Impact of social constructs on administrator understanding of social justice

Educational administrators are expected to relate social justice considerations to their actions and to the theoretical foundations of their practice. At the same time, social constructs-including those related to administrative practice, social justice, and societal norms-are important in helping administrators understand, frame, and describe administrative issues. Furthermore, as part of socially constructed language, these constructs represent discursive practices and accepted ways of knowing, valuing, and experiencing the world. Drawing on the multidimensional methods of critical discourse analysis as articulated in the writings of Michel Foucault, Norman Fairclough, and Allan Luke, and using deconstruction as a strategic device for reading and interpreting texts, this exploratory qualitative study examined how administrator knowledge, values, and experiences impact their understanding of social justice within the context of delivering social justice for students who experience bullying. Study findings reveal that school administrators interpreted social justice as equitable distribution, action, and results; fairness; and equity. Constructs embedded in these interpretations assumed common things such as universal acceptance of norms of social relations and conveyed administrator intent to secure the kind of social relations that enabled individuals to enjoy greater equality within existing social arrangements.

Supporting social-cognitive development in the elementary years: The role of executive function and self-regulation

Every day we make decisions that have repercussions. Sometimes the effects are immediate and intended; other times the effects might be unintended or might not be apparent for years. As parents or educators, part of our role is to support the development of children’s decision-making skills, helping them to develop patterns of adaptive decision-making that will serve them well in their current lives and into the future. Part of successful decision-making involves self-control, a system served by the brain’s executive functions (EF). This involves the ability to put aside immediate reactions and base decisions on a variety of important considerations. Social-cognitive development, the ongoing improvement of the ability to get along with others and to understand others’ emotions, expressions, motivations, and intents, relies, to a large degree, on the same EF systems. The current paper explores the interaction of these two factors (the role of EF in social-cognitive development), explores the research to determine the most effective approaches to improving both factors, and develops a handbook providing activities for educators to use while supporting the growth of both EF and social-cognitive skills. Results of a needs assessment reveal that the majority (59%) of educators surveyed had never used a social skills improvement program in their classrooms, while a full 95% believed that social skills are important or very important for a student’s academic success.

Assessing the Social Acceptability of New Technologies: Gaps and Tensions Between Science and Regulation

Article

Self-organized sociopolitical interactions as the best way to achieve organized patterns in human social systems: going beyond the top-down control of classical political regimes

La monografía presenta la auto-organización sociopolítica como la mejor manera de lograr patrones organizados en los sistemas sociales humanos, dada su naturaleza compleja y la imposibilidad de las tareas computacionales de los regímenes políticos clásico, debido a que operan con control jerárquico, el cual ha demostrado no ser óptimo en la producción de orden en los sistemas sociales humanos. En la monografía se extrapola la teoría de la auto-organización en los sistemas biológicos a las dinámicas sociopolíticas humanas, buscando maneras óptimas de organizarlas, y se afirma que redes complejas anárquicas son la estructura emergente de la auto-organización sociopolítica.

La movilización social por el agua en la cuenca de México Una perspectiva desde las organizaciones sociales

Este artículo analiza la construcción de significados compartidos al interior de una emergente movilización social por el agua en la Cuenca de México (CM). Este texto se deriva de una investigación doctoral sobre el desarrollo reciente de esta movilización (2005-2009) y su potencial aporte  reflexivo a la sociedad. El análisis de los significados compartidos realizado permite, de una parte, identificar y jerarquizar las principales ideas y propuestas que esta movilización ofrece al sistema  político y social, y, de otra parte, evaluar su aporte crítico y propositivo frente al actual orden social del agua en la región. El desarrollo de esta movilización es, en efecto, un indicador del aumento y  la cualificación de la acción y la organización social por el agua, así como de la agudización de los  conflictos y el malestar social frente a sus definiciones y usos dominantes. El contenido de este artículo se divide en tres secciones: primero, la contextualización del caso de  estudio y sus principales elementos te ricos y metodológicos; segundo, el análisis de los significados  compartidos en la movilización, y tercero, las consideraciones finales y conclusiones sobre los principales retos que la movilización enfrenta y su potencial aporte reflexivo, político y cultural.

Occupational therapy and its relevance in social projects. relationships, learning and opportunities: collection of experiences of University of Alberta Mscot students in Bogotá, Colombia

Occupational therapists are equipped to promote wellbeing through occupation and to enable participation and meaningful engagement of people in their social and physical environments (WFOT, 2012). As such, the role of the occupational therapists is profoundly linked to the social, cultural and environmental characteristics of the contexts in which occupations take place. The central role that context plays in occupational performance creates an interesting dichotomy for the occupational therapist: on one hand, a profound understanding of cultural and social factors is required from the Occupational Therapy (OT) in order to develop a meaningful and successful collaboration with the person; on the other hand, the ability of the occupational therapists to recognize and explore the contextual factor of an occupation-person dyad transcends cultural and spatial barriers. As a result, occupational therapists are equipped to engage in international collaboration and practice, and as such face unique and enriching challenges. International fieldwork experiences have become a tool through which occupational therapists in training can develop the critical skills for understanding the impact of cultural and social factors on occupation. An OT student in an international fieldwork experience faces numerous challenges in leading a process that is both relevant and respectful to the characteristics of the local context: language, cultural perceptions of occupation and personhood, religious backgrounds, health care access, etc. These challenges stand out as ethical considerations that must be considered when navigating an international fieldwork experience (AOTA, 2009). For more than five years now, the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine (FRM) of the University of Alberta (UoFA) and the School of Medicine and Health Sciences at the Universidad del Rosario (UR), Bogota, Colombia, have sustained a productive and meaningful international collaboration. This collaboration includes a visit by Dr. Albert Cook, professor of the FRM and former dean, to the UR as the main guest speaker in the International Congress of Technologies for Disability Support (IBERDISCAP) in 2008. Furthermore, Dr. Cook was a speaker in the research seminar of the Assistive Technology Research Group of the Universidad del Rosario. Following Dr. Cook’s visit, Professors Liliana Álvarez and Adriana Ríos travelled to Edmonton and initiated collaboration with the FRM, resulting in the signing of an agreement between the FRM and the UR in 2009, agreement that has been maintained to this day. The main goal of this agreement is to increase academic and cultural cooperation between the UR and the UofA. Other activities have included the cooperation between Dr. Kim Adams (who has largely maintained interest and effort in supporting the capacity building of the UR rehabilitation programs in coordinating the provision of research placement opportunities for UR students at the UofA), an Assistive Technology course for clinicians and students led by Dr. Adams, and a research project that researched the use of basic cell phones to provide social interaction and health information access for people with disabilities in a low-income community in Colombia (led by Tim Barlott, OT, MSc, under the supervision of Dr. Adams). Since the beginning, the occupational therapy programs of the Universidad del Rosario and the University of Alberta have promoted this collaboration and have strived to engage in interactions that provide further development opportunities for students and staff. As part of this process, the international placement experience of UofA OT students was born under the leadership of: Claudia Rozo, OT program director at UR, placement and academic leadership of Elvis Castro and Angélica Monsalve, professors of the occupational therapy program at UR; and Dr. Lili Liu, OT department director at UofA, Cori Schmitz, Academic coordinator of clinical education at the UofA; and Tim Barlott and Liliana Álvarez leading the international and cross-cultural aspect of this collaboration.This publication summarizes and illustrates the process of international placement in community settings in Colombia, undertaken by occupational therapy students of the University of Alberta. It is our hope that this document can provide and document the ethical considerations of international fieldwork experience, the special characteristics of communities and the ways in which cultural and social competences are developed and help international students navigate the international setting. We also hope that this document will stimulate discussion among professional and academic communities about the importance and richness of international placement experiences and encourage staff and students to articulate their daily efforts with the global occupational therapy agenda.

Formação e leitura : o professor, sua prática e a inclusão social

“Formação e Leitura: o Professor, sua Prática e a Inclusão Social” aborda a problemática do fazer pedagógico para formar leitores ‘competentes’ favorecendo a inclusão social e a formação de cidadãos críticos. Pesquisa de natureza qualitativa, mas que não descarta dados quantitativos adota como fundamento metodológico a abordagem qualitativa de pesquisa, num recorte para estudo de caso. Objetiva conhecer e traçar um perfil da formação dos professores atuantes no Ensino Fundamental I, da rede de ensino público municipal de Cotia – São Paulo, identificar as concepções do professor a respeito deste ensino e aprendizagem, compreender e apresentar a relação dos professores e alunos em torno desta prática e sua qualidade social. As considerações a respeito da importância da leitura, as práticas pedagógicas e atuação do professor como incentivador e disseminador do hábito de ler e a formação necessária para que sejam comprometidos com o desenvolvimento desta prática social, constituem os questionamentos que norteiam esta pesquisa. Dentre os resultados, constata que o universo de significações trazido pelos professores recaem sobre a prática docente; são os seus hábitos e crença na leitura, como fator de inclusão social sua e de seus alunos que determinam o seu fazer pedagógico. Essa pesquisa tem o potencial de contribuir para reflexões dos projetos pedagógicos e suas equipes escolares, visando elevar a qualidade social da educação de um modo geral.

Impression management, myth creation and fabrication in private social and environmental reporting: insights from Erving Goffman

This paper explores the nature of private social and environmental reporting (SER). From interviews with UK institutional investors, we show that both investors and investees employ Goffmanesque, staged impression management as a means of creating and disseminating a dual myth of social and environmental accountability. The interviewees’ utterances unveil private meetings imbued with theatrical verbal and physical impression management. Most of the time, the investors’ shared awareness of reality belongs to a Goffmanesque frame whereby they accept no intentionality, misrepresentation or fabrication, believing instead that the ‘performers’ (investees) are not intending to deceive them. A shared perception that social and environmental considerations are subordinated to financial issues renders private SER an empty encounter characterised as a relationship-building exercise with seldom any impact on investment decision-making. Investors spoke of occasional instances of fabrication but these were insufficient to break the frame of dual myth creation. They only identified a handful of instances where intentional misrepresentation had been significant enough to alter their reality and behaviour. Only in the most extreme cases of fabrication and lying did the staged meeting break frame and become a genuine occasion of accountability, where investors demanded greater transparency, further meetings and at the extreme, divested shares. We conclude that the frontstage, ritualistic impression management in private SER is inconsistent with backstage activities within financial institutions where private financial reporting is prioritised. The investors appeared to be in a double bind whereby they devoted resources to private SER but were simultaneously aware that these efforts may be at best subordinated, at worst ignored, rendering private SER a predominantly cosmetic, theatrical and empty exercise.

Impression management, fabrication and myth creation in private social and environmental reporting: insights from Erving Goffman

This paper explores the nature of private social and environmental reporting (SER). From interviews with UK institutional investors, we show that both investors and investees employ Goffmanesque, staged impression management as a means of creating and disseminating a dual myth of social and environmental accountability. The interviewees’ utterances unveil private meetings imbued with theatrical verbal and physical impression management. Most of the time, the investors’ shared awareness of reality belongs to a Goffmanesque frame whereby they accept no intentionality, misrepresentation or fabrication, believing instead that the ‘performers’ (investees) are not intending to deceive them. A shared perception that social and environmental considerations are subordinated to financial issues renders private SER an empty encounter characterised as a relationship-building exercise with seldom any impact on investment decision-making. Investors spoke of occasional instances of fabrication but these were insufficient to break the frame of dual myth creation. They only identified a handful of instances where intentional misrepresentation had been significant enough to alter their reality and behaviour. Only in the most extreme cases of fabrication and lying did the staged meeting break frame and become a genuine occasion of accountability, where investors demanded greater transparency, further meetings and at the extreme, divested shares. We conclude that the frontstage, ritualistic impression management in private SER is inconsistent with backstage activities within financial institutions where private financial reporting is prioritised. The investors appeared to be in a double bind whereby they devoted resources to private SER but were simultaneously aware that these efforts may be at best subordinated, at worst ignored, rendering private SER a predominantly cosmetic, theatrical and empty exercise.

The diversity of diversity: further methodological considerations on the use of the concept in cultural economics

The implications of diversity still raise confusion in the cultural debate. We address them from both a formal and conceptual viewpoints, putting in check the validity of some arguments. We conclude that: measuring diversity demands key decisions and careful statistical procedures; ignorance on optimal diversity levels and on ways to generate them is widespread in the cultural field; there is no support for cultural diversity as something associated to fair economic and political systems; restriction to sheer economics requires the establishment of links between diversity and measurable properties – something rather incipient. Diversity, as a social choice, should be distinguished from it as an economic value.

Gestão estratégica orientada para resultados: um modelo a serviço do desenvolvimento social e empresarial na Amazônia brasileira

A pesquisa teve como objetivo explicar se o modelo de gestão do SEBRAE pode contribuir com os atores regionais para implementar as ações emanadas das diretrizes do Plano Amazônia Sustentável – PAS. Verificou-se na literatura considerações sobre o desenvolvimento e instituições; políticas públicas para o desenvolvimento na Amazônia; gestão pública para o desenvolvimento, a evolução de seus modelos, com ênfase no modelo gerencial – gestão orientada para resultados; e tecnologias de gestão. O tipo de pesquisa é descritiva exploratória. Os dados foram coletados através de pesquisa bibliográfica e documental (de acesso livre, tanto bibliográfica quanto eletrônica – internet). Apresentou-se o SEBRAE enquanto agente de desenvolvimento; identificou-se o seu modelo de gestão denominada Gestão Estratégica Orientada para Resultados – GEOR seus fundamentos basilares, e suas tecnologias de gestão Os dados foram tratados através da técnica de análise de conteúdo, numa abordagem qualitativa. Com a análise realizada depreendeu-se então, que por sua flexibilidade a GEOR, seus fundamentos basilares e de suas tecnologias de gestão – via espinha dorsal - projeto orientado para resultados e sua metodologia de elaboração, tem como contribuir de forma efetiva na realização das ações emanadas das diretrizes do PAS, mais precisamente no que diz respeito aos das cadeias produtivas e comunidades organizadas, feita que é premissa basilar do modelo e da tecnologia de gestão – projeto, ser elaborado com e por público-alvo definido, o que lhe assegura a prerrogativa de que as ações a serem realizadas sejam estruturadas e contratualizadas: gerenciadas; monitoradas e avaliadas pelos atores diretamente interessado nos resultados.

O controle social do judiciário: a experiência do Observatório da Justiça e Cidadania no Estado do Rio Grande do Norte

This dissertation deals with the possibility of build an effective social control of the judiciary Brazilians. The theme was bounded by a cut geographic and secular: the experience of the Center of Justice and Citizenship in the state of Rio Grande do Norte (OJC/RN), which begins formally in august 2003. The research approach and leave of experience in judicial practice and policy specific substrates to theorize about the subject. We collected documents about cases, the judicial diagnoses, reports, news material, in addition to lifting bibliographic. Therefore, it is working with about notions of a democratic state of right in the light of the Brazilian Constitution of 1988, in order to contextualize the insertion of the judicial system, by the prospect of legitimacy, which is considered by a look formal and material. It is a brief analysis of the system of official control of the judiciary (internal and external), is emphasizing its shortcomings functional and its corporate character, which suffers from poor conformation democratic. Then there is a discussion about the need to establish the social control of the judiciary, through the prism of relations of power that are locked in the judiciary, the lack of formal criteria for the guarantee of obtaining the correct judgment (laws, precedents and conscience of the judge), the problems of impunity and justice class, and from the examination of some cases, as the body of search. From this conjuncture, prepares to be an outline of shapes and the limits of social control, consonant the proposal erected in certain sectors of organized civil society, represented by the movement s social OJC. In the end, considerations are made on the legitimacy and constitutionality of OJC

How to drag with a worn-out mouse? Searching for social justice through collaboration

We consider what a concern for social justice in terms of social inclusion might mean for teacher education, both practising and prospective, with particular reference to the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in mathematics education taking place at a borderland school. Our discussion proceeds through the following steps: (1) We explore what a borderland position might denote to address what social inclusion might mean. (2) We consider the significance of mathematics education and the use of ICT for processes of social inclusion. (3) We briefly refer to the Interlink Network, as many of our observations emerge as reflections on this project. (4) We present different issues that will be of particular importance with respect to teacher education if we want to establish a mathematics education for social inclusion. These issues concern moving away from the comfort zone, establishing networks, identifying new approaches, moving beyond prototypical research, and getting in contact. This brings us to (5) final considerations, where we return to the notion of social justice. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009.

Sustainable development: changing production patterns, social equity and the environment

Includes bibliography