Karen L. Henwood, Karen Anne Parkhill and Nick F. Pidgeon
A longstanding quantitative finding from surveys of public perceptions of hazardous technologies is that women and men respondents tend to express different levels of concern when…
Abstract
Purpose
A longstanding quantitative finding from surveys of public perceptions of hazardous technologies is that women and men respondents tend to express different levels of concern when asked about environmental and technological hazards. Traditional psychometric risk perception research has provided extensive empirical descriptions of this “gender effect”, but is criticised for having less success in developing substantive theory linking observations to socio‐cultural explanations to explicate this effect. The purpose of this paper is to build a theoretical platform to account for the existing empirical findings on gender and perceptions of risk.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents a critical synthesis, drawing upon theory in contemporary risk research, gender theory, social studies of science and feminist studies of epistemology.
Findings
A theoretical platform is developed concerning the operation of gender as a regulatory process involving norms and discourse. The role is identified of moral discourses, hegemonic masculinities/gender authenticity, and epistemic subjectivities as plausible ways of understanding the gender–risk effect in risk perception.
Research limitations/implications
A novel theoretical exploration is provided of the relationship between gender and risk perceptions. Conceptual development in the gender and risk arena could be further refined by applying the theoretical platform developed here to empirical analyses and, to investigate its relevance to understanding how people discuss, deliberate and reason about risk issues.
Originality/value
Much of the existing literature fails to offer adequately grounded theoretical explanations for the observed empirical finding on gender and risk. This paper is the first to utilise a non‐essentialist reading of the gender‐risk effect by developing the “effects made by gender” approach.
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Wendy Franks, Karen Henwood and Gillian Bowden
There are many barriers to effective mental health promotion with mothers living in socially disadvantaged communities. These include failure to take account of local cultural…
Abstract
There are many barriers to effective mental health promotion with mothers living in socially disadvantaged communities. These include failure to take account of local cultural knowledge, community values and identities; feelings arising from experiences of poor health and disadvantage; mistrust of health professionals, and lack of engagement with services. Qualitative methodologies were used to explore maternal mental health and service delivery to people living in poor social conditions. Individual interviews and group discussions were undertaken with nine mothers living in a disadvantaged community. Further data were obtained from fieldwork contacts with seven health professionals working in the community. The research identified four discursive strategies used by participants when they and others encountered difficulties in relation to stigma, mental health and their daily lives as mothers within the community. These strategies were othering, counteracting, blaming, and resisting. The analysis offers a resource to community initiatives seeking to examine how mothers can deal most effectively with a lack of control and power in their lives.
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I will briefly suggest why Blumer's injunctions are crucial, and lay out several of their implications. To me, gaining intimate familiarity means gaining an in-depth knowledge of…
Abstract
I will briefly suggest why Blumer's injunctions are crucial, and lay out several of their implications. To me, gaining intimate familiarity means gaining an in-depth knowledge of the research participants, their setting or settings, and their situations and actions. This notion of intimate familiarity has been espoused in Analyzing Social Settings from its earliest edition by John Lofland (1971) to the recent edition in which David Snow and Leon Anderson (2005) were centrally involved. Throughout the discipline of sociology, acceptance of a goal of establishing intimate familiarity has weakened.
The monograph analyses (a) the potential impact of informationtechnology (IT) on organisational issues that directly concern thepersonnel function; (b) the nature of personnel’s…
Abstract
The monograph analyses (a) the potential impact of information technology (IT) on organisational issues that directly concern the personnel function; (b) the nature of personnel’s involvement in the decision making and activities surrounding the choice and implementation of advanced technologies, and (c) their own use of IT in developing and carrying out their own range of specialist activities. The monograph attempts to explain why personnel’s involvement is often late, peripheral and reactive. Finally, an analysis is made of whether personnel specialists – or the Human Resource Management function more generally – will play a more proactive role in relation to such technologies in the future.
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This paper aims to discuss how sex and relationship education (SRE) could benefit from considering current levels of young women's empowerment in (hetero)sexual relationships and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to discuss how sex and relationship education (SRE) could benefit from considering current levels of young women's empowerment in (hetero)sexual relationships and challenge popular notions of twenty‐first century young women “having it all” and occupying powerful relational and sexual positions.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employed a qualitative research design. Young women were interviewed in focus group and follow‐up single interview discussion. The generated talk was then transcribed and critical discourse analytical techniques were employed to analyse the dialogues of the more sexually experienced young women to explore their narratives.
Findings
In contrast with popular images of sexually experienced young women enjoying promiscuity and caring little about the consequences of their sexual actions, this paper displays how some young women continue to struggle with their (hetero)sexual relationships, and particularly their first experiences of sexual intercourse. The young women in the study did not necessarily experience “empowered” love and sexual relationships, rather their talk about their relational and sexual experiences revealed uncertainties, dissatisfactions and compromises.
Research limitations/implications
This study explores eight discourses from the sexually experienced, six of whom were young mothers, and two discourses of whom were not mothers at the time of interviewing. Accordingly, the discussed perspectives and experiences originated from the sexually experienced, and predominantly from young mothers, and the conclusions drawn are specific to this research context. Future studies could explore the extent to which the discussed findings may also be relevant to other groups of young women.
Originality/value
This paper contributes towards considerations of the inter‐relationships between current public health and wider social, cultural and educational issues. By taking young women's own concerns seriously and organising the content of educational classes around young people's interests and concerns, SRE can increase its potential to impact on the quality of young people's love and sexual relationships over and above reducing teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
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Lorna Doucet, Karen A. Jehn, Elizabeth Weldon, Xiangming Chen and Zhongming Wang
The purpose of this paper is to compare conflict management behaviors of American and Chinese managers. Its main aim is to uncover cultural differences in the way Chinese and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to compare conflict management behaviors of American and Chinese managers. Its main aim is to uncover cultural differences in the way Chinese and American managers approach conflict – thereby developing a more thorough understanding of conflict management across cultures.
Design/methodology/approach
Inductive analysis is used to uncover conflict management constructs that are unique to each culture. Structured interviews and multidimensional scaling techniques are used.
Findings
Results show that the conflict management behaviors suggested by American and Chinese managers are different. For Chinese managers alone, embarrassing the colleague and teaching a moral lesson is an important element. For American managers alone, hostility and vengefulness are important elements. Results suggest that both cultures acknowledge avoidant approaches, but the underlying intentions for Americans alone are associated with a lack of confidence.
Research limitations/implications
Results are based on one conflict scenario and the participants are managers working in mainland China. These factors may limit the generalizability of the results.
Practical implications
The findings of this paper suggest that managers should consider cultural differences in conflict management when diagnosing and intervening in conflict situations in different cultures.
Originality/value
The authors present new concepts for potential inclusion in a comprehensive model of conflict management. The authors illustrate the value of using an inductive approach to improve our understanding of conflict management across cultures.
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Peter Williams, Karen Bunning and Helen Kennedy
This paper aims to present a critical discussion of theoretical concepts that drive the main contributions of the academic partners, by highlighting the contrasting perspectives…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present a critical discussion of theoretical concepts that drive the main contributions of the academic partners, by highlighting the contrasting perspectives and identifying areas of commonality.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper follows a contextualised approach to debating the issues of access and participation for people with ID in learning environments. Each discipline considers the user of ICT within a social context but draws on the theoretical domains and published literature associated with its own area.
Findings
Resonances are to be found across the academic disciplines in terms of an ecological or holistic view of the person with ID as a user of a learning environment. This is what binds the multi‐disciplinary perspective together.
Originality/value
This paper is a rare attempt to integrate three distinct academic disciplines to provide a coherent picture of the theoretical perspectives underpinning research by the authors into the development and use of an ICT system for people with learning difficulties.
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Karl Pillemer and Kurt Lüscher
Every book has its unique history. Our own interest in intergenerational ambivalence developed in discussions during Karl Pillemer’s sabbatical in 1996 at the University of…
Abstract
Every book has its unique history. Our own interest in intergenerational ambivalence developed in discussions during Karl Pillemer’s sabbatical in 1996 at the University of Konstanz Research Center on Society and the Family. Despite using different methods, samples, and research frameworks, both of us had come up with findings about intergenerational relations that could not be interpreted easily within existing theoretical frameworks. Kurt Lüscher’s study of family reorganization after older parents’ divorce pointed toward complex tensions between interpersonal closeness and distance, and between a desire to preserve traditional family forms and to strike out in new directions (Lüscher & Pajung-Bilger, 1998). Similarly, Lüscher’s work on family rhetoric (Lüscher, 2000) and on contemporary families (Lüscher, 1998) suggested the limitations of existing frameworks in these areas. Karl Pillemer’s research on elder mistreatment had revealed the paradoxical circumstance that extreme conflict and a high degree of solidarity coexist in abusive families (Pillemer & Suitor, 1992; Pillemer & Wolf, 1998; Wolf & Pillemer, 1997) and his studies of parent-child relationships had pointed to the prevalence of interpersonal conflict and unmet expectations (Pillemer & Suitor, 1998; Suitor & Pillemer, 1988, 1996) as well as their negative impact on parental well-being (Pillemer & Suitor, 1991).
Tony Hines, Karen McBride, Stella Fearnley and Richard Brandt
The Financial Reporting Review Panel (FRRP) was an innovation in the UK as it was responsible for the previously little considered issue of ensuring compliance with financial…
Abstract
The Financial Reporting Review Panel (FRRP) was an innovation in the UK as it was responsible for the previously little considered issue of ensuring compliance with financial reporting regulations. This paper draws on institutional theory to compare the stated aims, objectives and operating procedures of the FRRP with the practical experiences of those who have had discussions with them, and evidence of the wider impact of their work. The aim is to provide a richer understanding of the way in which this relatively new institution achieves its objectives, and to determine whether it has engaged in “myth making” in order to establish and maintain its legitimacy. The original objectives of the FRRP are explored in this paper, as well as subsequent public pronouncements on its aims, procedures, and achievements. Discussions with key members of the FRRP have enabled further clarification of some of the issues. The perceptions of those with experience of dealing with the FRRP were gained by a series of semi‐structured interviews. Interviews were carried out with company directors and audit firm partners who had direct experience of the FRRP. The analysis draws out themes related to the investigation process and final outcomes of this process. The paper concludes that there is some evidence that the FRRP has engaged in “myth building”. For example, it was considered that cases the FRRP chose to pursue tended to involve rather less serious issues than their public statements might suggest. Also they have considerable operational discretion and this appears to be exercised in a rather unpredictable way without explanation. Overall, however, the evidence suggests that the FRRP is an effective regulator.