Distinct Practices Research Articles

Centering the Voice of the Client: On Becoming a Collaborative Practitioner with Low-Income Individuals and Families.

Despite current interest in collaborative practices, few investigations document the ways practitioners can facilitate collaboration during in-session interactions. This investigation explores verbatim psychotherapy transcripts to describe and illustrate therapist's communications that facilitate or hinder centering client's voice in work with socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. Four exemplar cases were selected from a large intervention trial aimed at improving shared decision making (SDM) skills of psychotherapists working with low-income clients. The exemplar cases were selected because they showed therapist's different degrees of success in facilitating SDM. Therapist's verbalizations were grouped into five distinct communicative practices that centered or de-centered the voice of clients. Communication practices were examined through the lens of collaborative approaches in family therapy. The analysis suggests that cross-fertilization between SDM and family-oriented collaborative and critical approaches shows promise to illuminate and enhance the challenging road from clinician-led to client-led interactions. This paper also stresses the importance of incorporating relational intersectionality with individuals and families who may not feel entitled to express their expectations or raise questions when interacting with authority figures.

Liking as taste making: Social media practices as generators of aesthetic valuation and distinction

Much research has been conducted on how social media platforms are used as outlets of taste expression, displaying cultural preferences acquired outside the platforms. This research largely builds on the cultural sociology of Pierre Bourdieu and his analysis of taste as a medium of social distinction. We propose to shift the emphasis from the study of taste expression to an analysis of taste making on social media. This shift is occasioned by broader cultural transformations since the 1990s as well as developments on social media since the late 2000s. We see that rather than merely performing a taste learned elsewhere, users cooperatively develop sensitivities on social media platforms, constituting practices of joint observation, evaluation, and distinction. We call this the triangle of taste in which subjects, objects, and media mutually co-produce each other.

Prevalence, control, and treatment of diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol in the Amish

BackgroundThe burden of diabetes and cardiovascular risk is not uniform across the USA, with much of this disparity tracking differences in socioeconomic status, cultural practices and lifestyle. To further evaluate...

Small is beautiful but not trendy: Understanding the allure of big hydraulic works in the Euphrates-Tigris and Nile waterscapes

ABSTRACT The number of massive hydraulic infrastructures such as large-scale dams, huge hydropower plants, and broad irrigation networks has increased to an unprecedented level during the twentieth century. While the trend has recently slowed, building giant water infrastructures is still an utmost priority in many parts of the world across state elites. Informed by insights from major transboundary waterscapes – the river basins of the Euphrates-Tigris and the Nile – this paper analyses how states´ elites justify their hydraulic mission, finding that four distinctive discursive practices are efficiently used in the case studies: securitization, opportunization, de-politicization, and framing.

Macro and micro-social variation in Asia-Pacific sign languages

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To Account for the Appearances: Phenomenology and Existential Change in Aristotle and Plato

ABSTRACT I begin by highlighting central texts from Aristotle that demonstrate both an appreciation of the rich coupling of subject and object that has been the subject of much of the most exciting and innovative phenomenological work and a fundamental methodological commitment to answering to the terms of experience. I then turn to Plato’s dramatic portrayals of Socrates’ distinctive practice—the “Socratic method”—first to document the subtlety that Socrates displays in his dialogical embrace of the description of lived experience and then, with him, to see the depths of existential change that are integral to the commitment to this method.

Antibiotic stewardship and its implications for agricultural animal-human relationships: Insights from an intensive dairy farm in England

Abstract The concept of antibiotic stewardship has recently gained prominence in UK and EU policy and practice as part of wider efforts to reduce antibiotic use in agriculture and respond to concerns about antimicrobial resistance. The purpose of the paper is to provide initial insights into what antibiotic stewardship might mean in practice for agricultural animal-human relationships, particularly within intensive systems. We do this by firstly outlining the anticipated implications for agricultural animals by different stakeholders. Secondly, we develop the concept of heterogeneous biosocial collectivities through engagement with the literatures on care and thirdly we apply this concept to one case study (intensive dairy) farm to explore empirically how animal-human relationships are changing in response to antibiotic stewardship. Three on-farm heterogeneous biosocial collectivities are identified, each of which coheres around a particular problem of life associated with distinctive practices of care and antibiotic use resulting in collectivity-specific responses to antibiotic stewardship. These collectivities are: the calf collectivity and the problem of immunodeficient life; the milking cow collectivity and the problem of ‘stoic’ life; the dry cow collectivity and the problem of fatigued life. In conclusion we point to: the uneven effects for animal-human relationships of changes in antibiotic use including in particular practices of care and their consequences; an intensification of human control over animals with variable implications for their health and welfare. The analysis raises questions for future research, in particular the need to test the assumption that reducing antibiotic use will stimulate systemic change in intensive animal agriculture towards sustainable, high-welfare, and more extensive systems of production.

Participation with Style. Clothing among Young Activists in Political Groups

Research shows that forms of participation among youth are strongly differentiated and connected with complex meanings and motivations. A growing sector of youth develops political intervention through the adoption of distinctive everyday practices and lifestyles. The article aims to reflect upon dress among young activists involved in political groups. Very little research focuses on this topic, but following studies on everyday politics, the young activists’ clothing could be considered as a form and a field of political participation. This approach, however, seems not to be sufficient to interpret the phenomenon. Taking inspiration from research about youth cultures, the article suggests interpreting youth clothing conjointly as a component of style, as a means for constructing collective identity, and social positioning. The article is based on qualitative interviews collected in Piedmont (Italy). Six main topics have been investigated: 1. Socialization to clothing; 2. clothing of the activists and in their groups; 3. meanings of clothing; 4. relevance of clothing; 5. practices of buying clothes; 6. clothes as consumer goods.

Population movements of the Huron-Wendat viewed through strontium isotope analysis

Environmental isotopes can provide information about the composition of groups and the movement of people across landscapes. The archaeological record of Huron-Wendat communities in south-central Ontario is one of numerous drainage-based sequences of small villages among which families or larger population segments moved. These villages amalgamated in the early to mid-sixteenth century into fewer, larger communities. Strontium isotope values (87Sr/86Sr) are used to test hypotheses about these early localized interactions and later amalgamations. There is little prior information about strontium values from this region which was recently glaciated and receives ample precipitation. From the late thirteenth century onward, ancestral Huron-Wendat communities had distinct burial practices of primary burial followed by secondary, collective ossuary burial. Strontium values from tooth enamel of 118 human first permanent molars from 15 archaeological contexts spanning four centuries are interpreted in a framework of archaeologically derived deer (N = 34), small (N = 35) and other large (N = 7) mammals. Reflecting their local origins, 87Sr/86Sr values of small mammals from three geological substrates differ significantly from one another. Each small mammal group clusters more tightly than those of deer. Most human 87Sr/86Sr values agree with small mammal values, by region. Three sites, out of six with more than 10 data points, show mean human 87Sr/86Sr values that differ significantly from the small mammal values of their geological substrate, signaling community movement and individual in-migration. Interpretation of individual human values outside local ranges is informed by information from dietary isotopes. Environmental isotopes substantiate and enhance our prior understandings of the ancestral Huron-Wendat.

Insights Into Aboriginal Australian Mortuary Practices: Perspectives From Ancient DNA

Paleogenetics is a relatively new and promising field that has the potential to provide new information about past Indigenous social systems, including insights into the complexity of burial practices. We present results of the first ancient DNA (aDNA) investigation into traditional mortuary practices among Australian Aboriginal people with a focus on North-East Australia. We recovered mitochondrial and Y chromosome sequences from five ancestral Aboriginal Australian remains that were excavated from the Flinders Island group in Cape York, Queensland. Two of these individuals were sampled from disturbed beach burials, while the other three were from bundle burials located in rock shelters. Genomic analyses showed that individuals from all three rock shelter burials and one of the two beach burials had a close genealogical relationship to contemporary individuals from communities from Cape York. In contrast the remaining male individual, found buried on the beach, had a mitochondrial DNA sequence that suggested that he was not from this location but that he was closely related to people from central Queensland or New South Wales. In addition, this individual was associated with a distinctive burial practice to the other four people. It has been suggested that traditionally non-locals or lower status individuals were buried on beaches. Our findings suggest that theories put forward about beach burials being non-local, or less esteemed members of the community, can potentially be resolved through analyses of uniparental genomic data. Generally, these results support the suggestion often derived from ethnohistoric accounts that inequality in Indigenous Australian mortuary practices might be based on the status, sex, and/or age of individuals and may instead relate to place of geographic origin. There is, however, some departure from the traditional ethnohistoric account in that complex mortuary internments were also offered to female individuals of the community, with genomic analyses helping to confirm that the gender of one of the rockshelter internments was that of a young female.

Emptiness, Equanimity and the Selfobject Function

ABSTRACT The article draws links between the selfobject function and two major Buddhist concepts, emptiness and equanimity. The selfobject function and these Buddhist concepts are based on a common belief, namely, that transformations of the mind occur within and are dependent on context. The selfobject function enhances transformations of archaic narcissism to mature narcissism through renunciation of personal desires and their transformation into concern for the wellbeing of others. This process derives from an ethical promise rather than from an emotional stance. The Buddhist tradition strives to obtain similar ideals while offering distinctive practices that promote these transformations. The article demonstrates how the Buddhist position contributes to the analytic process.

Virtual International Exchange as a High-Impact Learning Tool for More Inclusive, Equitable and Diverse Classrooms

Abstract While technology-assisted learning has become commonplace in education, its applications are rarely examined along geopolitical and cultural perspectives that reveal certain shared and vastly distinct localized practices in evolving pedagogy and cultural dynamics. For developing countries such as Uzbekistan, collaborating virtually with a university in the U.S. may represent both a technological and socio-cultural challenge. Conducting a virtual international project, nonetheless, offers a unique chance to experience another culture in real time through its people, exposing reductionist perceptions of other cultures and humanizing that other through community-generated dialogue. Virtual intercultural exchanges advance intercultural communicative competency and constitute an effective format for high-impact learning practices that advance students’ understanding and appreciation of diversity, equity and inclusion in traditional and online classrooms. This surveys student evaluations of a pilot Virtual International Exchange (VIE) completed between U.S. and Uzbek students in 2018, and underpins a theoretical framework for the benefits of concurring cognitive dissonance for the benefit of open, equitable and inclusive pedagogical models.

Technical note: Calving prediction in dairy cattle based on continuous measurements of ventral tail base skin temperature using supervised machine learning

In this study, we developed a calving prediction model based on continuous measurements of ventral tail base skin temperature (ST) with supervised machine learning and evaluated the predictive ability of the model in 2 dairy farms with distinct cattle management practices. The ST data were collected at 2- or 10-min intervals from 105 and 33 pregnant cattle (mean ± standard deviation: 2.2 ± 1.8 parities) reared in farms A (freestall barn, in a temperate climate) and B (tiestall barn, in a subarctic climate), respectively. After extracting maximum hourly ST, the change in values was expressed as residual ST (rST = actual hourly ST - mean ST for the same hour on the previous 3 d) and analyzed. In both farms, rST decreased in a biphasic manner before calving. Briefly, an ambient temperature-independent gradual decrease occurred from around 36 to 16 h before calving, and an ambient temperature-dependent sharp decrease occurred from around 6 h before until calving. To make a universal calving prediction model, training data were prepared from pregnant cattle under different ambient temperatures (10 data sets were randomly selected from each of the 3 ambient temperature groups: <15°C, ≥15°C to <25°C, and ≥25°C in farm A). An hourly calving prediction model was then constructed with the training data by support vector machine based on 15 features extracted from sensing data (indicative of pre-calving rST changes) and 1 feature from non-sensor-based data (days to expected calving date). When the prediction model was applied to the data that were not part of the training process, calving within the next 24 h was predicted with sensitivities and precisions of 85.3% and 71.9% in farm A (n = 75), and 81.8% and 67.5% in farm B (n = 33), respectively. No differences were observed in means and variances of intervals from the calving alerts to actual calving between farms (12.7 ± 5.8 and 13.0 ± 5.6 h in farms A and B, respectively). Above all, a calving prediction model based on continuous measurement of ST with supervised machine learning has the potential to achieve effective calving prediction, irrespective of the rearing condition in dairy cattle.

Integration or Isolation: Black Shi'ism in the American Diaspora

In a country that claims to be founded on Judeo-Christian values, the experiences of minority groups such as Muslims are often relegated to the margins of discourses on religion. The sense of negligence of marginalized communities is even greater when a group is a minority within a minority, as it is relegated to a double-minority status. This article will argue that due to their double-minority status, American Shi‘is have been occupied more with safeguarding and protecting rather than disseminating their distinctive beliefs and practices. They have been more concerned with preserving than expanding their religious boundaries. The article will also demonstrate that, due to various factors, there has been an increasing number of members of the African American community accepting Twelver Shi’ism. It will further examine for the reasons for this phenomenon and highlight instances of Black Shi‘i–Sunni altercations and hostilities in American correctional facilities.

Speech and language outcomes in low-SES Spanish-English bilingual preschoolers: the role of maternal education

ABSTRACT This paper presents a longitudinal examination of Spanish and English phonological, lexical, and morpho-syntactic abilities in 20 low-SES bilingual preschoolers with mothers who had either completed primary or secondary education in Spanish in their country of origin, Mexico. We focused on the link between maternal education and the following spontaneous production measures: (1) phonological accuracy as measured by Percent of Consonants Correct-Revised, (2) lexical variety as measured by Number of Different Words, and (3) utterance length as measured by Mean Length of Utterance in words; the relation between maternal education and spontaneous production was examined both (a) at preschool entry, when children were on average 3;6, and (b) a year later, after one year of exposure to the majority language (English) and culture. The results showed that although children of more educated mothers performed significantly better on all English measures than children of less educated mothers, maternal education was not related to Spanish outcomes. The same differences persisted a year later. These results suggest that maternal education may play a different, but long-lasting role in English compared to Spanish development possibly due to language input differences attributable to distinct cultural values and practices associated with different languages.

Adult learning theory principles in knowledge exchange networks among maple syrup producers and beekeepers in Maine

ABSTRACT Purpose: Knowledge exchange networks are critical to farmer success and help reduce barriers to entry and growth for new farmers. This study explores informal and formal knowledge exchange networks among two growing industries in Maine: maple syrup production and beekeeping. We increase understanding of the mechanisms through which knowledge exchange occurs by applying adult learning theory. Design/Methodology/Approach: We conducted 46 semi-structured interviews with small- and medium-sized maple syrup producers and beekeepers in Maine. Findings: Maple producers and beekeepers relied on both informal and formal knowledge exchange facilitated by producer associations where the following adult learning theory principles flourished: (1) orientation to learning, (2) prior experience of the learner, and (3) self-concept of the learner. These maple producers and beekeepers also found great value in the community and friendships created through these networks fostering greater expansion within each industry. Practical Implications: Agricultural extension should institute instructional design that features demonstrations, experiential learning, and sharing of fellow producer experiences to help bolster adult learning theory principles. Theoretical Implications: Adult learning theory provides a useful framework in which to explore learning and knowledge exchange among distinct agricultural production practices to help inform future education and training initiatives. Originality/Value: This study is the first to comparatively and specifically examine knowledge exchange among maple producers and beekeepers with application of adult learning theory. This study provides a framework in which to evaluate knowledge exchange among other farming enterprises within an agricultural context to identify effective, meaningful learning mechanisms.

Enclaving: Spatial detachment as an aesthetics of imagination in an urban sub-Saharan African context

While detachment and separation continue to be central to urban development across the globe, in several sub-Saharan African cities they have acquired a particular form of acute social and political efficacy. In many European and American cities, the making of fortified enclosures is considered to be an effect of an endemic fear of societal dissolution, and a growing number of sub-Saharan African cities are, seemingly, affected by a similar socio-political and economic dynamic. However, in sub-Saharan Africa the spatial lines of separation that isolate the affluent few from surrounding urban spaces follow both a much wider and less coordinated meshwork of social divisions and political fissures, and draw on a deeper socio-cultural, economic and historical repertoire. In this article, we trace the contours of enclaving as a critical urban driver, which is rapidly changing the social and physical fabric of cities across the sub-Saharan continent. Rather than considering enclaving simply as a physical manifestation of dominance and privilege, however, we consider it as an ‘aesthetics of imagination’ that migrates through the cities and thereby weaves together otherwise dissimilar and distinct social practices and spaces, political desires and economic aspirations.

THE ANIMAL BODY MULTIPLE: SCIENCE, RELIGION, AND THE INVENTION OF HALAL STUNNING

AbstractThis article proposes a specific kind of ontological investigation in the field of science and religion. I argue that science and religion can create distinct practices that enact multiple realities, and thus they should be seen as more than different views of the same world. By analyzing the details of scientific experiments crucial for the invention of halal stunning, I demonstrate that religion and science are both permeable to the social, the biological, and to each other, and that seemingly incommensurable realities can co‐occur in the body of an animal. Here, animals’ modes of existence are interdependent with the technologies being used, and with the web of interactions that they are drawn into. In the process of inventing halal stunning, it is not so much about the same animal body that is thought about differently as it is about animals spanning across multiple, physiological, realities as they are recruited into different webs of interactions to create a new slaughter method.

Urban agriculture in the city of São Paulo: New spatial transformations and ongoing challenges to guarantee the production and consumption of healthy food

The purpose of this article is to present and analyse the role of urban agriculture as an activity capable of transforming food production and consumption in order to guarantee a better quality of life for producers and consumers in the city of São Paulo, the largest Brazilian metropolis. In this article, we will highlight the possibilities of socio-spatial transformation of urban agriculture in the metropolis and present the political-institutional challenges identified for the first decades of the 21st century. To this end, two distinct but complementary practices will be the focus of the analysis: peri-urban agriculture, historically relevant for the supply of food to the local population and for the generation of income to small farmers; and intra-urban agriculture, represented by community gardens resulting from activist initiatives (including community engagement). These intra and peri-urban practices establish new food paradigms, among which the following stand out in São Paulo: their educational and commercial role; the enactment of new public policies; solidary economy networks and markets; and the spreading of the theory and practice of agroecological food.

The normalization of the populist radical right in news interviews: a study of journalistic reporting on the Swedish democrats

ABSTRACT Focusing on the salient case of news interviewing, this paper investigates the role of journalism in the normalization of radical right-wing politics and the discourses of nationalism and nativism. Normalization is related to transformations in the socio-political landscape, the discursive strategies of political actors, the professional norms of journalism, and the discursive positioning of political views in news reporting. Data include news interviews with the leaders of the Swedish right-wing populist party, the Swedish Democrats. A discourse- and conversation analytical approach is applied to analyze the discursive representations and positioning of political views in four different contexts of interviewing: routine news events, political scandals, live two-party interviews, and set piece interviews. The study shows an overall tendency to normalize and legitimize the political views and language of the radical right. Distinctive practices and mechanisms are identified. The study highlights the challenges of journalism, related to the normalizing implications of the restricted forms of impartiality applied in news journalism.