing and sustaining equitable health services, bearing in mind the intense political dispute behind the health sector reform processes. This article discusses an all-embracing theoretical and methodological scheme to address these questions. The aim is to connect macro- and middle-range theories to examine Social Determinants and Health Sector Reform interdependent issues, with view to developing new knowledge and attaining scientific understanding upon the role of universal and equitable healthcare systems, in order to avoid deepening economic crises.

Social responsibility: a new paradigm of hospital governance?

PubMed

Brandão, Cristina; Rego, Guilhermina; Duarte, Ivone; Nunes, Rui

2013-12-01

Changes in modern societies originate the perception that ethical behaviour is essential in organization's practices especially in the way they deal with aspects such as human rights. These issues are usually under the umbrella of the concept of social responsibility. Recently the Report of the International Bioethics Committee of UNESCO on Social Responsibility and Health has addressed this concept of social responsibility in the context of health care delivery suggesting a new paradigm in hospital governance. The objective of this paper is to address the issue of corporate social responsibility in health care, namely in the hospital setting, emphasising the special governance arrangements of such complex organisations and to evaluate if new models of hospital management (entrepreneurism) will need robust mechanisms of corporate governance to fulfil its social responsiveness. The scope of this responsible behaviour requires hospitals to fulfil its social and market objectives, in accordance to the law and general ethical standards. Social responsibility includes aspects like abstention of harm to the environment or the protection of the interests of all the stakeholders enrolled in the deliverance of health care. In conclusion, adequate corporate governance and corporate strategy are the gold standard of social responsibility. In a competitive market hospital governance will be optimised if the organization culture is reframed to meet stakeholders' demands for unequivocal assurances on ethical behaviour. Health care organizations should abide to this new governance approach that is to create organisation value through performance, conformance and responsibility.

The Measles Vaccination Narrative in Twitter: A Quantitative Analysis.

PubMed

Radzikowski, Jacek; Stefanidis, Anthony; Jacobsen, Kathryn H; Croitoru, Arie; Crooks, Andrew; Delamater, Paul L

2016-01-01

The emergence of social media is providing an alternative avenue for information exchange and opinion formation on health-related issues. Collective discourse in such media leads to the formation of a complex narrative, conveying public views and perceptions. This paper presents a study of Twitter narrative regarding vaccination in the aftermath of the 2015 measles outbreak, both in terms of its cyber and physical characteristics. We aimed to contribute to the analysis of the data, as well as presenting a quantitative interdisciplinary approach to analyze such open-source data in the context of health narratives. We collected 669,136 tweets referring to vaccination from February 1 to March 9, 2015. These tweets were analyzed to identify key terms, connections among such terms, retweet patterns, the structure of the narrative, and connections to the geographical space. The data analysis captures the anatomy of the themes and relations that make up the discussion about vaccination in Twitter. The results highlight the higher impact of stories contributed by news organizations compared to direct tweets by health organizations in communicating health-related information. They also capture the structure of the antivaccination narrative and its terms of reference. Analysis also revealed the relationship between community engagement in Twitter and state policies regarding child vaccination. Residents of Vermont and Oregon, the two states with the highest rates of non-medical exemption from school-entry vaccines nationwide, are leading the social media discussion in terms of participation. The interdisciplinary study of health-related debates in social media across the cyber-physical debate nexus leads to a greater understanding of public concerns, views, and responses to health-related issues. Further coalescing such capabilities shows promise towards advancing health communication, thus supporting the design of more effective strategies that take into account the complex and evolving public views of health issues.

Foundations of translational ecology

USGS Publications Warehouse

Enquist, Carolyn A. F.; Jackson, Stephen T.; Garfin, Gregg M.; Davis, Frank W.; Gerber, Leah R.; Littell, Jeremy; Tank, Jennifer L.; Terando, Adam; Wall, Tamara U.; Halpern, Benjamin S.; Morelli, Toni L.; Hiers, J. Kevin; McNie, Elizabeth; Stephenson, Nathan L.; Williamson, Matthew A.; Woodhouse, Connie A.; Yung, Laurie; Brunson, Mark W.; Hall, Kimberly R.; Hallett, Lauren M.; Lawson, Dawn M.; Moritz, Max A.; Nydick, Koren R.; Pairis, Amber; Ray, Andrea J.; Regan, Claudia M.; Safford, Hugh D.; Schwartz, Mark W.; Shaw, M. Rebecca

2017-01-01

Ecologists who specialize in translational ecology (TE) seek to link ecological knowledge to decision making by integrating ecological science with the full complement of social dimensions that underlie today's complex environmental issues. TE is motivated by a search for outcomes that directly serve the needs of natural resource managers and decision makers. This objective distinguishes it from both basic and applied ecological research and, as a practice, it deliberately extends research beyond theory or opportunistic applications. TE is uniquely positioned to address complex issues through interdisciplinary team approaches and integrated scientist–practitioner partnerships. The creativity and context‐specific knowledge of resource managers, practitioners, and decision makers inform and enrich the scientific process and help shape use‐driven, actionable science. Moreover, addressing research questions that arise from on‐the‐ground management issues – as opposed to the top‐down or expert‐oriented perspectives of traditional science – can foster the high levels of trust and commitment that are critical for long‐term, sustained engagement between partners.

Social Ecological Perspectives of Tube-Feeding Older Adults with Advanced Dementia: A Systematic Literature Review.

PubMed

Douglas, Joy W; Lawrence, Jeannine C; Turner, Lori W

2017-01-01

Dementia is a progressive, debilitating disease that often results in weight loss, malnutrition, and dehydration. Feeding tubes are often prescribed; however, this practice can lead to complications. The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the use of feeding tubes in elderly demented patients from a social ecological perspective. Results indicated that family members often receive inadequate decision-making education. Many health care professionals lack knowledge of evidence-based guidelines pertaining to feeding tube use. Organizational and financial reimbursement structures influence feeding tube use. Feeding practices for patients with advanced dementia is a complex issue, warranting approaches that target each level of the Social Ecological Model.

Identifying Basic Factors for Communal Prosperity - Space Technologies are Bridging this Gap

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Habib, Shahid

2006-01-01

There are many aspects, which are important for maintaining environmentally clean and safe conditions for a healthy and economically self-sufficient community. This problem was somewhat of a lesser concern in earlier days because many communities were small, isolated and solely dependent upon their owners or landlords. Due to an astronomical growth in human population within the last century, extensive use of combustion technologies, and changing environmental conditions has resulted in scarcity of natural resources. In reality, the societal sustainability issues are becoming much more acute and complex. Therefore, the researchers and social scientists are joining forces to address these topics and find solutions to many contentious areas such as public health and diseases, water resources, agriculture production, survivability during and after the natural disasters, energy needs and many others. Forthrightly speaking, there is no canned solution or a methodology to go about solving these issues since the magnitude and complexity of these issues are multi-dimensional and are further inter-locked with other areas. A common sense tells us that we need data, resources and technologies to begin addressing these problems. This is where space observations have provided us with tremendous information and opportunities, which are of great assets to the science, economist, and social scientists. This paper specifically addresses what are critical areas for a successful societal sustainability and growth; and how can we take advantage of multiple sensors and models already in existence. Increasing our knowledge of the home planet, via amplified set of observations, is certainly a right step in a right direction. Furthermore, this is a pre-requisite in understanding multiple hazard phenomena's. This paper further examines various space sensors and observing architectures that can be useful specifically in addressing some of these complex issues. The ultimate goal is to serve the society by providing such valuable information so the decision makers can take full advantage in making timely societal decisions.

Integration of Distinct Educating Spaces and Their Potential for a More Comprehensive Environmental Education Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iared, Valéria Ghisloti; de Oliveira, Haydée Torres

2012-01-01

To investigate if the units of the São Carlos Ecological Pole (São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil) are educating spaces that may contribute to the understanding of the complexity of environmental issues and stimulate a sense of belonging and social responsibility, we interviewed primary school teachers who had accompanied visits to these places and…

"What Have the Humanities to Offer 21st-Century Europe?": Reflections of a Note Taker

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parker, Jan

2008-01-01

The Humanities have much to offer 21st-century Europe, in terms of both method and issues which may complement and correct those of Science and Social Science. These include, for instance, humanities' generation of plural narratives and plural explanations, of attention to singularity and complexity, and to others' sensibilities and ways of…

Teaching the Social Construction of Regions in Regional Geography Courses; Or, Why Do Vampires Come from Eastern Europe?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dittmer, Jason

2006-01-01

This article describes the difficulty of teaching about the construction of regions in regional geography courses, which are themselves built on a metageography that often goes unquestioned. The author advocates the use of popular culture to make this very complex issue palpable for undergraduates. Thus, the construction of Eastern Europe within a…

Introduction to special issue on remote sensing for advanced forest inventory

Treesearch

Andrew T. Hudak; E. Louise Loudermilk; Joanne C. White

2016-01-01

Information needs associated with sustainable forest management are evolving rapidly as the forest sector works to satisfy an increasingly complex set of economic, environmental, and social policy goals. A barrier to the sustainable management of forests and the provision of ecosystem goods and services under these new pressures is a lack of up-to-date and detailed...

Education for Self Reliance--South Africa's Alternative for Addressing Skills Shortage and Job Creation: A Literature Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Twalo, T.

2010-01-01

South Africa's democratic state has been clouded by various social and economic ills like joblessness, skills shortage, poverty and crime. These are a result of various complex issues which include the apartheid legacy, misdirected education system and poor planning for long term national priorities. This article looks at the lost opportunities to…

The Voice of Croatian Elementary School Teachers: Qualitative Analysis of the Teachers' Perspective on Their Profession

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sliškovic, Ana; Buric, Irena; Macuka, Ivana

2017-01-01

With regard to the increase in complex demands on teachers within the current social context, the teachers' perspective on their own profession imposes itself as a very important research question. Given the lack of studies directed towards this issue in transitional countries such as Croatia, the aim of this qualitative study was to gain deeper…

The role of science in wilderness planning: a state-of-knowledge review

Treesearch

Edwin E. Krumpe

2000-01-01

Wilderness planning has evolved since the Wilderness Act of 1964 in an atmosphere of intense debate and public scrutiny. Wilderness planning and the role science has played in developing the planning process has been influenced by many complex legal mandates, by thorny social issues, and by emerging planning paradigms. Wilderness planning has at times been inspired by...

Learning How to Teach Poverty: A Case for Community of Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Browne, Laurie P.; Roll, Susan J.

2015-01-01

Recreation students today need to be prepared to engage in the topic of poverty as a social justice issue affecting our communities, yet many instructors do not have the tools to effectively teach this complex topic. One way instructors might learn how to engage students with poverty is through an interdisciplinary community of practice (CoP).…

Integrated and Early Childhood Education: Preparation for Social Development. Theme D: Looking Forward - Integrated Participation in Processes of Change.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Springer, Hugh

This seminar paper presents an analysis of the many complex issues inherent in planning and implementing those educational interventions designed to accelerate human change so that it matches the pace of external change in traditional societies. After establishing the importance of sensitive periods when learning can be massive and intervention is…

Moving sociohydrology forward: a synthesis across studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Troy, T. J.; Konar, M.; Srinivasan, V.; Thompson, S.

2015-08-01

Sociohydrology is the study of coupled human-water systems, building on the premise that water and human systems co-evolve: the state of the water system feeds back onto the human system, and vice versa, a situation denoted as "two-way coupling". A recent special issue in HESS/ESD, "Predictions under change: water, earth, and biota in the Anthropocene", includes a number of sociohydrologic publications that allow for a survey of the current state of understanding of sociohydrology and the dynamics and feedbacks that couple water and human systems together, of the research methodologies being employed to date, and of the normative and ethical issues raised by the study of sociohydrologic systems. Although sociohydrology is concerned with coupled human-water systems, the feedback may be filtered by a connection through natural or social systems, for example, the health of a fishery or through the global food trade, and therefore it may not always be possible to treat the human-water system in isolation. As part of a larger complex system, sociohydrology can draw on tools developed in the social-ecological and complex systems literature to further our sociohydrologic knowledge, and this is identified as a ripe area of future research.

Metaphors we think with: the role of metaphor in reasoning.

PubMed

Thibodeau, Paul H; Boroditsky, Lera

2011-02-23

The way we talk about complex and abstract ideas is suffused with metaphor. In five experiments, we explore how these metaphors influence the way that we reason about complex issues and forage for further information about them. We find that even the subtlest instantiation of a metaphor (via a single word) can have a powerful influence over how people attempt to solve social problems like crime and how they gather information to make "well-informed" decisions. Interestingly, we find that the influence of the metaphorical framing effect is covert: people do not recognize metaphors as influential in their decisions; instead they point to more "substantive" (often numerical) information as the motivation for their problem-solving decision. Metaphors in language appear to instantiate frame-consistent knowledge structures and invite structurally consistent inferences. Far from being mere rhetorical flourishes, metaphors have profound influences on how we conceptualize and act with respect to important societal issues. We find that exposure to even a single metaphor can induce substantial differences in opinion about how to solve social problems: differences that are larger, for example, than pre-existing differences in opinion between Democrats and Republicans.

Challenges in the analysis of complex systems: introduction and overview

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hastings, Harold M.; Davidsen, Jörn; Leung, Henry

2017-12-01

One of the main challenges of modern physics is to provide a systematic understanding of systems far from equilibrium exhibiting emergent behavior. Prominent examples of such complex systems include, but are not limited to the cardiac electrical system, the brain, the power grid, social systems, material failure and earthquakes, and the climate system. Due to the technological advances over the last decade, the amount of observations and data available to characterize complex systems and their dynamics, as well as the capability to process that data, has increased substantially. The present issue discusses a cross section of the current research on complex systems, with a focus on novel experimental and data-driven approaches to complex systems that provide the necessary platform to model the behavior of such systems.

On the methodological, theoretical and philosophical context of health inequalities research: a critique.

PubMed

Forbes, A; Wainwright, S P

2001-09-01

The integration of survey data with psycho-social theories is an important and emerging theme within the field of health inequalities research. This paper critically examines this approach arguing that the respective models of health inequality which these approaches promote, the related concepts of 'social cohesion' and 'social capital' suffer from serious methodological, theoretical and philosophical flaws. The critique draws particular attention to the limitations of survey-derived data and the dangers of using such data to develop complex social explanations for health inequalities. The paper discusses wider epistemological issues which emerge from the critique addressing the fundamental but neglected question of 'what is inequality'? The paper concludes by introducing a structure for questions regarding health inequalities emphasising the need for those question to be attached to real communities.

Human genome and philosophy: what ethical challenge will human genome studies bring to the medical practices in the 21st century?

PubMed

Renzong, Q

2001-12-01

A human being or person cannot be reduced to a set of human genes, or human genome. Genetic essentialism is wrong, because as a person the entity should have self-conscious and social interaction capacity which is grown in an interpersonal relationship. Genetic determinism is wrong too, the relationship between a gene and a trait is not a linear model of causation, but rather a non-linear one. Human genome is a complexity system and functions in a complexity system of human body and a complexity of systems of natural/social environment. Genetic determinism also caused the issue of how much responsibility an agent should take for her/his action, and how much degrees of freedom will a human being have. Human genome research caused several conceptual issues. Can we call a gene 'good' or 'bad', 'superior' of 'inferior'? Is a boy who is detected to have the gene of Huntington's chorea or Alzheimer disease a patient? What should the term 'eugenics' mean? What do the terms such as 'gene therapy', 'treatment' and 'enhancement' and 'human cloning' mean etc.? The research of human genome and its application caused and will cause ethical issues. Can human genome research and its application be used for eugenics, or only for the treatment and prevention of diseases? Must the principle of informed consent/choice be insisted in human genome research and its application? How to protecting gene privacy and combating the discrimination on the basis of genes? How to promote the quality between persons, harmony between ethnic groups and peace between countries? How to establish a fair, just, equal and equitable relationship between developing and developed countries in regarding to human genome research and its application?

Narrative persuasion, causality, complex integration, and support for obesity policy.

PubMed

Niederdeppe, Jeff; Shapiro, Michael A; Kim, Hye Kyung; Bartolo, Danielle; Porticella, Norman

2014-01-01

Narrative messages have the potential to convey causal attribution information about complex social issues. This study examined attributions about obesity, an issue characterized by interrelated biological, behavioral, and environmental causes. Participants were randomly assigned to read one of three narratives emphasizing societal causes and solutions for obesity or an unrelated story that served as the control condition. The three narratives varied in the extent to which the character in the story acknowledged personal responsibility (high, moderate, and none) for controlling her weight. Stories that featured no acknowledgment and moderate acknowledgment of personal responsibility, while emphasizing environmental causes and solutions, were successful at increasing societal cause attributions about obesity and, among conservatives, increasing support for obesity-related policies relative to the control group. The extent to which respondents were able to make connections between individual and environmental causes of obesity (complex integration) mediated the relationship between the moderate acknowledgment condition and societal cause attributions. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of this work for narrative persuasion theory and health communication campaigns.

Interplay between Public Attention and Public Emotion toward Multiple Social Issues on Twitter

PubMed Central

Peng, Tai-Quan; Sun, Guodao; Wu, Yingcai

2017-01-01

This study aims to elucidate the intricate interplay between public attention and public emotion toward multiple social issues. A theoretical framework is developed based on three perspectives including endogenous affect hypothesis, affect transfer hypothesis, and affective intelligence theory. Large-scale longitudinal data with 265 million tweets on five social issues are analyzed using a time series analytical approach. Public attention on social issues can influence public emotion on the issue per se. Social issues interact with one another to attract public attention in both cooperative and competitive ways. Instead of a direct transfer from public emotion to public attention, the public emotion toward a social issue moderates the interaction between the issue and other issue(s). PMID:28081117

Information flow in the pharmaceutical supply chain.

PubMed

Yousefi, Nazila; Alibabaei, Ahmad

2015-01-01

Managing the supply chain plays an important role in creating competitive advantages for companies. Adequate information flow in supply chain is one of the most important issues in SCM. Therefore, using certain Information Systems can have a significant role in managing and integrating data and information within the supply chain. Pharmaceutical supply chain is more complex than many other supply chains, in the sense that it can affect social and political perspectives. On the other hand, managing the pharmaceutical supply chain is difficult because of its complexity and also government regulations in this field. Although, Iran has progressed a lot in pharmaceutical manufacturing, still there are many unsolved issues in managing the information flow in the pharmaceutical supply chain. In this study, we reviewed the benefits of using different levels of an integrated information system in the supply chain and the possible challenges ahead.

Injury prevention in Australian Indigenous communities.

PubMed

Ivers, Rebecca; Clapham, Kathleen; Senserrick, Teresa; Lyford, Marilyn; Stevenson, Mark

2008-12-01

Injury prevention in Indigenous communities in Australia is a continuing national challenge, with Indigenous fatality rates due to injury three times higher than the general population. Suicide and transport are the leading causes of injury mortality, and assault, transport and falls the primary causes of injury morbidity. Addressing the complex range of injury problems in disadvantaged Indigenous communities requires considerable work in building or enhancing existing capacity of communities to address local safety issues. Poor data, lack of funding and absence of targeted programs are some of the issues that impede injury prevention activities. Traditional approaches to injury prevention can be used to highlight key areas of need, however adaptations are needed in keeping with Indigenous peoples' holistic approach to health, linked to land and linked to community in order to address the complex spiritual, emotional and social determinants of Indigenous injury.

Towards Socially-Responsible Management of Personal Information in Social Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morin, Jean-Henry

Considering the increasing number of Personal Information (PI) used and shared in our now common social networked interactions, privacy issues, retention and how such information are manages have become important. Most approaches rely on one-way disclaimers and policies, often complex, hard to find and lacking ease of understanding for ordinary users of such common networks. Thus leaving little room for users to actually retain any control how the released information is actually used and managed once it has been put online. Additionally, personal information (PI) may include digital artifacts and contributions for which people would legitimately like to retain some rights over their use and their lifetime. Of particular interest in this category is the notion of the "right to forget" we no longer have control over, given the persistent nature of the Internet and its ability to retain information forever. This paper examines this issue from the point of view of the user and social responsibility, arguing for the need to augment information with an additional set of metadata about its usage and management. We discuss the use of DRM technologies in this context as a possible direction.

Integration of the social environment in a mobility ontology for people with motor disabilities.

PubMed

Gharebaghi, Amin; Mostafavi, Mir-Abolfazl; Edwards, Geoffrey; Fougeyrollas, Patrick; Gamache, Stéphanie; Grenier, Yan

2017-07-07

Our contemporary understanding of disability is rooted in the idea that disability is the product of human-environment interaction processes. People may be functionally limited, but this becomes a disability only when they engage with their immediate social and physical environments. Any attempt to address issues of mobility in relation to people with disabilities should be grounded in an ontology that encompasses this understanding. The objective of this study is to provide a methodology to integrate the social and physical environments in the development of a mobility ontology for people with motor disabilities (PWMD). We propose to create subclasses of concepts based on a Nature-Development distinction rather than creating separate social and physical subclasses. This allows the relationships between social and physical elements to be modelled in a more compact and efficient way by specifying them locally within each entity, and better accommodates the complexities of the human-environment interaction as well. Based on this approach, an ontology for mobility of PWMD considering four main elements - the social and physical environmental factors, human factors, life habits related to mobility and possible goals of mobility - is presented. We demonstrate that employing the Nature-Development perspective facilitates the process of developing useful ontologies, especially for defining the relationships between the social and physical parts of the environment. This is a fundamental issue for modelling the interaction between humans and their social and physical environments for a broad range of applications, including the development of geospatial assistive technologies for navigation of PWMD. Implications for rehabilitation The proposed perspective may actually have much broader interests beyond the issue of disability - much of the interesting dynamics in city development arises from the interaction between human-developed components - the built environment and its associated entities - and natural or organic components. The proposed approach facilitates the process of developing useful ontologies, especially for defining the relationships between the social and physical parts of the environment. This is a fundamental issue for modeling the interaction between human -specially people with disabilities -and his social and physical environments in a broad range of domains and applications, such as Geographic Information Systems and the development of geospatial assistive technologies for navigation of people with disabilities, respectively.

Attitudes Toward the Ethics of Research Using Social Media: A Systematic Review

PubMed Central

Ahmed, Shahd; Norman, Gill; Booth, Andrew

2017-01-01

Background Although primarily used for social networking and often used for social support and dissemination, data on social media platforms are increasingly being used to facilitate research. However, the ethical challenges in conducting social media research remain of great concern. Although much debated in the literature, it is the views of the public that are most pertinent to inform future practice. Objective The aim of our study was to ascertain attitudes on the ethical considerations of using social media as a data source for research as expressed by social media users and researchers. Methods A systematic review was conducted, wherein 16 databases and 2 Internet search engines were searched in addition to handsearching, reference checking, citation searching, and contacting authors and experts. Studies that conducted any qualitative methods to collect data on attitudes on the ethical implications of research using social media were included. Quality assessment was conducted using the quality of reporting tool (QuaRT) and findings analyzed using inductive thematic synthesis. Results In total, 17 studies met the inclusion criteria. Attitudes varied from overly positive with people expressing the views about the essential nature of such research for the public good, to very concerned with views that social media research should not happen. Underlying reasons for this variation related to issues such as the purpose and quality of the research, the researcher affiliation, and the potential harms. The methods used to conduct the research were also important. Many respondents were positive about social media research while adding caveats such as the need for informed consent or use restricted to public platforms only. Conclusions Many conflicting issues contribute to the complexity of good ethical practice in social media research. However, this should not deter researchers from conducting social media research. Each Internet research project requires an individual assessment of its own ethical issues. Guidelines on ethical conduct should be based on current evidence and standardized to avoid discrepancies between, and duplication across, different institutions, taking into consideration different jurisdictions. PMID:28588006

Attitudes Toward the Ethics of Research Using Social Media: A Systematic Review.

PubMed

Golder, Su; Ahmed, Shahd; Norman, Gill; Booth, Andrew

2017-06-06

Although primarily used for social networking and often used for social support and dissemination, data on social media platforms are increasingly being used to facilitate research. However, the ethical challenges in conducting social media research remain of great concern. Although much debated in the literature, it is the views of the public that are most pertinent to inform future practice. The aim of our study was to ascertain attitudes on the ethical considerations of using social media as a data source for research as expressed by social media users and researchers. A systematic review was conducted, wherein 16 databases and 2 Internet search engines were searched in addition to handsearching, reference checking, citation searching, and contacting authors and experts. Studies that conducted any qualitative methods to collect data on attitudes on the ethical implications of research using social media were included. Quality assessment was conducted using the quality of reporting tool (QuaRT) and findings analyzed using inductive thematic synthesis. In total, 17 studies met the inclusion criteria. Attitudes varied from overly positive with people expressing the views about the essential nature of such research for the public good, to very concerned with views that social media research should not happen. Underlying reasons for this variation related to issues such as the purpose and quality of the research, the researcher affiliation, and the potential harms. The methods used to conduct the research were also important. Many respondents were positive about social media research while adding caveats such as the need for informed consent or use restricted to public platforms only. Many conflicting issues contribute to the complexity of good ethical practice in social media research. However, this should not deter researchers from conducting social media research. Each Internet research project requires an individual assessment of its own ethical issues. Guidelines on ethical conduct should be based on current evidence and standardized to avoid discrepancies between, and duplication across, different institutions, taking into consideration different jurisdictions. ©Su Golder, Shahd Ahmed, Gill Norman, Andrew Booth. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 06.06.2017.

Training in reproductive health and sexuality: the case of a regional program in Latin America.

PubMed

Ramos, S; Gogna, M

1997-01-01

Beginning in July 1993, a 5-year program has sought to provide social research, training, and technical assistance in reproductive health and sexuality in Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Colombia by 1) building research capacity and promoting an interdisciplinary approach to reproductive health and sexuality and 2) promoting a gender perspective to these issues. The target groups are women's nongovernmental organizations (NGOs); family planning, reproductive health, and women's health providers; and social scientists conducting health-related research. Training activities include regional workshops, a Regional Resident Fellowship Program to support graduate-level education, and provision of technical assistance. The first 3 years of the program have revealed that the basic training needs in these areas include 1) helping women's NGOs improve their record-keeping capacity, evaluation processes, theoretical and methodological background, and institutional-building ability; 2) sensitizing women's health providers to sociocultural dimension of health-illness issues and to a gender and human rights perspective; and 3) training social scientist researchers to apply their skills in applied research, develop their theoretical background, and improve research quality control procedures. The main challenges for training activities in the field of reproductive health and sexuality are posed by the complexity of the issues and their interdisciplinary nature.

Asia on the move: research challenges for population geography.

PubMed

Hugo, G

1996-06-01

This paper "summarises some of the major changes which have occurred in international migration to, from, and within Asia in the last two decades....A number of theoretical challenges are put forward regarding the complex interrelationships between international population movements, economic development and social change. The employment of systems approaches, neoclassical economic theory, social networks and institutional approaches, and the potential role of population geography in developing a more comprehensive explanation of the changing dynamics of international migration in the region, are discussed. Also considered are the gender dimension in migration, remittance flows and their consequences, and policy issues." excerpt

Critical Issues in the Lives of Children and Youth Who Are Deafblind.

PubMed

Nelson, Catherine; Bruce, Susan M

2016-01-01

The coeditors of an American Annals of the Deaf special issue on deaf-blindness introduce readers to critical issues surrounding children and youth who are deafblind. These issues-early identification, communication, social-emotional needs, family and multicultural issues, universal design and assistive technology, transition planning, and personnel preparation-are explored further in the articles that follow. By way of introduction, the present article provides definitions of deafblindness and a discussion of the heterogeneous nature of the population. The history of the field of deafblindness is then explored in terms of three distinct population shifts, from (a) individuals of the 18th and 19th centuries who became deafblind due to illness, to (b) the influx of individuals with congenital rubella syndrome in the 1960s who had disabilities besides deafblindness, and (c) the current population of children and youth with deafblindness, which includes individuals with other complex disabilities.

Capturing the experiences of patients across multiple complex interventions: a meta-qualitative approach.

PubMed

Webster, Fiona; Christian, Jennifer; Mansfield, Elizabeth; Bhattacharyya, Onil; Hawker, Gillian; Levinson, Wendy; Naglie, Gary; Pham, Thuy-Nga; Rose, Louise; Schull, Michael; Sinha, Samir; Stergiopoulos, Vicky; Upshur, Ross; Wilson, Lynn

2015-09-08

The perspectives, needs and preferences of individuals with complex health and social needs can be overlooked in the design of healthcare interventions. This study was designed to provide new insights on patient perspectives drawing from the qualitative evaluation of 5 complex healthcare interventions. Patients and their caregivers were recruited from 5 interventions based in primary, hospital and community care in Ontario, Canada. We included 62 interviews from 44 patients and 18 non-clinical caregivers. Our team analysed the transcripts from 5 distinct projects. This approach to qualitative meta-evaluation identifies common issues described by a diverse group of patients, therefore providing potential insights into systems issues. This study is a secondary analysis of qualitative data; therefore, no outcome measures were identified. We identified 5 broad themes that capture the patients' experience and highlight issues that might not be adequately addressed in complex interventions. In our study, we found that: (1) the emergency department is the unavoidable point of care; (2) patients and caregivers are part of complex and variable family systems; (3) non-medical issues mediate patients' experiences of health and healthcare delivery; (4) the unanticipated consequences of complex healthcare interventions are often the most valuable; and (5) patient experiences are shaped by the healthcare discourses on medically complex patients. Our findings suggest that key assumptions about patients that inform intervention design need to be made explicit in order to build capacity to better understand and support patients with multiple chronic diseases. Across many health systems internationally, multiple models are being implemented simultaneously that may have shared features and target similar patients, and a qualitative meta-evaluation approach, thus offers an opportunity for cumulative learning at a system level in addition to informing intervention design and modification. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Tackling complexities in understanding the social determinants of health: the contribution of ethnographic research

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Objective The complexities inherent in understanding the social determinants of health are often not well-served by quantitative approaches. My aim is to show that well-designed and well-conducted ethnographic studies have an important contribution to make in this regard. Ethnographic research designs are a difficult but rigorous approach to research questions that require us to understand the complexity of people’s social and cultural lives. Approach I draw on an ethnographic study to describe the complexities of studying maternal health in a rural area in India. I then show how the lessons learnt in that setting and context can be applied to studies done in very different settings. Results I show how ethnographic research depends for rigour on a theoretical framework for sample selection; why immersion in the community under study, and rapport building with research participants, is important to ensure rich and meaningful data; and how flexible approaches to data collection lead to the gradual emergence of an analysis based on intense cross-referencing with community views and thus a conclusion that explains the similarities and differences observed. Conclusion When using ethnographic research design it can be difficult to specify in advance the exact details of the study design. Researchers can encounter issues in the field that require them to change what they planned on doing. In rigorous ethnographic studies, the researcher in the field is the research instrument and needs to be well trained in the method. Implication Ethnographic research is challenging, but nevertheless provides a rewarding way of researching complex health problems that require an understanding of the social and cultural determinants of health. PMID:22168509

Politics and patriarchy: barriers to health screening for socially disadvantaged women.

PubMed

Peters, Kathleen

2012-10-01

Health screening and early detection of cancer results in significantly better health outcomes and lower mortality. However barriers to such screening are multiple and complex. This paper specifically addresses barriers to women's health screening for socially disadvantaged women in an economically and service disadvantaged area. In this qualitative study, women's healthcare workers and consumers of women's health screening were interviewed and data related to issues for women who had special needs were analysed. Findings indicate there is a lack of access to appropriate services for socially disadvantaged women which affects their screening uptake rates. This study also highlights the difficulties socially disadvantaged women encountered when they were able to access these services which also influenced their decisions regarding subsequent health screening. Implications for nurses and other healthcare professionals are manifold and include advocating for greater access to services and more sensitive care in the delivery of health screening services for socially disadvantaged women.

Social work management in emerging health care systems.

PubMed

Kenney, J J

1990-02-01

An overview of the health care industry's trend toward multihealth systems is presented and specific adaptive strategies for social work managers in health care are suggested. The challenges to social work leaders during this transition from largely free-standing, privately owned health care institutions to corporately owned, horizontally and vertically integrated delivery systems are discussed in terms of identity, style, and substance. Directors of social work departments in multihealth corporations will need to resolve issues of institutional versus corporate identity as well as those of corporate versus professional identity. A multioptional management style that incorporates networking and political expertise should be cultivated. Substantive demands in the areas of management information systems, productivity, quality assurance, and budgeting also must be addressed. The emergence of multihealth systems poses major challenges and unique opportunities to the social work profession. Awareness of managerial strategies and critical content areas can help social work leaders enhance the role and contribution of social work in these exciting and complex health care delivery systems.

Twenty-Plus Years of Exclusion in the Boy Scouts of America: A Simulated Debate on Inclusion in Public and Private Recreation Agencies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Corey W.

2015-01-01

This four-day learning activity on the controversy of exclusion of gays and subsequently atheists in Boy Scouting is particularly relevant because it highlights the complexities that surround issues of equality, equity, the provision of leisure services, First Amendment rights, and the implications of court decisions on social justice. This lesson…

Assessing mismatches in ecosystem services proficiency across the urban fabric of Porto (Portugal): The influence of structural and socioeconomic variables

Treesearch

Marisa S. Graça; João F. Gonçalves; Paulo J.M. Alves; David J. Nowak; Robert Hoehn; Alexis Ellis; Paulo Farinha-Marques; Mario Cunha

2017-01-01

According to UN estimates, it is expected that the world population living in cities will exceed 66% in 2050 (United Nations, 2014). The complex and intense interaction of ecological and socioeconomic systems shaping cities has highlighted the need to foster an interdisciplinary approach to urban issues integrating Natural and Social Sciences (Alberti et al., 2003)....

New ethical challenges in science and technology

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

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The published research features some of the nation's leading scientists and engineers, as well as science policy experts, and discusses a wide range of issues and topics. These include the economic and social pressure impacting biomedical research, the impossibility of predicting all the behaviors of increasingly complex, engineered systems, a look at the new federal guidelines for misconduct and new wrinkles on faculty conflicts of interest.

Question Authority: Kids Need to Be Skeptical of the Curriculum. It's the Only Way to Develop a Balanced View of the World

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeVoogd, Glenn

2006-01-01

Librarians can help kids expand their view of the world by introducing them to critical literacy. Critical literacy encourages readers to question an author's intentions and to examine issues from multiple perspectives to avoid simplistic statements. It supports a more complex and nuanced understanding of events, recognizing social and political…

Providing Social Support for Underrepresented Racial and Ethnic Minority PhD Students in the Biomedical Sciences: A Career Coaching Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Simon N.; Thakore, Bhoomi K.; McGee, Richard

2017-01-01

Improvement in the proportion of underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities (URMs) in academic positions has been unsatisfactory. Although this is a complex problem, one key issue is that graduate students often rely on research mentors for career-related support, the effectiveness of which can be variable. We present results from a novel…

Analysing the Multiplicity of Voices in the Agora: Using Actor-Network Theory to Unravel a Complex Issue

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

France, Bev; Birdsall, Sally; Simonneaux, Laurence

2017-01-01

There is a need to develop an understanding of how science knowledge is interpreted and used when a Socially Acute Question (SAQ) is discussed on the "agora" of the Internet. A case is made for using Actor-Network Theory (ANT) to unravel the diversity of participants taking part, their stance, source and expression of their…

Assessing Causality in a Complex Security Environment

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-01-01

social sciences that could genuinely benefit those students. Causality is one of these critical issues. Causality has many definitions, but we might...protests (Ivan Bandura ) Report Documentation Page Form ApprovedOMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for the collection of information is estimated...relatively simple theory of what leads to a stable deter- rent relationship between two states. Mearsheimer argued that when State A fields a

Research Domain Criteria as Psychiatric Nosology.

PubMed

Akram, Faisal; Giordano, James

2017-10-01

Diagnostic classification systems in psychiatry have continued to rely on clinical phenomenology, despite limitations inherent in that approach. In view of these limitations and recent progress in neuroscience, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has initiated the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) project to develop a more neuroscientifically based system of characterizing and classifying psychiatric disorders. The RDoC initiative aims to transform psychiatry into an integrative science of psychopathology in which mental illnesses will be defined as involving putative dysfunctions in neural nodes and networks. However, conceptual, methodological, neuroethical, and social issues inherent in and/or derived from the use of RDoC need to be addressed before any attempt is made to implement their use in clinical psychiatry. This article describes current progress in RDoC; defines key technical, neuroethical, and social issues generated by RDoC adoption and use; and posits key questions that must be addressed and resolved if RDoC are to be employed for psychiatric diagnoses and therapeutics. Specifically, we posit that objectivization of complex mental phenomena may raise ethical questions about autonomy, the value of subjective experience, what constitutes normality, what constitutes a disorder, and what represents a treatment, enablement, and/or enhancement. Ethical issues may also arise from the (mis)use of biomarkers and phenotypes in predicting and treating mental disorders, and what such definitions, predictions, and interventions portend for concepts and views of sickness, criminality, professional competency, and social functioning. Given these issues, we offer that a preparatory neuroethical framework is required to define and guide the ways in which RDoC-oriented research can-and arguably should-be utilized in clinical psychiatry, and perhaps more broadly, in the social sphere.

Impacts of Geospatial Information for Decision Making

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pearlman, F.; Coote, A.; Friedl, L.; Stewart, M.

2012-12-01

Geospatial information contributes to decisions by both societal and individual decision-makers. More effective use of this information is essential as issues are increasingly complex and consequences can be critical for future economic and social development. To address this, a workshop brought together analysts, communicators, officials, and researchers from academia, government, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector. A range of policy issues, management needs, and resource requirements were discussed and a wide array of analyses, geospatial data, methods of analysis, and metrics were presented for assessing and communicating the value of geospatial information. It is clear that there are many opportunities for integrating science and engineering disciplines with the social sciences for addressing societal issues that would benefit from using geospatial information and earth observations. However, these collaborations must have outcomes that can be easily communicated to decision makers. This generally requires either succinct quantitative statements of value based on rigorous models and/or user testimonials of actual applications that save real money. An outcome of the workshop is to pursue the development of a community of practice or society that encompasses a wide range of scientific, social, management, and communication disciplines and fosters collaboration across specialties, helping to build trust across social and science aspects. A resource base is also necessary. This presentation will address approaches for creating a shared knowledge database, containing a glossary of terms, reference materials and examples of case studies and the potential applications for benefit analyses.

Risk Perception as the Quantitative Parameter of Ethics and Responsibility in Disaster Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kostyuchenko, Yuriy; Movchan, Dmytro

2014-05-01

Intensity of impacts of natural disasters is increasing with climate and ecological changes spread. Frequency of disasters is increasing, and recurrence of catastrophes characterizing by essential spatial heterogeneity. Distribution of losses is fundamentally non-linear and reflects complex interrelation of natural, social and environmental factor in the changing world on multi scale range. We faced with new types of risks, which require a comprehensive security concept. Modern understanding of complex security, and complex risk management require analysis of all natural and social phenomena, involvement of all available data, constructing of advanced analytical tools, and transformation of our perception of risk and security issues. Traditional deterministic models used for risk analysis are difficult applicable for analysis of social issues, as well as for analysis of multi scale multi-physics phenomena quantification. Also parametric methods are not absolutely effective because the system analyzed is essentially non-ergodic. The stochastic models of risk analysis are applicable for quantitative analysis of human behavior and risk perception. In framework of risk analysis models the risk perception issues were described. Risk is presented as the superposition of distribution (f(x,y)) and damage functions (p(x,y)): P →δΣ x,yf(x,y)p(x,y). As it was shown risk perception essentially influents to the damage function. Basing on the prospect theory and decision making under uncertainty on cognitive bias and handling of risk, modification of damage function is proposed: p(x,y|α(t)). Modified damage function includes an awareness function α(t), which is the system of risk perception function (rp) and function of education and log-term experience (c) as: α(t) → (c - rp). Education function c(t) describes the trend of education and experience. Risk perception function rp reflects security concept of human behavior, is the basis for prediction of socio-economic and socio-ecological processes. Also there is important positive feedback of risk perception function to distribution function. Risk perception is essentially depends of short-term recent events impact in multi agent media. This is managed function. The generalized view of awareness function is proposed: α(t) = δΣ ic - rpi. Using this form separate parameters has been calculated. For example, risk perception function is about 15-55% of awareness function depends of education, age and social status of people. Also it was estimated that fraction of awareness function in damage function, and so in function of risk is about 15-20%. It means that no less than 8-12% of direct losses depend of short-term responsible behavior of 'information agents': social activity of experts, scientists, correct discussions on ethical issues in geo-sciences and media. Other 6-9% of losses are connected with level of public and professional education. This area is also should be field of responsibility of geo-scientists.

Quality of life in HIV/AIDS.

PubMed

Basavaraj, K H; Navya, M A; Rashmi, R

2010-07-01

Given the longevity achievable with current prophylactic and therapeutic strategies for persons with HIV infection, quality of life (QOL) has emerged as a significant medical outcome measure, and its enhancement has an important goal. This review highlights the relevance and complexity of physical, psychological, and social factors as determinants of health-related quality of life in HIV-infected persons. Existing data suggest that physical manifestations, antiretroviral therapy, psychological well-being, social support systems, coping strategies, spiritual well-being, and psychiatric comorbidities are important predictors of QOL in this population. Consequently, the impact of HIV infection on the dimensions of QOL, including physical and emotional well-being, social support systems, and life roles, has emerged as a key issue for persons infected with HIV.

Quality of life in HIV/AIDS

PubMed Central

Basavaraj, K. H.; Navya, M. A.; Rashmi, R.

2010-01-01

Given the longevity achievable with current prophylactic and therapeutic strategies for persons with HIV infection, quality of life (QOL) has emerged as a significant medical outcome measure, and its enhancement has an important goal. This review highlights the relevance and complexity of physical, psychological, and social factors as determinants of health-related quality of life in HIV-infected persons. Existing data suggest that physical manifestations, antiretroviral therapy, psychological well-being, social support systems, coping strategies, spiritual well-being, and psychiatric comorbidities are important predictors of QOL in this population. Consequently, the impact of HIV infection on the dimensions of QOL, including physical and emotional well-being, social support systems, and life roles, has emerged as a key issue for persons infected with HIV. PMID:21716787

An analysis of the value of marketing to non-profit organizations: the case of child safety.

PubMed

Razis, V; Razis, N

1993-01-01

This paper considers a broad spectrum of literature concerning the limitations and value of applying marketing management principles from the private sector to public or non-profit organizations. The Child Accident Prevention Foundation of Southern Africa is used as a principle case-study. The authors conclude that there is much to be gained from applying a more systematic approach, providing one adapts business strategies to more complex social environments and objectives. Since both marketing and social issues share the challenge of 'sensitivity serving and satisfying human needs,' (Kotler, 1983 p 272) there are also some instances where business can learn from the experience of social organizations in attempts to influence human behavior.

Florence Nightingale: the evolution and social impact of feminist values in nursing.

PubMed

Selanders, Louise C

2010-03-01

Although generally recognized as the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale has been criticized for her apparent lack of support of women's issues, including suffrage. This article examines the primary and supporting literature surrounding this topic. Findings indicate that Nightingale developed a complex set of beliefs that supported women as individuals rather than from a gender perspective. She did, in fact, support the concept of women's suffrage but did not give it priority. Victorian women suffered from lack of legal status, education, financial independence, and support from either the family or church as social institutions. Therefore, Nightingale's conception of nursing as a secular, educated profession cannot be overemphasized as a benchmark in the developing importance of women in the social system.

Resilience and challenges of marine social-ecological systems under complex and interconnected drivers.

PubMed

Villasante, Sebastián; Macho, Gonzalo; Antelo, Manel; Rodríguez-González, David; Kaiser, Michel J

2013-12-01

In this paper, we summarize the contributions made by an interdisciplinary group of researchers from different disciplines (biology, ecology, economics, and law) that deal with key dimensions of marine social-ecological systems. Particularly, the local and global seafood provision; the feasibility and management of marine protected areas; the use of marine ecosystem services; the institutional dimension in European fisheries, and the affordable models for providing scientific advice to small-scale fisheries. This Special Issue presents key findings from selected case studies around the world available to educators, policy makers, and the technical community. Together, these papers show that a range of diverse ecological, economic, social, and institutional components often mutually interact at spatial and temporal scales, which evidence that managing marine social-ecological systems needs a continuous adaptability to navigate into new governance systems.

Exploring the application of an evolutionary educational complex systems framework to teaching and learning about issues in the science and technology classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoon, Susan Anne

Understanding the world through a complex systems lens has recently garnered a great deal of interest in many knowledge disciplines. In the educational arena, interactional studies, through their focus on understanding patterns of system behaviour including the dynamical processes and trajectories of learning, lend support for investigating how a complex systems approach can inform educational research. This study uses previously existing literature and tools for complex systems applications and seeks to extend this research base by exploring learning outcomes of a complex systems framework when applied to curriculum and instruction. It is argued that by applying the evolutionary dynamics of variation, interaction and selection, complexity may be harnessed to achieve growth in both the social and cognitive systems of the classroom. Furthermore, if the goal of education, i.e., the social system under investigation, is to teach for understanding, conceptual knowledge of the kind described in Popper's (1972; 1976) World 3, needs to evolve. Both the study of memetic processes and knowledge building pioneered by Bereiter (cf. Bereiter, 2002) draw on the World 3 notion of ideas existing as conceptual artifacts that can be investigated as products outside of the individual mind providing an educational lens from which to proceed. The curricular topic addressed is the development of an ethical understanding of the scientific and technological issues of genetic engineering. 11 grade 8 students are studied as they proceed through 40 hours of curricular instruction based on the complex systems evolutionary framework. Results demonstrate growth in both complex systems thinking and content knowledge of the topic of genetic engineering. Several memetic processes are hypothesized to have influenced how and why ideas change. Categorized by factors influencing either reflective or non-reflective selection, these processes appear to have exerted differential effects on students' abilities to think and act in complex ways at various points throughout the study. Finally, an analysis of winner and loser memes is offered that is intended to reveal information about the conceptual system---its strengths and deficiencies---that can help educators assess curricular goals and organize and construct additional educational activities.

Individual social security accounts: issues in assessing administrative feasibility and costs.

PubMed

Olsen, K A; Salisbury, D L

1998-11-01

Whether to add individual accounts (IAs) to the Social Security system is a highly political issue. But almost lost in the debate so far have been any practical considerations about how to administer such accounts. Any discussion of whether to create individual accounts must also address the basic but critical questions of how they would work: Who would run them? What would they cost? Logistically, are they even possible? This EBRI Issue Brief provides an overview of the most salient administrative issues facing the current Social Security reform debate--issues that challenge proponents to carefully think through how their proposals could be implemented so as to achieve their policy goals. The options and difficulties in administering IAs raise concerns that cut across ideology. The object of this report is neither to dissuade the advocates nor support the critics of individual accounts. Rather, it is to bring practical considerations to a political debate that has largely ignored the pragmatic challenges of whether IAs would be too complex for participants to understand or too difficult for record keepers to administer. The major findings in this analysis include: Adding individual accounts to Social Security could be the largest undertaking in the history of the U.S. financial market, and no system to date has the capacity to administer such a system. The number of workers currently covered by Social Security--the largest single entitlement program in the nation--is at least four times higher than the combined number of all tax-favored employment-based retirement accounts in the United States, which are administered by hundreds of entities. Direct comparisons between employment-based retirement savings plans and Social Security reform are tenuous at best. Social Security covers workers and businesses that are disproportionately excluded from employment-based plans. Because of these differences, a system of individual Social Security accounts would be more difficult to administer than employment-based plans, and total administrative expenses would be larger relative to benefits. Credit-based systems such as the current Social Security program are less difficult to administer than cash-based systems, which must account for every dollar. Inherent in the "privatization" debate is generally the presumption that IA benefits would be based on cash contributions and investment returns. The current credit-based system tolerates small errors in wage reporting, because they rarely affect benefits. But every dollar counts in a cash-based IA system. To ensure that benefits are properly provided, an IA system would require more regulation, oversight, and error reconciliation than the current Social Security program. Social Security individual accounts cannot be administered like 401(k) plans without adding significant employer burdens--especially on small businesses. Under the current wage reporting and tax collection process, it would take at least 7-19 months for every dollar contributed to an individual's account to be sorted out from aggregate payments and credited to his or her IA. This 7-19 month "float period" could result in substantial benefit losses over time. Options for preventing such losses involve difficult trade-offs, such as increased government responsibility, increased complexity, greater employer burdens, and/or investment restrictions for beneficiaries. If legally considered personal property, the IAs of married participants could pose significant administrative challenges. Social Security today must obtain proof of marriage only at the time spousal benefits are claimed. But some IA proposals would require contributions to be split between spouses' individual accounts, requiring records on participants' marital status to be continuously update to ensure that contributions are correctly directed. Also, dealing with claims on individual account contributions in divorce cases could place IA record keepers in the middle o

Using cognitive architectures to study issues in team cognition in a complex task environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smart, Paul R.; Sycara, Katia; Tang, Yuqing

2014-05-01

Cognitive social simulation is a computer simulation technique that aims to improve our understanding of the dynamics of socially-situated and socially-distributed cognition. This makes cognitive social simulation techniques particularly appealing as a means to undertake experiments into team cognition. The current paper reports on the results of an ongoing effort to develop a cognitive social simulation capability that can be used to undertake studies into team cognition using the ACT-R cognitive architecture. This capability is intended to support simulation experiments using a team-based problem solving task, which has been used to explore the effect of different organizational environments on collective problem solving performance. The functionality of the ACT-R-based cognitive social simulation capability is presented and a number of areas of future development work are outlined. The paper also describes the motivation for adopting cognitive architectures in the context of social simulation experiments and presents a number of research areas where cognitive social simulation may be useful in developing a better understanding of the dynamics of team cognition. These include the use of cognitive social simulation to study the role of cognitive processes in determining aspects of communicative behavior, as well as the impact of communicative behavior on the shaping of task-relevant cognitive processes (e.g., the social shaping of individual and collective memory as a result of communicative exchanges). We suggest that the ability to perform cognitive social simulation experiments in these areas will help to elucidate some of the complex interactions that exist between cognitive, social, technological and informational factors in the context of team-based problem-solving activities.

Social Work Education and Global Issues: Implications for Social Work Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edwards, Beverly L.

2011-01-01

If social workers are to become more effectively involved in international organizations and global issues, the international dimension of social work education must be strengthened. Educational programs for social workers around the world give only limited attention to social issues that extend beyond national boundaries. Schools of social work…

Action learning across the decades.

PubMed

Eason, Ken

2017-05-02

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how action learning concepts were used in two healthcare projects undertaken many decades apart. The specific purpose in both cases was to examine how action learning can contribute to shared learning across key stakeholders in a complex socio-technical system. In each case study, action learning supported joint design programmes and the sharing of perspectives about the complex system under investigation. Design/methodology/approach Two action learning projects are described: first, the Hospital Internal Communications (HIC) project led by Reg Revans in the 1960s. Senior staff in ten London hospitals formed action learning teams to address communication issues. Second, in the Better Outcomes for People with Learning Disabilities: Transforming Care (BOLDTC) project, videoconferencing equipment enabled people with learning disabilities to increase their opportunities to communicate. A mutual learning process was established to enable stakeholders to explore the potential of the technical system to improve individual care. Findings The HIC project demonstrated the importance of evidence being shared between team members and that action had to engage the larger healthcare system outside the hospital. The BOLDTC project confirmed the continuing relevance of action learning to healthcare today. Mutual learning was achieved between health and social care specialists and technologists. Originality/value This work draws together the socio-technical systems tradition (considering both social and technical issues in organisations) and action learning to demonstrate that complex systems development needs to be undertaken as a learning process in which action provides the fuel for learning and design.

Preparing national health systems to cope with the impending tsunami of ageing and its associated complexities: Towards more sustainable health care.

PubMed

Amalberti, René; Nicklin, Wendy; Braithwaite, Jeffrey

2016-06-01

Healthcare systems across the world are experiencing increased financial, organizational and social pressures attributable to a range of critical issues including the challenge of ageing populations. Health systems need to adapt, in order to sustainably provide quality care to the widest range of patients, particularly those with chronic and complex diseases, and especially those in vulnerable and low-income groups. We report on a workshop designed to tackle such issues under the auspices of ISQua, with representatives from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Columbia, Denmark, Emirates, France, Ireland, Jordan, Qatar, Malaysia, Norway, Oman, UK, South Africa and Switzerland. We discuss some of the challenges facing healthcare systems in countries ageing rapidly, to those less so, and touch on current and future reform options. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press in association with the International Society for Quality in Health Care; all rights reserved.

Information flow in the pharmaceutical supply chain

PubMed Central

Yousefi, Nazila; Alibabaei, Ahmad

2015-01-01

Managing the supply chain plays an important role in creating competitive advantages for companies. Adequate information flow in supply chain is one of the most important issues in SCM. Therefore, using certain Information Systems can have a significant role in managing and integrating data and information within the supply chain. Pharmaceutical supply chain is more complex than many other supply chains, in the sense that it can affect social and political perspectives. On the other hand, managing the pharmaceutical supply chain is difficult because of its complexity and also government regulations in this field. Although, Iran has progressed a lot in pharmaceutical manufacturing, still there are many unsolved issues in managing the information flow in the pharmaceutical supply chain. In this study, we reviewed the benefits of using different levels of an integrated information system in the supply chain and the possible challenges ahead. PMID:26664401

Improving the retention rate for residential treatment of substance abuse by sequential intervention for social anxiety.

PubMed

Staiger, Petra K; Kyrios, Michael; Williams, James S; Kambouropoulos, Nicolas; Howard, Alexandra; Gruenert, Stefan

2014-02-17

Residential drug rehabilitation is often seen as a treatment of last resort for people with severe substance abuse issues. These clients present with more severe symptoms, and frequent psychiatric comorbidities relative to outpatients. Given the complex nature of this client group, a high proportion of clients seeking treatment often do not enter treatment, and of those who do, many exit prematurely. Given the highly social nature of residential drug rehabilitation services, it has been argued that social anxieties might decrease the likelihood of an individual entering treatment, or increase the likelihood of them prematurely exiting treatment. The current paper reports on the protocol of a Randomised Control Trial which examined whether treatment of social anxiety prior to entry to treatment improves entry rates and retention in residential drug rehabilitation. A Randomised Control Trial comparing a social skills treatment with a treatment as usual control group was employed. The social skills training program was based on the principles of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, and was adapted from Ron Rapee's social skills training program. A permutated block randomisation procedure was utilised. Participants are followed up at the completion of the program (or baseline plus six weeks for controls) and at three months following entry into residential rehabilitation (or six months post-baseline for participants who do not enter treatment). The current study could potentially have implications for addressing social anxiety within residential drug treatment services in order to improve entry and retention in treatment. The results might suggest that the use of additional screening tools in intake assessments, a focus on coping with social anxieties in support groups for clients waiting to enter treatment, and greater awareness of social anxiety issues is warranted. Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN) registration number: ACTRN12611000579998.

Moving sociohydrology forward: a synthesis across studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Troy, T. J.; Konar, M.; Srinivasan, V.; Thompson, S.

2015-03-01

Sociohydrology is the study of coupled human-water systems with the premise that water and human systems co-evolve, often with two-way coupling. A recent special issue in HESS/ESD, "Predictions under change: water, earth, and biota in the Anthropocene", includes a number of sociohydrologic publications that allow for a survey of the current state of understanding of sociohydrology and the coupled system dynamics and feedbacks, the research methodologies available, and the norms and ethics involved in studying sociohydrologic systems. Although sociohydrology is concerned with coupled human-water systems, it is critical to consider the sociohydrologic system as embedded in a larger, complex social-ecological system through which human-water feedbacks can occur and from which the sociohydrologic system cannot be isolated. As such, sociohydrology can draw on tools developed in the social-ecological and complex systems literature to further our sociohydrologic knowledge, and this is identified as a ripe area of future research.

Ethical issues when using social media for health outside professional relationships.

PubMed

DeCamp, Matthew

2015-04-01

Social media have the potential to revolutionize health and healthcare, but fulfilling this potential requires attention to the ethical issues social media may raise. This article reviews the major ethical issues arising when social media are used for research, public health, mobile health applications, and global health. It focuses on social media use outside fiduciary relationships between healthcare professionals and patients. Emphasis is given to the potential of social media in these contexts, the ethical issues relatively unique to each, and where possible how existing ethical principles and frameworks could help navigate these issues. In some cases social media create the circumstance for particular ethical issues but also facilitate managing them, such as in informed consent for research. In other cases, disagreement exists about whether social media - despite their potential - should be used for certain purposes, such as in public health surveillance (where confidentiality represents a significant ethical concern). In still others, ethical uncertainty exists about how social media will affect ethical issues, such as inequality in global health. As social media technologies continue to develop, identifying and managing the ethical issues they raise will be critical to their success in improving health while preserving fundamental ethical values.

The complex role of social care services in supporting the development of sustainable identities: Insights from the experiences of British South Asian women with intellectual disabilities.

PubMed

Malik, Kulsoom Jawaid; Unwin, Gemma; Larkin, Michael; Kroese, Biza Stenfert; Rose, John

2017-04-01

Carers and service users with intellectual disabilities from minority ethnic groups have typically been reported to be dissatisfied with the social care services they receive. However, service users themselves have rarely been asked directly about their experiences of social care. This paper aims to understand the meaning of social care services in the lives of South Asian women with intellectual disabilities, in the United Kingdom. 10 British South Asian women with mild-moderate intellectual disabilities were interviewed about their experiences of social care services. The transcripts were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The analysis produced three super-ordinate themes, which focus on how services facilitate the development of complex identities, how the participants explored their sense of being 'stuck' between cultures as they negotiated their journeys towards independence, and the triple disadvantage which they experienced as a consequence of the intersection between gender, ethnicity and disability. The participants were broadly satisfied with the role which services played in these domains, and appeared to find them valuable and helpful. The results suggest that the participants successfully managed complex identity issues, such as acculturation processes, with the support of services. It may be helpful to give more explicit consideration to the positive role which good services can play in supporting people with intellectual disabilities in the development of their identities and goals, alongside the more traditionally 'concrete' objectives of such social care. Engagement with families in 'positive risk-taking' is likely to be an important component of success. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Integrated Assessment of Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining in Ghana - Part 3: Social Sciences and Economics.

PubMed

Wilson, Mark L; Renne, Elisha; Roncoli, Carla; Agyei-Baffour, Peter; Tenkorang, Emmanuel Yamoah

2015-07-15

This article is one of three synthesis reports resulting from an integrated assessment (IA) of artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) in Ghana. Given the complexities that involve multiple drivers and diverse disciplines influencing ASGM, an IA framework was used to analyze economic, social, health, and environmental data and to co-develop evidence-based responses in collaboration with pertinent stakeholders. We look at both micro- and macro-economic processes surrounding ASGM, including causes, challenges, and consequences. At the micro-level, social and economic evidence suggests that the principal reasons whereby most people engage in ASGM involve "push" factors aimed at meeting livelihood goals. ASGM provides an important source of income for both proximate and distant communities, representing a means of survival for impoverished farmers as well as an engine for small business growth. However, miners and their families often end up in a "poverty trap" of low productivity and indebtedness, which reduce even further their economic options. At a macro level, Ghana's ASGM activities contribute significantly to the national economy even though they are sometimes operating illegally and at a disadvantage compared to large-scale industrial mining companies. Nevertheless, complex issues of land tenure, social stability, mining regulation and taxation, and environmental degradation undermine the viability and sustainability of ASGM as a livelihood strategy. Although more research is needed to understand these complex relationships, we point to key findings and insights from social science and economics research that can guide policies and actions aimed to address the unique challenges of ASGM in Ghana and elsewhere.

Integrated Assessment of Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining in Ghana — Part 3: Social Sciences and Economics

PubMed Central

Wilson, Mark L.; Renne, Elisha; Roncoli, Carla; Agyei-Baffour, Peter; Yamoah Tenkorang, Emmanuel

2015-01-01

This article is one of three synthesis reports resulting from an integrated assessment (IA) of artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) in Ghana. Given the complexities that involve multiple drivers and diverse disciplines influencing ASGM, an IA framework was used to analyze economic, social, health, and environmental data and to co-develop evidence-based responses in collaboration with pertinent stakeholders. We look at both micro- and macro-economic processes surrounding ASGM, including causes, challenges, and consequences. At the micro-level, social and economic evidence suggests that the principal reasons whereby most people engage in ASGM involve “push” factors aimed at meeting livelihood goals. ASGM provides an important source of income for both proximate and distant communities, representing a means of survival for impoverished farmers as well as an engine for small business growth. However, miners and their families often end up in a “poverty trap” of low productivity and indebtedness, which reduce even further their economic options. At a macro level, Ghana’s ASGM activities contribute significantly to the national economy even though they are sometimes operating illegally and at a disadvantage compared to large-scale industrial mining companies. Nevertheless, complex issues of land tenure, social stability, mining regulation and taxation, and environmental degradation undermine the viability and sustainability of ASGM as a livelihood strategy. Although more research is needed to understand these complex relationships, we point to key findings and insights from social science and economics research that can guide policies and actions aimed to address the unique challenges of ASGM in Ghana and elsewhere. PMID:26184277

Spreading dynamics in complex networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pei, Sen; Makse, Hernán A.

2013-12-01

Searching for influential spreaders in complex networks is an issue of great significance for applications across various domains, ranging from epidemic control, innovation diffusion, viral marketing, and social movement to idea propagation. In this paper, we first display some of the most important theoretical models that describe spreading processes, and then discuss the problem of locating both the individual and multiple influential spreaders respectively. Recent approaches in these two topics are presented. For the identification of privileged single spreaders, we summarize several widely used centralities, such as degree, betweenness centrality, PageRank, k-shell, etc. We investigate the empirical diffusion data in a large scale online social community—LiveJournal. With this extensive dataset, we find that various measures can convey very distinct information of nodes. Of all the users in the LiveJournal social network, only a small fraction of them are involved in spreading. For the spreading processes in LiveJournal, while degree can locate nodes participating in information diffusion with higher probability, k-shell is more effective in finding nodes with a large influence. Our results should provide useful information for designing efficient spreading strategies in reality.

Trust and Decision Making: An Empirical Platform

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-06-01

13th ICCRTS “C2 for Complex Endeavors” Trust and Decision Making : An Empirical Platform Topic(s): Cognitive and Social Issues...and Decision Making : An Empirical Platform 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER 5e...PERSON a. REPORT unclassified b. ABSTRACT unclassified c. THIS PAGE unclassified Trust and Decision Making : An Empirical Platform Dr. Joseph B

What is happening under the surface? Power, conflict and the performance of medical teams.

PubMed

Janss, Rozemarijn; Rispens, Sonja; Segers, Mien; Jehn, Karen A

2012-09-01

The effect of teamwork on team performance is broadly recognised in the medical field. This recognition is manifested in educational programmes in which attention to interpersonal behaviours during teamwork is growing. Conflict and power differences influence interpersonal behaviours and are marked topics in studies of group functioning in the social and organisational psychology literature. Insights from the domain of social sciences put the ongoing improvement of teamwork into broader perspective. This paper shows how knowledge from the domain of social and organisational psychology contributes to the understanding of teamwork in the medical environment. More specifically, this paper suggests that unfolding the underlying issues of power and conflict within medical teams can be of extra help in the development of educational interventions aimed at improving team performance. We review the key social psychology and organisational behaviour literature concerning power and conflict, and relate the insights derived from this to the team process of ad hoc medical action teams. We present a theoretical framework in which insights into power and conflict are used to explain and predict team dynamics in ad hoc medical action teams. Power and conflict strongly influence interpersonal behaviour. Characteristics of medical action teams give rise to all kinds of issues of disagreement and are accompanied by complex issues of intra-team power distribution. We argue that how team members coordinate, cooperate and communicate is steered by members' personal motivations, which, in turn, strongly depend on their perceptions of power and conflict. Given the importance of the performance of these teams, we suggest future directions for the development of training interventions building on knowledge and theories derived from social and organisational psychology. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2012.

Archaeology as a social science.

PubMed

Smith, Michael E; Feinman, Gary M; Drennan, Robert D; Earle, Timothy; Morris, Ian

2012-05-15

Because of advances in methods and theory, archaeology now addresses issues central to debates in the social sciences in a far more sophisticated manner than ever before. Coupled with methodological innovations, multiscalar archaeological studies around the world have produced a wealth of new data that provide a unique perspective on long-term changes in human societies, as they document variation in human behavior and institutions before the modern era. We illustrate these points with three examples: changes in human settlements, the roles of markets and states in deep history, and changes in standards of living. Alternative pathways toward complexity suggest how common processes may operate under contrasting ecologies, populations, and economic integration.

Archaeology as a social science

PubMed Central

Smith, Michael E.; Feinman, Gary M.; Drennan, Robert D.; Earle, Timothy; Morris, Ian

2012-01-01

Because of advances in methods and theory, archaeology now addresses issues central to debates in the social sciences in a far more sophisticated manner than ever before. Coupled with methodological innovations, multiscalar archaeological studies around the world have produced a wealth of new data that provide a unique perspective on long-term changes in human societies, as they document variation in human behavior and institutions before the modern era. We illustrate these points with three examples: changes in human settlements, the roles of markets and states in deep history, and changes in standards of living. Alternative pathways toward complexity suggest how common processes may operate under contrasting ecologies, populations, and economic integration. PMID:22547811

"It was the whole picture" a mixed methods study of successful components in an integrated wellness service in North East England.

PubMed

Cheetham, M; Van der Graaf, P; Khazaeli, B; Gibson, E; Wiseman, A; Rushmer, R

2018-03-22

A growing number of Local Authorities (LAs) have introduced integrated wellness services as part of efforts to deliver cost effective, preventive services that address the social determinants of health. This study examined which elements of an integrated wellness service in the north east of England were effective in improving health and wellbeing (HWB). The study used a mixed-methods approach. In-depth semi-structured interviews (IVs) were conducted with integrated wellness service users (n = 25) and focus groups (FGs) with group based service users (n = 14) and non-service users (n = 23) to gather the views of stakeholders. Findings are presented here alongside analysis of routine monitoring data. The different data were compared to examine what each data source revealed about the effectiveness of the service. Findings suggest that integrated wellness services work by addressing the social determinants of health and respond to multiple complex health and social concerns rather than single issues. The paper identifies examples of 'active ingredients' at the heart of the programme, such as sustained relationships, peer support and confidence building, as well as the activities through which changes take place, such as sports and leisure opportunities which in turn encourage social interaction. Wider wellbeing outcomes, including reduced social isolation and increased self-efficacy are also reported. Practical and motivational support helped build community capacity by encouraging community groups to access funding, helped navigate bureaucratic systems, and promoted understanding of marginalised communities. Fully integrated wellness services could support progression opportunities through volunteering and mentoring. An integrated wellness service that offers a holistic approach was valued by service users and allowed them to address complex issues simultaneously. Few of the reported health gains were captured in routine data. Quantitative and qualitative data each offered a partial view of how effectively services were working.

Boundaries and e-health implementation in health and social care.

PubMed

King, Gerry; O'Donnell, Catherine; Boddy, David; Smith, Fiona; Heaney, David; Mair, Frances S

2012-09-07

The major problem facing health and social care systems globally today is the growing challenge of an elderly population with complex health and social care needs. A longstanding challenge to the provision of high quality, effectively coordinated care for those with complex needs has been the historical separation of health and social care. Access to timely and accurate data about patients and their treatments has the potential to deliver better care at less cost. To explore the way in which structural, professional and geographical boundaries have affected e-health implementation in health and social care, through an empirical study of the implementation of an electronic version of Single Shared Assessment (SSA) in Scotland, using three retrospective, qualitative case studies in three different health board locations. Progress in effectively sharing electronic data had been slow and uneven. One cause was the presence of established structural boundaries, which lead to competing priorities, incompatible IT systems and infrastructure, and poor cooperation. A second cause was the presence of established professional boundaries, which affect staffs' understanding and acceptance of data sharing and their information requirements. Geographical boundaries featured but less prominently and contrasting perspectives were found with regard to issues such as co-location of health and social care professionals. To provide holistic care to those with complex health and social care needs, it is essential that we develop integrated approaches to care delivery. Successful integration needs practices such as good project management and governance, ensuring system interoperability, leadership, good training and support, together with clear efforts to improve working relations across professional boundaries and communication of a clear project vision. This study shows that while technological developments make integration possible, long-standing boundaries constitute substantial risks to IT implementations across the health and social care interface which those initiating major changes would do well to consider before committing to the investment.

Social Interaction and Collaboration among Oncology Nurses.

PubMed

Moore, Jane; Prentice, Dawn; McQuestion, Maurene

2015-01-01

Collaboration is a complex process influenced by organizational, professional, interpersonal, and personal factors. Research has demonstrated that collaboration may also be influenced by social factors. Nurses spend much of their time working in collaborative teams, yet little is known about how they socially interact in practice. This qualitative case study explored nurse perceptions of social interaction in relation to collaboration. Data were collected using telephone interviews and documentary reviews from fourteen oncology nurses employed at one cancer center in Canada. Thematic analysis revealed two themes: knowing you is trusting you and formal and informal opportunities. Nurses reported that social interaction meant getting to know someone personally as well as professionally. Social interaction was enacted inside of work during breaks/meals and outside of work at planned events. Social interaction was facilitated by having a long-term current and/or previous professional and personal relationship. The barriers to social interaction included a lack of time to get to know each other, workload issues, and poor interpersonal skills. Findings suggest that social interaction is an important factor in the collaborative relationship among oncology nurses. Nurse leaders need to promote social interaction opportunities and facilitate educational sessions to improve social and interpersonal skills.

Medicalization of global health 1: has the global health agenda become too medicalized?

PubMed Central

Clark, Jocalyn

2014-01-01

Medicalization analyses have roots in sociology and have critical usefulness for understanding contemporary health issues including the ‘post-2015 global health agenda’. Medicalization is more complex than just ‘disease mongering’ – it is a process and not only an outcome; has both positive and negative elements; can be partial rather than complete; and is often sought or challenged by patients or others in the health field. It is understood to be expanding rather than contracting, plays out at the level of interaction or of definitions and agenda-setting, and is said to be largely harmful and costly to individuals and societies. Medicalization of global health issues would overemphasise the role of health care to health; define and frame issues in relation to disease, treatment strategies, and individual behaviour; promote the role of medical professionals and models of care; find support in industry or other advocates of technologies and pharmaceuticals; and discount social contexts, causes, and solutions. In subsequent articles, three case studies are explored, which critically examine predominant issues on the global health agenda: global mental health, non-communicable disease, and universal health coverage. A medicalization lens helps uncover areas where the global health agenda and its framing of problems are shifted toward medical and technical solutions, neglecting necessary social, community, or political action. PMID:24848659

Medicalization of global health 1: has the global health agenda become too medicalized?

PubMed

Clark, Jocalyn

2014-01-01

Medicalization analyses have roots in sociology and have critical usefulness for understanding contemporary health issues including the 'post-2015 global health agenda'. Medicalization is more complex than just 'disease mongering'--it is a process and not only an outcome; has both positive and negative elements; can be partial rather than complete; and is often sought or challenged by patients or others in the health field. It is understood to be expanding rather than contracting, plays out at the level of interaction or of definitions and agenda-setting, and is said to be largely harmful and costly to individuals and societies. Medicalization of global health issues would overemphasise the role of health care to health; define and frame issues in relation to disease, treatment strategies, and individual behaviour; promote the role of medical professionals and models of care; find support in industry or other advocates of technologies and pharmaceuticals; and discount social contexts, causes, and solutions. In subsequent articles, three case studies are explored, which critically examine predominant issues on the global health agenda: global mental health, non-communicable disease, and universal health coverage. A medicalization lens helps uncover areas where the global health agenda and its framing of problems are shifted toward medical and technical solutions, neglecting necessary social, community, or political action.

International challenges and public policy issues.

PubMed

Morris, N

1999-01-01

The paper presents an overview of current public policy issues relating to biological standardisation and control, drawing on the extensive background material assembled for two recent international reviews, and previously published work. It identifies a number of factors which are destabilising the current system and promoting a climate for change. These include the squeeze on public sector resources, the growth in volume and complexity of biologicals, developing world needs, concerns about harmonisation and new social and ethical issues. It is argued that this situation presents important opportunities for reviewing the existing boundaries between regulatory scientists, industry, and the public, for international agreement on priorities and for harmonisation and mutual recognition. While considerable progress has already been made on these issues at national, regional and global level, there is a need for fuller international participation and the additional impetus that would come from a higher-profile commitment by governments. Such commitment will also be important for the vital questions of sustaining the scientific base and securing the resource for an effective, truly worldwide programme of standardisation and control. An international approach will also be essential in steering biologicals control through the difficult social and ethical questions of the future. WHO, in collaboration with national authorities, has a key role to play in these developments.

Zoonoses, One Health and complexity: wicked problems and constructive conflict.

PubMed

Waltner-Toews, David

2017-07-19

Infectious zoonoses emerge from complex interactions among social and ecological systems. Understanding this complexity requires the accommodation of multiple, often conflicting, perspectives and narratives, rooted in different value systems and temporal-spatial scales. Therefore, to be adaptive, successful and sustainable, One Health approaches necessarily entail conflicts among observers, practitioners and scholars. Nevertheless, these integrative approaches have, both implicitly and explicitly, tended to marginalize some perspectives and prioritize others, resulting in a kind of technocratic tyranny. An important function of One Health approaches should be to facilitate and manage those conflicts, rather than to impose solutions.This article is part of the themed issue 'One Health for a changing world: zoonoses, ecosystems and human well-being'. © 2017 The Authors.

Psychosocial Issues in Palliative Care: A Review of Five Cases

PubMed Central

Onyeka, Tonia C

2010-01-01

Palliative care is not just vital in controlling symptoms of the patient’s disease condition, but also aims to extend the patient’s life, giving it a better quality. However, several times in the course of management, the psychosocial impact of cancer, HIV/AIDS, and other life-limiting disease conditions may not be noticed and dealt with during the admission period, thereby giving rise to a more complex situation than the disease condition itself. This article aims to review some psychosocial issues and measures that can be taken to address them. It highlights the various roles and the importance of the clinician, nurse, social worker, and other members of the multidisciplinary team in tackling these issues and will help healthcare professionals in this field achieve better practice in the future. PMID:21218001

Freedom of movement across the EU: legal and ethical issues for children with chronic disease.

PubMed

Mercieca, Cecilia; Aquilina, Kevin; Pullicino, Richard; Borg, Andrew A

2012-11-01

While freedom of movement has been one of the most highly respected human right across the EU, there are various aspects which come into play which still need to be resolved for this to be achieved in practice. One of these key issues is cross border health care. Indeed, there is an increasing awareness of standardisation of health service provision and cross border collaboration in the EU. However, certain groups particularly children may be at risk of suboptimal treatment as a result. We present the case of a child patient which highlights the complexity of this matter spanning family law, health law, social security law as well as ethical issues. EU legislation needs to ensure that children patients have access to high quality care across the EU borders.

Privacy, anonymity and subjectivity in genomic research.

PubMed

McGonigle, Ian; Shomron, Noam

2016-01-14

The use of non-anonymized human genome data is becoming increasingly popular in research. Here we review the proceedings of a special meeting on this topic that took place at European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) in December 2014. The main points discussed centered on how to achieve 'anonymity,' 'trust,' and 'protection of data' in relation to new genomic technologies and research. Following our report of this meeting, we also raise three further issues for future consideration: the harmonization of international law in relation to genetic data protection; the complex issues around the 'dividual' nature of genetic data; and the growing commercial value of personal data. In conclusion, we stress the importance of scientists working in the area of genomic research engaging in interdisciplinary collaborations with humanities and social science scholars and addressing these complicated issues.

Stakeholders' perspective on issues and challenges associated with care and treatment of aging-related cognitive impairment disorders in Singapore.

PubMed

Setia, Monika; Islam, Amina M; Thompson, James P; Matchar, David B

2011-11-01

An expanding elderly population poses challenges for the provision of care and treatment for age-related physical and mental disorders. Cognitive impairment (CI)/dementia is one such mental disorder that is on the rise in Singapore and has concomitant implications for social and health systems. The objective of this study is to understand the perspectives of prominent stakeholders about current and future issues and challenges associated with CI/dementia among the elderly in Singapore. Using indepth interviews, this qualitative study obtained the views of multiple stakeholders on issues and challenges associated with CI/dementia in Singapore. The 30 individuals interviewed as part of the study included clinicians, policy-makers, researchers, community workers, administrators, and caregivers. Using a framework approach, interview texts were indexed into domains and issues by utilizing NVivo 9.0 software. The stakeholders expressed concerns related to multiple domains of the CI/dementia care system: attitude and awareness, economics, education, family caregiving, inputs to care system, living arrangements, prevention, screening and diagnosis, and treatment and management of care. Within each domain, multiple issues and challenges were identified by respondents. The study identifies a complex set of inter-related issues and challenges that are associated with the care and treatment of people with CI/dementia. The results suggest that CI and dementia profoundly affect patients, families, and communities and that the issues related to the two disorders are truly system-wide. These findings lay the foundation for utilization of a systems approach to studying CI/dementia and provide an analytic framework for future research on complex health care issues.

Genes, race, and psychology in the genome era: an introduction.

PubMed

Anderson, Norman B; Nickerson, Kim J

2005-01-01

The mapping of the human genome has reawakened interest in the topic of race and genetics, especially the use of genetic technology to examine racial differences in complex outcomes such as health and intelligence. Advances in genomic research challenge psychology to address the myriad conceptual, methodological, and analytical issues associated with research on genetics and race. In addition, the field needs to understand the numerous social, ethical, legal, clinical, and policy implications of research in this arena. Addressing these issues should not only benefit psychology but could also serve to guide such thought in other fields, including molecular biology. The purpose of this special issue is to begin a discussion of this issue of race and genetics within the field of psychology. Several scholars who work in the fields of genetics, race, or related areas were invited to write (or had previously submitted) articles sharing their perspectives. (c) 2005 APA

The Social Process of Analyzing Real Water Resource Systems Plans and Management Policies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loucks, Daniel

2016-04-01

Developing and applying systems analysis methods for improving the development and management of real world water resource systems, I have learned, is primarily a social process. This talk is a call for more recognition of this reality in the modeling approaches we propose in the papers and books we publish. The mathematical models designed to inform planners and managers of water systems that we see in many of our journals often seem more complex than they need be. They also often seem not as connected to reality as they could be. While it may be easier to publish descriptions of complex models than simpler ones, and while adding complexity to models might make them better able to mimic or resemble the actual complexity of the real physical and/or social systems or processes being analyzed, the usefulness of such models often can be an illusion. Sometimes the important features of reality that are of concern or interest to those who make decisions can be adequately captured using relatively simple models. Finding the right balance for the particular issues being addressed or the particular decisions that need to be made is an art. When applied to real world problems or issues in specific basins or regions, systems modeling projects often involve more attention to the social aspects than the mathematical ones. Mathematical models addressing connected interacting interdependent components of complex water systems are in fact some of the most useful methods we have to study and better understand the systems we manage around us. They can help us identify and evaluate possible alternative solutions to problems facing humanity today. The study of real world systems of interacting components using mathematical models is commonly called applied systems analyses. Performing such analyses with decision makers rather than of decision makers is critical if the needed trust between project personnel and their clients is to be developed. Using examples from recent and ongoing modeling projects in different parts of the world, this talk will attempt to show the dependency on the degree of project success with the degree of attention given to the communication between project personnel, the stakeholders and decision making institutions. It will also highlight how initial project terms-of-reference and expected outcomes can change, sometimes in surprising ways, during the course of such projects. Changing project objectives often result from changing stakeholder values, emphasizing the need for analyses that can adapt to this uncertainty.

Understanding housing and health through the lens of transitional housing members in a high-incarceration Baltimore City neighborhood: the GROUP Ministries Photovoice Project to promote community redevelopment.

PubMed

Grieb, Suzanne M Dolwick; Joseph, Rachel M; Pridget, Anton; Smith, Horace; Harris, Richard; Ellen, Jonathan

2013-05-01

In this study we used photovoice to better understand transitional housing residents' perceptions of housing and health at the individual and community levels. Discussion sessions were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed through a modified constant comparison approach. The results demonstrate that participants had a rich understanding of the complex connections between housing, neighborhood, and health that were intimately tied to the spatial concentration of incarceration in their community. The men identified social and physical sources of stress that manifest in a community-wide sense of hopelessness; however, utilization of community social networks and social capital provide opportunities for addressing these issues locally. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Situated Social Identities Constrain Morally Defensible Choices: Commentary on Bennis, Medin, & Bartels (2010).

PubMed

Tetlock, Philip E; Mitchell, Gregory

2010-03-01

Conceptual distinctions that loom large to philosophers-such as the distinction between utilitarian and deontic decision norms-may be far less salient to most other mortals. Building on an intuitive-politician model of judgment and choice and on the empirical work reported by Bennis, Medin, and Bartels (2010, this issue), we argue that the overriding goal of most decision makers in the paradigms under scrutiny is to offer judgments that are readily defensible and that reinforce their social identities as both cognitively flexible (responsive to evidence and cost-benefit considerations) and morally principled (prepared to defend sacred values and censure those who do not). People are best classified neither as utilitarians nor Kantians but rather as pragmatic social beings embedded in complex cultural-political systems. © The Author(s) 2010.

Measuring Involvement with Social Issues.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nowak, Glen J.; Salmon, Charles T.

A study applied research concepts from consumer product involvement to test a model for research on involvement with social issues. Issue involvement was defined as the state or level of perceived importance and/or interest evoked by a stimulus (issue) within a specific situation. Attitudes on four social issues--abortion, pornography, the…

Stigma, prejudice and discrimination in global public health.

PubMed

Parker, Richard

2012-01-01

This article reviews the development of international research on the relationship between discrimination and health. It provides an overview of theoretical and empirical work on stigma and prejudice and their impact on discrimination and health. It argues that the literature on these issues has drawn primarily from social psychology and has focused on the impact of attitudes associated with stigma and prejudice on discriminatory practices and consequently health outcomes. It also identifies a growing trend in recent research towards a reconceptualization of stigma, prejudice and discrimination from the perspective of social inequality and structural violence, highlighting relations of power and exclusion that reinforce vulnerability within a complex social and political process. It concludes by briefly examining the ways in which this reconceptualization of discriminatory practices has generated a growing interest in the linkages between health and human rights and renewed interest in health and social justice; two major trends in the field of global public health.

Conservation success as a function of good alignment of social and ecological structures and processes.

PubMed

Bodin, Orjan; Crona, Beatrice; Thyresson, Matilda; Golz, Anna-Lea; Tengö, Maria

2014-10-01

How to create and adjust governing institutions so that they align (fit) with complex ecosystem processes and structures across scales is an issue of increasing concern in conservation. It is argued that lack of such social-ecological fit makes governance and conservation difficult, yet progress in explicitly defining and rigorously testing what constitutes a good fit has been limited. We used a novel modeling approach and data from case studies of fishery and forest conservation to empirically test presumed relationships between conservation outcomes and certain patterns of alignment of social-ecological interdependences. Our approach made it possible to analyze conservation outcome on a systems level while also providing information on how individual actors are positioned in the complex web of social-ecological interdependencies. We found that when actors who shared resources were also socially linked, conservation at the level of the whole social-ecological system was positively affected. When the scales at which individual actors used resources and the scale at which ecological resources were interconnected to other ecological resources were aligned through tightened feedback loops, conservation outcome was better than when they were not aligned. The analysis of individual actors' positions in the web of social-ecological interdependencies was helpful in understanding why a system has a certain level of social-ecological fit. Results of analysis of positions showed that different actors contributed in very different ways to achieve a certain fit and revealed some underlying difference between the actors, for example in terms of actors' varying rights to access and use different ecological resources. © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

Reducing racial disparities in obesity: simulating the effects of improved education and social network influence on diet behavior.

PubMed

Orr, Mark G; Galea, Sandro; Riddle, Matt; Kaplan, George A

2014-08-01

Understanding how to mitigate the present black-white obesity disparity in the United States is a complex issue, stemming from a multitude of intertwined causes. An appropriate but underused approach to guiding policy approaches to this problem is to account for this complexity using simulation modeling. We explored the efficacy of a policy that improved the quality of neighborhood schools in reducing racial disparities in obesity-related behavior and the dependence of this effect on social network influence and norms. We used an empirically grounded agent-based model to generate simulation experiments. We used a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design that represented the presence or absence of improved neighborhood school quality, the presence or absence of social influence, and the type of social norm (healthy or unhealthy). Analyses focused on time trends in sociodemographic variables and diet quality. First, the quality of schools and social network influence had independent and interactive effects on diet behavior. Second, the black-white disparity in diet behavior was considerably reduced under some conditions, but never completely eliminated. Third, the degree to which the disparity in diet behavior was reduced was a function of the type of social norm that was in place; the reduction was the smallest when the type of social norm was healthy. Improving school quality can reduce, but not eliminate racial disparities in obesity-related behavior, and the degree to which this is true depends partly on social network effects. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Newspaper in the Social Studies Classroom: An Issue Oriented Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Callahan, Tim; Felton, Randall

Social studies teachers can involve their students in an issues-oriented curriculum by using the least expensive, least threatening medium available, the newspaper. The newspaper's stock in trade is the relevant, timely issue--just what is missing from all too many social studies classrooms. In dealing with issues in social studies classrooms,…

Imaging or Imagining? A Neuroethics Challenge Informed by Genetics

PubMed Central

Illes, Judy; Racine, Eric

2006-01-01

From a twenty-first century partnership between bioethics and neuroscience, the modern field of neuroethics is emerging, and technologies enabling functional neuroimaging with unprecedented sensitivity have brought new ethical, social and legal issues to the forefront. Some issues, akin to those surrounding modern genetics, raise critical questions regarding prediction of disease, privacy and identity. However, with new and still-evolving insights into our neurobiology and previously unquantifiable features of profoundly personal behaviors such as social attitude, value and moral agency, the difficulty of carefully and properly interpreting the relationship between brain findings and our own self-concept is unprecedented. Therefore, while the ethics of genetics provides a legitimate starting point—even a backbone—for tackling ethical issues in neuroimaging, they do not suffice. Drawing on recent neuroimaging findings and their plausible real-world applications, we argue that interpretation of neuroimaging data is a key epistemological and ethical challenge. This challenge is two-fold. First, at the scientific level, the sheer complexity of neuroscience research poses challenges for integration of knowledge and meaningful interpretation of data. Second, at the social and cultural level, we find that interpretations of imaging studies are bound by cultural and anthropological frameworks. In particular, the introduction of concepts of self and personhood in neuroimaging illustrates the interaction of interpretation levels and is a major reason why ethical reflection on genetics will only partially help settle neuroethical issues. Indeed, ethical interpretation of such findings will necessitate not only traditional bioethical input but also a wider perspective on the construction of scientific knowledge. PMID:16036688

The Measles Vaccination Narrative in Twitter: A Quantitative Analysis

PubMed Central

Radzikowski, Jacek; Jacobsen, Kathryn H; Croitoru, Arie; Crooks, Andrew; Delamater, Paul L

2016-01-01

Background The emergence of social media is providing an alternative avenue for information exchange and opinion formation on health-related issues. Collective discourse in such media leads to the formation of a complex narrative, conveying public views and perceptions. Objective This paper presents a study of Twitter narrative regarding vaccination in the aftermath of the 2015 measles outbreak, both in terms of its cyber and physical characteristics. We aimed to contribute to the analysis of the data, as well as presenting a quantitative interdisciplinary approach to analyze such open-source data in the context of health narratives. Methods We collected 669,136 tweets referring to vaccination from February 1 to March 9, 2015. These tweets were analyzed to identify key terms, connections among such terms, retweet patterns, the structure of the narrative, and connections to the geographical space. Results The data analysis captures the anatomy of the themes and relations that make up the discussion about vaccination in Twitter. The results highlight the higher impact of stories contributed by news organizations compared to direct tweets by health organizations in communicating health-related information. They also capture the structure of the antivaccination narrative and its terms of reference. Analysis also revealed the relationship between community engagement in Twitter and state policies regarding child vaccination. Residents of Vermont and Oregon, the two states with the highest rates of non-medical exemption from school-entry vaccines nationwide, are leading the social media discussion in terms of participation. Conclusions The interdisciplinary study of health-related debates in social media across the cyber-physical debate nexus leads to a greater understanding of public concerns, views, and responses to health-related issues. Further coalescing such capabilities shows promise towards advancing health communication, thus supporting the design of more effective strategies that take into account the complex and evolving public views of health issues. PMID:27227144

Ethical, legal and social issues in restoring genetic identity after forced disappearance and suppression of identity in Argentina.

PubMed

Penchaszadeh, Victor B

2015-07-01

Human genetic identification has been increasingly associated with the preservation, defence and reparation of human rights, in particular the right to genetic identity. The Argentinian military dictatorship of 1976-1983 engaged in a savage repression and egregious violations of human rights, including forced disappearance, torture, assassination and appropriation of children of the disappeared with suppression of their identity. The ethical, legal and social nuances in the use of forensic genetics to support the right to identity in Argentina included issues such as the best interest of children being raised by criminals, the right to learn the truth of one's origin and identity, rights of their biological families, the issue of voluntary versus compulsory testing of victims, as well as the duty of the state to investigate crimes against humanity, punish perpetrators and provide justice and reparation to the victims. In the 30 years following the return to democracy in 1984, the search, localization and DNA testing of disappeared children and young adults has led, so far, to the genetic identification of 116 persons who had been abducted as babies. The high value placed on DNA testing to identify victims of identity suppression did not conflict with the social consensus that personal identity is a complex and dynamic concept, attained by the interaction of genetics with historical, social, emotional, educational, cultural and other important environmental factors. The use of genetic identification as a tool to redress and repair human rights violations is a novel application of human genetics within a developing set of ethical and political circumstances.

Stigma-related barriers and facilitators to help seeking for mental health issues in the armed forces: a systematic review and thematic synthesis of qualitative literature.

PubMed

Coleman, S J; Stevelink, S A M; Hatch, S L; Denny, J A; Greenberg, N

2017-08-01

A recent quantitative review in the area of stigma and help seeking in the armed forces has questioned the association between these factors (Sharp et al. 2015). To date, the contribution of qualitative literature in this area has largely been ignored, despite the value this research brings to the understanding of complex social constructs such as stigma. The aim of the current systematic review of qualitative studies was to identify appropriate literature, assess the quality and synthesize findings across studies regarding evidence of stigma-related barriers and facilitators to help seeking for mental health issues within the armed forces. A multi-database text word search incorporating searches of PsycINFO, MEDLINE, Social Policy and Practice, Social Work Abstracts, EMBASE, ERIC and EBM Review databases between 1980 and April 2015 was conducted. Literature was quality assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tool. Thematic synthesis was conducted across the literature. The review identified eight studies with 1012 participants meeting the inclusion criteria. Five overarching themes were identified across the literature: (1) non-disclosure; (2) individual beliefs about mental health; (3) anticipated and personal experience of stigma; (4) career concerns; and (5) factors influencing stigma. The findings from the current systematic review found that unlike inconsistent findings in the quantitative literature, there was substantial evidence of a negative relationship between stigma and help seeking for mental health difficulties within the armed forces. The study advocates for refinement of measures to accurately capture the complexity of stigma and help seeking in future quantitative studies.

Deep brain stimulation and ethics: perspectives from a multisite qualitative study of Canadian neurosurgical centers.

PubMed

Bell, Emily; Maxwell, Bruce; McAndrews, Mary Pat; Sadikot, Abbas; Racine, Eric

2011-12-01

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an approved neurosurgical intervention for motor disorders such as Parkinson disease. The emergence of psychiatric uses for DBS combined with the fact that it is an invasive and expensive procedure creates important ethical and social challenges in the delivery of care that need further examination. We endeavored to examine health care provider perspectives on ethical and social challenges encountered in DBS. Health care providers working in Canadian DBS surgery programs participated in a semistructured interview to identify and characterize ethical and social challenges of DBS. A content analysis of the interviews was conducted. Several key ethical issues, such as patient screening and resource allocation, were identified by members of neurosurgical teams. Providers described challenges in selecting patients for DBS on the basis of unclear evidence-based guidance regarding behavioral issues or cognitive criteria. Varied contexts of resource allocation, including some very challenging schemas, were also reported. In addition, the management of patients in the community was highlighted as a source of ethical and clinical complexity, given the need for coordinated long-term care. This study provides insights into the complexity of ethical challenges that providers face in the use of DBS across different neurosurgical centers. We propose actions for health care providers for the long-term care and postoperative monitoring of patients with DBS. More data on patient perspectives in DBS would complement the understanding of key challenges, as well as contribute to best practices, for patient selection, management, and resource allocation. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Social Issues: Making Them Relevant and Appropriate to Undergraduate Student Designers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lofthouse, Vicky

2013-01-01

Sustainable design education is now considered a core issue for industrial/product design courses, however research has shown that the predominant focus tends to be on environmental issues, as social issues are much harder to tackle. Similarly, social issues are rarely considered in industrial practice. If student designers are to become…

Stem cell research as innovation: expanding the ethical and policy conversation.

PubMed

Dresser, Rebecca

2010-01-01

Research using human embryonic stem cells raises an array of complex ethical issues, including, but by no means limited to, the moral status of developing human life. Unfortunately much of the public discussion fails to take into account this complexity. Advocacy for liberal and conservative positions on human embryonic stem cell research can be simplistic and misleading. Ethical concepts such as truth-telling, scientific integrity, and social justice should be part of the debate over federal support for human embryonic stem cell research. Moreover, the debate should be conducted in accord with principles of deliberative democracy, including respect for people holding competing views.

Implementation of the NCSS Guidelines for Teaching Science-Related Social Issues: Exemplar Lessons.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Otto, Robert A., Ed.

This document contains the Guidelines for Teaching Science-Related Social Issues adopted in 1982 by the National Council for the Social Studies and 10 examplar lessons each keyed to particular guidelines and drawing upon contemporary issues. The premise upon which the guidelines are based is that science is a social issue and that the examination…

Results of the ASCD/NCSS Social Issues Survey: Are the Issues Studied in School the Important Issues Facing Humankind?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Molnar, Alex

1983-01-01

According to National Council for the Social Studies and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development respondents, the issues deemed important--nuclear disarmament, pollution, worldwide wealth and poverty, and alternatives to the U.S. social-economic-political system--are not included in the social studies to the extent they should…

[Gender dysphoria in children and adolescents].

PubMed

Möller, Birgit; Georg, Romer

2014-01-01

Despite rising demand for treatment, far too few specialist services for gender dysphoric children and adolescents exist. Due to complex issues related to indication of physical treatment with lifelong consequences a thorough interdisciplinary treatment service with development-related evaluation is necessary. The aim of this paper is to outline the professional and social tension, in which the practitioner works, as well as to provide insight into the diversity of developmental trajectories and difficult decisions or dilemmas.

Regulation of biotechnology by executive orders: questions about constitutionality, legality and overall fairness to the American public.

PubMed

Cuomo, Peter

2005-01-01

In the biotechnology field, researchers often face complex moral and social issues while pursuing their scientific goals. Congress may regulate much of that research by debating the issues and placing restraints on funding granted by the government. In modern times, our presidents have also made some of those funding decisions through the issuance of executive orders. Presidents may issue executive orders with binding legal effect, despite having little constitutional authority to do so. Unless a new president takes office, only Congress or the courts can invalidate an executive order. In the regulation-sensitive biotechnology industry, presidents may exert profound influence by announcing executive orders. Former President Clinton and President George W. Bush are just the latest presidents who have used such orders to influence biotechnology as they have deemed appropriate. In doing so, those presidents have assumed a degree of unilateral lawmaking power over an industry that is fundamentally important to every citizen. This article stresses the need for the other branches of our government to discontinue granting unconstitutional legislative power to the president, and bring more social and scientific balance to important biotechnology policy decisions.

Teaching Architecture - Contemporary Challenges and Threats in the Complexity of Built Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borucka, Justyna; Macikowski, Bartosz

2017-10-01

The complexity of the modern built environment is a problem not only of architectural and urban issues. This issue extends to many other disciplines as well as covering a wide range of social engagements. The idea of writing this paper is generally initiated by the debate which took place in Gdańsk on 22.01.2016, and was prepared in order to meet representatives of the four circles of interest within the architectural sphere: universities, professional architectural organisations and associations, architectural practice (professionals running their own studios, managing projects and leading construction) and local social organisations active in city of Gdańsk. This paper is a comparison of the results of this discussion in relation to the policy and methodology of architecture teaching on the University level. Teaching architecture and urban planning according to the present discussion needs to be improved and advanced to meet the increasing complexity of both disciplines. Contemporary dynamic development of cities creates the necessity of engaging multiple stakeholders, participants and users of architecture and urban space. This is crucial to make them conscious of sharing responsibility for increasing the quality of living in the built environment. This discussion about architectural education is open and has the nature of an ongoing process adapting to a changing environment and is in fact a constant challenge which brings questions rather than simple answers. Transformation of architecture and urban planning, and consequently its education are increasingly entering into the related fields, especially into the professional practice and social environment. The question of how to teach architecture and urban planning and educate users of urban space should take place in the context of a wide discussion. This interdisciplinary debate seems to be a crucial and challenging step towards improving the future education of architecture and urban planning leading to a better life in the city.

Historical and cultural aspects of man's relationship with addictive drugs

PubMed Central

Crocq, Marc-Antoine

2007-01-01

Our taste for addictive psychoactive substances is attested to in the earliest human records. Historically, psychoactive substances have been used by (i) priests in religious ceremonies (eg, amanita muscaria); (ii) healers for medicinal purposes (eg, opium); or (iii) the general population in a socially approved way (eg, alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine). Our forebears refined more potent compounds and devised faster routes of administration, which contributed to abuse. Pathological use was described as early as classical Antiquity. The issue of loss of control of the substance, heralding today's concept of addiction, was already being discussed in the 17th century. The complex etiology of addiction is reflected in the frequent pendulum swings between opposing attitudes on issues that are still currently being debated, such as: is addiction a sin or a disease; should treatment be moral or medical; is addiction caused by the substance; the individual's vulnerability and psychology, or social factors; should substances be regulated or freely available. PMID:18286796

[Problem-posing as a nutritional education strategy with obese teenagers].

PubMed

Rodrigues, Erika Marafon; Boog, Maria Cristina Faber

2006-05-01

Obesity is a public health issue with relevant social determinants in its etiology and where interventions with teenagers encounter complex biopsychological conditions. This study evaluated intervention in nutritional education through a problem-posing approach with 22 obese teenagers, treated collectively and individually for eight months. Speech acts were collected through the use of word cards, observer recording, and tape-recording. The study adopted a qualitative methodology, and the approach involved content analysis. Problem-posing facilitated changes in eating behavior, triggering reflections on nutritional practices, family circumstances, social stigma, interaction with health professionals, and religion. Teenagers under individual care posed problems more effectively in relation to eating, while those under collective care posed problems in relation to family and psychological issues, with effective qualitative eating changes in both groups. The intervention helped teenagers understand their life history and determinants of eating behaviors, spontaneously implementing eating changes and making them aware of possibilities for maintaining the new practices and autonomously exercising their role as protagonists in their own health care.

Legal, Social, Ethical, and Medical Perspectives on the Care of the Statutory Rape Adolescent in the Emergency Department.

PubMed

Tsai, Shiu-Lin; Acosta, Elvira; Cardenas, Toni; Sigall, Jeremy K; Van Geem, Kevin

2017-07-01

Rapes involving adolescents who present to the emergency department (ED) are fraught with ethical and legal complexities and are often emotionally turbulent for patients, their families, and medical providers. Management requires a thoughtful approach from multiple standpoints, including legal, psychosocial, ethical, and medical ones. However, there is no standardized sexual assault education for emergency medicine residents, and management practices vary widely. 1,2 We present a hypothetical statutory rape case based on real cases that occurred in New York City and bring together the perspectives of an attorney on the legal parameters, two social workers on the psychosocial issues, an ethicist on the moral considerations, and a pediatric emergency physician-who is also a sexual assault forensic examiner-on the medical treatments. We aim to provide a framework for physicians to navigate issues of patient-physician privilege involving minors, privacy rules, and mandatory reporting laws. Copyright © 2016 American College of Emergency Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The many faces of research on face perception.

PubMed

Little, Anthony C; Jones, Benedict C; DeBruine, Lisa M

2011-06-12

Face perception is fundamental to human social interaction. Many different types of important information are visible in faces and the processes and mechanisms involved in extracting this information are complex and can be highly specialized. The importance of faces has long been recognized by a wide range of scientists. Importantly, the range of perspectives and techniques that this breadth has brought to face perception research has, in recent years, led to many important advances in our understanding of face processing. The articles in this issue on face perception each review a particular arena of interest in face perception, variously focusing on (i) the social aspects of face perception (attraction, recognition and emotion), (ii) the neural mechanisms underlying face perception (using brain scanning, patient data, direct stimulation of the brain, visual adaptation and single-cell recording), and (iii) comparative aspects of face perception (comparing adult human abilities with those of chimpanzees and children). Here, we introduce the central themes of the issue and present an overview of the articles.

Representing causal knowledge in environmental policy interventions: Advantages and opportunities for qualitative influence diagram applications.

PubMed

Carriger, John F; Dyson, Brian E; Benson, William H

2018-01-15

This article develops and explores a methodology for using qualitative influence diagrams in environmental policy and management to support decision making efforts that minimize risk and increase resiliency. Influence diagrams are representations of the conditional aspects of a problem domain. Their graphical properties are useful for structuring causal knowledge relevant to policy interventions and can be used to enhance inference and inclusivity of multiple viewpoints. Qualitative components of influence diagrams are beneficial tools for identifying and examining the interactions among the critical variables in complex policy development and implementation. Policy interventions on social-environmental systems can be intuitively diagrammed for representing knowledge of critical relationships among economic, environmental, and social attributes. Examples relevant to coastal resiliency issues in the U.S. Gulf Coast region are developed to illustrate model structures for developing qualitative influence diagrams useful for clarifying important policy intervention issues and enhancing transparency in decision making. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

The role of shared neural activations, mirror neurons, and morality in empathy--a critical comment.

PubMed

Lamm, Claus; Majdandžić, Jasminka

2015-01-01

In the last decade, the phenomenon of empathy has received widespread attention by the field of social neuroscience. This has provided fresh insights for theoretical models of empathy, and substantially influenced the academic and public conceptions about this complex social skill. The present paper highlights three key issues which are often linked to empathy, but which at the same time might obscure our understanding of it. These issues are: (1) shared neural activations and whether these can be interpreted as evidence for simulation accounts of empathy; (2) the causal link of empathy to our presumed mirror neuron system; and (3) the question whether increasing empathy will result in better moral decisions and behaviors. The aim of our review is to provide the basis for critically evaluating our current understanding of empathy, and its public reception, and to inspire new research directions. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Beyond prevalence to process: the role of self and identity in medical student well-being.

PubMed

Mavor, Kenneth I; McNeill, Kathleen G; Anderson, Katrina; Kerr, Annelise; O'Reilly, Erin; Platow, Michael J

2014-04-01

Problematic stress levels among medical students have been well established. This stress can lead to depression, suicidal ideation, substance abuse, burnout and cynicism, having a negative effect on students and their patients. We propose to move towards examining the processes underlying well-being in some medical students and vulnerability in others. We draw upon social psychological literature to propose that self-complexity, medical student identity and associated norms all have the capacity to influence medical students' well-being in both positive and negative ways. We identify two key dilemmas facing medical students with regard to the social psychological factors investigated. First, a diverse set of interests and a high level of self-complexity is thought to buffer against the effects of stress and might also be beneficial for medical practitioners, but the intensive nature of medical education makes it difficult for students to pursue outside interests, leading to a strongly focused identity. Second, a strong group identity is associated with high levels of social support and improved well-being, but unhealthy group norms may have a greater influence on individuals who have a strong group identity, encouraging them to engage in behaviours that place their well-being at risk. A model is proposed outlining how these potentially contradictory social psychological processes may combine to impact upon medical students' well-being. There is great scope for investigating the role of self-complexity, identity and norms in the medical education context, with room to investigate each of these factors alone and in combination. We highlight how our proposed model can inform medical educators as to the students who may be most vulnerable to the effects of stress and the potential interventions from which they may benefit. We conclude that social psychological factors make a valuable contribution to understanding the complex issue of well-being in medical education. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Generating Family-School Partnerships through Social Marketing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sensiper, Sylvia

Social marketing campaigns employ general marketing strategies to deal with social issues and affect behavioral change. These issues include environmental dilemmas, community health problems, and social development. Noting that educational issues are not often addressed, a meeting was convened by the Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP) to…

Teaching Social Issues in the English Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Totten, Samuel, Ed.

1986-01-01

Focusing on the rationales and materials for teaching social issues in the English classroom, this thematic issue contains the following articles: "Introduction: Reflections of Society in Literature" (M. B. Fleming); "Addressing Social and/or Controversial Issues in the English Classroom" (S. Totten); "The Growing Threat to Quality Education: How…

A coevolving model based on preferential triadic closure for social media networks

PubMed Central

Li, Menghui; Zou, Hailin; Guan, Shuguang; Gong, Xiaofeng; Li, Kun; Di, Zengru; Lai, Choy-Heng

2013-01-01

The dynamical origin of complex networks, i.e., the underlying principles governing network evolution, is a crucial issue in network study. In this paper, by carrying out analysis to the temporal data of Flickr and Epinions–two typical social media networks, we found that the dynamical pattern in neighborhood, especially the formation of triadic links, plays a dominant role in the evolution of networks. We thus proposed a coevolving dynamical model for such networks, in which the evolution is only driven by the local dynamics–the preferential triadic closure. Numerical experiments verified that the model can reproduce global properties which are qualitatively consistent with the empirical observations. PMID:23979061

Advancing the Science of Community-Level Interventions

PubMed Central

Beehler, Sarah; Deutsch, Charles; Green, Lawrence W.; Hawe, Penelope; McLeroy, Kenneth; Miller, Robin Lin; Rapkin, Bruce D.; Schensul, Jean J.; Schulz, Amy J.; Trimble, Joseph E.

2011-01-01

Community interventions are complex social processes that need to move beyond single interventions and outcomes at individual levels of short-term change. A scientific paradigm is emerging that supports collaborative, multilevel, culturally situated community interventions aimed at creating sustainable community-level impact. This paradigm is rooted in a deep history of ecological and collaborative thinking across public health, psychology, anthropology, and other fields of social science. The new paradigm makes a number of primary assertions that affect conceptualization of health issues, intervention design, and intervention evaluation. To elaborate the paradigm and advance the science of community intervention, we offer suggestions for promoting a scientific agenda, developing collaborations among professionals and communities, and examining the culture of science. PMID:21680923

A systematic approach to analyze the social determinants of cardiovascular disease.

PubMed

Martínez-García, Mireya; Salinas-Ortega, Magaly; Estrada-Arriaga, Iván; Hernández-Lemus, Enrique; García-Herrera, Rodrigo; Vallejo, Maite

2018-01-01

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of human mortality worldwide. Among the many factors associated with the etiology, incidence, and evolution of such diseases; social and environmental issues constitute an important and often overlooked component. Understanding to a greater extent the scope to which such social determinants of cardiovascular diseases (SDCVD) occur as well as the connections among them would be useful for public health policy making. Here, we will explore the historical trends and associations among the main SDCVD in the published literature. Our aim will be finding meaningful relations among those that will help us to have an integrated view on this complex phenomenon by providing historical context and a relational framework. To uncover such relations, we used a data mining approach to the current literature, followed by network analysis of the interrelationships discovered. To this end, we systematically mined the PubMed/MEDLINE database for references of published studies on the subject, as outlined by the World Health Organization's framework on social determinants of health. The analyzed structured corpus consisted in circa 1190 articles categorized by means of the Medical Subheadings (MeSH) content-descriptor. The use of data analytics techniques allowed us to find a number of non-trivial connections among SDCVDs. Such relations may be relevant to get a deeper understanding of the social and environmental issues associated with cardiovascular disease and are often overlooked by traditional literature survey approaches, such as systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

Stigma's Effect on Social Interaction and Social Media Activity.

PubMed

Boudewyns, Vanessa; Himelboim, Itai; Hansen, Derek L; Southwell, Brian G

2015-01-01

Stigmatized topics, such as HIV/STD, likely constrain related information sharing in ways that should be apparent in social interactions both on and off the Internet. Specifically, the authors predicted that the more people perceive an issue as stigmatized, the less likely they are to talk about the issue both privately (with sexual partners and peers) and publicly (on Twitter). Study 1 tested the effect of stigma on conversations at the individual level: The authors asked a group of participants (N = 138) about perceived STD-testing stigma, interactions with a sexual partner, and conversations with peers about STD testing. Study 2 assessed whether health conditions, in the aggregate, were less likely to generate social media activity as a function of current stigmatization. Using 259,758 archived Twitter posts mentioning 13 medical conditions, the authors tested whether level of stigma predicted the volume of relevant social media conversation, controlling for each condition's amount of advocacy and Google search popularity from a user's perspective. Findings supported our hypotheses. Individuals who reported perceiving a given health conditions in more stigmatic ways also reported interacting less with others about that topic; Twitter results showed a similar pattern. Results also suggest a more complex story of influence, as funding from the National Institutes of Health (i.e., each conditions amount of advocacy) associated with the examined health conditions also predicted Twitter activity. Overall, these results indicated that stigma had a similar, dampening effect on face-to-face and Twitter interactions. Findings hold theoretical and practical implications, which are discussed.

A systematic approach to analyze the social determinants of cardiovascular disease

PubMed Central

Martínez-García, Mireya; Salinas-Ortega, Magaly; Estrada-Arriaga, Iván; Hernández-Lemus, Enrique; García-Herrera, Rodrigo

2018-01-01

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of human mortality worldwide. Among the many factors associated with the etiology, incidence, and evolution of such diseases; social and environmental issues constitute an important and often overlooked component. Understanding to a greater extent the scope to which such social determinants of cardiovascular diseases (SDCVD) occur as well as the connections among them would be useful for public health policy making. Here, we will explore the historical trends and associations among the main SDCVD in the published literature. Our aim will be finding meaningful relations among those that will help us to have an integrated view on this complex phenomenon by providing historical context and a relational framework. To uncover such relations, we used a data mining approach to the current literature, followed by network analysis of the interrelationships discovered. To this end, we systematically mined the PubMed/MEDLINE database for references of published studies on the subject, as outlined by the World Health Organization’s framework on social determinants of health. The analyzed structured corpus consisted in circa 1190 articles categorized by means of the Medical Subheadings (MeSH) content-descriptor. The use of data analytics techniques allowed us to find a number of non-trivial connections among SDCVDs. Such relations may be relevant to get a deeper understanding of the social and environmental issues associated with cardiovascular disease and are often overlooked by traditional literature survey approaches, such as systematic reviews and meta-analyses. PMID:29370200

Addressing Social Determinants Of Health Through Medical-Legal Partnerships.

PubMed

Regenstein, Marsha; Trott, Jennifer; Williamson, Alanna; Theiss, Joanna

2018-03-01

The US health care system needs effective tools to address complex social and environmental issues that perpetuate health inequities, such as food insecurity, education and employment barriers, and substandard housing conditions. The medical-legal partnership is a collaborative intervention that embeds civil legal aid professionals in health care settings to address seemingly intractable social problems that contribute to poor health outcomes and health disparities. More than three hundred health care organizations are home to medical-legal partnerships. This article draws upon national survey data and field research to identify three models of the medical-legal partnership that health care organizations have adopted and the core elements of infrastructure that they share. Financing and commitment from health care organizations are key considerations for sustaining and scaling up the medical-legal partnership as a health equity intervention.

Social isolation and risk for malnutrition among older people.

PubMed

Boulos, Christa; Salameh, Pascale; Barberger-Gateau, Pascale

2017-02-01

Social isolation and loneliness are emerging issues among the geriatric population. The relationships between both, and their impact on health and nutritional status in older people are complex. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the association between three components of social isolation: social network, feeling of loneliness, commensality and nutritional status. A total of 1200 randomly selected elderly individuals aged ≥65 years and living in rural areas of Lebanon participated in the present study. Data were collected during a face-to-face interview including nutritional status (Mini-Nutritional Assessment), measures of social isolation (Lubben Social Network Scale), subjective loneliness (Jong-Gierveld Loneliness Scale), sociodemographic conditions, and health and functional status. Both social isolation and loneliness were independently associated with a higher risk of malnutrition (OR 1.58, P = 0.011; OR 1.15, P = 0.020, respectively). However no association was found between the frequency of sharing meals and the risk of malnutrition. The present study showed that social isolation and subjective loneliness are two independent risk factors for malnutrition among older people. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 286-294. © 2016 Japan Geriatrics Society.

Social justice and intercountry adoptions: the role of the U.S. social work community.

PubMed

Roby, Jini L; Rotabi, Karen; Bunkers, Kelley M

2013-10-01

Using social justice as the conceptual foundation, the authors present the structural barriers to socially just intercountry adoptions (ICAs) that can exploit and oppress vulnerable children and families participating in ICAs. They argue that such practices threaten the integrity of social work practice in that arena and the survival of ICA as a placement option. Government structures, disparity of power between countries and families on both sides, perceptions regarding poverty, cultural incompetence, misconceptions about orphans and orphanages, lack of knowledge about the impact of institution-based care, and the profit motive are driving forces behind the growing shadow of unethical ICAs. The U.S. social work community has a large role and responsibility in addressing these concerns as the United States receives the most children adopted through ICAs of all receiving countries. In addition to the centrality of social justice as a core value of the profession, the responsibility to carry out ethical and socially just ICA has recently increased as a matter of law, under the implementation legislation to the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. While acknowledging that these issues are complex, authors provide suggestions for corrective policy and practice measures.

Social firms: building cross-sectoral partnerships to create employment opportunity and supportive workplaces for people with mental illness.

PubMed

Paluch, Tamar; Fossey, Ellie; Harvey, Carol

2012-01-01

A major barrier to employment for people with mental illness is limited access to supportive and non-discriminatory workplaces. Social firms are businesses committed to employing up to 50% of people with a disability or other disadvantage and to providing supportive work environments that benefit workers. Little research has been conducted to understand the features and social processes that support the vocational experiences of employees with mental health issues in social firms. This ethnographic study sought to explore the experiences of nine employees at one Australian social firm. Nine employees of a social firm, with and without mental illness. Study methods used included participant observation, interviewing and document analysis. The study highlights the complexity of running a socially-invested business, and the importance of cross-sectoral partnerships to support their operational success. Natural workplace supports, adequate training and support infrastructure and enabling participation in the business, were identified as important to creating a supportive workplace. Partnerships within the workplace and in support of the workplace are discussed. Future growth and development of partnerships are recommended to support the establishment of social firms.

Interprofessional communication and medical error: a reframing of research questions and approaches.

PubMed

Varpio, Lara; Hall, Pippa; Lingard, Lorelei; Schryer, Catherine F

2008-10-01

Progress toward understanding the links between interprofessional communication and issues of medical error has been slow. Recent research proposes that this delay may result from overlooking the complexities involved in interprofessional care. Medical education initiatives in this domain tend to simplify the complexities of team membership fluidity, rotation, and use of communication tools. A new theoretically informed research approach is required to take into account these complexities. To generate such an approach, we review two theories from the social sciences: Activity Theory and Knotworking. Using these perspectives, we propose that research into interprofessional communication and medical error can develop better understandings of (1) how and why medical errors are generated and (2) how and why gaps in team defenses occur. Such complexities will have to be investigated if students and practicing clinicians are to be adequately prepared to work safely in interprofessional teams.

Ethical and social issues facing obstetricians in low-income countries.

PubMed

Ogwuegbu, Chigbu Chibuike; Eze, Onah Hyacinth

2009-06-01

A review of publications on ethical and social issues from low-income countries was done with the aim of highlighting the major ethical and social issues facing obstetricians in these countries. Low-income countries were identified using the World Health Organization income group classification of member nations. Obstetricians in low-income countries face a wide range of special social and ethical issues that reflect the peculiarities of their practice environment characterized by poverty, low education, deep attachment to tradition and culture, low social status of women, and high levels of physician's paternalism.

Issue bricolage: explaining the configuration of the social movement sector, 1960-1995.

PubMed

Jung, Wooseok; King, Brayden G; Soule, Sarah A

2014-07-01

Social movements occupy a shared ideational and resource space, which is often referred to as the social movement sector. This article contributes to the understanding of the relational dynamics of the social movement sector by demonstrating how ideational linkages are formed through protest events. Using a data set of protest events occurring in the United States from 1960 to 1995, the authors model the mechanisms shaping why certain movement issues (e.g., women's and peace or environmental and gay rights) appear together at protest events. They argue that both cultural similarity and status differences between two social movement issues are the underlying mechanisms that shape joint protest and the resultant ideational linkages between issues. Finally, they show that the linking of issues at protest events results in changes in the prominence of a given issue in the social movement sector.

Not Just Another Single Issue: Teen Pregnancy Prevention's Link to Other Critical Social Issues.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Campaign To Prevent Teen Pregnancy, Washington, DC.

This report discusses critical social issues linked to teen pregnancy, explaining that teen pregnancy prevention should be viewed as working to improve these social issues. After providing general background on teen pregnancy, the report offers five fact sheets: (1) "Teen Pregnancy, Welfare Dependency, and Poverty" (continuing to reduce…

Development and Assessment of the Social Issues Advocacy Scale

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nilsson, Johanna E.; Marszalek, Jacob M.; Linnemeyer, Rachel M.; Bahner, Angela D.; Misialek, Leah Hanson

2011-01-01

This article describes the development and the initial psychometric evaluation of the Social Issues Advocacy Scale in two studies. In the first study, an exploratory factor analysis (n = 278) revealed a four-factor scale, accounting for 71.4% of the variance, measuring different aspects of social issue advocacy: Political and Social Advocacy,…

Teaching Darwin: Contemporary Social Studies through Controversial Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swanson, Helge

2010-01-01

I explore Darwin and his Theory of Natural Selection from a Social Science perspective and a social studies approach of inquiry into contemporary issues. This approach augments the more common natural science focus on the mechanics of natural selection and evolution in favor of a focus on social issues, controversy, and dialog necessary to support…

Participatory Ethnographic Evaluation and Research: Reflections on the Research Approach Used to Understand the Complexity of Maternal Health Issues in South Sudan

PubMed Central

Elmusharaf, Khalifa; Byrne, Elaine; Manandhar, Mary; Hemmings, Joanne; O’Donovan, Diarmuid

2016-01-01

Many methodological approaches have been used to understand cultural dimensions to maternal health issues. Although a well-designed quantitative survey with a representative sample can provide essential information on trends in behavior, it does not necessarily establish a contextualized understanding of the complexity in which different behaviors occur. This article addresses how contextualized data can be collected in a short time and under conditions in which participants in conflict-affected zones might not have established, or time to establish, trust with the researchers. The solution, the Participatory Ethnographic Evaluation and Research (PEER) approach, is illustrated through a study whereby South Sudanese marginalized women were trained to design research instruments, and collect and analyze qualitative data. PEER overcomes the problem that many ethnographic or participatory approaches face—the extensive time and resources required to develop trusting relationships with the community to understand the local context and the social networks they form. PMID:27811290

Participatory Ethnographic Evaluation and Research: Reflections on the Research Approach Used to Understand the Complexity of Maternal Health Issues in South Sudan.

PubMed

Elmusharaf, Khalifa; Byrne, Elaine; Manandhar, Mary; Hemmings, Joanne; O'Donovan, Diarmuid

2017-07-01

Many methodological approaches have been used to understand cultural dimensions to maternal health issues. Although a well-designed quantitative survey with a representative sample can provide essential information on trends in behavior, it does not necessarily establish a contextualized understanding of the complexity in which different behaviors occur. This article addresses how contextualized data can be collected in a short time and under conditions in which participants in conflict-affected zones might not have established, or time to establish, trust with the researchers. The solution, the Participatory Ethnographic Evaluation and Research (PEER) approach, is illustrated through a study whereby South Sudanese marginalized women were trained to design research instruments, and collect and analyze qualitative data. PEER overcomes the problem that many ethnographic or participatory approaches face-the extensive time and resources required to develop trusting relationships with the community to understand the local context and the social networks they form.

Institutional racism and the medical/health complex: a conceptual analysis.

PubMed

King, G

1996-01-01

Presented in this paper is a theoretical framework for understanding and applying the concept of institutional racism to the medical/health care system. Medicine and health are viewed as vital social institutions that reflect the norms, values and social stratification systems of the larger society. Institutional or systemic patterns of racism are legitimated and promulgated through accepted standards, criteria, and organizational processes within the medical health complex that have the effect of discriminating against the minority group. It is maintained that racism is manifested (overtly or covertly) through history, ideology, community relations, research, education and the professions, and differential treatment. Focusing on investigators who have conducted studies of "racial bias" in the diagnosis and treatment of coronary artery disease, the author discusses some of the shortcomings of this research, from an institution racism perspective. Differential treatment researchers are encouraged to include social theory as part of their analysis and to explain the practical significance of their findings for the equitable delivery of health care. It is suggested that, because of wider structural changes occurring in American society, issues related to racism within medical and health institutions will become increasingly more important.

Silos and Social Identity: The Social Identity Approach as a Framework for Understanding and Overcoming Divisions in Health Care

PubMed Central

Kreindler, Sara A; Dowd, Damien A; Dana Star, Noah; Gottschalk, Tania

2012-01-01

Context One of health care's foremost challenges is the achievement of integration and collaboration among the groups providing care. Yet this fundamentally group-related issue is typically discussed in terms of interpersonal relations or operational issues, not group processes. Methods We conducted a systematic search for literature offering a group-based analysis and examined it through the lens of the social identity approach (SIA). Founded in the insight that group memberships form an important part of the self-concept, the SIA encompasses five dimensions: social identity, social structure, identity content, strength of identification, and context. Findings Our search yielded 348 reports, 114 of which cited social identity. However, SIA-citing reports varied in both compatibility with the SIA's metatheoretical paradigm and applied relevance to health care; conversely, some non-SIA-citers offered SIA-congruent analyses. We analyzed the various combinations and interpretations of the five SIA dimensions, identifying ten major conceptual currents. Examining these in the light of the SIA yielded a cohesive, multifaceted picture of (inter)group relations in health care. Conclusions The SIA offers a coherent framework for integrating a diverse, far-flung literature on health care groups. Further research should take advantage of the full depth and complexity of the approach, remain sensitive to the unique features of the health care context, and devote particular attention to identity mobilization and context change as key drivers of system transformation. Our article concludes with a set of “guiding questions” to help health care leaders recognize the group dimension of organizational problems, identify mechanisms for change, and move forward by working with and through social identities, not against them. PMID:22709391

A life scientist, an engineer and a social scientist walk into a lab: challenges of dual-use engagement and education in synthetic biology.

PubMed

Edwards, Brett; Kelle, Alexander

2012-01-01

The discussion of dual-use education is often predicated on a discrete population of practicing life scientists exhibiting certain deficiencies in awareness or expertise. This has lead to the claim that there is a greater requirement for awareness raising and education amongst this population. However, there is yet to be an inquiry into the impact of the 'convergent' nature of emerging techno-sciences upon the prospects of dual-use education. The field of synthetic biology, although often portrayed as homogeneous, is in fact composed of various sub-fields and communities. Its practitioners have diverse academic backgrounds. The research institutions that have fostered its development in the UK often have their own sets of norms and practices in engagement with ethical, legal and social issues associated with scientific knowledge and technologies. The area is also complicated by the emergence of synthetic biologists outside traditional research environments, the so called 'do-it-yourself' or 'garage biologists'. This paper untangles some of the complexities in the current state of synthetic biology and addresses the prospects for dual-use education for practitioners. It provides a short overview of the field and discusses identified dual-use issues. There follows a discussion of UK networks in synthetic biology, including their engagement with ethical, legal, social and dual-use issues and limited educational efforts in relation to these. It concludes by outlining options for developing a more systematic dual-use education strategy for synthetic biology.

A social–ecological perspective for riverscape management in the Columbia River Basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hand, Brian K.; Flint, Courtney G.; Frissell, Chris A.; Muhlfeld, Clint C.; Devlin, Shawn P.; Kennedy, Brian P.; Crabtree, Robert L.; McKee, W. Arthur; Luikart, Gordon; Stanford, Jack A.

2018-01-01

Riverscapes are complex, landscape-scale mosaics of connected river and stream habitats embedded in diverse ecological and socioeconomic settings. Social–ecological interactions among stakeholders often complicate natural-resource conservation and management of riverscapes. The management challenges posed by the conservation and restoration of wild salmonid populations in the Columbia River Basin (CRB) of western North America are one such example. Because of their ecological, cultural, and socioeconomic importance, salmonids present a complex management landscape due to interacting environmental factors (eg climate change, invasive species) as well as socioeconomic and political factors (eg dams, hatcheries, land-use change, transboundary agreements). Many of the problems in the CRB can be linked to social–ecological interactions occurring within integrated ecological, human–social, and regional–climatic spheres. Future management and conservation of salmonid populations therefore depends on how well the issues are understood and whether they can be resolved through effective communication and collaboration among ecologists, social scientists, stakeholders, and policy makers.

Socio-Technical Perspective on Interdisciplinary Interactions During the Development of Complex Engineered Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McGowan, Anna-Maria R.; Daly, Shanna; Baker, Wayne; Papalambros, panos; Seifert, Colleen

2013-01-01

This study investigates interdisciplinary interactions that take place during the research, development, and early conceptual design phases in the design of large-scale complex engineered systems (LaCES) such as aerospace vehicles. These interactions, that take place throughout a large engineering development organization, become the initial conditions of the systems engineering process that ultimately leads to the development of a viable system. This paper summarizes some of the challenges and opportunities regarding social and organizational issues that emerged from a qualitative study using ethnographic and survey data. The analysis reveals several socio-technical couplings between the engineered system and the organization that creates it. Survey respondents noted the importance of interdisciplinary interactions and their benefits to the engineered system as well as substantial challenges in interdisciplinary interactions. Noted benefits included enhanced knowledge and problem mitigation and noted obstacles centered on organizational and human dynamics. Findings suggest that addressing the social challenges may be a critical need in enabling interdisciplinary interactions

From 'implications' to 'dimensions': science, medicine and ethics in society.

PubMed

Pickersgill, Martyn D

2013-03-01

Much bioethical scholarship is concerned with the social, legal and philosophical implications of new and emerging science and medicine, as well as with the processes of research that under-gird these innovations. Science and technology studies (STS), and the related and interpenetrating disciplines of anthropology and sociology, have also explored what novel technoscience might imply for society, and how the social is constitutive of scientific knowledge and technological artefacts. More recently, social scientists have interrogated the emergence of ethical issues: they have documented how particular matters come to be regarded as in some way to do with 'ethics', and how this in turn enjoins particular types of social action. In this paper, I will discuss some of this and other STS (and STS-inflected) literature and reflect on how it might complement more 'traditional' modes of bioethical enquiry. I argue that STS might (1) cast new light on current bioethical issues, (2) direct the gaze of bioethicists towards matters that may previously have escaped their attention, and (3) indicate the import not only of the ethical implications of biomedical innovation, but also how these innovative and other processes feature ethics as a dimension of everyday laboratory and clinical work. In sum, engagements between STS and bioethics are increasingly important in order to understand and manage the complex dynamics between science, medicine and ethics in society.

Exploring the Role of Social Memory of Floods for Designing Flood Early Warning Operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Girons Lopez, Marc; Di Baldassarre, Giuliano; Grabs, Thomas; Halldin, Sven; Seibert, Jan

2016-04-01

Early warning systems are an important tool for natural disaster mitigation practices, especially for flooding events. Warnings rely on near-future forecasts to provide time to take preventive actions before a flood occurs, thus reducing potential losses. However, on top of the technical capacities, successful warnings require an efficient coordination and communication among a range of different actors and stakeholders. The complexity of integrating the technical and social spheres of warning systems has, however, resulted in system designs neglecting a number of important aspects such as social awareness of floods thus leading to suboptimal results. A better understanding of the interactions and feedbacks among the different elements of early warning systems is therefore needed to improve their efficiency and therefore social resilience. When designing an early warning system two important decisions need to be made regarding (i) the hazard magnitude at and from which a warning should be issued and (ii) the degree of confidence required for issuing a warning. The first decision is usually taken based on the social vulnerability and climatic variability while the second one is related to the performance (i.e. accuracy) of the forecasting tools. Consequently, by estimating the vulnerability and the accuracy of the forecasts, these two variables can be optimized to minimize the costs and losses. Important parameters with a strong influence on the efficiency of warning systems such as social awareness are however not considered in their design. In this study we present a theoretical exploration of the impact of social awareness on the design of early warning systems. For this purpose we use a definition of social memory of flood events as a proxy for flood risk awareness and test its effect on the optimization of the warning system design variables. Understanding the impact of social awareness on warning system design is important to make more robust warnings that can better adapt to different social settings and more efficiently reduce vulnerability.

Improving the retention rate for residential treatment of substance abuse by sequential intervention for social anxiety

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Residential drug rehabilitation is often seen as a treatment of last resort for people with severe substance abuse issues. These clients present with more severe symptoms, and frequent psychiatric comorbidities relative to outpatients. Given the complex nature of this client group, a high proportion of clients seeking treatment often do not enter treatment, and of those who do, many exit prematurely. Given the highly social nature of residential drug rehabilitation services, it has been argued that social anxieties might decrease the likelihood of an individual entering treatment, or increase the likelihood of them prematurely exiting treatment. The current paper reports on the protocol of a Randomised Control Trial which examined whether treatment of social anxiety prior to entry to treatment improves entry rates and retention in residential drug rehabilitation. Method/design A Randomised Control Trial comparing a social skills treatment with a treatment as usual control group was employed. The social skills training program was based on the principles of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, and was adapted from Ron Rapee’s social skills training program. A permutated block randomisation procedure was utilised. Participants are followed up at the completion of the program (or baseline plus six weeks for controls) and at three months following entry into residential rehabilitation (or six months post-baseline for participants who do not enter treatment). Discussion The current study could potentially have implications for addressing social anxiety within residential drug treatment services in order to improve entry and retention in treatment. The results might suggest that the use of additional screening tools in intake assessments, a focus on coping with social anxieties in support groups for clients waiting to enter treatment, and greater awareness of social anxiety issues is warranted. Australian New Zealand clinical trials registry Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN) registration number: ACTRN12611000579998 PMID:24533512

Developmental stress and social phenotypes: integrating neuroendocrine, behavioural and evolutionary perspectives.

PubMed

Spencer, Karen A

2017-08-19

The social world is filled with different types of interactions, and social experience interacts with stress on several different levels. Activation of the neuroendocrine axis that regulates the response to stress can have consequences for innumerable behavioural responses, including social decision-making and aspects of sociality, such as gregariousness and aggression. This is especially true for stress experienced during early life, when physiological systems are developing and highly sensitive to perturbation. Stress at this time can have persistent effects on social behaviours into adulthood. One important question remaining is to what extent these effects are adaptive. This paper initially reviews the current literature investigating the complex relationships between the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and other neuroendocrine systems and several aspects of social behaviour in vertebrates. In addition, the review explores the evidence surrounding the potential for 'social programming' via differential development and activation of the HPA axis, providing an insight into the potential for positive effects on fitness following early life stress. Finally, the paper provides a framework from which novel investigations could work to fully understand the adaptive significance of early life effects on social behaviours.This article is part of the themed issue 'Physiological determinants of social behaviour in animals'. © 2017 The Author(s).

[Social Ramifications of Art Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Muth, Helen, Ed.

1985-01-01

The "Bulletin of the Caucus on Social Theory and Art Education" is an annual publication, with each issue devoted to a unified theme. The theme of this issue is the social ramifications of the teaching of art. This issue focuses on art teachers to gain a perspective on the art education process as a socially relevant experience. The volume…

[How to understand and facilitate return to school of high school students treated for cancer: analysis of a sociology research-action project].

PubMed

Rollin, Zoé

2015-01-01

Based on a sociology research-action project, this article analyses the specific issue of return to school of high school students with cancer. Three detailed cases, illustrating the global results of the study, are presented to highlight the academic trajectories of these students. This situation has a particular impact on juvenile sociability. Moreover, the education of these students does not comply with French educational standards and is very complex for professionals. Finally, social inequalities in education are reinforced by the experience of serious illness, as pedagogical negotiations are even more complex due to the fact that families are not familiar with school practices.

Effects of Reproductive Status, Social Rank, Sex and Group Size on Vigilance Patterns in Przewalski's Gazelle

PubMed Central

Li, Chunlin; Jiang, Zhigang; Li, Linlin; Li, Zhongqiu; Fang, Hongxia; Li, Chunwang; Beauchamp, Guy

2012-01-01

Background Quantifying vigilance and exploring the underlying mechanisms has been the subject of numerous studies. Less attention has focused on the complex interplay between contributing factors such as reproductive status, social rank, sex and group size. Reproductive status and social rank are of particular interest due to their association with mating behavior. Mating activities in rutting season may interfere with typical patterns of vigilance and possibly interact with social rank. In addition, balancing the tradeoff between vigilance and life maintenance may represent a challenge for gregarious ungulate species rutting under harsh winter conditions. We studied vigilance patterns in the endangered Przewalski's gazelle (Procapra przewalskii) during both the rutting and non-rutting seasons to examine these issues. Methodology/Principal Findings Field observations were carried out with focal sampling during rutting and non-rutting season in 2008–2009. Results indicated a complex interplay between reproductive status, social rank, sex and group size in determining vigilance in this species. Vigilance decreased with group size in female but not in male gazelles. Males scanned more frequently and thus spent more time vigilant than females. Compared to non-rutting season, gazelles increased time spent scanning at the expense of bedding in rutting season. During the rutting season, territorial males spent a large proportion of time on rutting activities and were less vigilant than non-territorial males. Although territorial males may share collective risk detection with harem females, we suggest that they are probably more vulnerable to predation because they seemed reluctant to leave rut stands under threats. Conclusions/Significance Vigilance behavior in Przewalski's gazelle was significantly affected by reproductive status, social rank, sex, group size and their complex interactions. These findings shed light on the mechanisms underlying vigilance patterns and the tradeoff between vigilance and other crucial activities. PMID:22389714

Cultural safety and the challenges of translating critically oriented knowledge in practice.

PubMed

Browne, Annette J; Varcoe, Colleen; Smye, Victoria; Reimer-Kirkham, Sheryl; Lynam, M Judith; Wong, Sabrina

2009-07-01

Cultural safety is a relatively new concept that has emerged in the New Zealand nursing context and is being taken up in various ways in Canadian health care discourses. Our research team has been exploring the relevance of cultural safety in the Canadian context, most recently in relation to a knowledge-translation study conducted with nurses practising in a large tertiary hospital. We were drawn to using cultural safety because we conceptualized it as being compatible with critical theoretical perspectives that foster a focus on power imbalances and inequitable social relationships in health care; the interrelated problems of culturalism and racialization; and a commitment to social justice as central to the social mandate of nursing. Engaging in this knowledge-translation study has provided new perspectives on the complexities, ambiguities and tensions that need to be considered when using the concept of cultural safety to draw attention to racialization, culturalism, and health and health care inequities. The philosophic analysis discussed in this paper represents an epistemological grounding for the concept of cultural safety that links directly to particular moral ends with social justice implications. Although cultural safety is a concept that we have firmly positioned within the paradigm of critical inquiry, ambiguities associated with the notions of 'culture', 'safety', and 'cultural safety' need to be anticipated and addressed if they are to be effectively used to draw attention to critical social justice issues in practice settings. Using cultural safety in practice settings to draw attention to and prompt critical reflection on politicized knowledge, therefore, brings an added layer of complexity. To address these complexities, we propose that what may be required to effectively use cultural safety in the knowledge-translation process is a 'social justice curriculum for practice' that would foster a philosophical stance of critical inquiry at both the individual and institutional levels.

Introduction to the JPA special issue: Can the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual put the complex person back at the center-stage of personality assessment?

PubMed

Huprich, Steven K; Meyer, Gregory J

2011-03-01

We briefly introduce this special issue, which focuses both on the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual (PDM) and the practice of idiographic, depth-oriented personality assessment. The 7 articles in this issue are diverse in scope but all address these 2 important topics. To set the stage, the special issue opens with a description of the history behind, the purposes of, and the steps taken to develop the PDM, and the next article provides a compelling illustration of depth-oriented personality assessment in the context of a long-term course of psychodynamic treatment. The third and fourth articles describe how the PDM model fosters attention to dynamic processes, not just overt symptoms, and they articulate the challenges and benefits of integrating this model into both the revitalized practice of assessment and diagnosis and the research avenues that will evaluate its validity and utility. The fifth article provides a broad overview of interesting experimental research on implicit processes from personality, social, and cognitive psychology, with implications for understanding and assessing dynamic processes. The sixth article illustrates how a PDM-based assessment of an adolescent boy helpfully contributed to his psychodynamic therapy. Finally, the issue closes with an illuminating article describing a PDM-based training model for the graduated development of assessment and diagnosis skills in a doctoral program. Overall, this special issue helps show how the PDM can invigorate multimethod personality assessment by placing the complex idiographic understanding of a person at the center-stage in the assessment process.

The ethical framing of personalized medicine.

PubMed

Joly, Yann; Saulnier, Katie M; Osien, Gladys; Knoppers, Bartha M

2014-10-01

Personalized medicine encompasses the use of biological information such as genomics to provide tailored interventions for patients. The review explores the ethical, legal, and social issues that have emerged with personalized medicine and must be considered because of the complex nature of providing individualized care within a clinical setting. Recent studies found that the use of personalized medicine presents challenges in multiple areas: biobanking and informed consent, confidentiality, genetic discrimination, return of results, access to treatment, clinical translation, direct-to-consumer genetic testing, emerging duties, and knowledge mobilization. Although personalized medicine provides benefits in treating patients in a manner that is more suited to their genetic profile, there are challenges that must be discussed to ensure the protection and fair treatment of individuals. The issues concerning personalized medicine are widespread, and range from individual privacy to the stratification and discrimination of sub-populations based on ethnicity. These issues have considerable impact on the individual and society. A thorough exploration of these ethical issues may identify novel challenges as well as potential avenues for resolution.

The "chicken-and-egg" development of political opinionsThe roles of genes, social status, ideology, and information.

PubMed

Peter, Beattie J D

2017-01-01

Twin studies have revealed political ideology to be partially heritable. Neurological research has shown that ideological differences are reflected in brain structure and response, suggesting a direct genotype-phenotype link. Social and informational environments, however, also demonstrably affect brain structure and response. This leads to a "chicken-and-egg" question: do genes produce brains with ideological predispositions, causing the preferential absorption of consonant information and thereby forming an ideology, or do social and informational environments do most of the heavy lifting, with genetic evidence the spurious artifact of outdated methodology? Or are both inextricably intertwined contributors? This article investigates the relative contributions of genetic and environmental factors to ideological development using a role-play experiment investigating the development of opinions on a novel political issue. The results support the view that the process is bidirectional, suggesting that, like most traits, political ideology is produced by the complex interplay of genetic and (social/informational) environmental influences.

Behavioral Competence as a Positive Youth Development Construct: A Conceptual Review

PubMed Central

Ma, Hing Keung

2012-01-01

Behavioral competence is delineated in terms of four parameters: (a) Moral and Social Knowledge, (b) Social Skills, (c) Positive Characters and Positive Attributes, and (d) Behavioral Decision Process and Action Taking. Since Ma's other papers in this special issue have already discussed the moral and social knowledge as well as the social skills associated in detail, this paper focuses on the last two parameters. It is hypothesized that the following twelve positive characters are highly related to behavioral competence: humanity, intelligence, courage, conscience, autonomy, respect, responsibility, naturalness, loyalty, humility, assertiveness, and perseverance. Large-scale empirical future studies should be conducted to substantiate the predictive validity of the complete set of these positive characters. The whole judgment and behavioral decision process is constructed based on the information processing approach. The direction of future studies should focus more on the complex input, central control, and output subprocesses and the interactions among these sub-processes. The understanding of the formation of behavior is crucial to whole-person education and positive youth development. PMID:22645434

Access to health care and social protection.

PubMed

Martin, Philippe

2012-06-01

In France, the access to healthcare has been conceived as a social right and is mainly managed through the coverage of the population by the National Health Insurance, which is a part of the whole French social security scheme. This system was based on the so-called Bismarckian model, which implies that it requires full employment and solid family links, as the insured persons are the workers and their dependents. This paper examines the typical problems that this system has to face as far as the right to healthcare is concerned. First, it addresses the need to introduce some universal coverage programs, in order to integrate the excluded population. Then, it addresses the issue of financial sustainability as the structural weakness of the French system--in which healthcare is still mainly provided by private practice physicians and governed by the principle of freedom--leads to conceive and implement complex forms of regulations between the State, the Social security institutions and the healthcare providers.

Social sustainability in healthcare facilities: a rating tool for analysing and improving social aspects in environments of care.

PubMed

Capolongo, Stefano; Gola, Marco; di Noia, Michela; Nickolova, Maria; Nachiero, Dario; Rebecchi, Andrea; Settimo, Gaetano; Vittori, Gail; Buffoli, Maddalena

2016-01-01

Nowadays several rating systems exist for the evaluation of the sustainability of buildings, but often their focus is limited to environmental and efficiency aspects. Hospitals are complex constructions in which many variables affect hospital processes. Therefore, a research group has developed a tool for the evaluation of sustainability in healthcare facilities. The paper analyses social sustainability issues through a tool which evaluates users' perception from a the quality and well-being perspective. It presents a hierarchical structure composed of a criteria and indicators system which is organised through a weighing system calculated by using the Analytic Network Process. The output is the definition of a tool which evaluates how Humanisation, Comfort and Distribution criteria can affect the social sustainability of a building. Starting from its application, it is evident that the instrument enables the improvement of healthcare facilities through several design and organisational suggestions for achieving healing and sustainable architectures.

Contemporary Issues of Social Justice: A Focus on Race and Physical Education in the United States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harrison, Louis; Clark, Langston

2016-01-01

Ongoing events in the United States show the continual need to address issues of social justice in every social context. Of particular note in this article, the contemporary national focus on race has thrust social justice issues into the forefront of the country's conscious. Although legal segregation has ran its course, schools and many…

[Controversies over the surgical placebo: legal issues and the ethical debate].

PubMed

Hervé, C; Moutel, G; Meningaud, J P; Wolf, M; Lopes, M

2000-06-17

The debate on controlled surgery trials has had some rather "sensational" repercussions, enlivening the placebo issue. In France, there is a consensus on the ethical conditions necessary for proper protection of individual persons. This consensus has taken on a legal form with the promulgation of the Huriet law. For this reason, all studies and research protocols in medicine and surgery are examined by ethics committees (CCPPRB) who assess the inclusion conditions within the framework of biomedical research and in compliance with the concept that individual participants must be give proper protection. These committees are faced with increasingly complex situations, particularly concerning the pertinence of information give to the participant and the modalities of consent. In France, standard measures were established after a parliamentary debate issuing from a wider public debate. The issue has become a social transaction between biomedical research professionals and the society in general. The international debate over the surgery placebo is an interesting illustration of how mediation institutions, working along the principles of ethical committees, play a key role in social awareness of the ethical issues involved before an innovating practice is initiated. But how legitimate are sensational pieces published in the media, which as is clearly demonstrated with the debate over the surgical placebo, are almost always individual points of view? Shouldn't the debate take into account the contributions of ethical committees which integrate representatives of the social community as well as the importance of a legal framework for individual protection as proposed by the French law? Shouldn't personal points of view be counterbalanced by regularly expressed ethical committee opinions formed after appropriate ethics-oriented discussion going beyond the simple question of "should we do it", a question often dismissed by extreme theoretical arguments that leave unanswered the practical question of "how should we do it"?

A qualitative analysis of interprofessional healthcare team members' perceptions of patient barriers to healthcare engagement.

PubMed

Powell, Rhea E; Doty, Amanda; Casten, Robin J; Rovner, Barry W; Rising, Kristin L

2016-09-20

Healthcare systems increasingly engage interprofessional healthcare team members such as case managers, social workers, and community health workers to work directly with patients and improve population health. This study elicited perspectives of interprofessional healthcare team members regarding patient barriers to health and suggestions to address these barriers. This is a qualitative study employing focus groups and semi-structured interviews with 39 interprofessional healthcare team members in Philadelphia to elicit perceptions of patients' needs and experiences with the health system, and suggestions for positioning health care systems to better serve patients. Themes were identified using a content analysis approach. Three focus groups and 21 interviews were conducted with 26 hospital-based and 13 ambulatory-based participants. Three domains emerged to characterize barriers to care: social determinants, health system factors, and patient trust in the health system. Social determinants included insurance and financial shortcomings, mental health and substance abuse issues, housing and transportation-related limitations, and unpredictability associated with living in poverty. Suggestions for addressing these barriers included increased financial assistance from the health system, and building a workforce to address these determinants directly. Health care system factors included poor care coordination, inadequate communication of hospital discharge instructions, and difficulty navigating complex systems. Suggestions for addressing these barriers included enhanced communication between care sites, patient-centered scheduling, and improved patient education especially in discharge planning. Finally, factors related to patient trust of the health system emerged. Participants reported that patients are often intimidated by the health system, mistrusting of physicians, and fearful of receiving a serious diagnosis or prognosis. A suggestion for mitigating these issues was increased visibility of the health system within communities to foster trust and help providers gain a better understanding of unique community needs. This work explored interprofessional healthcare team members' perceptions of patient barriers to healthcare engagement. Participants identified barriers related to social determinants of health, complex system organization, and patient mistrust of the health system. Participants offered concrete suggestions to address these barriers, with suggestions supporting current healthcare reform efforts that aim at addressing social determinants and improving health system coordination and adding new insight into how systems might work to improve patient and community trust.

Mental Health, Behavioral and Developmental Issues for Youth in Foster Care.

PubMed

Deutsch, Stephanie A; Lynch, Amy; Zlotnik, Sarah; Matone, Meredith; Kreider, Amanda; Noonan, Kathleen

2015-10-01

Youth in foster care represent a unique population with complex mental and behavioral health, social-emotional, and developmental needs. For this population with special healthcare needs, the risk for adverse long-term outcomes great if needs go unaddressed or inadequately addressed while in placement. Although outcomes are malleable and effective interventions exist, there are barriers to optimal healthcare delivery. The general pediatrician as advocate is paramount to improve long-term outcomes. Copyright © 2015 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Design strategies from sexual exploitation and sex work studies among women and girls: Methodological considerations in a hidden and vulnerable population.

PubMed

Gerassi, Lara; Edmond, Tonya; Nichols, Andrea

2017-06-01

The study of sex trafficking, prostitution, sex work, and sexual exploitation is associated with many methodological issues and challenges. Researchers' study designs must consider the many safety issues related to this vulnerable and hidden population. Community advisory boards and key stakeholder involvement are essential to study design to increase safety of participants, usefulness of study aims, and meaningfulness of conclusions. Nonrandomized sampling strategies are most often utilized when studying exploited women and girls, which have the capacity to provide rich data and require complex sampling and recruitment methods. This article reviews the current methodological issues when studying this marginalized population as well as strategies to address challenges while working with the community in order to bring about social change. The authors also discuss their own experiences in collaborating with community organizations to conduct research in this field.

Design strategies from sexual exploitation and sex work studies among women and girls: Methodological considerations in a hidden and vulnerable population

PubMed Central

Gerassi, Lara; Edmond, Tonya; Nichols, Andrea

2016-01-01

The study of sex trafficking, prostitution, sex work, and sexual exploitation is associated with many methodological issues and challenges. Researchers’ study designs must consider the many safety issues related to this vulnerable and hidden population. Community advisory boards and key stakeholder involvement are essential to study design to increase safety of participants, usefulness of study aims, and meaningfulness of conclusions. Nonrandomized sampling strategies are most often utilized when studying exploited women and girls, which have the capacity to provide rich data and require complex sampling and recruitment methods. This article reviews the current methodological issues when studying this marginalized population as well as strategies to address challenges while working with the community in order to bring about social change. The authors also discuss their own experiences in collaborating with community organizations to conduct research in this field. PMID:28824337

Steady-state visual evoked potentials as a research tool in social affective neuroscience

PubMed Central

Wieser, Matthias J.; Miskovic, Vladimir; Keil, Andreas

2017-01-01

Like many other primates, humans place a high premium on social information transmission and processing. One important aspect of this information concerns the emotional state of other individuals, conveyed by distinct visual cues such as facial expressions, overt actions, or by cues extracted from the situational context. A rich body of theoretical and empirical work has demonstrated that these socio-emotional cues are processed by the human visual system in a prioritized fashion, in the service of optimizing social behavior. Furthermore, socio-emotional perception is highly dependent on situational contexts and previous experience. Here, we review current issues in this area of research and discuss the utility of the steady-state visual evoked potential (ssVEP) technique for addressing key empirical questions. Methodological advantages and caveats are discussed with particular regard to quantifying time-varying competition among multiple perceptual objects, trial-by-trial analysis of visual cortical activation, functional connectivity, and the control of low-level stimulus features. Studies on facial expression and emotional scene processing are summarized, with an emphasis on viewing faces and other social cues in emotional contexts, or when competing with each other. Further, because the ssVEP technique can be readily accommodated to studying the viewing of complex scenes with multiple elements, it enables researchers to advance theoretical models of socio-emotional perception, based on complex, quasi-naturalistic viewing situations. PMID:27699794

Improving service practices: collaborative care for women of abuse.

PubMed

Haeseler, Lisa Ann

2013-01-01

This original qualitative research inquiry is based on a phenomenological research dissertation case study. This article information and content that is gathered helps to better inform providers in the field of social services and those who are social workers and administrators in social services. This research investigated key factors, traits, or attributes that strive to improve service care for women of domestic violence abuse. Findings support current and relevant research to enhance aid to women of abuse. Results strongly detail that professionals must work more cooperatively as an all-channels network of comprehensive care to women. Because women of domestic violence abuse require such multifaced complex care due to the interwoven issues familial abuse brings, results support that service practitioners can best meet the needs of these women through an ecological or life-space understanding for improved care, achieved by infusing an inter-disciplinary systems-based, inter-agency and intra-agency framework.

General child benefit fund experiments in providing differentiated services.

PubMed

Serres, Anne-Marie

2005-10-01

Populations not autonomous in their administrative relations has difficulties with access to social benefits of the Caisses d'Allocations Familiales (CAFs). These difficulties, whether rooted in cultural, educational, social, or other issues, disrupt the management of their documents of social benefits and thereby weigh on their economic situations. From 1998 to 2000, five CAFs tested suitable solutions to situations of beneficiaries for whom standardized procedures have shown their limits, in the areas of housing, compensatory allocations of revenues, and given territories. They have defined goals, methods, and indicators for complex situations and have regular assessments of the management of the project as the project is going on. These results concern a better understanding of the beneficiaries, understanding of the services to provide them with, and the benefits for the beneficiaries, for the agents, for the CAF, and for its relations with the partners associated with their missions.

The "chicken-and-egg" development of political opinions.

PubMed

Beattie, Peter

2017-01-01

Twin studies have revealed political ideology to be partially heritable. Neurological research has shown that ideological differences are reflected in brain structure and response, suggesting a direct genotype-phenotype link. Social and informational environments, however, also demonstrably affect brain structure and response. This leads to a "chicken-and-egg" question: do genes produce brains with ideological predispositions, causing the preferential absorption of consonant information and thereby forming an ideology, or do social and informational environments do most of the heavy lifting, with genetic evidence the spurious artifact of outdated methodology? Or are both inextricably intertwined contributors? This article investigates the relative contributions of genetic and environmental factors to ideological development using a role-play experiment investigating the development of opinions on a novel political issue. The results support the view that the process is bidirectional, suggesting that, like most traits, political ideology is produced by the complex interplay of genetic and (social/informational) environmental influences.

Ego-dystonic homosexuality.

PubMed

Lief, H I; Kaplan, H S

1986-01-01

The patient coming in with a dysphoria over his or her homosexual feelings, fantasies or behavior must be given the choice of working through the homophobia or the heterophobia. With the first choice, treatment is directed toward decreasing shame over the homosexual orientation and integrating the patient's social role and personal identity. If a move toward greater heterosexuality is chosen, techniques range from psychoanalysis to time-limited psychodynamic psychotherapy to behavioral techniques. Behavioral techniques may involve in vitro or in vivo desensitization. Issues in selecting the appropriate form of therapy are sometimes subtle and complex, and ethical issues frequently beset the therapist. The patient must be kept fully informed of his or her options, and the choice and the goals of therapy must be arrived at by both patient and therapist.

Perspectives of HIV agencies on improving HIV prevention, treatment, and care services in the USA.

PubMed

Khosla, Nidhi; Zachary, Iris

2016-10-01

HIV healthcare services in the USA are made available through a complex funding and delivery system. We present perspectives of HIV agencies on improvements that could lead to an ideal system of HIV prevention, treatment and care. We conducted semi-structured interviews with representatives from 21 HIV agencies offering diverse services in Baltimore, MD. Thematic analysis revealed six key themes: (1) Focusing on HIV prevention, (2) Establishing common entry-points for services, (3) Improving information availability, (4) Streamlining funding streams, (5) Removing competitiveness and (6) Building trust. We recommend that in addition to addressing operational issues regarding service delivery and patient care, initiatives to improve HIV service systems should address underlying social issues such as building trust.

Florida coastal ecological characterization: a socioeconomic study of the southwestern region. Volume II. Data appendix, Part 3

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

French, C.O.; Parsons, J.W.

1983-08-01

Data are compiled from existing sources on the social and economic characteristics of the southwestern coastal region of Florida, which is made up of Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Monroe, Pasco, Pinellas, and Sarasota Counties. Described are the components and interrelationships among complex processes that include population and demographics characteristics, mineral production, multiple-use conflicts, recreation and tourism, agricultural production, sport and commercial fishing, transportation, industrial and residential development, and environmental issues and regulations. Energetics models of socioeconomic systems are also presented. This volume contains appendices presenting data on mineral and oil production, and environmental issues and regulations. 255 references,more » 20 figures, 91 tables.« less

Social networking and online recruiting for HIV research: ethical challenges.

PubMed

Curtis, Brenda L

2014-02-01

Social networking sites and online advertising organizations provide HIV/AIDS researchers access to target populations, often reaching difficult-to-reach populations. However, this benefit to researchers raises many issues for the protections of prospective research participants. Traditional recruitment procedures have involved straightforward transactions between the researchers and prospective participants; online recruitment is a more complex and indirect form of communication involving many parties engaged in the collecting, aggregating, and storing of research participant data. Thus, increased access to online data has challenged the adequacy of current and established procedures for participants' protections, such as informed consent and privacy/confidentiality. Internet-based HIV/AIDS research recruitment and its ethical challenges are described, and research participant safeguards and best practices are outlined.

Social Networking and Online Recruiting for HIV Research: Ethical Challenges

PubMed Central

Curtis, Brenda L.

2015-01-01

Social networking sites and online advertising organizations provide HIV/AIDS researchers access to target populations, often reaching difficult-to-reach populations. However, this benefit to researchers raises many issues for the protections of prospective research participants. Traditional recruitment procedures have involved straightforward transactions between the researchers and prospective participants; online recruitment is a more complex and indirect form of communication involving many parties engaged in the collecting, aggregating, and storing of research participant data. Thus, increased access to online data has challenged the adequacy of current and established procedures for participants’ protections, such as informed consent and privacy/confidentiality. Internet-based HIV/AIDS research recruitment and its ethical challenges are described, and research participant safeguards and best practices are outlined. PMID:24572084

Micro-blogs, online forums, and the birth-control policy: social media and the politics of reproduction in China.

PubMed

Shi, Lihong

2014-03-01

In June 2012, the news of a Chinese woman's forced late-term abortion quickly spread across the internet in China. Graphic photos of the woman with the aborted fetus provoked public outrage and widespread condemnation on social media sites. In the aftermath, local authorities apologized, seven officials were given demerits, and the couple received monetary compensation. This case was put under the spotlight mainly because of the exposure of the story by family members of the woman through social media and the resulting public outcry in cyberspace. Following the disclosure of this story and public reactions online, this article explores the complex interplays among different layers of state power, the individual, and the public in reproductive politics, and discusses the ways in which social media has been utilized to resist state control of reproduction. By delving into the nuanced interactions among layers of state authorities, this article sheds light on the study of state-society relations in reproductive politics. It also calls attention to the role that social media plays in reproductive issues.

Trials and Tribulations: The ‘Use’ (and ‘Misuse’) of Evidence in Public Policy

PubMed Central

Deeming, Christopher

2013-01-01

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are increasingly playing a central role in shaping policy for development. By comparison, social experimentation has not driven the great transformation of welfare within the developed world. This introduces a range of issues for those interested in the nature of research evidence for making policy. In this article we will seek a greater understanding of why the RCT is increasingly seen as the ‘gold standard’ for policy experiments in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), but not in the more advanced liberal democracies, and we will explore the implications of this. One objection to the use of RCTs, however can be cost, but implementing policies and programmes without good evidence or a good understanding of their effectiveness is unlikely to be a good use of resources either. Other issues arise. Trials are often complex to run and ethical concerns often arise in social ‘experiments’ with human subjects. However, rolling out untested policies may also be morally objectionable. This article sheds new light on the relationship between evidence and evaluation in public policy in both the global north and developing south. It also tackles emerging issues concerning the ‘use’ and ‘misuse’ of evidence and evaluation within public policy. PMID:23935229

Power and empowerment in nursing: a fourth theoretical approach.

PubMed

Bradbury-Jones, Caroline; Sambrook, Sally; Irvine, Fiona

2008-04-01

This paper is a discussion of the use of poststructuralism as a means of exploring power and empowerment in nursing. Power and empowerment are well-researched areas of nursing practice, but the issue of how to empower nurses and patients continues to cause debate. Power and empowerment are complex issues and other researchers have provided some clarity by proposing three theoretical approaches: critical social theory, organizational theory and social psychological theory. We support their work and propose an additional poststructural approach as a means of analyzing power and empowerment in nursing. The concept of power in nursing may be critiqued by drawing on the work of Michel Foucault and paying particular attention to two areas: disciplinary power and knowledge/power relationships. Foucault's contention was that behaviour is standardized through disciplinary power and that power and knowledge are intertwined. Nurses who seek an understanding of empowerment must first grasp such workings as hierarchical observation, normalizing judgement, the examination, and power/knowledge relationships, and that cognizance of such issues can promote nursing practice that is empowering. They need to adopt a more critical stance to understanding power and empowerment in nursing, and one way of fostering such criticism is to view nursing practice through a poststructural lens. A poststructural approach merits a place alongside other approaches to understanding power and empowerment in nursing.

Institutional Ethical Review and Ethnographic Research Involving Injection Drug Users: A Case Study

PubMed Central

Small, Will; Maher, Lisa; Kerr, Thomas

2014-01-01

Ethnographic research among people who inject drugs (PWID) involves complex ethical issues. While ethical review frameworks have been critiqued by social scientists, there is a lack of social science research examining institutional ethical review processes, particularly in relation to ethnographic work. This case study describes the institutional ethical review of an ethnographic research project using observational fieldwork and in-depth interviews to examine injection drug use. The review process and the salient concerns of the review committee are recounted, and the investigators’ responses to the committee’s concerns and requests are described to illustrate how key issues were resolved. The review committee expressed concerns regarding researcher safety when conducting fieldwork and the investigators were asked to liaise with the police regarding the proposed research. An ongoing dialogue with the institutional review committee regarding researcher safety and autonomy from police involvement, as well as formal consultation with a local drug user group and solicitation of opinions from external experts, helped to resolve these issues. This case study suggests that ethical review processes can be particularly challenging for ethnographic projects focused on illegal behaviours, and that while some challenges could be mediated by modifying existing ethical review procedures, there is a need for legislation that provides legal protection of research data and participant confidentiality. PMID:24581074

Medical students' personal experience of high-stakes failure: case studies using interpretative phenomenological analysis.

PubMed

Patel, R S; Tarrant, C; Bonas, S; Shaw, R L

2015-05-12

Failing a high-stakes assessment at medical school is a major event for those who go through the experience. Students who fail at medical school may be more likely to struggle in professional practice, therefore helping individuals overcome problems and respond appropriately is important. There is little understanding about what factors influence how individuals experience failure or make sense of the failing experience in remediation. The aim of this study was to investigate the complexity surrounding the failure experience from the student's perspective using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). The accounts of three medical students who had failed final re-sit exams, were subjected to in-depth analysis using IPA methodology. IPA was used to analyse each transcript case-by-case allowing the researcher to make sense of the participant's subjective world. The analysis process allowed the complexity surrounding the failure to be highlighted, alongside a narrative describing how students made sense of the experience. The circumstances surrounding students as they approached assessment and experienced failure at finals were a complex interaction between academic problems, personal problems (specifically finance and relationships), strained relationships with friends, family or faculty, and various mental health problems. Each student experienced multi-dimensional issues, each with their own individual combination of problems, but experienced remediation as a one-dimensional intervention with focus only on improving performance in written exams. What these students needed to be included was help with clinical skills, plus social and emotional support. Fear of termination of the their course was a barrier to open communication with staff. These students' experience of failure was complex. The experience of remediation is influenced by the way in which students make sense of failing. Generic remediation programmes may fail to meet the needs of students for whom personal, social and mental health issues are a part of the picture.

How reframing a water management issue across scales and levels impacts on perceptions of justice and injustice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patrick, M. J.; Syme, G. J.; Horwitz, P.

2014-11-01

Social justice is a key outcome of water allocation, management and governance. It is commonly expressed in water policies and strategies in terms of achieving equitable distribution of water resources. In complex multi-level systems just and unjust outcomes can result from the same water allocation decision. In some cases a just outcome at one level may cause an injustice at another level for the same or a different set of stakeholders. The manner in which a water management issue is framed and reframed across different levels within a system influences stakeholder perceptions of whether a water allocation decision is just or unjust, which in turn influences the successful adoption and implementation of such a decision. This paper utilises a case study from the Murray-Darling Basin in Australia to illustrate how reframing a water management issue across multiple scales and levels can help understand stakeholders' perceptions of justice and injustice. In this case study two scales are explored, an institutional and an organisational scale; each comprising levels at the federal, basin, state and region. The water management issue of domestic and stock dams was tracked through the various scales and levels and illustrated how reframing an issue at different levels can influence the analysis of just or equitable outcomes. The case study highlights the need to treat justice in water allocation as an ever evolving problem of the behaviour of a social system rather than the meeting of static principles of what is 'right'. This points to the importance of being attentive to the dynamic and dialogical nature of justice when dealing with water allocation issues across scales and levels of water governance.

Social complexity as a proximate and ultimate factor in communicative complexity

PubMed Central

Freeberg, Todd M.; Dunbar, Robin I. M.; Ord, Terry J.

2012-01-01

The ‘social complexity hypothesis’ for communication posits that groups with complex social systems require more complex communicative systems to regulate interactions and relations among group members. Complex social systems, compared with simple social systems, are those in which individuals frequently interact in many different contexts with many different individuals, and often repeatedly interact with many of the same individuals in networks over time. Complex communicative systems, compared with simple communicative systems, are those that contain a large number of structurally and functionally distinct elements or possess a high amount of bits of information. Here, we describe some of the historical arguments that led to the social complexity hypothesis, and review evidence in support of the hypothesis. We discuss social complexity as a driver of communication and possible causal factor in human language origins. Finally, we discuss some of the key current limitations to the social complexity hypothesis—the lack of tests against alternative hypotheses for communicative complexity and evidence corroborating the hypothesis from modalities other than the vocal signalling channel. PMID:22641818

Critical Social Theory: Core Tenets, Inherent Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freeman, Melissa; Vasconcelos, Erika Franca S.

2010-01-01

This chapter outlines the core tenets of critical social theory and describes inherent issues facing evaluators conducting critical theory evaluation. Using critical pedagogy as an example, the authors describe the issues facing evaluators by developing four of the subtheories that comprise a critical social theory: (a) a theory of false…

Social Studies Review, Numbers 1-12, 1989-1992.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sewall, Gilbert T., Ed.

1992-01-01

This documents consists of 12 issues of a journal that seeks to provide information and reviews concerning social studies textbooks; each issue consists of 16 pages. Contents in the 12 issues include: (1) California control over textbook content; (2) "skills" teaching in elementary-level social studies texts; (3) readability formulas;…

Environmental Issues are Controversial Issues.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hepburn, Mary Allaire

The extensive social-scientific interest and continuing relevance of environmental study assure its immediate and long-range importance in the social studies. But the crisis atmosphere surrounding this issue threatens a thoughtful, systematic approach to the subject, and poses the danger of a careless rush to activity. As social studies educators,…

Psycho-social aspects of personal health monitoring: a descriptive literature review.

PubMed

Muehlan, Holger; Schmidt, Silke

2013-01-01

We aimed at providing a short review on already published studies addressing psycho-social issues of personal health monitoring (PHM). Both core questions addressed within this review are: What is the impact of PHM on intended psycho-social and health-related outcomes? And which psycho-social issues affected by or related to PHM have already been investigated? This descriptive review based on a literature search using various databases (Psycinfo, Psyndex, Pubmed, SSCI). Resulting 428 abstracts were coded regarding their psycho-social content. Inspection of results was carried out along the relevance of the papers regarding psycho-social issues. Research in PHM focuses on telemonitoring and smart home applications: Tele-monitoring studies are directed to outcome-related questions, smart home studies to feasibility issues. Despite of technological matters, comparability of both systems in psycho-social issues is lacking. Tele-monitoring has been proven for impact on patient groups with chronic diseases, yet smart home still lacks evidence in health-related and psycho-social matters. Smart home applications have been investigated with respect to attitudes, perceptions and concerns of end-users, telemonitoring regarding acceptance and adherence.

Measuring the Complexity of Treatment for Challenging Behavior using the Treatment Intensity Rating Form.

PubMed

Zarcone, Jennifer; Hagopian, Louis; Ninci, Jennifer; McKay, Chloe; Bonner, Andrew; Dillon, Christopher; Hausman, Nicole

2016-01-01

The goal of this study was to develop and evaluate a tool to measure the complexity and intensity of psychotropic medication interventions, behavioral interventions, and issues related to crisis management for challenging behavior using a standardized rating form. The Treatment Intensity Rating Form (TIRF) is a 10-item scale with three categories: pharmacological interventions, behavior supports, and protective equipment. In a retrospective review we examined the final treatment recommendations for 74 individuals with self-injurious behavior (SIB) based on psychiatric and behavioral notes and reports. We also compared whether TIRF scores differed across individuals for whom SIB was maintained by social reinforcement (e.g., to access attention or toys/activities, or escape from tasks) versus those for whom SIB was maintained by automatic reinforcement (e.g., occurs independent of social variables, and is presumed to be maintained by sensory reinforcement). The TIRF was demonstrated to have strong inter-rater reliability (98%) and appears to have good face validity. As hypothesized, individuals with SIB maintained by automatic reinforcement had significantly more medication trials (p=0.0005) and required more protective equipment than individuals with SIB maintained by social reinforcement (p=0.0002). Antidepressant medication was used more often with individuals with automatically reinforced SIB, although antipsychotics and anticonvulsants were also commonly used across both groups. Findings provide initial support for the TIRF's reliability, and face validity as a measure the level of complexity of medical and behavioral treatment plans - although additional research is needed to fully evaluate its psychometric properties.

The influence of age on wild rhesus macaques' affiliative social interactions.

PubMed

Liao, Zhijie; Sosa, Sebastian; Wu, Chengfeng; Zhang, Peng

2018-02-01

The social relationships that individuals experience at different life stages have a non-negligible influence on their lives, and this is particularly true for group living animals. The long lifespan of many primates makes it likely that these animals have various tactics of social interaction to adapt to complex changes in environmental or physical conditions. The different strategies used in social interaction by individuals at different life stages, and whether the position (central or peripheral) or role (initiator or recipient) of an individual in the group social network changes with age, are intriguing questions that remain to be investigated. We used social network analysis to examine age-related differences in social interaction patterns, social roles, and social positions in three affiliative social networks (approach, allogrooming, and social play) in a group of wild rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Our results showed that social interaction patterns of rhesus macaques differ between age classes in the following ways: i) young individuals tend to allocate social time to a high number of groupmates, older individuals prefer to focus on fewer, specific partners; ii) as they grow older, individuals tend to be recipients in approach interactions and initiators in grooming interactions; and iii) regardless of the different social interaction strategies, individuals of all ages occupy a central position in the group. These results reveal a possible key role played by immature individuals in group social communication, a little-explored issue which deserves closer investigation in future research. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Feminist conceptualizations of women's madness: a review of the literature.

PubMed

Wright, N; Owen, S

2001-10-01

Gender is one aspect of an individual's identity that has been widely debated and discussed in relation to many different aspects of social life. The literature review explores how gender stereotypes affect women and their experience of mental illness. The aim is to demonstrate how a feminist perspective provides a useful lens through which women's experience of mental illness can be viewed. The papers were identified by a computerized search of the CINAHL, Medline, BIDS ISI and Mental Health Nursing Collection databases and a hand search. All papers were screened and subjected to critical review. A theoretical framework was developed that reflected two key themes to emerge from the feminist literature on women and mental illness, namely psychiatry as a method of socially controlling women and the medicalization of women's unhappiness. In addition the complexities and contradictions in the feminist arguments are highlighted. The paper concludes by considering the implications of the issues raised for nursing practice by drawing attention to the current debates on the need to focus on gender relations rather than just on women's issues.

Creative Conservation Communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Houston, Jason

2015-04-01

I am a fellow with the International League of Conservation photographers (iLCP) and have been focused on photographing conservation dynamics at the intersection of social and environmental issues for a decade. Subjects have included traditional concerns such as deforestation, water conservation, endangered species, and fisheries. However, I rarely make photographs of the traditional nature, wildlife, landscapes, or environmental atrocities that most people think of when they think about environmentalism. Instead, I photograph people and how they live on the planet, as I believe passionately that without also considering social and cultural concerns, we will not be able to effectively and sustainably do conservation work or achieve positive environmental change. My presentation will share recent photography projects on forest conservation in Indonesian Borneo and fisheries management in Central America where I used a 'stakeholder profile-based' process to broadly survey the complexity of the issues while also making personal connections for these projects' diverse audiences. Through these case studies I will explore the opportunities and challenges of combining the authenticity, accuracy, and scientific validity of journalistic and documentary work with the emotional impact of the conventions of art and storytelling.

Ethical issues in HIV prevention research with people who inject drugs.

PubMed

Sugarman, Jeremy; Rose, Scott M; Metzger, David

2014-04-01

Injection drug use continues to significantly contribute to new infections with HIV. Moreover, conducting HIV prevention research with people who inject drugs (PWIDs) can be complicated for an array of practical, social, legal, and ethical reasons. It is critical that these research efforts are sensitive to the particular vulnerabilities associated with injection drug use as well as those related to being at risk of acquiring HIV so as to minimize harm to participants in research. To describe how we addressed some of these ethical challenges during the course of a large-scale multinational randomized HIV prevention trial involving PWIDs, which was successfully completed. The ethical issues encountered during the life cycle of the trial were cataloged by the principal investigator, study coordinator, and ethicist working on the trial. Relevant study documents were then reviewed to provide pertinent details. The ethical issues unique to the trial were then described. Before implementation, the trial faced particularly complex challenges related to the vulnerability of PWIDs, where HIV seroincidence rates in the population were high and legal policies and stigma regarding injection drug use was severe. Accordingly, a rapid policy assessment was commissioned, and a series of community engagement activities were conducted. During the trial, in addition to using careful standard operating procedures regarding all aspects of trial conduct and extensive staff training, the trial standardized informed consent procedures and assessed them. Furthermore, social harms were monitored along with physical harms and adverse events. Following the decision to close the study, it was critical to develop an orderly and safe process for closing it. The issue of post-trial access to the study medication and a complex intervention also surfaced for consideration. The issues described in this article are necessarily limited to how they manifested themselves within the context of a particular trial that was conducted in two countries. In addition, other stakeholders may have divergent views on the ethical issues described and may also have identified additional ethical issues that would warrant examination. Adopting similar approaches to addressing ethical issues in future research promises to facilitate this work so that needed strategies to prevent HIV infection among PWIDs can be safely and appropriately tested. Future trials enrolling PWIDs who are at risk of detainment should identify ways of mapping closely their experiences and perceptions in order to better apprehend some of the ethical issues at stake. In addition, scholarly and policy work needs to address the ethical issues related to post-trial access to multi-modal interventions that may be desired by participants, but are not shown to be effective in achieving the primary outcomes of the study.

Out of touch with reality? Social perception in first-episode schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Salone, Anatolia; Ferri, Francesca; De Berardis, Domenico; Romani, Gian Luca; Ferro, Filippo M.; Gallese, Vittorio

2013-01-01

Social dysfunction has been recognized as an elementary feature of schizophrenia, but it remains a crucial issue whether social deficits in schizophrenia concern the inter-subjective domain or primarily have their roots in disturbances of self-experience. Social perception comprises vicarious processes grounding an experiential inter-relationship with others as well as self-regulation processes allowing to maintain a coherent sense of self. The present study investigated whether the functional neural basis underlying these processes is altered in first-episode schizophrenia (FES). Twenty-four FES patients and 22 healthy control participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging during a social perception task requiring them to watch videos depicting other individuals' inanimate and animate/social tactile stimulations, and a tactile localizer condition. Activation in ventral premotor cortex for observed bodily tactile stimulations was reduced in the FES group and negatively correlated with self-experience disturbances. Moreover, FES patients showed aberrant differential activation in posterior insula for first-person tactile experiences and observed affective tactile stimulations. These findings suggest that social perception in FES at a pre-reflective level is characterized by disturbances of self-experience, including impaired multisensory representations and self-other distinction. However, the results also show that social perception in FES involves more complex alterations of neural activation at multiple processing levels. PMID:22275166

Developing Character and Values for Global Citizens: Analysis of pre-service science teachers' moral reasoning on socioscientific issues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Hyunju; Chang, Hyunsook; Choi, Kyunghee; Kim, Sung-Won; Zeidler, Dana L.

2012-04-01

Character and values are the essential driving forces that serve as general guides or points of reference for individuals to support decision-making and to act responsibly about global socioscientific issues (SSIs). Based on this assumption, we investigated to what extent pre-service science teachers (PSTs) of South Korea possess character and values as global citizens; these values include ecological worldview, socioscientific accountability, and social and moral compassion. Eighteen PSTs participated in the SSI programs focusing on developing character and values through dialogical and reflective processes. SSIs were centered on the use of nuclear power generation, climate change, and embryonic stem cell research. The results indicated that PSTs showed three key elements of character and values, but failed to apply consistent moral principles on the issues and demonstrated limited global perspectives. While they tended to approach the issues with emotion and sympathy, they nonetheless failed to perceive themselves as major moral agents who are able to actively resolve large-scale societal issues. This study also suggests that the SSI programs can facilitate socioscientific reasoning to include abilities such as recognition of the complexity of SSIs, examine issues from multiple perspectives, and exhibit skepticism about information.

On Teaching Energy: Preparing Students Better for their Role as Citizens

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Myers, J. D.; Lyford, M. E.; Buss, A.

2009-12-01

Supplying energy to an expanding population with a rising standard of living and maintaining human and natural systems is an increasingly difficult task. Thus, energy is often listed as one of the grand challenges facing humankind. Energy‘s grand challenges are many, complex, multifaceted and of variable scale. It is not surprising then that their solutions must be multi-dimensional as well. Historically, energy solutions have focused on energy science (a multidisciplinary topic spanning biology, chemistry, Earth science, physics, and math), technology or economics. In the real world, focusing solely on these aspects of energy has rarely produced energy projects that are just and fair. Sustainable, equitable and effective energy projects are only created when additional perspectives are considered, e.g. environment, culture, social institutions, politics, etc. The natures of these other perspectives are determined largely by the social context of any particular energy issue. For example, petroleum production has had vastly different impacts in Norway than it does in Nigeria. Thus, solutions to energy issues are, in fact, multidimensional functions. Given this complexity, preparing students to deal with the energy issues they will face in the future requires an instructional approach that integrates a multidisciplinary science approach with technology and social context. Yet this alone will not ensure that students leave the classroom with the skills necessary to equitably, effectively and logically deal with energy issues. Rather, teaching energy also requires sound pedagogy. Effective pedagogy ensures student success in the classroom and facilitates transfer of classroom knowledge to real world situations. It includes, but also goes beyond, employing classroom strategies that promote deep and lasting learning. In this arena, it fosters the development of a skill set that enables students to transfer classroom knowledge to real world issues. It prepares students to handle the uncertainty and ambiguity of the real world while promoting critical thinking and problem solving. Fundamental literacies, a type of QR, prepare students to handle data, perform simple calculations and evaluate critically quantitative claims. They are crucial to working in the real world as well as the scientific realm. Understanding and using scientific content also requires mastering a series of technical literacies. Although they may vary between scientific disciplines, some technical literacies are shared by a number of sciences. Although most science courses assume students can transfer what they have learned to societal applications without further assistance, this is rare, even for the best students. Rather, this classroom-to-real world transfer skill set, i.e. citizenship literacies, must be explicitly taught and practiced. Mastering critical thinking, understanding social context and practicing informed engagement provides students the skills to use their scientific understanding to address energy problems in meaningful and effective ways while enabling them to communicate effectively their ideas to others and work co-operatively with stakeholders with different views.

The politics of toxic waste

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rahm, D.

1998-12-31

Toxic waste, and the public policy that deals with it, is a complex issue. Much of the complexity stems from the science and technology embedded in the topic, but a great deal also results from the intricate interactions between the social organizations and institutions involved. The politics of toxic waste plays out within three key aspects of this complexity. The first of these is the nature of the intergovernmental relations involved. For toxic waste issues, these intergovernmental relations can be between sovereign states or between a nation and an international governing organization, or they may be restricted to a domesticmore » context. If the later is the case, the relationship can be between federal, state, and local governments or between different bureaus, departments, or agencies within the same level of government. A second feature of this complexity can be seen in the consequences of divergent organizational or institutional interests. When conflicting organizational or institutional perspectives, positions, or concerns arise, public policy outcomes are affected.The tug and pull of competing actors move policy in the direction favored by the winner. This may or may not be the most rational alternative. A third aspect of this interorganizational puzzle involves the question of where the locus of authority for decisionmaking resides and to what extent stakeholders, who do not possess direct authority, can influence policy outcomes.« less

Implications of social class and race for urban public health policy making: a case study of HIV/AIDS and TB policy in Washington, DC.

PubMed

Dievler, A; Pappas, G

1999-04-01

This paper explores how social class and race affect the public health policy-making process in an urban area. Ethnographic methods were used to collect and analyze information about HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis policy-making by the Washington, DC Commission of Public Health, Kingdon's conceptual model of policy making was used to analyze and understand the process. The problems of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis in the district have important social class dimensions that were not always made explicit, but were instead defined in terms of 'race' and 'place'. Social class considerations and racial politics shaped what policies were developed or not developed and implemented successfully or failed. This study, which has national and international implications, concludes that there is a need to improve our understanding of the complex social dimensions of public health problems; there needs to be more consideration of the politics of strategy formulation and how issues of social class and race affect this process; and public health needs to strengthen its constituency in order to build support for the successful development and implementation of policy.

The social impacts of dams: A new framework for scholarly analysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kirchherr, Julian, E-mail: julian.kirchherr@sant.ox.ac.uk; Charles, Katrina J., E-mail: katrina.charles@ouce.ox.ac.uk

No commonly used framework exists in the scholarly study of the social impacts of dams. This hinders comparisons of analyses and thus the accumulation of knowledge. The aim of this paper is to unify scholarly understanding of dams' social impacts via the analysis and aggregation of the various frameworks currently used in the scholarly literature. For this purpose, we have systematically analyzed and aggregated 27 frameworks employed by academics analyzing dams' social impacts (found in a set of 217 articles). A key finding of the analysis is that currently used frameworks are often not specific to dams and thus omitmore » key impacts associated with them. The result of our analysis and aggregation is a new framework for scholarly analysis (which we call ‘matrix framework’) specifically on dams' social impacts, with space, time and value as its key dimensions as well as infrastructure, community and livelihood as its key components. Building on the scholarly understanding of this topic enables us to conceptualize the inherently complex and multidimensional issues of dams' social impacts in a holistic manner. If commonly employed in academia (and possibly in practice), this framework would enable more transparent assessment and comparison of projects.« less

Social Monogamy in Nonhuman Primates: Phylogeny, Phenotype, and Physiology.

PubMed

French, Jeffrey A; Cavanaugh, Jon; Mustoe, Aaryn C; Carp, Sarah B; Womack, Stephanie L

Monogamy as a social system has been both a scientific puzzle and a sociocultural issue for decades. In this review, we examine social monogamy from a comparative perspective with a focus on primates, our closest genetic relatives. We break down monogamy into component elements, including pair-bonding and partner preference, mate guarding or jealousy, social attachment, and biparental care. Our survey of primates shows that not all features are present in species classified as socially monogamous, in the same way that human monogamous relationships may not include all elements-a perspective we refer to as "monogamy à la carte." Our review includes a survey of the neurobiological correlates of social monogamy in primates, exploring unique or common pathways for the elemental components of monogamy. This compilation reveals that the components of monogamy are modulated by a suite of androgenic steroids, glucocorticoid hormones, the nonapeptide hormones oxytocin and vasopressin, and other neurotransmitter systems (e.g., dopamine and opioids). We propose that efforts to understand the biological underpinnings of complex human and animal sociosexual relationships will be well served by exploring individual phenotypic traits, as opposed to pursuing these questions with the assumption that monogamy is a unitary trait or a species-specific characteristic.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with one small step - human agency, hydrological processes and time in socio-hydrology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ertsen, M. W.; Murphy, J. T.; Purdue, L. E.; Zhu, T.

2014-04-01

When simulating social action in modeling efforts, as in socio-hydrology, an issue of obvious importance is how to ensure that social action by human agents is well-represented in the analysis and the model. Generally, human decision-making is either modeled on a yearly basis or lumped together as collective social structures. Both responses are problematic, as human decision-making is more complex and organizations are the result of human agency and cannot be used as explanatory forces. A way out of the dilemma of how to include human agency is to go to the largest societal and environmental clustering possible: society itself and climate, with time steps of years or decades. In the paper, another way out is developed: to face human agency squarely, and direct the modeling approach to the agency of individuals and couple this with the lowest appropriate hydrological level and time step. This approach is supported theoretically by the work of Bruno Latour, the French sociologist and philosopher. We discuss irrigation archaeology, as it is in this discipline that the issues of scale and explanatory force are well discussed. The issue is not just what scale to use: it is what scale matters. We argue that understanding the arrangements that permitted the management of irrigation over centuries requires modeling and understanding the small-scale, day-to-day operations and personal interactions upon which they were built. This effort, however, must be informed by the longer-term dynamics, as these provide the context within which human agency is acted out.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with one small step - human agency, hydrological processes and time in socio-hydrology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ertsen, M. W.; Murphy, J. T.; Purdue, L. E.; Zhu, T.

2013-11-01

When simulating social action in modeling efforts, as in socio-hydrology, an issue of obvious importance is how to ensure that social action by human agents is well-represented in the analysis and the model. Generally, human decision-making is either modeled on a yearly basis or lumped together as collective social structures. Both responses are problematic, as human decision making is more complex and organizations are the result of human agency and cannot be used as explanatory forces. A way out of the dilemma how to include human agency is to go to the largest societal and environmental clustering possible: society itself and climate, with time steps of years or decades. In the paper, the other way out is developed: to face human agency squarely, and direct the modeling approach to the human agency of individuals and couple this with the lowest appropriate hydrological level and time step. This approach is supported theoretically by the work of Bruno Latour, the French sociologist and philosopher. We discuss irrigation archaeology, as it is in this discipline that the issues of scale and explanatory force are well discussed. The issue is not just what scale to use: it is what scale matters. We argue that understanding the arrangements that permitted the management of irrigation over centuries, requires modeling and understanding the small-scale, day-to-day operations and personal interactions upon which they were built. This effort, however, must be informed by the longer-term dynamics as these provide the context within which human agency, is acted out.

How do health behaviour interventions take account of social context? A literature trend and co-citation analysis.

PubMed

Holman, Daniel; Lynch, Rebecca; Reeves, Aaron

2017-03-01

In recent years, health behaviour interventions have received a great deal of attention in both research and policy as a means of encouraging people to lead healthier lives. The emphasis of such interventions has varied over time, in terms of level of intervention (e.g. individual vs community) and drawing on different disciplinary perspectives. Recently, a number of critiques have focused on how health behaviour interventions sometimes sideline issues of social context, framing health as a matter of individual choice and, by implication, a personal responsibility. Part of this criticism is that health behaviour interventions often do not draw on alternative social science understandings of the structured and contextual aspects of behaviour and health. Yet to our knowledge, no study has attempted to empirically assess the extent to which, and in what ways, the health behaviour intervention field has paid attention to social context. In this article, we undertake this task using bibliometric techniques in order to map out the health behaviour intervention field. We find that the number of health behaviour interventions has grown rapidly in recent years, especially since around 2006, and that references to social science disciplines and concepts that foreground issues of social context are rare and, relatively speaking, constitute less of the field post 2006. More quantifiable concepts are used most, and those more close to the complexities of social context are mentioned least. The document co-citation analysis suggests that pre 2006, documents referring to social context were relatively diffuse in the network of key citations, but post 2006 this influence had largely diminished. The journal co-citation analysis shows less disciplinary overlap post 2006. At present, health behaviour interventions are continuing to focus on individualised approaches drawn from behavioural psychology and behavioural economics. Our findings lend empirical support to a number of recent papers that suggest more interdisciplinary collaboration is needed to advance the field.

The Medical School Admissions Process and Meeting the Public's Health Care Needs: Never the Twain Shall Meet?

PubMed

Cleland, Jennifer

2017-12-19

Medical schools typically assess how good their selection process is using metrics such as students' assessment performance and the academic success of alumni on later indicators of academic ability and clinical competence, such as Royal College of Physicians or specialty board examinations. To address global issues with the maldistribution of doctors and increasing numbers of new medical school graduates choosing not to work in a clinical context requires different measurements of medical school admissions processes, like those related to graduates' career outcomes (e.g., working in underserved regions and/or working in certain specialties). This shift in focus is not straightforward. Medical education is a complex social system where, intentionally or not, medical schools focus on reproducing cultural, historical, and social norms. Simple solutions are often proposed but they are insufficient to address these complex drivers. Instead it is time to step back and think very differently about medical school admissions. In this Invited Commentary, the author proposes new solutions to address these issues, including: bringing in to the medical school selection process the perspectives of other key stakeholders; increasing collaboration and dialogue across these stakeholder groups; changing the performance metrics by which medical schools are assessed in the global education marketplace; and developing and evaluating new selection processes and tools. Medical schools must engage more reflectively and collaboratively in debates about how to align medical school admissions and meeting the health care needs of the public.

Social, political, and institutional setting: Water management problems of the Rio Grande

USGS Publications Warehouse

Douglas, A.J.

2009-01-01

This paper discusses various water management issues facing federal, state, and local agencies charged with managing the water resources of the Rio Grande River Basin and its major tributaries. The Rio Grande - 3,058 km (=1,900 mi) long - is the fourth longest river in the United States. The river's basin is 870,236 km2 (=336,000 mi2) and for roughly two-thirds of its length it forms the United States-Mexican border. It is a major recreational resource providing world class trout fishing near its headwaters in Colorado's San Juan Mountains and shoreline, angling, and boating opportunities near the Colorado-New Mexico border. The Rio Grande is the principal tourist attraction of Big Bend National Park and flows through downtown Albuquerque and El Paso. Many reaches are wide and broad, but almost all are relatively shallow and not navigable by commercial ships. Nevertheless, it is one of the most important renewable water resources of the southwestern United States and North America. The issue of the "manageability" of the river in the face of social forces and disparate administrative jurisdictions that adversely impact Rio Grande flows is a thread linking various sections of the paper together. The length of the river; the fact that major reaches lie in Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas; and its unique role as an international boundary pose complex management problems. The allocation status quo formed by the complex nexus of existing river laws make it difficult to reshape Rio Grande management. ?? 2009 ASCE.

The Need for Social Ethics in Interdisciplinary Environmental Science Graduate Programs: Results from a Nation-Wide Survey in the United States.

PubMed

Hall, Troy E; Engebretson, Jesse; O'Rourke, Michael; Piso, Zach; Whyte, Kyle; Valles, Sean

2017-04-01

Professionals in environmental fields engage with complex problems that involve stakeholders with different values, different forms of knowledge, and contentious decisions. There is increasing recognition of the need to train graduate students in interdisciplinary environmental science programs (IESPs) in these issues, which we refer to as "social ethics." A literature review revealed topics and skills that should be included in such training, as well as potential challenges and barriers. From this review, we developed an online survey, which we administered to faculty from 81 United States colleges and universities offering IESPs (480 surveys were completed). Respondents overwhelmingly agreed that IESPs should address values in applying science to policy and management decisions. They also agreed that programs should engage students with issues related to norms of scientific practice. Agreement was slightly less strong that IESPs should train students in skills related to managing value conflicts among different stakeholders. The primary challenges to incorporating social ethics into the curriculum were related to the lack of materials and expertise for delivery, though challenges such as ethics being marginalized in relation to environmental science content were also prominent. Challenges related to students' interest in ethics were considered less problematic. Respondents believed that social ethics are most effectively delivered when incorporated into existing courses, and they preferred case studies or problem-based learning for delivery. Student competence is generally not assessed, and respondents recognized a need for both curricular materials and assessment tools.

Social issues in high school biology textbooks: 1963- 1983

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosenthal, Dorothy B.

Twenty-two high school biology textbooks published between 1963 and 1983 were analyzed for their treatment of social issues. Textbooks were selected from among those used most frequently by teachers and/or having the highest sales. The textbooks were read in random order and the amount of space, to the nearest tenth of a page, devoted to each social issue was expressed as a percentage of total length of text. The results showed that attention to social issues decreased between 1963 and 1983 in the textbooks studied. The implications of these results for biology education in the 1980s are discussed.

Environmental Justice Is a Social Justice Issue: Incorporating Environmental Justice into Social Work Practice Curricula

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beltrán, Ramona; Hacker, Alice; Begun, Stephanie

2016-01-01

Social justice education for social work practice is concerned with addressing issues of power and oppression as they impact intersections of identity, experience, and the social environment. However, little focus is directed toward the physical and natural environment despite overwhelming evidence that traditionally marginalized groups bear the…

Brains, brawn and sociality: a hyaena’s tale

PubMed Central

Holekamp, Kay E.; Dantzer, Ben; Stricker, Gregory; Shaw Yoshida, Kathryn C.; Benson-Amram, Sarah

2015-01-01

Theoretically intelligence should evolve to help animals solve specific types of problems posed by the environment, but it remains unclear how environmental complexity or novelty facilitates the evolutionary enhancement of cognitive abilities, or whether domain-general intelligence can evolve in response to domain-specific selection pressures. The social complexity hypothesis, which posits that intelligence evolved to cope with the labile behaviour of conspecific group-mates, has been strongly supported by work on the sociocognitive abilities of primates and other animals. Here we review the remarkable convergence in social complexity between cercopithecine primates and spotted hyaenas, and describe our tests of predictions of the social complexity hypothesis in regard to both cognition and brain size in hyaenas. Behavioural data indicate that there has been remarkable convergence between primates and hyaenas with respect to their abilities in the domain of social cognition. Furthermore, within the family Hyaenidae, our data suggest that social complexity might have contributed to enlargement of the frontal cortex. However, social complexity failed to predict either brain volume or frontal cortex volume in a larger array of mammalian carnivores. To address the question of whether or not social complexity might be able to explain the evolution of domain-general intelligence as well as social cognition in particular, we presented simple puzzle boxes, baited with food and scaled to accommodate body size, to members of 39 carnivore species housed in zoos and found that species with larger brains relative to their body mass were more innovative and more successful at opening the boxes. However, social complexity failed to predict success in solving this problem. Overall our work suggests that, although social complexity enhances social cognition, there are no unambiguous causal links between social complexity and either brain size or performance in problem-solving tasks outside the social domain in mammalian carnivores. PMID:26160980

A student's perspective of managing data collection in a complex qualitative study.

PubMed

Dowse, Eileen Mary; van der Riet, Pamela; Keatinge, Diana Rosemary

2014-11-01

To highlight from a doctoral student's perspective some of the unexpected and challenging issues that may arise when collecting data in a complex, qualitative study. Using a qualitative approach to undertaking a PhD requires commitment to the research topic, the acquisition of a variety of research skills and the development of expertise in writing. Despite close research supervision and guidance, the first author of this paper experienced unexpected hurdles when collecting data. This article highlights these hurdles and compares them with similar and dissimilar challenges raised by a social researcher with 30 years' experience (White 2012). The first author's experience of field research during her PhD candidature. Informed by a critical theoretical perspective, a snowballing technique was used to examine issues related to data collection by a doctoral student in a qualitative research study. The first author found the logistics of qualitative data collection, concerns about transparency, role confusion and power differentials with participants, and the effective use of video recording technology, unexpectedly challenging. Many of these issues are highlighted in the literature and/or during research supervision. However, the student researcher remains a novice when entering the field. It is often only on reflection after encountering the hurdle that the student recognises future pre-emptive or alternative methods of data collection. The challenges faced as a doctoral student managing the data collection phase of the study concurred with White's discussion of some of the 'real life challenges that novice researchers might face' (2012). Specific guidance and prudence are needed by research students to know when enough data have been collected for manageable analysis within the limits of candidature. Use of reflexivity and mindfulness practised by the student during this phase assisted the ability to reflect, respond and learn from issues as they arose and aim for a harmonious work, study and life balance. This paper highlights these issues and offers suggestions for other research higher degree students facing similar challenges when collecting data in a complex qualitative study.

Transgender social inclusion and equality: a pivotal path to development

PubMed Central

Divan, Vivek; Cortez, Clifton; Smelyanskaya, Marina; Keatley, JoAnne

2016-01-01

Introduction The rights of trans people are protected by a range of international and regional mechanisms. Yet, punitive national laws, policies and practices targeting transgender people, including complex procedures for changing identification documents, strip transgender people of their rights and limit access to justice. This results in gross violations of human rights on the part of state perpetrators and society at large. Transgender people's experience globally is that of extreme social exclusion that translates into increased vulnerability to HIV, other diseases, including mental health conditions, limited access to education and employment, and loss of opportunities for economic and social advancement. In addition, hatred and aggression towards a group of individuals who do not conform to social norms around gender manifest in frequent episodes of extreme violence towards transgender people. This violence often goes unpunished. Discussion The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) views its work in the area of HIV through the lens of human rights and advances a range of development solutions such as poverty reduction, improved governance, active citizenship, and access to justice. This work directly relates to advancing the rights of transgender people. This manuscript lays out the various aspects of health, human rights, and development that frame transgender people's issues and outlines best practice solutions from transgender communities and governments around the globe on how to address these complex concerns. The examples provided in the manuscript can help guide UN agencies, governments, and transgender activists in achieving better standards of health, access to justice, and social inclusion for transgender communities everywhere. Conclusions The manuscript provides a call to action for countries to urgently address the violations of human rights of transgender people in order to honour international obligations, stem HIV epidemics, promote gender equality, strengthen social and economic development, and put a stop to untrammelled violence. PMID:27431473

Transgender social inclusion and equality: a pivotal path to development.

PubMed

Divan, Vivek; Cortez, Clifton; Smelyanskaya, Marina; Keatley, JoAnne

2016-01-01

The rights of trans people are protected by a range of international and regional mechanisms. Yet, punitive national laws, policies and practices targeting transgender people, including complex procedures for changing identification documents, strip transgender people of their rights and limit access to justice. This results in gross violations of human rights on the part of state perpetrators and society at large. Transgender people's experience globally is that of extreme social exclusion that translates into increased vulnerability to HIV, other diseases, including mental health conditions, limited access to education and employment, and loss of opportunities for economic and social advancement. In addition, hatred and aggression towards a group of individuals who do not conform to social norms around gender manifest in frequent episodes of extreme violence towards transgender people. This violence often goes unpunished. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) views its work in the area of HIV through the lens of human rights and advances a range of development solutions such as poverty reduction, improved governance, active citizenship, and access to justice. This work directly relates to advancing the rights of transgender people. This manuscript lays out the various aspects of health, human rights, and development that frame transgender people's issues and outlines best practice solutions from transgender communities and governments around the globe on how to address these complex concerns. The examples provided in the manuscript can help guide UN agencies, governments, and transgender activists in achieving better standards of health, access to justice, and social inclusion for transgender communities everywhere. The manuscript provides a call to action for countries to urgently address the violations of human rights of transgender people in order to honour international obligations, stem HIV epidemics, promote gender equality, strengthen social and economic development, and put a stop to untrammelled violence.

Addressing the Evidence Gap in Stroke Rehabilitation for Complex Patients: A Preliminary Research Agenda.

PubMed

Nelson, Michelle L; McKellar, Kaileah A; Munce, Sarah; Kelloway, Linda; Hans, Parminder Kaur; Fortin, Martin; Lyons, Renee; Bayley, Mark

2018-06-01

Evidence suggests that a stroke occurs in isolation (no comorbid conditions) in less than 6% of patients. Multimorbidity, compounded by psychosocial issues, makes treatment and recovery for stroke increasingly complex. Recent research and health policy documents called for a better understanding of the needs of this patient population, and for the development and testing of models of care that meet their needs. A research agenda specific to complexity is required. The primary objective of the think tank was to identify and prioritize research questions that meet the information needs of stakeholders, and to develop a research agenda specific to stroke rehabilitation and patient complexity. A modified Delphi and World Café approach underpinned the think tank meeting, approaches well recognized to foster interaction, dialogue, and collaboration between stakeholders. Forty-three researchers, clinicians, and policymakers attended a 2-day meeting. Initial question-generating activities resulted in 120 potential research questions. Sixteen high-priority research questions were identified, focusing on predetermined complexity characteristics-multimorbidity, social determinants, patient characteristics, social supports, and system factors. The final questions are presented as a prioritized research framework. An emergent result of this activity is the development of a complexity and stroke rehabilitation research network. The research agenda reflects topics of importance to stakeholders working with stroke patients with increasingly complex care needs. This robust process resulted in a preliminary research agenda that could provide policymakers with the evidence needed to make improvements toward better-organized services, better coordination between settings, improved patient outcomes, and lower system costs. Copyright © 2017 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Keeping It Current: Using Technology to Teach about Social Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sardone, Nancy B.; Devlin-Scherer, Roberta

2010-01-01

In thinking about teaching nonfiction, the authors acknowledge that many contemporary and important nonfiction texts that students should be encouraged to read take up social issues that are not easy to talk about or even to think about. They discovered that combining well-chosen nonfiction on social issues with specialized digital games and other…

Using Statistics to Explore Cross-Curricular and Social Issues Opportunities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Day, Lorraine

2013-01-01

The area of statistics is one in which teachers may be encouraged to make important links to other curriculum areas and social issues. Statistical literacy is a key component of being numerate and living as an informed citizen. The teaching of statistics provides an opportunity to inform and educate students about social issues and moral…

How Well Does Botswana's Social Studies Curriculum Articulate Gender Issues? A Preliminary Overview

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boikhutso, Keene

2013-01-01

In this paper I discuss the extent to Botswana's social studies curriculum is gendered thus more likely to reproduce gender inequalities. The paper locates gender issues within the broader context of male-dominated patriarchal society. It applies content analysis to establish whether or not the Social Studies syllabuses articulate gender issues. I…

Health promotion and education: application of the ICF in the US and Canada using an ecological perspective.

PubMed

Howard, David; Nieuwenhuijsen, Els R; Saleeby, Patricia

2008-01-01

Health promotion is an issue comprised of complex and multi-layered concepts that involves a process of enabling people to increase control over and improve their health. The aims and applications of the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), with its focus on components of functioning, activities and participation, and environmental factors are salient to health promotion and health education efforts. For individuals with or without disabilities, health promotion occurs within the community in which they reside and is influenced by a complex interaction of personal and environmental factors. The aim of this paper is to discuss how the ICF can be useful in enhancing social change through health promotion and health education for all people, in particular those with disabilities and chronic conditions. In doing so health promotion concepts and the ecological approach linked with the ICF, the relationship of social change and social support to the ICF, the potential role of the ICF for national and local (city) policies, and the role of health professionals in this process will be examined. Building on this body of knowledge, the authors recommend that future research should focus on the relationship between policies and the social participation of people with disabilities in the community, the use of ICF measurement tools to improve the indicators established by the National Organization on Disability, the development of a new ICF core set for community accessibility and inclusion, better interventions to enhance social support, and enhancing the role of professionals in health promotion for people with disabilities or chronic health conditions.

Empowering Youth to Think and Act Critically About Complex Climate Issues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harden, L.; Michelson, M.; Schufreider, M.; Babcock, E.; Klotz-Chamberlin, R.; Bagley, E.; Cassidy, E. S.; Levedahl, K.; Perez, N.; Vanderbilt, C.; Hammond, K.; Brutus, D.; Arrowsmith, T.

2016-12-01

The world is facing complex environmental challenges and a changing climate is one of the most pressing. These challenges require innovative solutions, which can only be achieved by first developing a more science and environmentally literate public through high-quality education. We know a lot about how to frame climate change messages to be most effective for adults (1). However, we know much less about how youth respond to these same messages. It is important to engage adolescents in these conversations, as this is the age when kids begin to think more critically and abstractly about complex problems, but also when peer and social influences increase in importance (2). Thus, middle school is a critical point in young students' lives when they might either lose interest in science or gain a strong science identity. To keep them interested and invested in science and environmental issues, we need relevant and transformative climate change materials for use in the classroom—materials that are video-based, compelling, and presented by other youth. The California Academy of Sciences has developed a video-based series with lessons supporting the NGSS called Flipside Science that challenges youth to think critically about complex environmental issues. Exploring Energy: Designing a Brighter Future is a unit within this series that engages youth in thinking about how we can make changes to our current energy uses and behaviors to combat climate change. The videos in the unit are hosted by diverse teens who bring an optimistic and relevant voice to these issues, and the associated lessons engage students in honing their design thinking and problem-solving skills. Although intended for use inside the classroom, these resources inspire action among youth outside of the classroom and in their communities. Initial evaluations of two other Flipside Science units on water and food issues indicate that the youth-powered nature of the videos and the real-world challenges posed in the lessons are meaningful to students and useful for teachers. They also point the way to reimagining how environmental issues are taught by presenting them in a youth voice and injecting youth perspective on these pressing problems.1 ecoAmerica et al. (2015). Let's Talk Climate: Messages to Motivate Americans. 2 Keating, D P (1990). Adolescent thinking.

The Media as an Invaluable Tool for Informal Earth System Science Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

James, E.; Gautier, C.

2001-12-01

One of the most widely utilized avenues for educating the general public about the Earth's environment is the media, be it print, radio or broadcast. Accurate and effective communication of issues in Earth System Science (ESS), however, is significantly hindered by the public's relative scientific illiteracy. Discussion of ESS concepts requires the laying down of a foundation of complex scientific information, which must first be conveyed to an incognizant audience before any strata of sophisticated social context can be appropriately considered. Despite such a substantial obstacle to be negotiated, the environmental journalist is afforded the unique opportunity of providing a broad-reaching informal scientific education to a largely scientifically uninformed population base. This paper will review the tools used by various environmental journalists to address ESS issues and consider how successful each of these approaches has been at conveying complex scientific messages to a general audience lacking sufficient scientific sophistication. Different kinds of media materials used to this effect will be analyzed for their ideas and concepts conveyed, as well as their effectiveness in reaching the public at large.

Emotion regulation: a theme in search of definition.

PubMed

Thompson, R A

1994-01-01

Contemporary interest in emotion regulation promises to advance important new views of emotional development as well as offering applications to developmental psychopathology, but these potential contributions are contingent on developmentalists' attention to some basic definitional issues. This essay offers a perspective on these issues by considering how emotion regulation should be defined, the various components of the management of emotion, how emotion regulation strategies fit into the dynamics of social interaction, and how individual differences in emotion regulation should be conceptualized and measured. In the end, it seems clear that emotion regulation is a conceptual rubric for a remarkable range of developmental processes, each of which may have its own catalysts and control processes. Likewise, individual differences in emotion regulation skills likely have multifaceted origins and are also related in complex ways to the person's emotional goals and the immediate demands of the situation. Assessment approaches that focus on the dynamics of emotion are well suited to elucidating these complex developmental and individual differences. In sum, a challenging research agenda awaits those who enter this promising field of study.

Social and Economic Concern of Supply Chain Sustainability (SCS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faiz Mokhtar, Mohd; Omar, Badrul; Hisyamudin Muhd Nor, Nik; Fazlinda Mohd Pauzi, Nur; Hassan, Sulaiman; Mohamed, W. A. Wan

2016-11-01

Sustainability issues will provide impact on the environment, social and economy. The importance of these three aspects of sustainability must be look at in tandem. Some issues of these three pillars getting more attention by companies since they are more interested to identify issues that may affect performances related to their people or profit. Through CSRs report released by various international companies, this paper identified the value which companies place for social and economic sustainability. Result shows that human right and, occupational and safety have highest concern by companies while Product Utilities is less concern from other social issues. From an economic aspect, sales and net profit are the most influencing factors of sustainability while the raw material cost is shown as of the least concern. Based on the results, companies should consider the issues on social and economic aspects following these priorities.

Social inclusion of the people with mental health issues: Compare international results.

PubMed

Santos, Jussara Carvalho Dos; Barros, Sônia; Huxley, Peter John

2018-06-01

Social inclusion of people with mental health issues is an aim of the World Health Organisation. Many countries have adopted that objective, including Brazil and the United Kingdom and both have focused treatment in the community. The aim of this article is to compare international results using the same inclusion instrument. The samples in this study were 225 people with mental health issues in community services in São Paulo, Brazil. Their results are compared to findings from 168 people with similar mental health issues in Hong Kong, China, and from the United Kingdom - a nationally representative sample of 212 people without mental health issues. The instrument used to measure a social inclusion called Social and Communities Opportunities Profile (SCOPE) has been validated for use in the United Kingdom, China and Brazil. The results are that people with mental health issues have worse social inclusion when compared to general population. Between the people with mental health issues, the sample of São Paulo has the lowest social inclusion index but, in relation to access to the Brazilian revised mental health services, that sample has a similarly high inclusion rating to the general population of the United Kingdom. Findings are important to understand mental health in the community context, as well as their adversities and potentialities.

Increasing the Effectiveness of Conservation Messaging by Drawing Connections with Related Political, Social, and Economic Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Giannetta, Cathleen

2018-01-01

This article explores whether presenting conservation issues in a manner that makes connections with intertwined issues of violence, economics, social issues, and politics elicits more engagement than does presenting the conservation issues in isolation. Survey data were collected concerning African elephant poaching for ivory and the effect of…

Beyond the racist/hooligan couplet: race, social theory and football culture.

PubMed

Back, L; Crabbe, T; Solomos, J

1999-09-01

This paper draws on recent research to explore the changing cultures of racism in English football. Starting from a critical analysis of key themes in the literature on football it seeks to show that existing analytical frameworks need to be reworked if they are going to adequately account for the complex forms through which racism is expressed in contemporary football cultures. In the course of this analysis we question some of the ways in which the issue of racism in football is collapsed into broader accounts of 'hooliganism' and other forms of violence among football fans. From this starting point the paper draws on some elements of our empirical research in order to outline an alternative way of framing the issues of racism and multicultrralism in football.

Relocating alcohol advertising research: examining socially mediated relationships with alcohol.

PubMed

Cherrington, Jane; Chamberlain, Kerry; Grixti, Joe

2006-03-01

This article reviews, critiques and politicises the positivist approaches that presently dominate alcohol advertising health research, and considers the benefits of a culturalist alternative. Positivist research in this area is identified as: (1) atheoretical and methods-driven; (2) restricted in focus, leaving critical issues unconsidered; and (3) inappropriately conceptualizing the 'normal' drinking person as rational and safe. The culturist alternative proposed is argued to present a more adequate framework, which can include and address problematic issues that are presently excluded, including: the pleasures associated with alcohol use, the involvements of 'normal' people in problem drinking, the inadequacy of present risk categories and the complexities of wider mediatory processes about alcohol in society. We argue for the adoption of more informed, culturalist approaches to alcohol advertising research.

Tools of Inaction: The Impasse between Teaching Social Issues and Creating Social Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Picower, Bree

2015-01-01

Within the field of teacher education, increased emphasis has been placed on social justice education (SJE). This qualitative study examined a group of beginning teachers who voluntarily participated in a social justice critical inquiry project (CIP). The findings indicate that while many of them were successful at teaching social issues, they…

Social and ethical dimension of the natural sciences, complex problems of the age, interdisciplinarity, and the contribution of education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Develaki, Maria

2008-09-01

In view of the complex problems of this age, the question of the socio-ethical dimension of science acquires particular importance. We approach this matter from a philosophical and sociological standpoint, looking at such focal concerns as the motivation, purposes and methods of scientific activity, the ambivalence of scientific research and the concomitant risks, and the conflict between research freedom and external socio-political intervention. We then point out the impediments to the effectiveness of cross-disciplinary or broader meetings for addressing these complex problems and managing the associated risks, given the difficulty in communication between experts in different fields and non-experts, difficulties that education is challenged to help resolve. We find that the social necessity of informed decision-making on the basis of cross-disciplinary collaboration is reflected in the newer curricula, such as that of Greece, in aims like the acquisition of cross-subject knowledge and skills, and the ability to make decisions on controversial issues involving value conflicts. The interest and the reflections of the science education community in these matters increase its—traditionally limited—contribution to the theoretical debate on education and, by extension, the value of science education in the education system.

Do obesity-promoting food environments cluster around socially disadvantaged schools in Glasgow, Scotland?

PubMed

Ellaway, Anne; Macdonald, Laura; Lamb, Karen; Thornton, Lukar; Day, Peter; Pearce, Jamie

2012-11-01

Increase in the consumption of food and drinks outside the home by adolescents and young people and associations with rising levels of obesity is a significant concern worldwide and it has been suggested that the food environment around schools may be a contributory factor. As few studies have explored this issue in a UK setting, we examined whether different types of food outlets are clustered around public secondary schools in Glasgow, and whether this pattern differed by social disadvantage. We found evidence of clustering of food outlets around schools but a more complex picture in relation to deprivation was observed. Across all schools there were numerous opportunities for pupils to purchase energy dense foods locally and the implications for policy are discussed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Postpartum anxiety, depression and social health: findings from a population-based survey of Australian women.

PubMed

Yelland, Jane; Sutherland, Georgina; Brown, Stephanie J

2010-12-20

Whilst the prevalence and correlates of postpartum depression are well established, far less is known about postpartum anxiety. Studies have described the association between socio-demographic factors and postpartum depression, yet few have explored the association between stressors in women's lives around the time of having a baby and maternal psychological morbidity. This study aimed to describe the population prevalence of postpartum depression, anxiety, co-morbid anxiety and depression and social health issues; and to examine the association between postpartum psychological and social health issues experienced in the six months following birth. Population-based survey of all women who gave birth in Victoria and South Australia in September/October 2007. Women were mailed the survey questionnaire six months following birth. Anxiety and depression were measured using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21). Questionnaires were completed by 4,366 women. At six months postpartum the proportion of women scoring above the 'normal' range on the DASS-21 was 12.7% for anxiety,17.4% for depression, and 8.1% for co-morbid depression and anxiety. Nearly half the sample reported experiencing stressful life events or social health issues in the six months following birth, with 38.3% reporting one to two and 8.8% reporting three or more social health issues. Women reporting three or more social health issues were significantly more likely to experience postnatal anxiety (Adj OR = 4.12, 95% CI 3.0-5.5) or depression (Adj OR = 5.11, 95% CI = 3.9-6.7) and co-morbid anxiety and depression (Adj OR = 5.41, 95% CI 3.8-7.6) than women who did not report social health issues. Health care providers including midwives, nurses, medical practitioners and community health workers need to be alert to women's social circumstances and life events experienced in the perinatal period and the interplay between social and emotional health. Usual management for postpartum mental health issues including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and pharmacological approaches may not be effective if social health issues are not addressed. Coordinated and integrated perinatal care that is responsive to women's social health may lead to improvements in women's emotional wellbeing following birth.

Teaching and Studying Social Issues: Major Programs and Approaches. Research in Curriculum and Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Totten, Samuel, Ed.; Pedersen, Jon, Ed.

2010-01-01

"Teaching and Studying Social Issues: Major Programs and Approaches" focuses on many of the major innovations developed over the past 100 years by noted educators to assist students in the study and analysis of key social issues that impact their lives and society. This book complements earlier books that address other aspects of studying and…

Social Justice Issues and Music Education in the Post 9/11 United States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wagoner, Cynthia L.

2015-01-01

The purpose of this paper is two-fold: first, to examine the impact of historical sociopolitical events on music education, particularly post 9/11 with the intent of establishing a context for social justice issues; and second, how we might examine the broad implications to further music education research focusing on social justice. Issues of…

Handbook on Teaching Social Issues. NCSS Bulletin 93.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Evans, Ronald W., Ed.; Saxe, David Warren, Ed.

This handbook explores the issues-centered curriculum for social studies teaching and how student performance reflects an intellectual capacity to address public issues. The book is divided into 11 parts with essays to address specific aspects of the approach. The foreword, written by Shirley Engle, establishes a context for issues-based…

Bias and the cannabis researcher.

PubMed

Ungerleider, J T; Andrysiak, T

1981-01-01

This report focuses on several aspects of the "drug" cannabis in our society: the historical notion of a chemical as a moral issue (i.e., good and evil) rather than a pharmacological one; the scientist as a human being as well as a witting or unwitting influencer of social policy; the statistical design and manipulation of research consciously or unconsciously for fame and fortune (grants); the research treatment "connection" as part of our drug abuse industrial complex, a billion dollar a year industry; and the covert governmental manipulation and distortion of cannabis (and other drug) data.

Florida coastal ecological characterization: a socioeconomic study of the southwestern region. Volume I. Text

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

French, C.O.; Parsons, J.W.

1983-08-01

Data are compiled from existing sources on the social and economic characteristics of the southwestern coastal region of Florida, which is made up of Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Monroe, Pasco, Pinellas, and Sarasota Counties. Described are the components and interrelationships among complex processes that include population and demographics characteristics, mineral production, multiple-use conflicts, recreation and tourism, agricultural production, sport and commercial fishing, transportation, industrial and residential development, and environmental issues and regulations. Energetics models of socioeconomic systems are also presented. 43 figures, 98 tables.

Popular Music Helps Students Focus on Important Social Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, James R.

2007-01-01

One of the biggest challenges facing middle school social studies educators is creating powerful lessons that engage young adolescents in acquiring knowledge, stimulate critical thinking skills, inspire passionate interest in social studies and social issues, encourage active participation in civic life, and provide them with opportunities to…

Issues in Social Studies: Voices from the Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Cameron, Ed.

This collection of essays, from Houston area educators, investigates and analyzes the state of social education, offering a critical and transformative perspective. Following a preface, chapters in the collection are: (1) "Addressing the Issues within Social Studies" (C. White); (2) "The Status of Social Studies Education" (C.…

A methodology to incorporate life cycle analysis and the triple bottom line mechanism for sustainable management of industrial enterprises

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Ling; Lin, Li

2004-02-01

Since 1970"s, the environmental protection movement has challenged industries to increase their investment in Environmentally Conscious Manufacturing (ECM) techniques and management tools. Social considerations for global citizens and their descendants also motivated the examination on the complex issues of sustainable development beyond the immediate economic impact. Consequently, industrial enterprises have started to understand sustainable development in considering the Triple Bottom Line (TBL): economic prosperity, environmental quality and social justice. For the management, however, a lack of systematic ECM methodologies hinders their effort in planning, evaluating, reporting and auditing of sustainability. To address this critical need, this research develops a framework of a sustainable management system by incorporating a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of industrial operations with the TBL mechanism. A TBL metric system with seven sets of indices for the TBL elements and their complex relations is identified for the comprehensive evaluation of a company"s sustainability performance. Utilities of the TBL indices are estimated to represent the views of various stakeholders, including the company, investors, employees and the society at large. Costs of these indices are also captured to reflect the company"s effort in meeting the utilities. An optimization model is formulated to maximize the economic, environmental and social benefits by the company"s effort in developing sustainable strategies. To promote environmental and social consciousness, the methodology can significantly facilitate management decisions by its capabilities of including "non-business" values and external costs that the company has not contemplated before.

Social network approaches to recruitment, HIV prevention, medical care, and medication adherence.

PubMed

Latkin, Carl A; Davey-Rothwell, Melissa A; Knowlton, Amy R; Alexander, Kamila A; Williams, Chyvette T; Boodram, Basmattee

2013-06-01

This article reviews the current issues and advancements in social network approaches to HIV prevention and care. Social network analysis can provide a method to understand health disparities in HIV rates, treatment access, and outcomes. Social network analysis is a valuable tool to link social structural factors to individual behaviors. Social networks provide an avenue for low-cost and sustainable HIV prevention interventions that can be adapted and translated into diverse populations. Social networks can be utilized as a viable approach to recruitment for HIV testing and counseling, HIV prevention interventions, optimizing HIV medical care, and medication adherence. Social network interventions may be face-to-face or through social media. Key issues in designing social network interventions are contamination due to social diffusion, network stability, density, and the choice and training of network members. There are also ethical issues involved in the development and implementation of social network interventions. Social network analyses can also be used to understand HIV transmission dynamics.

Social impact bonds and their application to preventive health.

PubMed

Fitzgerald, John L

2013-05-01

Although preventive health in Australia has been acknowledged as central to national health and wellbeing, efforts to reform the delivery of preventive health have to date produced limited results. The financing of preventive health at a national level is based on outcome- or performance-based funding mechanisms; however, delivery of interventions and activities at a state level have not been subjected to outcome-based funding processes. A new financing tool being applied in the area of social services (social impact bonds) has emerged as a possible model for application in the prevention arena. This paper explores key issues in the consideration of this funding model in the prevention arena. When preventive health is conceptualised as a merit good, the role of government is clarified and outcome measures fully articulated, social impact bonds may be a viable funding option to supplement core public health activities. WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THE TOPIC? The complexities of outcome monitoring in preventive health are well understood.Likewise, the problem of linking funding to outcomes from preventive health practice has also been debated at length in health policy. However, not much is known about the application of social impact bonds into the preventive health arena.WHAT DOES THIS PAPER ADD? This paper discusses the limitations and opportunities facing the application of the social impact bond financing model in the preventive health arena. This has not been undertaken previously.WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTITIONERS? Social impact bonds have received significant recent attention from federal and state government treasury departments as potential financing tools for government. Health policy practitioners are watching this space very closely to see the outcomes of a New South Wales trial. Health promotion practitioners and primary care practitioners who deliver preventive services will need to keep abreast of this issue as it will have significant impact on their practice if states and territories introduce outcome-based funding processes.

Is sociality required for the evolution of communicative complexity? Evidence weighed against alternative hypotheses in diverse taxonomic groups

PubMed Central

Ord, Terry J.; Garcia-Porta, Joan

2012-01-01

Complex social communication is expected to evolve whenever animals engage in many and varied social interactions; that is, sociality should promote communicative complexity. Yet, informal comparisons among phylogenetically independent taxonomic groups seem to cast doubt on the putative role of social factors in the evolution of complex communication. Here, we provide a formal test of the sociality hypothesis alongside alternative explanations for the evolution of communicative complexity. We compiled data documenting variations in signal complexity among closely related species for several case study groups—ants, frogs, lizards and birds—and used new phylogenetic methods to investigate the factors underlying communication evolution. Social factors were only implicated in the evolution of complex visual signals in lizards. Ecology, and to some degree allometry, were most likely explanations for complexity in the vocal signals of frogs (ecology) and birds (ecology and allometry). There was some evidence for adaptive evolution in the pheromone complexity of ants, although no compelling selection pressure was identified. For most taxa, phylogenetic null models were consistently ranked above adaptive models and, for some taxa, signal complexity seems to have accumulated in species via incremental or random changes over long periods of evolutionary time. Becoming social presumably leads to the origin of social communication in animals, but its subsequent influence on the trajectory of signal evolution has been neither clear-cut nor general among taxonomic groups. PMID:22641820

Ethical issues in ocular genetics.

PubMed

Mezer, Eedy; Wygnanski-Jaffe, Tamara

2009-09-01

To review some of the major issues in ophthalmic genetics ethics: predictive testing, prenatal testing and abortion, gene therapy, confidentiality, payment for genetic testing, the duty to recontact patients and convey new information. Patients and families may perceive benefits even though genetic testing may be associated with adverse psychosocial outcomes. Most patients were in favor of prenatal diagnosis but opposed abortion. Patient selection as candidates for gene therapy should be based on the different clinical characteristics of each hereditary disease. The balance between the right of the patient for confidentiality and the best interest of family members or society is an ethical challenge. Most insurance companies will pay for genetic testing if the condition is hereditary. The duty to recontact patients when new medical information becomes available is still ethically controversial. The field of ocular genetics is ever growing involving complex medical, technical, financial and social issues. As a result, ethical issues are expected to become more common. Properly prepared medical professionals as well as unique counseling for participants and families may enable improved decision-making taking into consideration the needs of each individual.

Need for Enhanced Environmental Representation in the Implementation of One Health.

PubMed

Barrett, Meredith A; Bouley, Timothy A

2015-06-01

Issues of global environmental change, global health, emerging disease, and sustainability present some of the most complex challenges of the twenty-first century. Individual disciplines cannot address these issues in isolation. Proactive, innovative, and trans-disciplinary solutions are required. Recognizing the inherent connectedness of humans, animals, plants, and their shared environment, One Health encourages the collaboration of many disciplines-including human and veterinary medicine, public health, social science, public policy, environmental science, and others-to address global and local health challenges. Despite great progress in this shift toward transdisciplinarity, the environmental component of the One Health paradigm remains underrepresented in One Health discourse. Human and animal health issues are commonly discussed under the umbrella of the One Health paradigm, while upstream environmental drivers and solutions are less prominent. We assessed the current integration of environmental issues in One Health publications and leadership. There is room for enhanced integration of environmental knowledge in the implementation of One Health approaches. We discuss the potential benefits from the collaboration between One Health and ecohealth, and explore strategies for increased environmental involvement.

Issues related to the use of genetic material and information.

PubMed

Giarelli, E; Jacobs, L A

2000-04-01

To review issues regarding the use of genetic materials and information. Professional literature, regional and federal legislation. An analysis is provided of the relationship among advances in genetic technology, use of genetic material and information, and the development of laws that protect the interests of donors, researchers, and insurers. Rapid technological achievements have generated complex questions that are difficult to answer. The Human Genome Project began and the scientific discoveries were put to use before adequate professional and public debate on the ethical, legal, social, and clinical issues. The term "proper use" of genetic material and information is not defined consistently. An incomplete patchwork of protective state and federal legislation exists. Many complicated issues surround the use and potential misuse of genetic material and information. Rapidly advancing technology in genetics makes it difficult for regulations that protect individuals and families to keep pace. Oncology nurses need to recognize their role as change agents, understand genetic technology, and advocate for patients by participating in the debate on the proper use and prevention of misuse of genetic material and information.

Disability dilemmas and rehabilitation tensions: a twentieth century inheritance.

PubMed

Greenwood, J G

1985-01-01

Although disability has gradually become part of the social justice concept in Western nations since the seventeenth century, and is a current world-wide social concern, it is no way as readily definable or determinable as race, gender, age or even poverty, other issues of social justice. It remains a relative term despite efforts to contain it. The World Health Organization's definition for disability is a restriction or lack of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being, arising as a consequence of physiological, psychological or anatomical impairment. Under the impairment/disability paradigm, rehabilitation interventions aim for the restoration of maximum functional activity or independence. The consequences of impairment and disability can, but do not necessarily, lead to handicaps or conditions of disadvantage, the composite result of individual functional limitations and faults in physical, cultural, social, economic and political environments. Rehabilitation for handicapping conditions then implies not necessarily the restoration of maximum functional activity or independence, but the restoration of maximum social function, including work and family roles. Recent literature on disability and rehabilitation research and policy reflects the complex and expanding context, but the relativity of the concepts involved, particularly the slippage between disability and handicap, create problems of consistently determining and communicating need. For the literature, certain dilemmas are evident in determining and providing for the needs of disabled persons: self-perceived and self-defined need vs bureaucratic standards and statistical definition; resource compensation vs resource enhancement; urban vs rural needs. Closely related to these perplexing problems are tensions in rehabilitation approaches: institutional and community approaches; individual functional improvement and environmental improvement. This paper considers the dilemmas and tensions as reported, and on that basis certain policy issues are tabulated and presented.

A social-ecological framework: A model for addressing ethical practice in nursing.

PubMed

Davidson, Patricia; Rushton, Cynda Hylton; Kurtz, Melissa; Wise, Brian; Jackson, Debra; Beaman, Adam; Broome, Marion

2018-03-01

To develop a framework to enable discussion, debate and the formulation of interventions to address ethical issues in nursing practice. Social, cultural, political and economic drivers are rapidly changing the landscape of health care in our local environments but also in a global context. Increasingly, nurses are faced with a range of ethical dilemmas in their work. This requires investigation into the culture of healthcare systems and organisations to identify the root causes and address the barriers and enablers of ethical practice. The increased medicalisation of health care; pressures for systemisation; efficiency and cost reduction; and an ageing population contribute to this complexity. Often, ethical issues in nursing are considered within the abstract and philosophical realm until a dilemma is encountered. Such an approach limits the capacity to tangibly embrace ethical values and frameworks as pathways to equitable, accessible, safe and quality health care and as a foundation for strengthening a supportive and enabling workplace for nurses and other healthcare workers. Conceptual framework development. A comprehensive literature review was undertaken using the social-ecological framework as an organising construct. This framework views ethical practice as the outcome of interaction among a range of factors at eight levels: individual factors (patients and families); individual factors (nurses); relationships between healthcare professionals; relationships between patients and nurses; organisational healthcare context; professional and education regulation and standards; community; and social, political and economic. Considering these elements as discrete, yet interactive and intertwined forces can be useful in developing interventions to promote ethical practice. We consider this framework to have utility in policy, practice, education and research. Nurses face ethical challenges on a daily basis, considering these within a social-ecological framework can assist in developing strategies and resolutions. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The potential use of social media and other internet-related data and communications for child maltreatment surveillance and epidemiological research: Scoping review and recommendations.

PubMed

Schwab-Reese, Laura M; Hovdestad, Wendy; Tonmyr, Lil; Fluke, John

2018-01-20

Collecting child maltreatment data is a complicated undertaking for many reasons. As a result, there is an interest by child maltreatment researchers to develop methodologies that allow for the triangulation of data sources. To better understand how social media and internet-based technologies could contribute to these approaches, we conducted a scoping review to provide an overview of social media and internet-based methodologies for health research, to report results of evaluation and validation research on these methods, and to highlight studies with potential relevance to child maltreatment research and surveillance. Many approaches were identified in the broad health literature; however, there has been limited application of these approaches to child maltreatment. The most common use was recruiting participants or engaging existing participants using online methods. From the broad health literature, social media and internet-based approaches to surveillance and epidemiologic research appear promising. Many of the approaches are relatively low cost and easy to implement without extensive infrastructure, but there are also a range of limitations for each method. Several methods have a mixed record of validation and sources of error in estimation are not yet understood or predictable. In addition to the problems relevant to other health outcomes, child maltreatment researchers face additional challenges, including the complex ethical issues associated with both internet-based and child maltreatment research. If these issues are adequately addressed, social media and internet-based technologies may be a promising approach to reducing some of the limitations in existing child maltreatment data. Copyright © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Disclosure of HIV Status Beyond Sexual Partners by People Living with HIV in France: A Call for Help? Results from the National Cross-Sectional Survey ANRS-VESPA2.

PubMed

Marcellin, Fabienne; Suzan-Monti, Marie; Vilotitch, Antoine; Sagaon-Teyssier, Luis; Mora, Marion; Dray-Spira, Rosemary; Préau, Marie; Lert, France; Spire, Bruno

2017-01-01

HIV status disclosure remains a complex issue for most people living with HIV (PLWH). We analyzed PLWH disclosure behaviors in France, where treatment is free and where the social image of HIV has improved in the general population. Analyses focused on disclosure to the social network excluding sexual partners (close family, other relatives, friends, colleagues). The study sample comprised 3016 participants from the nationally representative survey ANRS-VESPA2. Three PLWH clusters were identified using hierarchical classification ("high disclosure level": 28.2 %, "medium disclosure level": 27.5 %, and "low disclosure level": 44.3 %). In multivariable analyses, the variable "not living in a couple but psychological social support needed" was independently associated with medium (AOR [95 % CI] 1.8 [1.4; 2.3]) and high levels of disclosure (1.4 [1.1; 1.8]) (multinomial regression models). For PLWH living alone, HIV status disclosure may reveal a need for psychological social support, a key component to treatment adherence and positive prevention.

Teachers' perceptions of virtual worlds as a medium for social inclusion for adults with intellectual disability.

PubMed

Balandin, Susan; Molka-Danielsen, Judith

2015-01-01

The aim of this research was to explore educators' perceptions of a virtual world Second Life TM as an environment for social interaction and social inclusion for the Norwegian adult students with intellectual disability that they supported. Five educators who supported a total of 10 adult students with intellectual disability in computer classes in community Adult Education Centres participated in individual in-depth interviews. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using a content analysis. Participants were positive about Second Life although they did not perceive that it offered a successful context for social interaction or inclusion. They identified a number of benefits to using a virtual world and for students participating in virtual world research. Barriers identified included language, literacy, and technology issues along with the complexity of participating independently in a virtual world. Some people with intellectual disability can use virtual worlds but the skills required need additional research. Virtual worlds may provide a stimulating, safe, and exciting context for a range of activities but the level of support required by many people is high and consequently expensive.

Development of an Asian American parental racial-ethnic socialization scale.

PubMed

Juang, Linda P; Shen, Yishan; Kim, Su Yeong; Wang, Yijie

2016-07-01

To develop a measure of parental racial-ethnic socialization that is appropriate for Asian American families. To test the reliability and validity of this new measure, we surveyed 575 Asian American emerging adults (49% female, 79% U.S. born). Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, the results show 7 reliable subscales: maintenance of heritage culture, becoming American, awareness of discrimination, avoidance of other groups, minimization of race, promotion of equality, and cultural pluralism. Tests of factorial invariance show that overall, the subscales demonstrate, at minimum, partial metric invariance across gender, age, nativity, educational attainment, parent educational attainment, geographic region of residence, and Asian-heritage region. Thus, the relations among the subscales with other variables can be compared across these different subgroups. The subscales also correlated with ethnic identity, ethnic centrality, perceptions of discrimination, and pluralistic orientation, demonstrating construct validity. In an increasingly complex and diverse social world, our scale will be useful for gaining a better understanding of how Asian American parents socialize their children regarding issues of race, discrimination, culture, and diversity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Teaching the Ethical Aspects of Environmental Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Palinkas, C. M.

2014-12-01

Environmental and societal issues are often inherently linked, especially in coastal and estuarine environments, and science and social values must often be balanced in ecosystem management and decision-making. A new seminar course has been developed for the Marine Estuarine and Environmental Science (MEES) graduate program, an inter-institutional program within the University System of Maryland, to examine these issues. This 1-credit course, offered for the first time in Spring 2015, takes a complex systems perspective on major environmental and societal challenges to examine these linked issues in a variety of contexts. After a brief introduction to the emerging field of "geoethics," students develop a list of issues to examine throughout the seminar. Example topics could include fracking, offshore wind technology, dam removal, and iron fertilization, among others. A case-study approach is taken, with each class meeting focusing on one issue. For each case study, students are asked to 1) identify relevant scientific principles and major knowledge gaps, 2) predict potential outcomes, 3) identify stakeholders and likely viewpoints, and 4) construct communication plans to disseminate findings to these stakeholders. At the end of the semester, students give a brief presentation of the ethical aspects of their own research topics.

The Complexity of Neuroenhancement and the Adoption of a Social Cognitive Perspective

PubMed Central

Zelli, Arnaldo; Lucidi, Fabio; Mallia, Luca

2015-01-01

This contribution attempts to provide a broad perspective to the psychological study of neuroenhancement (NE). It departs from the assumption that, as the use of performance enhancing substances in sport, the use of substances with the aim of improving one’s cognitive, motivational and affective functioning in academic domains is a goal-directed behavior. As such, its scientific study may very well benefit from an analysis taking into account the psychological processes regulating people’s behavioral intentions and decisions. Within this broad framework, this contribution addresses several issues that currently seem to characterize the debate in the literature on neuroenhancement substances (NES) use. The first conceptual issue seeks to determine and define the “boundaries” of the phenomenon. The second issue concerns the empirical evidence on the prevalence of using certain substances for the purpose of NE. Finally, there is a debate around the ethical and moral implications of NE. Along these lines, the existing psychological research on NE has adopted mainly sociological and economic decision-making perspectives, greatly contributing to the psychological discourse about the phenomenon of NE. However, we argue that the existing psychological literature does not offer a common, explicit and integrated theoretical framework. Borrowing from the framework of doping research, we recommend the adoption of a social cognitive model for pursuing a systematic analysis of the psychological processes that dynamically regulate students’ use of NES over time. PMID:26648906

Institutional ethical review and ethnographic research involving injection drug users: a case study.

PubMed

Small, Will; Maher, Lisa; Kerr, Thomas

2014-03-01

Ethnographic research among people who inject drugs (PWID) involves complex ethical issues. While ethical review frameworks have been critiqued by social scientists, there is a lack of social science research examining institutional ethical review processes, particularly in relation to ethnographic work. This case study describes the institutional ethical review of an ethnographic research project using observational fieldwork and in-depth interviews to examine injection drug use. The review process and the salient concerns of the review committee are recounted, and the investigators' responses to the committee's concerns and requests are described to illustrate how key issues were resolved. The review committee expressed concerns regarding researcher safety when conducting fieldwork, and the investigators were asked to liaise with the police regarding the proposed research. An ongoing dialogue with the institutional review committee regarding researcher safety and autonomy from police involvement, as well as formal consultation with a local drug user group and solicitation of opinions from external experts, helped to resolve these issues. This case study suggests that ethical review processes can be particularly challenging for ethnographic projects focused on illegal behaviours, and that while some challenges could be mediated by modifying existing ethical review procedures, there is a need for legislation that provides legal protection of research data and participant confidentiality. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Role of Primary Health Care in Ensuring Access to Medicines

PubMed Central

Sambala, Evanson Z; Sapsed, Susan; Mkandawire, Mercy L

2010-01-01

To examine ways of ensuring access to health services within the framework of primary health care (PHC), since the goal of PHC to make universal health care available to all people has become increasingly neglected amid emerging themes of globalization, trade, and foreign policy. From a public health point of view, we argue that the premise of PHC can unlock barriers to health care services and contribute greatly to determining collective health through the promotion of universal basic health services. PHC has the most sophisticated and organized infrastructure, theories, and political principles, with which it can deal adequately with the issues of inequity, inequality, and social injustice which emerge from negative economic externalities and neo-liberal economic policies. Addressing these issues, especially the complex social and political influences that restrict access to medicines, may require the integration of different health initiatives into PHC. Based on current systems, PHC remains the only conventional health delivery service that can deal with resilient public health problems adequately. However, to strengthen its ability to do so, we propose the revitalization of PHC to incorporate scholarship that promotes human rights, partnerships, research and development, advocacy, and national drug policies. The concept of PHC can improve access; however, this will require the urgent interplay among theoretical, practical, political, and sociological influences arising from the economic, social, and political determinants of ill health in an era of globalization. PMID:20564760

Social Identity Complexity, Cross-ethnic Friendships, and Intergroup Attitudes in Urban Middle Schools

PubMed Central

Knifsend, Casey A.; Juvonen, Jaana

2013-01-01

The current study investigated contextual antecedents (i.e., cross-ethnic peers and friends) and correlates (i.e., intergroup attitudes) of social identity complexity in seventh grade. Social identity complexity refers to the perceived overlap among social groups with which youth identify. Identifying mostly with out-of-school sports, religious affiliations, and peer crowds, the ethnically diverse sample (N = 622; Mage in seventh grade = 12.56) showed moderately high complexity. Social identity complexity mediated the link between cross-ethnic friendships and ethnic intergroup attitudes, but only when adolescents had a high proportion of cross-ethnic peers at school. Results are discussed in terms of how school diversity can promote complex social identities and positive intergroup attitudes. PMID:24032401

Ethical Issues of Social Media Usage in Healthcare

PubMed Central

Bamidis, P.; Bond, C.; Gabarron, E.; Househ, M.; Lau, A. Y. S.; Mayer, M. A.; Merolli, M.; Hansen, M.

2015-01-01

Summary Objective Social media, web and mobile technologies are increasingly used in healthcare and directly support patient-centered care. Patients benefit from disease self-management tools, contact to others, and closer monitoring. Researchers study drug efficiency, or recruit patients for clinical studies via these technologies. However, low communication barriers in social-media, limited privacy and security issues lead to problems from an ethical perspective. This paper summarizes the ethical issues to be considered when social media is exploited in healthcare contexts. Methods Starting from our experiences in social-media research, we collected ethical issues for selected social-media use cases in the context of patient-centered care. Results were enriched by collecting and analyzing relevant literature and were discussed and interpreted by members of the IMIA Social Media Working Group. Results Most relevant issues in social-media applications are confidence and privacy that need to be carefully preserved. The patient-physician relationship can suffer from the new information gain on both sides since private information of both healthcare provider and consumer may be accessible through the Internet. Physicians need to ensure they keep the borders between private and professional intact. Beyond, preserving patient anonymity when citing Internet content is crucial for research studies. Conclusion Exploiting medical social-media in healthcare applications requires a careful reflection of roles and responsibilities. Availability of data and information can be useful in many settings, but the abuse of data needs to be prevented. Preserving privacy and confidentiality of online users is a main issue, as well as providing means for patients or Internet users to express concerns on data usage. PMID:26293861

Student leadership in small group science inquiry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oliveira, Alandeom W.; Boz, Umit; Broadwell, George A.; Sadler, Troy D.

2014-09-01

Background: Science educators have sought to structure collaborative inquiry learning through the assignment of static group roles. This structural approach to student grouping oversimplifies the complexities of peer collaboration and overlooks the highly dynamic nature of group activity. Purpose: This study addresses this issue of oversimplification of group dynamics by examining the social leadership structures that emerge in small student groups during science inquiry. Sample: Two small student groups investigating the burning of a candle under a jar participated in this study. Design and method: We used a mixed-method research approach that combined computational discourse analysis (computational quantification of social aspects of small group discussions) with microethnography (qualitative, in-depth examination of group discussions). Results: While in one group social leadership was decentralized (i.e., students shared control over topics and tasks), the second group was dominated by a male student (centralized social leadership). Further, decentralized social leadership was found to be paralleled by higher levels of student cognitive engagement. Conclusions: It is argued that computational discourse analysis can provide science educators with a powerful means of developing pedagogical models of collaborative science learning that take into account the emergent nature of group structures and highly fluid nature of student collaboration.

No Change in Social Decision-Making Following Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation of the Right Temporoparietal Junction.

PubMed

Blair-West, Laura F; Hoy, Kate E; Hall, Phillip J; Fitzgerald, Paul B; Fitzgibbon, Bernadette M

2018-01-01

The right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ) is thought to play an important role in social cognition and pro-social decision-making. One way to explore this link is through the use of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a non-invasive brain stimulation method that is able to modulate cortical activity. The aim of this research was therefore to determine whether anodal tDCS to the rTPJ altered response to a social decision-making task. In this study, 34 healthy volunteers participated in a single-center, double-blinded, sham-controlled crossover design. Subjects received 20 min of active/sham anodal tDCS to the rTPJ before undertaking the Ultimatum Game (UG), a neuroeconomics paradigm in which participants are forced to choose between monetary reward and punishing an opponent's unfairness. Contrary to expectations, we found no significant difference between anodal and sham stimulation with regard to either the total number or reaction time of unfair offer rejections in the UG. This study draws attention to methodological issues in tDCS studies of the rTPJ, and highlights the complexity of social decision-making in the UG.

The social process of escalation: a promising focus for crisis management research

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background This study identifies a promising, new focus for the crisis management research in the health care domain. After reviewing the literature on health care crisis management, there seems to be a knowledge-gap regarding organisational change and adaption, especially when health care situations goes from normal, to non-normal, to pathological and further into a state of emergency or crisis. Discussion Based on studies of escalating situations in obstetric care it is suggested that two theoretical perspectives (contingency theory and the idea of failure as a result of incomplete interaction) tend to simplify the issue of escalation rather than attend to its complexities (including the various power relations among the stakeholders involved). However studying the process of escalation as inherently complex and social allows us to see the definition of a situation as normal or non-normal as an exercise of power in itself, rather than representing a putatively correct response to a particular emergency. Implications The concept of escalation, when treated this way, can help us further the analysis of clinical and institutional acts and competence. It can also turn our attention to some important elements in a class of social phenomenon, crises and emergencies, that so far have not received the attention they deserve. Focusing on organisational choreography, that interplay of potential factors such as power, professional identity, organisational accountability, and experience, is not only a promising focus for future naturalistic research but also for developing more pragmatic strategies that can enhance organisational coordination and response in complex events. PMID:22704075

Measuring the Complexity of Treatment for Challenging Behavior using the Treatment Intensity Rating Form

PubMed Central

Zarcone, Jennifer; Hagopian, Louis; Ninci, Jennifer; McKay, Chloe; Bonner, Andrew; Dillon, Christopher; Hausman, Nicole

2016-01-01

Objectives The goal of this study was to develop and evaluate a tool to measure the complexity and intensity of psychotropic medication interventions, behavioral interventions, and issues related to crisis management for challenging behavior using a standardized rating form. Method The Treatment Intensity Rating Form (TIRF) is a 10-item scale with three categories: pharmacological interventions, behavior supports, and protective equipment. In a retrospective review we examined the final treatment recommendations for 74 individuals with self-injurious behavior (SIB) based on psychiatric and behavioral notes and reports. We also compared whether TIRF scores differed across individuals for whom SIB was maintained by social reinforcement (e.g., to access attention or toys/activities, or escape from tasks) versus those for whom SIB was maintained by automatic reinforcement (e.g., occurs independent of social variables, and is presumed to be maintained by sensory reinforcement). Results The TIRF was demonstrated to have strong inter-rater reliability (98%) and appears to have good face validity. As hypothesized, individuals with SIB maintained by automatic reinforcement had significantly more medication trials (p=0.0005) and required more protective equipment than individuals with SIB maintained by social reinforcement (p=0.0002). Antidepressant medication was used more often with individuals with automatically reinforced SIB, although antipsychotics and anticonvulsants were also commonly used across both groups. Conclusion Findings provide initial support for the TIRF’s reliability, and face validity as a measure the level of complexity of medical and behavioral treatment plans - although additional research is needed to fully evaluate its psychometric properties. PMID:27917287

What Good Is Soft Evidence?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murdach, Allison D.

2010-01-01

Along with other helping professions, social work is today struggling to become a more "evidence-based" activity. This article explores some of the issues raised by this reevaluation of social work, especially as it relates to the issue of direct social work practice. Despite the current push to base social work helping methods on scientific…

Complex adaptive chronic care - typologies of patient journey: a case study.

PubMed

Martin, Carmel M; Grady, Deirdre; Deaconking, Susan; McMahon, Catherine; Zarabzadeh, Atieh; O'Shea, Brendan

2011-06-01

Complex adaptive chronic care (CACC) is a framework based upon complex adaptive systems' theory developed to address different stages in the patient journey in chronic illness. Simple, complicated, complex and chaotic phases are proposed as diagnostic types. To categorize phases of the patient journey and evaluate their utility as diagnostic typologies. A qualitative case study of two cohorts, identified as being at risk of avoidable hospitalization: 12 patients monitored to establish typologies, followed by 46 patients to validate the typologies. Patients were recruited from a general practitioner out-of-hours service. Self-rated health, medical and psychological health, social support, environmental concerns, medication adherence and health service use were monitored with phone calls made 3-5 times per week for an average of 4 weeks. Analysis techniques included frequency distributions, coding and categorization of patients' longitudinal data using a CACC framework. Twelve and 46 patients, mean age 69 years, were monitored for average of 28 days in cohorts 1 and 2 respectively. Cohorts 1 and 2 patient journeys were categorized as being: stable complex 66.66% vs. 67.4%, unstable complex 25% vs. 26.08% and unstable complex chaotic 8.3% vs. 6.52% respectively. An average of 0.48, 0.75 and 2 interventions per person were provided in the stable, unstable and chaotic journeys. Instability was related to complex interactions between illness, social support, environment, as well as medication and medical care issues. Longitudinal patient journeys encompass different phases with characteristic dynamics and are likely to require different interventions and strategies - thus being 'adaptive' to the changing complex dynamics of the patient's illness and care needs. CACC journey types provide a clinical tool for health professionals to focus time and care interventions in response to patterns of instability in multiple domains in chronic illness care. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Manufacturing Phenomena or Preserving Phenomena? Core Issues in the Identification of Peer Social Groups with Social Cognitive Mapping Procedures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farmer, Thomas W.; Xie, Hongling

2013-01-01

In this commentary on the "Multiple Meanings of Peer Groups in Social Cognitive Mapping," Thomas W. Farmer and Hongling Xie discuss core issues in the identification of peer social groups in natural settings using the social cognitive mapping (SCM) procedures. Farmer and Xie applaud the authors for their efforts to advance the study of…

Investigation of the Impact of Extracting and Exchanging Health Information by Using Internet and Social Networks.

PubMed

Pistolis, John; Zimeras, Stelios; Chardalias, Kostas; Roupa, Zoe; Fildisis, George; Diomidous, Marianna

2016-06-01

Social networks (1) have been embedded in our daily life for a long time. They constitute a powerful tool used nowadays for both searching and exchanging information on different issues by using Internet searching engines (Google, Bing, etc.) and Social Networks (Facebook, Twitter etc.). In this paper, are presented the results of a research based on the frequency and the type of the usage of the Internet and the Social Networks by the general public and the health professionals. The objectives of the research were focused on the investigation of the frequency of seeking and meticulously searching for health information in the social media by both individuals and health practitioners. The exchanging of information is a procedure that involves the issues of reliability and quality of information. In this research, by using advanced statistical techniques an effort is made to investigate the participant's profile in using social networks for searching and exchanging information on health issues. Based on the answers 93 % of the people, use the Internet to find information on health-subjects. Considering principal component analysis, the most important health subjects were nutrition (0.719 %), respiratory issues (0.79 %), cardiological issues (0.777%), psychological issues (0.667%) and total (73.8%). The research results, based on different statistical techniques revealed that the 61.2% of the males and 56.4% of the females intended to use the social networks for searching medical information. Based on the principal components analysis, the most important sources that the participants mentioned, were the use of the Internet and social networks for exchanging information on health issues. These sources proved to be of paramount importance to the participants of the study. The same holds for nursing, medical and administrative staff in hospitals.

Obesity Prevention for Individuals with Spina Bifida.

PubMed

Polfuss, Michele; Bandini, Linda G; Sawin, Kathleen J

2017-06-01

Obesity is a common comorbidity in individuals with spina bifida. Carrying excess weight exacerbates the inherent health challenges associated with spina bifida, impedes the individual's ability to self-manage their condition, and creates further challenges for family members and caregivers. This manuscript provides a narrative review of key issues for understanding and prevention of obesity in persons with spina bifida within the context of the social ecological model. Specific variables related to obesity and spina bifida include individual factors (i.e., body composition and measurement issues, energy needs, eating patterns, physical activity, and sedentary activity) family factors (i.e., parenting/family, peers), community factors (i.e., culture, built environment, healthcare and healthcare providers, and school), and societal factors (i.e., policy issues). Due to the complex etiology of obesity and its increased prevalence in individuals with spina bifida, it is critical to initiate prevention efforts early with a multifactorial approach for this at-risk population. Increased research is warranted to support these efforts.

Methodological issues in the study of violence against women

PubMed Central

Ruiz‐Pérez, Isabel; Plazaola‐Castaño, Juncal; Vives‐Cases, Carmen

2007-01-01

The objective of this paper is to review the methodological issues that arise when studying violence against women as a public health problem, focusing on intimate partner violence (IPV), since this is the form of violence that has the greatest consequences at a social and political level. The paper focuses first on the problems of defining what is meant by IPV. Secondly, the paper describes the difficulties in assessing the magnitude of the problem. Obtaining reliable data on this type of violence is a complex task, because of the methodological issues derived from the very nature of the phenomenon, such as the private, intimate context in which this violence often takes place, which means the problem cannot be directly observed. Finally, the paper examines the limitations and bias in research on violence, including the lack of consensus with regard to measuring events that may or may not represent a risk factor for violence against women or the methodological problem related to the type of sampling used in both aetiological and prevalence studies. PMID:18000113

State and business co-operation in settling socio-economic issues: forward to sustainable development of ecologically unfavorable regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bashkirova, N. N.; Lessovaia, S. N.

2018-01-01

The complexity of socio-economic issues of mono-cities located in the ecologically unfavorable regions of Eurasia was disclosed. The economically strategic role of city-forming mining enterprises and their impact on ecological situation was revealed. The general conception of settling the socio-economic problems of mono-cities located in ecologically unfavorable regions was worked out. Various approached to the concentration of financial resources for economic and ecological sustainable development of the regions located on the north of Eurasia holding nature protection actions were submitted. Based on performed critical analysis of the positive international experience of ecological taxation some approaches to reforming current Russian system of ecological taxation were suggested. It was revealed that increasing the social responsibilities of business in the field of waste recycling, environmental protection and monitoring of ecological conditions of territories and state and business co-operation are the most efficient opportunities in settling socio-economic issues of ecologically unfavorable regions.

Cultural Psychiatry: A Spotlight on the Experience of Clinical Social Workers' Encounter with Jewish Ultra-Orthodox Mental Health Clients.

PubMed

Freund, Anat; Band-Winterstein, Tova

2017-07-01

Community is a complex issue, especially in two particular populations overlap: Haredi society, which embraces cultural codes common to closed communities, and the mental health population characterized by its own unique needs. The present study explores the encounter experience of social workers with the cultural perceptions of mental health clients in the Haredi community in light of Community Cultural Psychiatry. A qualitative-phenomenological approach was adopted. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 27 social workers, mental health professionals, who are in contact with ultra-Orthodox Jewish clients. Three major themes emerged from the data analysis: (1) Exclusion vs. grace and compassion. (2) Mental health: A professional or cultural arena? (3) Mental health help-seeking changing processes. This study shows that the attitude in the Haredi community toward mental health therapy undergoes a process of change. It is important to strengthen this process, together with preserving existing community informal structures of help.

The medical director and the use of power: limits, challenges and opportunities.

PubMed

Gabel, Stewart

2011-09-01

The organizational leadership in mental health agencies frequently resides in executives who are not psychiatrists and who may or may not have clinical backgrounds. Psychiatrists who are medical directors (MDs) of organizations with this structure are responsible for the success of the clinical programs, but are subordinate to the executive director (ED). The MD/ED relationship therefore is an example of the complexities and challenges of a relationship in which supervisor and supervisee have different types of power, but are mutually dependent on each other for the organization's success. Clarity and differentiation of the types of power of the MD and ED can be helpful in determining appropriate boundaries and facilitating a cooperative relationship that allows the organizational mission to be well served. Raven's model of the bases of social power (French and Raven, Studies in Social Power, 1959; Raven, Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy 8(1):1-22, 2008) provides a useful framework to explore this relationship and the challenges and opportunities inherent in it.

Current status of surrogacy in Japan and uterine transplantation research.

PubMed

Kisu, Iori; Banno, Kouji; Mihara, Makoto; Iida, Takuya; Yoshimura, Yasunori

2011-10-01

Recent advances in assisted reproductive technology (ART) have made it possible to circumvent many causes of male and female infertility. The right to have a child by ART has been respected for infertile couples. However, there are currently no legal regulations concerning ART in Japan, and this has resulted in social and ethical problems. Surrogacy involves particularly complex medical, ethical, social, and legal issues, and is frequently focused on as a major social concern. Uterine transplantation (UTx) is a potential alternative for young women with uterine factor infertility due to hysterectomy for treatment of a malignant uterine tumor or massive blood loss after delivery, or because of a congenital disease such as Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster syndrome. UTx has been examined in experimental animals as a basis for establishment of fecundity for young women with uterine factor infertility. In this review, we focus on surrogacy in Japan and UTx research, and discuss the current status and concerns in this field. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Addressing clients' racism and racial prejudice in individual psychotherapy: Therapeutic considerations.

PubMed

Bartoli, Eleonora; Pyati, Aarti

2009-06-01

Psychotherapists lack clear guidelines regarding how to address clients' racist and prejudicial comments in clinical work. The authors explore the contributions of multicultural, social justice, feminist, and ethical theories to the field of psychotherapy and apply these theories to 2 clinical vignettes in which clients made racially charged statements. These clinical examples highlight the importance of using racial, in addition to traditional, theories to decipher the clinical meanings of racial comments and dynamics in clinical work. The article provides therapeutic conceptualizations regarding how to address clients' racist and prejudicial comments in psychotherapy and elaborates on the complex meanings that might arise from engaging in racially charged discussions with clients depending on the racial composition of the therapeutic dyad. In addition to highlighting how social justice, multicultural, and feminist lenses are necessary to fully understand the meaning of clients' comments, the argument is made that addressing clients' racist and prejudicial comments is at once a clinical and a social justice issue. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

Application of the AHP method in modeling the trust and reputation of software agents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zytniewski, Mariusz; Klementa, Marek; Skorupka, Dariusz; Stanek, Stanislaw; Duchaczek, Artur

2016-06-01

Given the unique characteristics of cyberspace and, in particular, the number of inherent security threats, communication between software agents becomes a highly complex issue and a major challenge that, on the one hand, needs to be continuously monitored and, on the other, awaits new solutions addressing its vulnerabilities. An approach that has recently come into view mimics mechanisms typical of social systems and is based on trust and reputation that assist agents in deciding which other agents to interact with. The paper offers an enhancement to existing trust and reputation models, involving the application of the AHP method that is widely used for decision support in social systems, notably for risks analysis. To this end, it is proposed to expand the underlying conceptual basis by including such notions as self-trust and social trust, and to apply these to software agents. The discussion is concluded with an account of an experiment aimed at testing the effectiveness of the proposed solution.

When the oocyte becomes an embryo. The social life of an ambiguous scientific image in Italian newspapers (1996-2007).

PubMed

Beltrame, Lorenzo; Giovanetti, Silvia

2009-01-01

This paper analyses the social life of a scientific image frequently used in media coverage of human genetic and biotechnology issues. The expression "social life of an image" refers to the set of functions performed in the public sphere and the relations interweaved with narratives and discourses. This paper starts from the assumption that the sense of an image is reflexive to its local contexts of use. Therefore, the social meaning of an image relies on the web of discursive links which constitute its social life. The paper explores the functions performed by a photograph of a fertilized oocyte in Italian media coverage of human genetic issues. We conclude asserting that such an image: (a) acts as a visual link between several controversial issues; (b) it has become the icon of a general master-frame of human genetics issues and (c) it takes a not neutral part in the debates over these issues.

In search of a theoretical structure for understanding motivation in schizophrenia.

PubMed

Medalia, Alice; Brekke, John

2010-09-01

This themed issue considers different ways to conceptualize the motivational impairment that is a core negative symptom of schizophrenia. Motivational impairment has been linked to poor functional outcome, thus it is important to understand the nature and causes of motivational impairment in order to develop better treatment strategies to enhance motivation and engage patients in the process of recovery. Motivation refers to the processes whereby goal-directed activities are instigated and sustained and can be thought of as the product of a complex interaction of physiological processes and social contextual variables. In this issue, the physiological processes of motivation are the focus of Barch and Dowd, who highlight the role of prefrontal and subcortical mesolimbic dopamine systems in incentive-based learning and the difficulties people with schizophrenia have using internal representations of relevant experiences and goals to drive the behavior that should allow them to obtain desired outcomes. The articles in this issue by Choi et al., Nakagami et al., and Silverstein, focus on social contextual or environmental variables that can shape behavior and motivation. Together, these articles highlight the impact of external cues and goal properties on the expectations and values attached to goal outcomes. Expectancy-value and Self-Determination theories provide an overarching framework to accommodate the perspectives and data provided in all these articles. In the following introduction we show how the articles in this themed issue both support the role of expectancies and value in motivation in schizophrenia and elucidate possible deficiencies in the way expectations and value get assigned.

In Search of a Theoretical Structure for Understanding Motivation in Schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Medalia, Alice; Brekke, John

2010-01-01

This themed issue considers different ways to conceptualize the motivational impairment that is a core negative symptom of schizophrenia. Motivational impairment has been linked to poor functional outcome, thus it is important to understand the nature and causes of motivational impairment in order to develop better treatment strategies to enhance motivation and engage patients in the process of recovery. Motivation refers to the processes whereby goal-directed activities are instigated and sustained and can be thought of as the product of a complex interaction of physiological processes and social contextual variables. In this issue, the physiological processes of motivation are the focus of Barch and Dowd, who highlight the role of prefrontal and subcortical mesolimbic dopamine systems in incentive-based learning and the difficulties people with schizophrenia have using internal representations of relevant experiences and goals to drive the behavior that should allow them to obtain desired outcomes. The articles in this issue by Choi et al., Nakagami et al., and Silverstein, focus on social contextual or environmental variables that can shape behavior and motivation. Together, these articles highlight the impact of external cues and goal properties on the expectations and values attached to goal outcomes. Expectancy-value and Self-Determination theories provide an overarching framework to accommodate the perspectives and data provided in all these articles. In the following introduction we show how the articles in this themed issue both support the role of expectancies and value in motivation in schizophrenia and elucidate possible deficiencies in the way expectations and value get assigned. PMID:20595203

Economic evaluation of integrated new technologies for health and social care: Suggestions for policy makers, users and evaluators.

PubMed

Wildman, John; McMeekin, Peter; Grieve, Eleanor; Briggs, Andrew

2016-11-01

With an ageing population there is a move towards the use of assisted living technologies (ALTs) to provide social care and health care services, and to improve service processes. These technologies are at the forefront of the integration of health and social care. However, economic evaluations of ALTs, and indeed economic evaluations of any interventions providing both health benefits and benefits beyond health are complex. This paper considers the challenges faced by evaluators and presents a method of economic evaluation for use with interventions where traditional methods may not be suitable for informing funders and decision makers. We propose a method, combining economic evaluation techniques, that can accommodate health outcomes and outcomes beyond health through the use of a common numeraire. Such economic evaluations can benefit both the public and private sector, firstly by ensuring the efficient allocation of resources. And secondly, by providing information for individuals who, in the market for ALTs, face consumption decisions that are infrequent and for which there may be no other sources of information. We consider these issues in the welfarist, extra-welfarist and capabilities frameworks, which we link to attributes in an individual production model. This approach allows for the valuation of the health component of any such intervention and the valuation of key social care attributes and processes. Finally, we present a set of considerations for evaluators highlighting the key issues that need to be considered in this type of economic evaluation. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Seeing through the glass darkly? A qualitative exploration of GPs' drinking and their alcohol intervention practices.

PubMed

Kaner, Eileen; Rapley, Tim; May, Carl

2006-08-01

Brief alcohol intervention is influenced by patients' personal characteristics as well as their clinical risk. Risk-drinkers from higher social-status groups are less likely to receive brief intervention from GPs than those from lower social-status groups. Thus GPs' perception of social similarity or distance may influence brief intervention. To explore the role that GPs' drinking behaviour plays in their recognition of alcohol-related risk in patients. A qualitative interview study with 29 GPs recruited according to maximum variation sampling. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Analysis was inductive with constant comparison within and between themes plus deviant case analysis. Analysis developed until category saturation was reached. GPs described a range of personal drinking practices that broadly mirrored population drinking patterns. Many saw themselves as part of mainstream society, sharing in culturally sanctioned behaviour. For some GPs, shared drinking practices could increase empathy for patients who drank, and facilitate discussion about alcohol. However, several GPs regarded themselves as distinct from 'others', separating their own drinking from that of patients. Several GPs described a form of bench-marking, wherein only patients who drank more, or differently, to themselves were felt to be 'at risk'. Alcohol is clearly a complex and emotive health and social issue and GPs are not immune to its effects. For some GPs' shared drinking behaviour can act as a window of opportunity enabling insight on alcohol issues and facilitating discussion. However, other GPs may see through the glass more darkly and selectively recognize risk only in those patients who are least like them.

Social workers' involvement in advance care planning: a systematic narrative review.

PubMed

Wang, Chong-Wen; Chan, Cecilia L W; Chow, Amy Y M

2017-07-10

Advance care planning is a process of discussion that enables competent adults to express their wishes about end-of-life care through periods of decisional incapacity. Although a number of studies have documented social workers' attitudes toward, knowledge about, and involvement in advance care planning, the information is fragmented. The purpose of this review was to provide a narrative synthesis of evidence on social workers' perspectives and experiences regarding implementation of advance care planning. Six databases were searched for peer-reviewed research papers from their respective inception through December 2016. All of the resulting studies relevant to both advance care planning and social worker were examined. The findings of relevant studies were synthesized thematically. Thirty-one articles met the eligibility criteria. Six research themes were identified: social workers' attitudes toward advance care planning; social workers' knowledge, education and training regarding advance care planning; social workers' involvement in advance care planning; social workers' perceptions of their roles; ethical issues relevant to advance care planning; and the effect of social work intervention on advance care planning engagement. The findings suggest that there is a consensus among social workers that advance care planning is their duty and responsibility and that social workers play an important role in promoting and implementing advance care planning through an array of activities. This study provides useful knowledge for implementing advance care planning through illustrating social workers' perspectives and experiences. Further studies are warranted to understand the complexity inherent in social workers' involvement in advance care planning for different life-limiting illnesses or within different socio-cultural contexts.

A realist synthesis of the effect of social accountability interventions on health service providers' and policymakers' responsiveness.

PubMed

Lodenstein, Elsbet; Dieleman, Marjolein; Gerretsen, Barend; Broerse, Jacqueline Ew

2013-11-07

Accountability has center stage in the current post-Millennium Development Goals (MDG) debate. One of the effective strategies for building equitable health systems and providing quality health services is the strengthening of citizen-driven or social accountability processes. The monitoring of actions and decisions of policymakers and providers by citizens is regarded as a right in itself but also as an alternative to weak administrative accountability mechanisms, in particular in settings with poor governance. The effects of social accountability interventions are often based on assumptions and are difficult to evaluate because of their complex nature and context sensitivity. This study aims to review and assess the available evidence for the effect of social accountability interventions on policymakers' and providers' responsiveness in countries with medium to low levels of governance capacity and quality. For policymakers and practitioners engaged in health system strengthening, social accountability initiatives and rights-based approaches to health, the findings of this review may help when reflecting on the assumptions and theories of change behind their policies and interventions. Little is known about social accountability interventions, their outcomes and the circumstances under which they produce outcomes for particular groups or issues. In this study, social accountability interventions are conceptualized as complex social interventions for which a realist synthesis is considered the most appropriate method of systematic review. The synthesis is based on a preliminary program theory of social accountability that will be tested through an iterative process of primary study searches, data extraction, analysis and synthesis. Published and non-published (grey) quantitative and qualitative studies in English, French and Spanish will be included. Quality and validity will be enhanced by continuous peer review and team reflection among the reviewers. The authors believe the advantages of a realist synthesis for social accountability lie in the possibility of overcoming disciplinary or paradigmatic boundaries often found in public health and development. In addition, they argue that this approach fills the knowledge gap left by conventional synthesis or evaluation exercises of participatory programs. Finally, the authors describe the practical strategies adopted to address methodological challenges and validity.

Educating about Social Issues in the 20th and 21st Centuries: A Critical Annotated Bibliography. Research in Curriculum and Instruction. Volume 1

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Totten, Samuel, Ed.; Pedersen, Jon, Ed.

2012-01-01

Educating About Social Issues in the 20th and 21st Centuries: A Critical Annotated Bibliography, is comprised of critical essays accompanied by annotated bibliographies on a host of programs, models, strategies and concerns vis-a-vis teaching and learning about social issues facing society. The primary goal of the book is to provide undergraduate…

Addressing Social Issues in the Classroom and Beyond: The Pedagogical Efforts of Pioneers in the Field. Research in Curriculum and Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Totten, Samuel, Ed.; Pedersen, Jon, Ed.

2007-01-01

Addressing Social Issues in the Classroom and Beyond: The Pedagogical Efforts of Pioneers in the Field is comprised of essays that delineate the genesis and evolution of the thought and work of pioneers in the field of social issues and education. The authors (many of whom, themselves, are noted professors of education and who have done…

Using activity theory to study cultural complexity in medical education.

PubMed

Frambach, Janneke M; Driessen, Erik W; van der Vleuten, Cees P M

2014-06-01

There is a growing need for research on culture, cultural differences and cultural effects of globalization in medical education, but these are complex phenomena to investigate. Socio-cultural activity theory seems a useful framework to study cultural complexity, because it matches current views on culture as a dynamic process situated in a social context, and has been valued in diverse fields for yielding rich understandings of complex issues and key factors involved. This paper explains how activity theory can be used in (cross-)cultural medical education research. We discuss activity theory's theoretical background and principles, and we show how these can be applied to the cultural research practice by discussing the steps involved in a cross-cultural study that we conducted, from formulating research questions to drawing conclusions. We describe how the activity system, the unit of analysis in activity theory, can serve as an organizing principle to grasp cultural complexity. We end with reflections on the theoretical and practical use of activity theory for cultural research and note that it is not a shortcut to capture cultural complexity: it is a challenge for researchers to determine the boundaries of their study and to analyze and interpret the dynamics of the activity system.

PrEP implementation: moving from trials to policy and practice.

PubMed

Cáceres, Carlos F; O'Reilly, Kevin R; Mayer, Kenneth H; Baggaley, Rachel

2015-01-01

It is increasingly clear that the HIV response will not be sustainable if the number of infections is not significantly reduced. For two decades, research has been ongoing to identify new behavioural and biomedical strategies to prevent HIV infection. In the past few years, the efficacy of several new strategies has been demonstrated, including oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP; i.e. daily use of tenofovir/emtricitabine). Because several social, political and logistic barriers remain, however, optimal PrEP implementation will require a better dissemination of new evidence in a number of areas and additional implementation research from various disciplinary perspectives (i.e. social science, policy and ethics; health systems; and economics, including cost-effectiveness studies). Discussion of new evidence on those topics, as well as case studies of potential PrEP implementation in diverse environments, can improve the understanding of the role that PrEP may play in addressing the global HIV/AIDS epidemic.In light of these needs, the Network for Multidisciplinary Studies in ARV-based HIV Prevention (NEMUS) and the World Health Organization (WHO) were honoured to co-organize a special issue of JIAS aimed at contributing to a scholarly discussion of current conditions surrounding PrEP implementation, potential impact and efficiency, social science concerns and the study of PrEP implementation in specific country cases. The papers included in this monograph identify and cover many of the main aspects of the complex yet promising discussions around PrEP implementation today. This is a collection of timely contributions from global leaders in HIV research and policy that addresses geographic diversity, uses a trans-disciplinary approach and covers a variety of the complex issues raised by PrEP. As this publication will become accessible to all, we hope that it will remain a valuable resource for policy makers, programme managers, researchers and activists around the world at a moment of a paradigm shift of the global response to HIV.