Motivating farmers: insights from social psychology

We are social beings. What we do and don’t do, what we think, the decisions we take are all influenced by those around us. Sometimes we are conscious of those influences, often we are not. Those who influence us are not just our close family and friends, our own social and professional networks, but the wider societies and cultures to which we belong. The goals we espouse, the values we hold, the image we have of ourselves are all molded to a large extent by our interactions and relationships with other people. The social sciences offer a range of concepts and tools for exploring these influences. In this paper, I introduce some of these and illustrate them with recent research I and my colleagues have been doing at the University of Reading among livestock farmers in the UK, with a view to providing insights that can then be used to plan and implement more effective interventions.

Patient participation : what it is and what it is not

In general, patient participation is regarded as being informed and partaking in decision making regarding one’s care and treatment. This interpretation is common in legislation throughout the Western world and corresponding documents guiding health care professionals, as well as in scientific studies. Even though this understanding of the word participation can be traced to a growing emphasis on individuals’ autonomy in society and to certain dictionary defi nitions, there are other ways of understanding participation from a semantic point of view, and no trace of patients’ descriptions of what it is to participate can be found in these definitions. Hence, the aim of this dissertation was to understand patients’ experience of the phenomenon of patient participation. An additional aim was to understand patients’ experience of non-participation and to describe the conditions for patient participation and non-participation, in order to understand the prerequisites for patient participation. The dissertation comprises four papers. The philosophical ideas of Ricoeur provided a basis for the studies: how communication can present ways to understand and explain experiences of phenomena through phenomenological hermeneutics. The first and second studies involved a group of patients living with chronic heart failure. For the fi rst study, 10 patients were interviewed, with a narrative approach, about their experience of participation and non-participation, as defi ned by the participants. For the second study, 11 visits by three patients at a nurse-led outpatient clinic were observed, and consecutive interviews were performed with the patients and the nurses, investigating what they experience as patient participation and non-participation. A triangulation of data was performed to analyse the occurrence of the phenomena in the observed visits. For paper 3 and 4, a questionnaire was developed and distributed among a diverse group of people who had recent experience of being patients. The questionnaire comprised respondent’s description of what patient participation is, using items based on findings in Study 1, along with open-ended questions for additional aspects and general issues regarding situations in which the respondent had experienced patient participation and/or non-participation. The findings show additional aspects to patient participation: patient participation is being provided with information and knowledge in order for one to comprehend one’s body, disease, and treatment and to be able to take self-care actions based on the context and one’s values. Participation was also found to include providing the information and knowledge one has about the experience of illness and symptoms and of one’s situation. Participation occurs when being listened to and being recognised as an individual and a partner in the health care team. Non-participation, on the other hand, occurs when one is regarded as a symptom, a problem to be solved. To avoid non-participation, the information provided needs to be based on the individual’s need and with recognition of the patient’s knowledge and context. In conclusion, patient participation needs to be reconsidered in health care regulations and in clinical settings: patients’ defi nitions of participation, found to be close to the dictionaries’ description of sharing, should be recognised and opportunities provided for sharing knowledge and experience in two-way-communication.

Campo educacional e representação social da formação docente :o olhar dos agentes

Teaching formation has been the target of many changes, having been forged according to numerous formats and models through different times and spaces, composing thus, different codes and curricular proposals for different levels of qualification. We've tried in this work to pinpoint the main discussions which take place in the area of the teaching formation, based in the views of modern writers. We ve also tried, through the Social Representations Theory, to reveal and learn how the agents directly involved in this process realize and react, that is, the teachers who cope with the beginning stages of the Fundamental Teaching in the public school system in Natal/RN, taking into account that, in many cases, such formation demands the rethinking of the very formation policies. We've also adopted the concepts of field and educational field introduced by the praxiology of Pierre Bourdieu. It s been considered a fundamental theoretical reference which enables the understanding of social phenomena, both in macro and micro viewpoints. Thus, we do not neglect the whole, and particularly, the nuances of each context or specific situation. In the methodological track we ve used for data gathering the Free Word Association Test, and the Semi-Structured Interview, and also secondary sources for the characterization of the research spectre. Data treatment and analysis were performed with the help of the following software: SPSS Statistical Package for Social Sciences and EVOC; and the method of Content Category Analysis. The combination of the concepts and techniques mentioned above was necessary to cope with the qualitative and quantitative aspects, in our attempt to offer a wider range of contributions and outcome validations, which have shown, among other less explicit elements, the existence of a social representation of the teaching formation such as: knowledge theoretical and practical; a necessity imposed by the symbolical conflicts of the social field; capacitation and compromisse. We acknowledge the relevance of the thoughts discussed here, though aware that this is just one of the possible approaches to the theme

A inserção social do banco dos cocais no município de São João do Arraial - PI

Pós-graduação em Geografia - IGCE

The Social Life of Anti-Terrorism Laws. The War on Terror and the Classifications of the "Dangerous Other"

This book addresses two developments in the conceptualisation of citizenship that arise from the 'war on terror', namely the re-culturalisation of membership in a polity and the re-moralisationof access to rights. Taking an anthropological perspective, it traces the ways in which the trans-nationalisation of the 'war on terror' has affected notions of 'the dangerous other' in different political and social contexts, asking what changes in the ideas of the state and of the nation have been promoted by the emerging culture of security, and how these changes affect practices of citizenship and societal group relations.

The Road Not Taken: Enabling and Limiting Mobility in the Eastern Pamirs

Based on fieldwork conducted between 2008 and 2011, this article explores the role of roads in enabling and limiting the movement of people and goods in Tajikistan’s Eastern Pamirs. The article focuses on the Pamir Highway and a newly established trade route linking Tajikistan with China. Besides materially facilitating mobility, both roads serve as trajectories for opportunities, but often also signify the lack of such to those who live along them. This article thus seeks to analyse the shifting roles of roads against the backdrop of past and present state dispensations, shifting ideologies and newly emerging economic practices. By emphasising roads as both enabling and limiting spatial entities shaped by materiality, politics and economics, this article argues, on the one hand, that roads are important factors in directing and accelerating the mobility of people and goods and, on the other, that roads are also symbols of immobility inasmuch as they set limitations on the movement of people.

Catching Reality or Bowing Disciplines: How to Move the Study of Citizenship

In his contribution, Joppke justifies his selection of foundational scholars by linking each to what he sees as the three key facets of citizenship: status, rights and identity. Maarten Vink explicitly links his research agenda to the first, status, and outlines why it is so important. In identifying three facets of citizenship, Joppke acknowledges that some academics would include political participation, but he ultimately decides against it. But here we can, and should, broaden citizenship studies by bringing in insights from the behavioral politics tradition in domestic politics - when and why people engage in political acts - and from the social movements literature in sociology. I believe that the American debate on immigration reform, admittedly stalled, would not have advanced as far as it has without the social movement activism of DREAMers - unauthorized young people pushing for a path to citizenship - and the belief that Barack Obama won re-election in part because of the Latino vote. Importantly, one type of political activism demands formal citizenship, the other does not. As many contributors note, the “national models” approach has had a significant impact on citizenship studies. Whether one views such models through a cultural, institutional or historical lens, this tends to be a top-down, macro-level framework. What about immigrants’ agency? In Canada, although the ruling Conservative government is shifting citizenship discourse to a more traditional language - as Winter points out - it has not reduced immigration, ended dual citizenship, or eliminated multiculturalism, all goals of the Reform Party that the current prime minister once helped build. “Lock-in” effects (or policy feedback loops) based on high immigrant naturalization and the coming of age of a second-generation with citizenship also d emands study, in North America and elsewhere. Much of the research thus far suggests that political decisions over citizenship status and rights do not seem linked to immigrants’ political activism. State-centered decision-making may have characterized policy in the early post-World War II period in Europe (and East Asia?), but does it continue to hold today? Majority publics and immigrant-origin residents are increasingly politicized around citizenship and immigration. Does immigrant agency extend citizenship status, rights and identity to those born outside the polity? Is electoral power key, or is protest necessary? How is citizenship practiced, and contested, irrespective of formal status? These are important and understudied empirical questions, ones that demand theoretical creativity - across sub-fields and disciplines - in conceptualizing and understanding citizenship in contemporary times.

Estrategias para la reinserción social de jóvenes en conflicto con la ley

La justicia penal adolescente es un sistema de administración judicial que extiende los derechos y garantías del debido proceso a los adolescentes a quienes se acuse de haber participado en la comisión de una infracción a la ley penal. Se podría decir que las finalidades de la justicia penal juvenil, por orden de importancia son: Administrar justicia de forma democrática. Fomentando la responsabilización del adolescente que ha cometido una infracción penal; promoviendo su integración social y favoreciendo la participación de la comunidad en el proceso de reinserción social, mediante la oferta de servicios y programas para el cumplimiento de medidas socio-educativas. Cabe preguntarse ¿Las instituciones correccionales son coadyuvantes en la reinserción de los jóvenes en conflicto con la ley de tal modo que no vuelvan a confrontar con el orden jurídico vigente cuando egresen? La respuesta es muy compleja porque si bien desde la situación de las instituciones el aislamiento que sufre el joven no les da defensas para poder cambiar sus circunstancias de vida a la hora de reingresar a la sociedad y esto lleva a una alta probabilidad de volver a delinquir. Sin embargo las Ciencias Sociales plantean otras alternativa para logran la inserción de los jóvenes, una de ellas, se inclina a la estimulación de la resiliencia. Esta implica: sobreponerse a las dificultades y tener éxito a pesar de estar expuestos a situaciones de alto riesgo; mantener la competencia bajo presión, esto significa adaptarse con éxito y recuperarse de un trauma ajustándose de forma exitosa a los acontecimientos negativos de la vida.

Verbs as Linguistic Markers of Agency - The Social Side of Grammar

Basic grammatical categories may carry social meaning irrespective of their semantic content. In a set of four studies, we demonstrate that verbs – a basic linguistic category present and distinguishable in most languages – are related to the perception of agency, a fundamental dimension in social perception. In an archival analysis on actual language use in Polish and German, we found that targets stereotypically associated with high agency (men and young people) are presented in the immediate neighborhood of a verb more often than non-agentic social targets (women and old people). Moreover, in three experiments using a pseudo-word paradigm, verbs (but not adjectives and nouns) were consistently associated with agency (but not communion). These results provide consistent evidence that verbs, as grammatical vehicles of action, are linguistic markers of agency. In demonstrating meta-semantic effects of language, these studies corroborate the view of language as a social tool and of language as an integral part of social perception.

Social differentiation of risk: perceptions of the future in drought-prone Central Niger

A snapshot of two Tuareg-dominated 'communes rurales' in the pastoral-agricultural transition zones of Maradi and Tahoua regions, Central Niger, shows that, despite the openly shared 'inevitable natural hazard' drought discourse, risk-taking action in response to drought-related dangers is sharply polarized according to social position. On the one hand the dominant Tuareg minority perceive drought not only as danger for their herds but also as opportunity to increase their political following through the channelling of drought relief benefits to their supporters. On the other hand, the majority of commune households, living on the brink of economic viability, cultivate social links with the dominant families in order to secure access to water, land and humanitarian aid; and household members are forced into more and more frequent and distant out-migration. Certain leaders, well-informed about national land policy and practice, focus their efforts for a better future on the consolidation of community land rights through the promotion of certain sedentarization and land privatization initiatives; however the resulting increased land pressure in key locations may unwittingly expose inhabitants to even worse drought-linked crises in the future. Bibliogr., notes, sum. in English and French

Social statics, or, The conditions essential to human happiness specified, and the first of them developed /

Includes index.

Social statics : or, The conditions essential to human happiness specified, and the first of them developed /

Mode of access: Internet.

Pulse Pressure magnifies the effect of COMT Val158Met on 15 Year Episodic Memory Trajectories

We investigated whether a physiological marker of cardiovascular health, pulse pressure (PP), and age magnified the effect of the functional COMT Val158Met (rs4680) polymorphism on 15-years cognitive trajectories [episodic memory (EM), visuospatial ability, and semantic memory] using data from 1585 non-demented adults from the Betula study. A multiple-group latent growth curve model was specified to gauge individual differences in change, and average trends therein. The allelic variants showed negligible differences across the cognitive markers in average trends. The older portion of the sample selectively age-magnified the effects of Val158Met on EM changes, resulting in greater decline in Val compared to homozygote Met carriers. This effect was attenuated by statistical control for PP. Further, PP moderated the effects of COMT on 15-years EM trajectories, resulting in greater decline in Val carriers, even after accounting for the confounding effects of sex, education, cardiovascular diseases (diabetes, stroke, and hypertension), and chronological age, controlled for practice gains. The effect was still present after excluding individuals with a history of cardiovascular diseases. The effects of cognitive change were not moderated by any other covariates. This report underscores the importance of addressing synergistic effects in normal cognitive aging, as the addition thereof may place healthy individuals at greater risk for memory decline.

"What do other people think?" - The role of prejudice and social norms in the expression of opinions against gay men

It is generally acknowledged that it is no longer socially acceptable to espouse prejudiced beliefs, yet prejudiced attitudes and discriminatory behaviours still occur. The present study sought to determine when and by whom prejudiced attitudes would be expressed. Specifically, an experiment was conducted to examine the impact of injunctive social norms emanating from a social group with which participants identified and participants' level of homophobia on the expression of opinions about gay men. Participants were presented with information indicating that the majority of group members agreed with a number of prejudiced injunctive statements (pro-prejudice norm), that the majority disagreed with the statements (anti-prejudice norm), or they were given no information about other group members' opinions (control). Participants then reported their own responses to the same injunctive statements. Participants' levels of homophobia were assessed either before or after they were given the normative information. The results indicated that activation of a pro-prejudice injunctive norm for those higher in homophobia resulted in more prejudiced opinions being expressed in comparison to those who received no normative information or those who had a nonprejudiced norm activated. Those lower in homophobia expressed less prejudiced opinions than those higher in homophobia and this did not differ as a function of social norm. The results demonstrate how prejudice can come to be expressed even in the presence of a broad societal norm that suggests that is it wrong to express such opinions.

Referral to rehabilitation following traumatic brain injury: a model for understanding inequities in access

Identifying inequities in access to health care requires critical scrutiny of the patterns and processes of care decisions. This paper describes a conceptual model. derived from social problems theory. which is proposed as a useful framework for explaining patterns of post-acute care referral and in particular, individual variations in referral to rehabilitation after traumatic brain injury (TBI). The model is based on three main components: (1) characteristics of the individual with TBI, (2) activities of health care professionals and the processes of referral. and (3) the contexts of care. The central argument is that access to rehabilitation following TBI is a dynamic phenomenon concerning the interpretations and negotiations of health care professionals. which in turn are shaped by the organisational and broader health care contexts. The model developed in this paper provides opportunity to develop a complex analysis of post-acute care referral based on patient factors, contextual factors and decision-making processes. It is anticipated that this framework will have utility in other areas examining and understanding patterns of access to health care. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.