Dominant Themes Research Articles

“It’s Not a Top Priority”: A Qualitative Analysis of Provider Views on Barriers to Reproductive Healthcare Provision for Homeless Women in the United States

ABSTRACT Women experiencing housing insecurity are at an elevated risk for adverse reproductive health outcomes due to the prevalence of chronic health conditions and higher risk behaviors. Social service and healthcare providers are front line in addressing women’s needs when they seek support. Thus, we sought to explore reproductive healthcare barriers using in-depth interviews with 17 providers at 11 facilities serving housing-insecure women in Salt Lake County, Utah, USA from April to July 2018. Providers noted a number of system-, provider-, and individual-level barriers. Dominant themes include reliance on unstable funding, lack of provider training on reproductive health, and perceived logistical challenges to care. Due to the prevalence of immediate needs among housing-insecure women, providers attest that reproductive health needs often do not emerge as their urgent concern. Our findings suggest that addressing policy and funding challenges to prioritizing reproductive needs among housing-insecure women can help mitigate the potential for long-term adverse reproductive outcomes.

The impact of COVID-19 on the global forestry sector – A bibliometric analysis-based literature review

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought profound changes in the world. Consequently, it has affected global forests, forest-dependent communities, and the forest industry. The current study examines academic research focusing on the Pandemic's effects on the overall forestry sector by conducting a bibliometric analysis followed by a literature review in light of themes identified from the bibliometric analysis itself. We identified relevant studies in the Web of Science database, and the metadata of the selected studies was analyzed using the R-based Biblioshiny application. We identified the studies' sources, focus areas, impacts, locations, and themes through the bibliometrics analysis. Then, the findings of the studies were reviewed and summarized based on the identified themes. One dominant theme was forest recreation, with urban forests increasingly serving as stress-relieving and social spaces for communities during the Pandemic. Conversely, reduced ecotourism and forest park visits adversely affected some communities and conservation efforts that depend on tourism income. Loss of livelihoods and diminished enforcement in some regions exacerbated pressures on forests, leading to heightened deforestation, poaching, land encroachments, and forest fires. Some authorities adapted to the challenge by integrating online technologies into forest management and conservation efforts. Some forest-dependent communities were disproportionately affected, raising concerns about indigenous rights. The forest industry faced challenges such as labor shortages and fluctuations in the supply, demand, and prices of forest products, as indicated in several studies. The study offers insights into the existing literature and identifies research gaps. It provides essential information for better preparedness in the face of future disruptive events and informs the development of policies to protect our forests.

Exploring the research landscape of socially responsible investment through bibliometrics

The ethics of investing are more important than ever in light of the pressing issues of global warming, social inequality, human rights violations, and the need to achieve sustainable development objectives. Investors are increasingly aware of their pivotal position in promoting ethical practices and actively seek investment opportunities that align with these objectives. Socially responsible investment (SRI) arises as a means of investing in companies that prioritize ethical practices, support sustainable development, and generate positive financial returns. We conduct a bibliometric analysis of the research landscape in the field of SRI and sustainable investing, investigating bibliographic coupling to identify the dominant themes and areas of interest. Our analysis reveals the existence of five major themes that define research in this field: i) sustainability and SRI, ii) sustainability and financial markets, iii) sustainable investing and corporate responsibility, iv) green finance and supply chain management, and v) CSR and financial performance in sustainable finance. These themes provide a comprehensive overview of the most important research topics and areas of interest within the field of SRI and sustainable investing. We intend to investigate the interrelationships between these themes, identify emergent research areas, and examine the impact of the findings on sustainable investment strategies. To further understand the concepts and their relevance to SRI, we prefer to perform a qualitative investigation of the identified issues. This study provides a comprehensive examination of the SRI and sustainable investing research landscape by employing bibliometric analysis. This study's findings will contribute to the scholarly understanding of sustainable investing and provide investors, policymakers, and financial institutions with valuable insights for making informed decisions and promoting sustainable and ethical investment practices.

Mapping regional funding for COVID-19 research in the Asia-Pacific region

IntroductionThe Global Research Collaboration for Infectious Disease Preparedness (GloPID-R) is a network of funders supporting research on infectious diseases of epidemic/pandemic potential. GloPID-R is establishing regional hubs to strengthen stakeholder...

Feasibility of implementing an intervention to reduce burden of adjuvant therapy for older women with low-risk breast cancer.

445 Background: In patients ≥70 with early stage (pT1, c/p N0), hormone-receptor positive/ HER2 negative breast cancer, there is an opportunity to reduce adjuvant treatment burden through short-course radiotherapy (RT) approaches and/or endocrine therapy (ET) monotherapy. However, practices may vary in approach to treatment, necessitating differences in approach to interventions designed to tailor decision-making. Methods: Site needs assessment and semi-structured stakeholder interviews at 6 Minority Underserved NCORP sites was conducted, including 3 radiation oncologists (RO), 2 medical oncologists (MO), 1 research coordinator, and 2 breast surgeons (BS). Participant responses were manually recorded and used to construct structural and workflow maps for the possible patient care pathways across the 6 sites. Baseline information on ET and RT use was collected. A planned multi-level intervention that includes patient questionnaires (including a mortality risk calculator) to inform tailored decision-making, and education on guideline-concordant, lower burden options was introduced and dominant themes for barriers and facilitators of the intervention were abstracted. Results: Patients followed multiple pathways and received care at more than one site. The 6 sites span urban, suburban, and rural areas with variable presence of provider types (RO, MO, BS), research support, and RT technology. At baseline, patient reported data, geriatric assessments, mortality risk calculators, and decision aid tools were not routinely used. About 85% of eligible patients receive both ET and moderately hypofractionated whole breast RT; the only commonly used form of partial breast RT is intra-operative. Themes were physician acceptability of the intervention, multidisciplinary care, and physician willingness to offer lower burden treatment options. Physician acceptability subthemes included high baseline guideline knowledge, interest in mortality risk calculator use, need for support to interpret and incorporate patient questionnaire data, and variable physician research engagement. Multidisciplinary care facilitators were multi-campus tumor boards and strong research support staff; barriers were variable insurance across providers and surgeon-driven care plan expectations. Lower burden care subthemes included support for ET for almost all patients; barriers to RT omission were concern about ET non-adherence and to short-course RT were lack of data and toxicity concerns in patients with larger body habitus/resultant RT dose inhomogeneity. Conclusions: Results demonstrated multiple barriers and facilitators of interventions targeting lower burden treatment options for low-risk early-stage breast cancer and identified physician education about interpretation/use of patient-reported data and mortality risk assessments as key to successful study design.

Provider perspectives on radiation oncology quality practices in peer review.

411 Background: Radiation oncology peer review involves presentation of new cases including pertinent patient history and case-specific qualitative treatment planning decisions. Yet implementation of peer recommendations is inconsistent. Thus, we sought to understand multidisciplinary perspectives on peer review to identify factors affecting stakeholder engagement. Methods: Participants in radiation oncology peer review completed semi-structured interviews and Likert surveys to explore the perceived value in peer review and its influence on their clinical practice and plan changes. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed, and two independent coders utilized a grounded theory approach to extract dominant themes. ANOVA and students t-test were used to analyze Likert scores. Results: Participants included 6 academic and 3 community radiation oncologists, 2 radiation oncology residents, 2 medical physicist, 2 radiation therapists, 4 dosimetrists and 1 industry representative. Analysis of interviews regarding perceived priorities of peer review revealed the following themes: understanding the clinical background to inform decision-making, detection of rare errors not found in other quality assurance processes, coherence in practice within an organization, and education on new techniques. Key facilitators included pre-planning communication between multidisciplinary teams, particularly for replanning and reirradiation scenarios. Barriers to adaptation of recommendations included resource limitations and lack of supporting data. Likert surveys (0=no importance, 10=highest importance) assigned a high value to the overall process (mean score: 8.3), reducing variation in practice (8.0), conformity of plans with institutional guidelines (7.8), and participant education (7.6), with a lower value placed on the detection of medical errors (7.4) and reduction of treatment incidents (6.9). When comparing Likert scores by provider, non-physicians rated overall importance of peer review (mean: 9.8 vs 6.5, p=0.03) and education (9.0 vs 6.7, p=0.02) significantly higher than physicians. There was no significant difference in Likert scores by academic vs community practice. Conclusions: All participants agreed peer review is an important process in radiation oncology quality assurance that may catch rare errors. However, there was significant variation in the perceived benefits of peer review, and a higher value was placed on alignment of clinical practice and non-physician participant education. Future processes to improve communication between multi-disciplinary teams was identified as beneficial to peer review discussions.

A cross-cultural study on the career counseling service ecosystem: implications for higher education marketing

ABSTRACT A career counseling service (CCS) provides an important measure of student satisfaction and contributes to the shaping of a higher education marketing strategy. However, the body of knowledge in the higher education domain is scant on how a CCS is created and delivered to suit the needs of students and the wider society. This study uses an explorative multiple-case study of the CCS across three different cultural contexts: UK, Italy, and China. The study adopted a service ecosystem perspective, building on contingency theory (i)to analyze the CCS as a tri-level scheme – that is to say, at the micro, meso, and macro levels – and identify the themes and underlying constructs in the co-creation of the CCS at each level and (ii)to highlight the disparities in CCSs across different cultural contexts. Six dominant themes in CCSs emerged – namely, quality assurance, a student-centered approach, mental health, industry collaboration, promotion of service, and digital platforms. The findings revealed that the role of the CCS is transitioning from a mere job placement service to a strategic and administrative function, which interacts with and influences various actors in the higher education ecosystem. Across the different cultural contexts, disparities in the identified themes were ascertained and explained.

Embedded on-site aged care pharmacists in Australia: Insights from early adopters of a new workforce model.

To explore the roles of early adopters of Australia's embedded on-site pharmacist model in supporting quality use of medications in residential aged care facilities (RACFs). Qualitative semistructured interviews were conducted with 15 pharmacists working as embedded on-site pharmacists, or beyond the scope of traditional consultant pharmacist roles in Australian RACFs. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed independently by two investigators using an inductive approach. Deductive analysis was also undertaken using a knowledge broker framework: knowledge manager, linkage agent and capacity builder. Dominant themes were roles and benefits of embedded pharmacists, factors associated with success and challenges. Roles and benefits included (1) resident-level interventions and an enhanced ability to provide collaborative outcome-focussed resident-centred care, including timely input and follow-up, and improved relationships with residents, family and interdisciplinary team; and (2) system-level interventions such as contributing to clinical governance and quality improvement. Factors associated with success included personal capabilities and approach of the pharmacist, and organisational culture and sector-wide support. Challenges included pharmacist workforce shortages, perceived lack of pharmacist readiness and difficulty determining an appropriate service model. Deductive coding demonstrated roles of embedded pharmacists were consistent with all three activities of a knowledge broker. This study highlights the resident- and system-level roles and benefits of embedded on-site pharmacists, and provides a framework for defining this emerging workforce model in Australian RACFs.

Investigating the gendered nature of new parents’ digital technology use for health information

Abstract Background Parenting is marked by intense emotional and health information needs for individuals and families. Understanding how digital technologies are used by new parents may allow public health organizations to tailor digital health information resources and delivery methods to better meet needs. Methods A qualitative descriptive study was conducted to understand new parents’ experiences with digital technology during their transition to parenting. Individuals in Ontario, Canada who had become a parent in the past 24 months were recruited to participate in a focus group. Participants were asked to describe the technologies used to support their parenting and how they were used to support self and family health. Focus group data were subjected to thematic analysis using inductive coding. Results Focus groups were conducted with 26 heterosexual female participants. Participants primarily used digital technologies (smartphone, social media) to seek information on maternal, foetal, and infant health and establish social and emotional supports. Parental health information work was gendered and categorized by 2 dominant themes. First, “‘Let me know when I'm needed'” typifies fathers’ limited health information seeking and reinforces mothers as lay information mediaries. Second, “Information Curation” captures participants’ belief that gender biases built-in to digital parenting resources reified the gendered nature of health information work for new parents. Conclusions While parents regularly use digital resources for health information seeking, the gendered nature of such digital resources reinforces gendered divisions of health work. Key messages • Digital technologies tailored to new parents actively reinforces gender norms. • Public health organizations have an opportunity to engage with new parents to identify how digital information resources can be created that support equitable division of health information work.

The System of Dominant Themes in the Operas of Jin Xiang

The article’s author considers the system of dominant themes in the operas of the Chinese composer of the 20th century Jin Xiang, close to the principle of the end-to-end development of thematism in European and Russian classical opera. The author reveals the specifi cs of working with thematism in the operas “Savage Land”, “Yang Guifei” and “Eight Women Jump Into the River”. The research methods were a holistic and comparative analysis of the thematism of operas in terms of expressiveness, imaginative-semantic content, dramatic function, and symphonic development. The analysis of the “dominant thematism” and its development in Jin Xiang’s operas made it possible to prove that leitmotifs embody the national ideological content in the works of the Chinese composer, express senses, states and actions of the heroes, describe events, and reveal plot confl icts of the drama. In his opera work, Jin Xiang develops his own system of leitmotifs, connecting each opera together in imaginative, semantic, dramatic and organisational aspects. At the same time, the dominant thematism gives Jin Xiang’s works a national character, allowing Chinese opera to maintain its identity against the background of the stylistic globalisation in music.

What Do Medical Students Learn about Community Care from Discussions with General Physicians? A Thematic Analysis.

Background and Objectives: Sustainable healthcare is fundamentally rooted in community medicine education. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global advancement in integrating traditional teaching and experiential learning. Additionally, an alarming decline in interest in community care has been observed among senior medical students. Here, we examined the perspectives on community care obtained from conversations with general physicians in rural medical universities. Materials and Methods: Using a constructivist lens, a qualitative methodology was employed to examine the perceptions of second-year medical students from Shimane University Medical School regarding community care, informed by dialogues with general physicians. We conducted a thematic analysis at Shimane University, Japan, an area known for its aging population. In 2023, 116 second-year students participated, none of whom had prior formal training in community care. The study was structured into three phases: (1) Pre-education: Students wrote essays about their initial understanding of community care, its advantages, disadvantages, and potential improvements; (2) Dialogue: Grouped by topic, students engaged in discussions that culminated in a comprehensive session with general physicians; and (3) Reflection: After discussions, students wrote essays reflecting any shift in their views on community care. A thematic analysis of essays from the pre-education and reflection phases provided a comparative perspective on the students' understanding. Results: Five dominant themes emerged from the thematic analysis: (1) Re-evaluating community care: Recognizing diversity and addressing societal challenges; (2) Interdisciplinary collaboration: Promoting shared roles and teamwork; (3) Learning and practice: Emphasizing hands-on experience and self-reflection; (4) Technological influence: The mutual relationship between community care and technological advancements; and (5) Challenges and resolutions: Identifying problems and crafting solutions. Conclusions: This study sheds light on the evolution of medical students' views on community care and underscores the importance of continuous adaptation in medical education programs.

Exploring rehabilitation options and resources of support for stroke survivors in Eldoret, Kenya: qualitative study

BackgroundStroke is a major cause of death and disability in adults globally. Most post-stroke survivors experience various impairments which requires rehabilitation. Likewise, returning home after a stroke represents challenging moments full of struggle. This study, therefore, explores options of rehabilitation and resources of support for stroke survivors in Eldoret, Kenya.MethodA qualitative descriptive approach was used to conduct the study. The study utilised semi-structured interviews. Fifteen dyads of stroke survivors (10 men and 5 women; aged 40–75 years) were enrolled from a rehabilitation outpatient clinic (Medical Park Physical Therapy) in Eldoret, Kenya. Interviews were conducted at the patients’ house, and an inductive approach was used to enable thematic content analysis.ResultsTwo dominant themes and several categories emerged from the participants; these included the following: (1) rehabilitation services available for stroke survivors and (2) resources of support.ConclusionsThe study found that stroke units are only available at the national hospitals and not accessible to many. Patients receive physiotherapy and occupational therapy services during hospital stay but has poor access post discharge. Transport, distance, and lack of finances have been highlighted as the main challenges. There is scarcity of speech therapist as well as advanced orthotics for stroke rehabilitation. From a clinical perspective, healthcare system should be better structured to accommodate continuity of care post discharge for stroke survivors.

Barriers and Facilitators to Clinical Practice Development in Men and Women Surgeons

Many early-career surgeons struggle to develop their clinical practices, leading to high rates of burnout and attrition. Furthermore, women in surgery receive fewer, less complex, and less remunerative referrals compared with men. An enhanced understanding of the social and structural barriers to optimal growth and equity in clinical practice development is fundamental to guiding interventions to support academic surgeons. To identify the barriers and facilitators to clinical practice development with attention to differences related to surgeon gender. A multi-institutional qualitative descriptive study was performed using semistructured interviews analyzed with a grounded theory approach. Interviews were conducted at 5 academic medical centers in the US between July 12, 2022, and January 31, 2023. Surgeons with at least 1 year of independent practice experience were selected using purposeful sampling to obtain a representative sample by gender, specialty, academic rank, and years of experience. Surgeon perspectives on external barriers and facilitators of clinical practice development and strategies to support practice development for new academic surgeons. A total of 45 surgeons were interviewed (23 women [51%], 18 with ≤5 years of experience [40%], and 20 with ≥10 years of experience [44%]). Surgeons reported barriers and facilitators related to their colleagues, department, institution, and environment. Dominant themes for both genders were related to competition, case distribution among partners, resource allocation, and geographic market saturation. Women surgeons reported additional challenges related to gender-based discrimination (exclusion, questioning of expertise, role misidentification, salary disparities, and unequal resource allocation) and additional demands (related to appearance, self-advocacy, and nonoperative patient care). Gender concordance with patients and referring physicians was a facilitator of practice development for women. Surgeons suggested several strategies for their colleagues, department, and institution to improve practice development by amplifying facilitators and promoting objectivity and transparency in resource allocation and referrals. The findings of this qualitative study suggest that a surgeon's external context has a substantial influence on their practice development. Academic institutions and departments of surgery may consider the influence of their structures and policies on early career surgeons to accelerate practice development and workplace equity.

Constructing and scaffolding intuition for students entering the People Professions.

Abstract: Intuition is a regarded as a below awareness method of reasoning information which, then brought to the consciousness, allows for rapid judgements (Cook, 2014; Fook, 2012) Intuitive reasoning is a profound aspect of decision making in the People Professions, professionals who are at the forefront of working with children, young people and families where there is often high stress, risk and profound vulnerabilities. More recently, the work of these professionals has attracted a significant amount of attention, emphasised by tragic high-profile cases. This research explores how academics construct and teach intuition to students entering the People Professions. This research presents an eclectic and generalised set of ideas of how academics construct intuition, what impacts this and some emerging approaches to teaching intuition (Sipman et al, 2019). 
 
 Methodology: This research focuses on a pilot study whereby data was collected through a focus group of academics (n=5) who all teach students entering the People Professions. The focus group has been transcribed and analysed by way of Critical Discourse Analysis.
 
 Conclusion: Initial suppositions suggest multiple inter-connected factors influencing the construction and teaching of intuition by academics, with bias and reflexivity being dominant themes. These are critically analysed in detail throughout this paper.

It's not in my head: a qualitative analysis of experiences of discrimination in people with mental health and substance use conditions seeking physical healthcare.

Clinician bias contributes to lower quality healthcare and poorer health outcomes in people with mental health and substance use conditions (MHSUC). Discrimination can lead to physical conditions being overlooked (diagnostic overshadowing) or substandard treatment being offered to people with MHSUC. This research aimed to utilise experiences of people with MHSUC to identify discrimination by clinicians, including the role of clinician's beliefs and assumptions in physical health service provision. We surveyed people with MHSUC who accessed physical healthcare services. Of 354 eligible participants, 253 responded to open-ended questions about experiences of those services. Thematic descriptive analysis of survey responses was completed using existing stigma frameworks and inductive coding. One dominant theme from survey responses was that diagnostic overshadowing by clinicians was driven by clinician mistrust. Another theme was that clinicians assumed respondent's physical symptoms, including pain, were caused by MHSUC. This influenced decisions not to initiate investigations or treatment. Respondents perceived that clinicians focused on mental health over physical health, contributing to suboptimal care. Discrimination based on MHSUC leads to poor quality care. Health systems and clinicians need to focus quality improvement processes on access to and delivery of equitable physical healthcare to people with MHSUC, address stereotypes about people with MHSUC and improve integration of mental and physical healthcare.

How small firms build resilience to ward off crises: a paradox perspective

ABSTRACT Despite crises being a dominant theme in organizational research, little inquiry has been conducted into how small firms built resilience and coped with uncertainties created by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, we explore the challenges faced by small firms during this crisis and how they handled it and built resilience. We collected qualitative data using the open-ended essay method to answer our research questions. Findings reveal that small firms encountered challenges that were predominantly related to employees, technology, and liquidity. Three key paradoxes also emerged during the crisis: short-term and long-term performance, efficiency and adaptability, and safety and profit. The findings further revealed that small firms employed digitalization, prior and new knowledge, and leadership to cope with these challenges. By elucidating these challenges and coping strategies, the research contributes to the existing literature on resilience in small firms. Our findings emphasize that the survival prospects of small firms during the COVID-19 crisis depended on understanding potential paradoxes that needed to be resolved and utilizing the coping mechanisms developed to build resilience.

Greenwashing debates on Twitter: Stakeholders and critical topics

This study explores how the concept of greenwashing has evolved on social media and identifies the most dominant themes and stakeholders shaping these debates. Drawing on the extant literature on greenwashing and stakeholder theory, an in-depth empirical analysis was conducted on how greenwashing debates unfolded during 2006–2022 on the Twitter (now ‘X’) platform. The analysis is based on 496,276 unique tweets, which provide a detailed account of the main themes and stakeholders involved in online greenwashing debates. The findings indicate that greenwashing debates on social media are dominated by a limited number of themes, sectors, companies, and stakeholders. Over the last 10 years, three companies have consistently been in the top-10 list of tweets addressing greenwashing. Likewise, greenwashing debates on social media are often propagated by small groups of individuals, non-governmental organisations, and media outlets. This study provides new insights into the issues and stakeholders dominating greenwashing debates on social media and highlights the dynamic interplay between the accusers, accused, accomplices, and allies involved in these discussions.

“Dancing Steps of #WeToo Resistance”: Choreography of Masculinity, Sexuality, and Violence on an Israeli Stage

ABSTRACT Israeli masculinity has been researched by diverse disciplines such as sociology, army studies, gender studies, and more. The dominant theme of such research has been to identify Israeli masculinity as heteronormative and aggressive, and usually discusses it via a nationalistic or religious lens, basing its interpretation on macho, militaristic, and heterosexual values. The current study suggests another perspective for exploring Israeli masculinity by examining two dance productions created by male choreographers and performed by male dancers: Beasts by Ido Tadmor (2000) and But the Virgin Was More Available by Javier de Protos (2002). Both performances expose a homosexual dynamic, reclaims feminine symbols, and exposes silenced public issues such as rape perpetuated against men. These pioneer performances thereby challenge the heteronormative constructions of gender identities and sexualities and present a performance of masculinity which opposes hegemonic perceptions, which are based on heterosexual and machoistic values. I conclude that these modern choreographic productions can be considered political cultural acts in the Israeli public sphere that give a voice to gendered discourse otherwise silenced by Israeli society at large.

Intelligence Techniques in Sustainable Energy: Analysis of a Decade of Advances

In the last decade, many artificial intelligence (AI) techniques have been used to solve various problems in sustainable energy (SE). Consequently, an increasing volume of research has been devoted to this topic, making it difficult for researchers to keep abreast of its developments. This paper analyzes 18,715 articles—about AI techniques used for SE—indexed in Scopus and published from 2013 to 2022, which were retrieved and selected following a novel iterative methodology. Besides calculating basic bibliometric indicators, we used clustering techniques and a co-occurrence analysis of author keywords to discover and characterize dominant themes in the literature. As a result, we found eight dominant themes in SE (solar energy, smart grids and microgrids, fuel cells, hydrogen, electric vehicles, biofuels, wind energy, and energy planning) and nine dominant techniques in AI (genetic algorithms, support vector machines, particle swarm optimization, differential evolution, classical neural networks, fuzzy logic controllers, reinforcement learning, deep learning, and multi-objective optimization). Each dominant theme is discussed in detail, highlighting the most relevant work and contributions. Finally, we identified the AI techniques most widely used in each SE area to solve its specific problems.

Sexual jokes in Nigerian stand-up comedy

Nigerian stand-up comic artists explore emerging social, religious, and political issues as materials for comic entertainment within their performance space and community of practice. One of the resources for comic performance is the recourse to sexual contents which are deployed to reduce apprehension around stereotyped norms about sex and sexuality in the Nigerian sociocultural context. Drawing on ethnographic qualitative data using social media skits, audio-visual disks and semi-structured interviews, this article examines sexual jokes as ideological texts and rhetorical devices that embody the struggle between conservatism and postmodern conceptions of sex and sexuality. It highlights the recurrent themes and creative discourses of sexual humour which stand-up comedy performers exploit as artistic tools for the engagement of gender roles, sexual myths, sexual politics and social contradictions within a vulnerable socio-political and economic context. We adopt social relief theory and incongruity theory of humour comprehension to provide a nuanced understanding of sexual jokes and the sociocultural inhibitions that surround them. The dominant themes in these jokes include male sterility, faking orgasm, commodification of sex, prostitution, rape, and the use of aphrodisiac. The results indicate that sexual jokes are circulating within the comedy performance space as forms of protest against stereotyped sexual culture. In this way, male and female comedians, working with the tools and ideology of postmodernism, help to satirise conventional sexual values and radicalise their audiences against normative construction of sex and sexuality.