Balance Discourse Research Articles

The “balance discourse”: A case study of power and wetland management

The discourse that has dominated the public debate over wetland management in Alberta, Canada, is one that calls for economics to be ‘balanced’ with wetland conservation. Yet within this ‘balance discourse’, there is little understanding of how, by whom, and for whom economic prosperity and wetland conservation should be balanced. Using Q methodology, we strive to uncover whether key decision makers subscribe to the dominant public discourse of ‘balance’, and where key decision makers are positioned within the discourse relative to one another. We find that, in contrast to the dominant public discourse, there is a strong consensus amongst key policy actors that a more robust wetland policy will not unduly impact the economy. The disagreement between policy actors instead lies in the process for governing wetlands. On key issues of governance, we find a discursive coalition between industry and key government decision makers, which favors a ‘business as usual’ approach to wetland management that includes minimal regulation and an increased use of market-based instruments. This perspective is in contrast to other voices that expressed concern over current rates of wetland loss, with calls for stronger laws and policies for managing these losses. We suggest that the ‘balance discourse’ has become a privileged account that obscures what is being balanced and by whom.

Walking a tightrope or navigating a web: Parameters of balance within perceived institutional realities

Synopsis This paper leverages Structuration Theory within the greater framework of Institutional Theory to broaden the balance discourse cross-culturally. We argue that the application of the balance concept can be expanded if one allows a move beyond the structure-argument for a bi-polar, equal weighting conceptualization of “work” versus “family”, and beyond a process argument focusing on psycho-behavioral components. Instead balance can acknowledge the differences between structure and agency and the interaction between them (i.e., agentic process ). Agentic process suggests that women actively seek to address as well as modify a multitude of institutionally mandated and idiosyncratic structures (i.e., roles and responsibilities) through day-to-day behaviors. Ultimately, balance is a matter of the ease of navigation between and across these different types of structure. With a set of qualitative data drawn from three societies within the Arab Middle East, we find preliminary support for an enriched conceptualization of balance readily applicable cross-culturally.

The challenge of crafting policy for do-it-yourself brain stimulation

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a simple means of brain stimulation, possesses a trifecta of appealing features: it is relatively safe, relatively inexpensive and relatively effective. It is also relatively...

Reconceptualizing Balance: Navigation, Legitimacy and Institutional Realities

This paper leverages the concepts of structure and agency (Structuration Theory) within the greater framework of Institutional Theory in an attempt to broaden the balance discourse cross-culturally. Our argument is that the application of the idea of balance can be expanded if one allows a move beyond the structure-argument for a bi-polar, equal weighting conceptualization of “work” versus “family”, and beyond a process argument focusing on psycho-behavioral components. Instead the idea of balance should acknowledge the differences between structure and agency and the interaction between them (i.e., agentic process). Agentic process suggests that a woman actively seeks to address as well as modify a multitude of institutionally mandated and idiosyncratic structures (i.e., roles and responsibilities) through her day-to-day behaviors. Ultimately, balance is a matter of the ease of navigation between and across these different types of structure. Finally, we argue that agentic processes are the basis of subjective perceptions of balance as well as external judgments of legitimacy. We develop a specific set of structure-related, and then a second set of agentic process-related, propositions for which we attempt to provide preliminary and exploratory support with a set of qualitative data drawn from three societies within the Arab Middle East.

Overview of Work-Life Balance Discourse and Its Relevance in Current Economic Scenario

During the second half of the 20th century, with work demands increasingly encroaching on family and personal time at a faster pace, employers acknowledged the need of work-life balance programmes to facilitate employees maintain a healthy balance between the conflicting demands of their work and personal life. Availability of work-life balance facilities to employees witnessed a phenomenal growth between the late eighties of the 20th century and early years of the 21st century. This growth has been abruptly interrupted by the current economic downturn. Increasing numbers of organisations, in the name of cost cutting, have either curtailed work-life balance facilities or are contemplating to do the same. This paper analyses the emergence of work-life balance discourse, from the days of early communal living till the present day theories, and presents a macro level model of work-life balance. Further, a detailed analysis of proven and anticipated benefits of work-life balance is presented to justify the need of work-life balance initiatives at organisational level during the present economic downturn.

Tinkering Toward a National Identification System: An Experiment on Policy Attitudes

The REAL ID Act was passed in 2005 by Congress in part to address preoccupations with breaches to homeland security after the 9/11 attacks. The Act requires states to introduce more standardized state driver's licenses by 2008. The goal of this paper is to understand citizens' opinions in the area of personal identification and how these opinions may be shaped by alternative framings of the issue. Using survey responses from Michigan residents provides evidence of the following: (i) a majority of the Michigan public supports the current reforms in identification; however, a majority is not willing to incur larger costs or delays; (ii) framing the issue around immigration can generate as much support as framing the issue around terrorism; however, a more balanced discourse can dampen support; and (iii) partisan and ideological leanings moderately structure support for identification reforms. Overall the findings suggest a comfortable margin for reforms around personal identification if public safeguarding interpretations can predominate.

From Flexibility to Work-Life Balance: Exploring the Changing Discourses of Management Consultants

What is the role of management consultants in the diffusion of fashionable ideas? This paper addresses this question by drawing on an ethnographic study of management consultants in the UK. The study examined how the consultants made sense of a newly emerging discourse of work-life balance. Using the metaphor of a `bandwagon', the study reveals the shifting interpretations of the work-life balance discourse as the consultants found themselves `riding alongside', `cashing in', `steering', `steering clear of' and `falling off' the bandwagon. These findings question the idea that fashion-setters always `jump on' to fashion bandwagons, thereby acting as passive channels in the diffusion of popular discourses. Instead, the study highlights the similarities between fashion-setters and their audiences in the reflexive and strategic ways in which discourses can be interpreted, enacted and appropriated.

The Discourse of Environmental Conflicts: How Stakeholders Construct Their Claims, Their Opponents and Themselves

Using a discourse approach to framing, we investigate the extent to which stakeholder groups cohere or differ in their framing of three environmental disputes. The results help us to better understand the nature of homogeneous or heterogeneous stakeholder groups and how their sensemaking patterns facilitate effective conflict management. Our approach offers a more fine-grained analysis of stakeholder framing than scholars have previously used. Our results reveal four distinct discourses at play in these conflicts: the traditional business discourse, an oppositional discourse expressed by environmentalists, a balance discourse espoused primarily by government agency officials, and a fourth, freedom discourse, espoused by other stakeholders. We show how stakeholders that espouse these different discourses construct their interactions to preserve their group identities, which, in turn, perpetuates the conflict. We consider how shifts in what constitutes the dominant discourse for a given dispute can move the disputes toward resolution. Finally, the results suggest that scholars can receive greater insights into environmental conflicts through examining the patterns of frames held by disputants rather than concentrating solely on interests or positions that stakeholders share. By analyzing environmental disputes from a framing perspective, we illuminate how framing contributes to the intractability of inter-organizational conflict. Overall, we conclude that discourse analysis of framing provides an instructive approach to management research and contributes to the ongoing discussion of discursive struggle and change within and among organizations.

Menyibak Kekerasan Simbolik Orientalisme

Recent order of world civilization seems to be constructed by Western civilization through project of orientalism which assumes East as the passive receiver of anything West actively offer; East is considered uncivilized, primitive, and dominated by myth and superstition. Based on the assumptions, West wants to inject modernity awareness into East cognitive sphere. But, East finds the want as a West tricky way to dominate East, a new kind of colonialism, and a hegemony.
 West hegemony covered under orientalism—to use Pierre Boudeau’s term—is a kind of symbolic violence. The term refers to a violence insulted smoothly; it is differed from domination which refers more to physical violence. Orientalism symbolic violence can be traced through orientalists’ works on East that are scientifically and massively published. The violence should be wisely responded by East through creating balance discourse based on scientific and intuitive capabilities.
 Recent order of world civilization seems to be constructed by Western civilization through project of orientalism which assumes East as the passive receiver of anything West actively offer; East is considered uncivilized, primitive, and dominated by myth and superstition. Based on the assumptions, West wants to inject modernity awareness into East cognitive sphere. But, East finds the want as a West tricky way to dominate East, a new kind of colonialism, and a hegemony.
 West hegemony covered under orientalism—to use Pierre Boudeau’s term—is a kind of symbolic violence. The term refers to a violence insulted smoothly; it is differed from domination which refers more to physical violence. Orientalism symbolic violence can be traced through orientalists’ works on East that are scientifically and massively published. The violence should be wisely responded by East through creating balance discourse based on scientific and intuitive capabilities.

The constraints of a ‘work–life balance’ approach: an international perspective

Locating work–life balance discourse in time and place The huge recent growth in attention to ‘work–life balance’(WLB) dilemmas in academic, political, professional and popular literature might give the impression that this is, at best, a new area of concern, or at worst, a passing fad. This would, however, be misleading. The WLB metaphor is a social construct located within a particular period of time and originating in a Western context, but dilemmas relating to the management of paid work alongside other parts of life, especially family, have been the focus of research for several decades (see, e.g., Rapoport and Rapoport, 1965). Research on this topic has always reflected social, economic and workplace developments and concerns, shifting in response to new trends. For example, as the numbers of women entering the labour force grew, from the 1960s, research in certain contexts tended to focus on ‘working mothers’ or dual earner families, while concerns about stress and burnout associated with workplace changes in the 1980s and 1990s were reflected in research and debate about work–family conflict (Lewis and Cooper, 1999). The terminology used to refer to these issues continues to evolve in response to current concerns. In particular, a shift from ‘work–family’ and ‘family-friendly policies’ with their implicit focus on women, especially mothers, to ‘work–life’, the precursor of the more recent ‘work–life balance’ (WLB) discourse began in the 1990s. This linguistic shift reflected a broader and more inclusive way of framing the debate to engage men and women with and without children or other caring commitments and was partly a response to backlash against work–family policies by those without obvious family obligations.

Evidence Based Resource in Anaesthesia and Analgesia

Evidence Based Resource in Anaesthesia and Analgesia MARTIN TRAMÈR (ed.) BMJ Books: London, UK, 2000, 225 pp. Price £30.00. To make a good soup you need good ingredients, and the complexities and controversies surrounding Evidence Based Medicine definitely lend themselves to a quality intellectual soup. Martin Tramèr sets out his objectives quite clearly. His aim is not to publish another conventional textbook. He has succeeded. This book attempts both to address the philosophical controversies and to explain the statistical and practical complexities involved in performing systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The book is in two parts. The first attempts a balanced discourse of the various aspects of evidence based medicine and the second looks at a few poignant topics. The book starts with an eloquent philosophical preamble by Neville Goodman looking at the various comments made in the medical literature by often polarized protagonists. Things then start in earnest with detailed discussion on the state of anaesthetic literature, the methods involved in systemic reviews and the statistics involved in meta-analysis. These chapters describe clearly, although occasionally repetitively, the difficulties in extracting useful information from often poorly performed and reported primary research. As such, this section makes invaluable reading for any potential researcher over and above any concerns about meta-analysis. We need well-conducted reliable research for all sorts of reasons, and aspiring researchers who want to get their work published would do well to heed the methodological quality lessons which attempting to combine primary studies have taught us. The contributions in the second half of the book vary in style. Chapter 6 is an annotated summary of six systematic reviews, whilst Chapter 7 is a single review in itself (dealing with the effects of intra-articular morphine). Chapter 8 gives a fascinating insight into how the Oxford canon of systematic reviews in postoperative nausea and vomiting were conducted, noteworthy because they considered potential harms as well as benefits. The final chapter considers the control of perioperative bleeding. These areas are all put through the meta-scope, the multiple systemic reviews are dissected and analysed, before concluding where the state of the science is, which is frequently and refreshingly inconclusive. The Editor’s aim of providing a balanced appraisal of evidence based medicine is clearly met, and although the authors include most of the major luminaries of evidence based medicine within anaesthesia, their accounts reflect both its shortcomings and merits. The claim in the title to be a resource is also achieved with a comprehensive list of systemic reviews with brief comment, in the appendix, and several useful websites are also detailed. Unfortunately, the publishers’ claim that there will be regular electronic updates is not expanded upon. Also, because of the lag time between the book’s preparation and its publication, there is no mention of the Cochrane Anaesthesia Review Group, which was formed early in 2000. This book has something for everyone – both reviewers learnt a lot from it, although one is an editor within the Cochrane Collaboration and one a relative novice in the field. We expect this book, and its subsequent editions, will become a favourite for trainees seeking knowledge, and is a must when they start designing their research project, but maybe also for ‘old timers’ to reassure them that science has not yet taken away their art. What it does not do, however, is solve the problem of articulating to nonmedics what we should practise instead of Evidence Based Medicine. We hope subsequent courses live up to this most appetizing starter.

Managed care and education: seizing the opportunities

Sweeping effects of changes in our health care system on medical education are documented comprehensively in Ludmerer’s new book Time to Heal(1) and succinctly in Kuttner’s recent article on managed care and education (2). While Ludmerer and Kuttner provided balanced discourse, other dialogue has been more heated. Rather than add to the controversies, this commentary seeks to stimulate dialogue around solutions for medical education in our evolving managed care environment.

Positive Contributions of the Elderly to Society: a Multidisciplinary Perspective

Abstract. The primary aim of this paper is to provide an overview and integration of the papers presented as part of an invited symposium titled, Positive Contributions of the Elderly to Society, at the 1997 World Congress of Gerontology. One of the main points of this symposium was to suggest that issues of costs and contributions to society for any targeted age group are best conceptualised from a multi‐dimensional and life‐long perspective. The paper by Greene reported that costs are best understood in relation to current and life‐long contributions in the economic sphere. The paper by Wells illustrated the worth of the positive contributions of older adults as caregivers. Another main point was the suggestion that the assessment of cognitive and personality dimensions in later life indicates continued growth and the emergence of unique and effective cognitive and adaptive skills. The papers by Smith, Hoyer and White, and Schaie and Willis described the positive nature of the cognitive contributions of older individuals in everyday settings. These papers emphasised the mutual benefits that accrue for society and for older individuals when meaningful roles are maintained in later life. These papers were illustrative of successful ageing, but also addressed the limits and age‐related constraints on effective functioning in later life. The findings of the papers in this symposium provide a basis for developing a more balanced discourse regarding the positive contributions and burdens of an ageing population, and for developing new multi‐disciplinary and multicultural perspectives in gerontology.