Stance In Relation Research Articles

GOVERNANCE, SUSTAINABILITY AND FAMILY LEGACY: ESG IN A 3RD GENERATION FUNERAL COMPANY

Funerária São Judas Tadeu, located in Videira, Santa Catarina, is an example of adaptation and evolution of a family business that has reached its third generation. Founded in 1977, the funeral home began as a carpentry shop that produced funeral urns and, over the years, has established itself as a reference in the sector, standing out for adding highly specialized services to the products it already produced, and for its growing commitment to the community and sustainability. This qualitative study, based on a semi-structured interview with the manager, analyzes the implementation of ESG practices in this organization, and how this work permeated the success and family succession of the company, respecting the values ​​that have always been practiced by it. Funerária São Judas Tadeu exemplifies the resilience and adaptation necessary in the funeral sector, standing out for its excellence in service and for monitoring and implementing the most modern practices in its sector, demonstrating a proactive stance in relation to market trends, not waiting for government regulations to act. Always seeking to focus on the needs of its customers, it was a regional pioneer in the implementation of several services, such as thanatopraxy, the creation of the Memorial for farewell ceremonies and the installation of the crematorium, in addition to the adoption of the protective mantle for urns, essential to prevent environmental contamination. The trajectory of Funerária São Judas Tadeu reveals that continuous innovation, concern for ESG and respect for origins are the key to a legacy that transcends generations.

Beyond the negativity of the emotion of fear: religious fear as a case in point

Fear is regularly cited as a typical example of a ‘negative emotion’. The present article considers alternative perspectives, seeking to develop a theoretical framework that takes into account the possibility of perceiving fear as an emotion that can carry ‘positivity’. As a test case of a possible positive function of fear, I analyse the religious discourse surrounding fear in Israeli ultra-Orthodox society, where fear is often regarded as a positive emotion. I argue that the ‘positive’ traits that the ultra-Orthodox ascribe to fear can be employed as a model for elucidating the ‘positive’ functions of fear in other contexts as well. The article’s first two parts are devoted to clarifying the relativist stance regarding the essence of fear and presenting the test case of religious fear. In the following parts I isolate three perspectives offered by the religious approach that may also shed light on a general understanding of how fear operates as a ‘positive’ emotion: (1) broadening the range of reactions to fear beyond the ‘fight or flight’ response; (2) the epistemological function of fear in constructing truth and knowledge; (3) the possibility that the very experience of fear can be framed and felt as positive. In conclusion, I will argue that the case of fear shows that the broad categorisation into ‘negative’ and ‘positive’ within the emotional realm may impair the theoretical and scholarly understanding of emotions, and I will propose an alternative approach to this categorisation.

Easy read health information for people with intellectual disabilities: A linguistic discourse analysis. What happens to language when it is simplified?

Easy Read health documents prepared for people with intellectual disabilities are often generated from Standard Texts. Language in Easy Read versions is typically assumed to be simpler. However, simplification of language may have unintended consequences. This study aimed to explore the differences in language used between Easy Read health material and the Standard Text versions of the same material produced for the general population. Five Easy Read/Standard Text pairs were sampled and analysed using Systemic Functional Linguistics. This addressed: how people with intellectual disabilities and others were represented by language, the author stance in relation to the reader and the overall organisation of the text. The Easy Read versions often used language that was less empowering and inclusive. Increased awareness of author power and better knowledge of the impact of language choice could help to redress these issues.

Learning from Citizens Returning from Prison: Incorporating anti-Oppressive Practice Approaches to Enhance Relational Psychodynamic Practice Impact

Relational psychodynamic practice, to be useful to folks representing “othered” oppressed populations, must integrate an anti-oppressive stance in relation to the people they serve, learn from them about their unique wants and needs, and strive to align with the sequential order in which they believe the wants and needs should be attained. This paper explores how this can occur, focusing on citizens returning from prison and utilizing an example of an individual who successfully navigates this transition. Anti-oppressive practice approaches aimed at empowerment and liberation are discussed as meeting essential needs beyond education, housing, and work, that make successful navigation of post-incarceration “freedom” possible. Elements of psychodynamic theory and practice that are particularly relevant to working with returning citizens and individuals representing other oppressed populations are elaborated. Special attention is given to the approach of a therapeutic-participant and client-participant relationship that blends our psychodynamic relational approach and personal reflexivity with a greater understanding of persons coming from an environment where self-agency was not supported and even thwarted.

Different groups’ grazing technique preferences in the Miombo woodlands of Eastern Tanzania

Grazing in Miombo woodlands is essential for the livelihoods of the pastoral and agropastoral communities that live adjacent to these fragile ecosystems. However, Miombo woodlands offer not only fodder for livestock but also fertile land for crop farming; hence, they are equally important to the farmers residing in these areas. Due to the importance of the Miombo woodlands for the livelihoods of several groups, the consumption of and competition for Miombo resources has increased over time and now threatens the overall health of the ecosystem. This study aimed to identify the grazing techniques practiced by different livelihood groups in Miombo woodlands; their preferences for different practices, as well as the factors that influence these preferences, so as to understand how sustainable grazing can be achieved for better ecosystem health. The study was conducted in Handeni, Kilombero, and Kilosa districts and covered pastoralists, agropastoralists, and farmers. We carried out focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and a survey of 246 respondents. Un-patterned rotational grazing was the most preferred grazing technique by all three groups, and the only technique the three groups shared a preference for. All the groups took a neutral stance in relation to continuous grazing. Their preferences for other grazing techniques differ. The study highlights the need to raise awareness amongst pastoralists about land ownership and management and recommends enhancing land property rights for all groups in order to harmonize livestock keeping and other land uses for achieving sustainable grazing and overall ecosystem health in the fragile Miombo woodlands of Tanzania.

I’m writing in Tunisian: Orthography and identity in written Tunisian Arabic

In recent years the amount of written vernacular Arabic has increased dramatically. But encoding an unstandardized language in writing is not straightforward and mechanical; rather, it is a complex process that balances practical considerations with ideological stances such as autonomy from the standard language. This study examines how writers of Tunisian Arabic (or derja) are navigating this elaboration process. Using a quantitative analysis of a 279,000-word corpus of print literary works written in Tunisian Arabic (2014–2021) and a 5.8-million-word corpus of internet forum posts (2010–2021), this paper explores how Tunisians writing in derja make orthographic choices to collectively position themselves in relation to the larger Arab world. The study finds that forum writers who have advocated for an improved status for Tunisian Arabic use more phonemic spelling forms—more closely representing Tunisian pronunciation—while those who have advocated for Standard Arabic are more conservative in their spelling choices. The authors of Tunisian Arabic novels and translations—pulled between issues of elaboration and readability—are a bit more conservative than the pro- derja group. These results show how writers in unstandardized or not-yet-standardized languages like Tunisian Arabic use orthography to express national identity stances in relation to supranational languages and identities.

Relationality as Relationalities and a Model of Human (and Other) Justice Through Qualitative Inquiry

Based on the most recent meeting of the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry (2023), it is clear that using theories of relationality to situate our work is on the rise. Given this growing interest in relationality, I attempt to describe several philosophical approaches to relationality, explain how relationality is not simply a theory but an ontic stance, and consider relational theory’s implications for social justice. Regardless of the varieties of relationality that exist (be they ancient, current, Eastern, or Indigenous), research adopting a relational stance is antithetical to the world in which we find ourselves today: in brief, well-populated with (substantialist) sentiments that would seek to divide and isolate individuals, rather than show our inherent connectivity. Qualitative work is in a position to tease out the nuanced, multifaceted, and shared relationships that, by relationality’s standards, are our ontic foundations. I close with the idea that qualitative work may be pedagogical in its ability to spread these sentiments not only to fellow researchers, but to participants in this work as well.

Religiosity, Economic Status, Environmental Concern, and Perceived Behavioral Effectiveness as Predictors of Buying Environmentally Friendly Products: A Quantitative Study of Turkish Muslims

The aim of the present study was to examine the roles of religiosity, economic status, environmental concern, perceived behavioral effectiveness, and environmental dominance in purchasing environmentally friendly products. The study also examined the role of gender in relation to religiosity, environmental concern, environmental dominance, and the inclination to buy green products. This study was conducted among Turkish Muslims. The sample included 618 respondents who ranged in age from 18 to 84 years, with a mean age of 28 years (SD=10.1). An online questionnaire technique was used through Google Drive. The following scales were applied: a Personal Information Form, Environmental Orientation of Possessions Scale, Questions about Environmental Awareness, Religiosity Scale, and Purification of Environmental Products. The findings indicated that religiosity, economic status, environmental concern, and perceived behavioral effectiveness had positive effects on the purchase of environmentally friendly products. In addition, the research findings demonstrate that gender influences individuals’ religiosity, environmental concerns, stance in relation to nature, and perceived behavioral effectiveness in buying green products. The consequences of these findings and recommendations for forthcoming research are discussed.

Epistemic Trust Is a Critical Success Factor in Psychosomatic Rehabilitation-Results from a Naturalistic Multi-Center Observational Study.

Knowledge about critical success factors underpinning beneficial treatment outcomes in psychosomatic inpatient rehabilitation is scarce. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of patients' epistemic stance in relation to the improvement of psychological distress during rehabilitation. In this naturalistic longitudinal observational study, n = 771 patients completed routine assessments for psychological distress (BSI-18), health-related quality of life (HRQOL; WHODAS), and epistemic trust (ETMCQ) before (T1) and after (T2) psychosomatic rehabilitation. Patients were grouped as best, average, and worst responders based on their mean BSI-18 changes during treatment, and their mean change in epistemic trust, mistrust, and credulity was compared using repeated measures analyses of variance (rANOVAs). No associations of performance with sex (p = 0.09), age (p = 0.11), or relationship status (p = 0.58) were found. Best responders reported significantly improved epistemic trust (p = 0.001) and reduced epistemic mistrust (p < 0.001), whereas worst responders reported a significant increase in epistemic mistrust (p < 0.001) and credulity (p < 0.001). Average responders did not change for either epistemic trust (p = 0.11), mistrust (p > 0.99), or credulity (p = 0.96). Our results underscore the role of the epistemic stance in psychosomatic and psychotherapeutic treatments. These results help to better understand what might determine psychosomatic rehabilitation outcomes and indicate the role of epistemic trust as a critical success factor.

Addressing the need for Indigenous-specific PROMs and PREMS: A focus on methodology.

Differences in Indigenous worldviews, practices and values highlight the need for Indigenous-specific health quality indicators, such as patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and patient-reported experience measures (PREMs). The purpose of this paper is to present our methodology, as part of a larger study that sought to develop a framework for creating Indigenous-specific PROMs and PREMs. The research design was informed by Indigenous research methodology and a community-based participatory approach. It had three core components: (1) a literature exploration of existing Indigenous-specific PROMs and PREMs; (2) interviews with researchers with expertise in PROMs and PREMs developed for Indigenous populations and community leaders interested in using these Indigenous-informed evaluation tools; and (3) conversations with Indigenous community members about their experiences with health surveys. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim; transcripts were analyzed qualitatively using an inductive and deductive approach. Themes and sub-themes were identified to build a framework that honours Indigenous knowledges and ways of knowing. Results were validated with select research participants and the Project Advisory Committee. Findings demonstrate how relationship building is the necessary starting point for engagement when developing survey instruments with Indigenous peoples. Engagement requires respectful collaboration through all stages of the project from determining what questions are asked to how the information will be collected, interpreted, and managed. A relational stance requires responsibility to Indigenous communities and peoples that goes beyond research carried out using a western scientific lens. It means ensuring that the project is beneficial to the community and framing questions based on Indigenous knowledge, worldviews, and community involvement. This study employed a collaborative, participatory qualitative approach to develop a framework for creating PROMs and PREMs with Indigenous peoples. The methods described offer concrete examples of strategies that can be employed to support relationship-building and collaboration when developing Indigenous-specific survey instruments.

Carving a Professional Identity for Chinese Social Work Shaped by Universalisation, Indigenisation, and Culturalism

Abstract China provides an extremely interesting contemporary case study for the international social work research community, given its questioning of the pertinence of the international definition of social work and stance in relation to the debates surrounding universalisation, internationalisation and indigenisation. This article begins by examining the evolving identity of Chinese social work, grounded as it is in China’s political ideology and socio-cultural values. It then extends the debate on the paradoxical processes of universalisation, internationalisation and indigenisation within the international and Chinese social work discourse in light of the ascendance of Chinese culturalism. Finally, it addresses the impact of these interrelated processes on Chinese social work, as it struggled to adapt to the central government’s political control of the developing profession and social project to train 1.45 million social workers by 2020. It argues that, to avoid the Scylla of escaping into tradition (culturalism) and Charybdis of absorption into the West (universalisation), Chinese social work has become a blend of Western and indigenised knowledge still in search of a unique identity.

Phenomenology-Informed Counseling: Reflections on Emotional Safety and Emotional Initiative in Couple Counseling

We discuss some of the main phenomenological functions in couple counseling: epochē, recognition, thematization, and dialogue. As conceptualizations of the conditions by which emotional safety and initiative are fostered in couple counseling, they signify attitudes, practices, and relational stances. We discuss them as therapeutic interventions rather than as methods of qualitative research. We include a case study and analysis with real heterogamous and homogamous couples. The case provides an illustration of what makes these functions therapeutic/practical rather than philosophical, and conveys the benefits of a phenomenology-informed couple counseling approach.

Individual interest, self‐regulation, and self‐directed language learning with technology beyond the classroom

AbstractIndividual interest and self‐regulation are two pillars of self‐directed learning. Despite empirical evidence on the interaction between the two with respect to academic achievement, few studies have explored how individual interest and self‐regulation might interact and relate to self‐directed informal learning. This study surveyed 322 university students on self‐regulation and two interest constructs (interest in learning English and interest in pursuing personal interest in English), and tested how these factors related to their engagement in self‐directed use of technology for English learning beyond the classroom. Structural equation modelling analysis revealed that despite both being significant determinants, interest factors, and self‐regulation were associated differently with various types of self‐directed technological activities (instruction‐, information‐, entertainment‐ and socialization‐oriented activities). Self‐regulation was predictive of instruction‐, information‐ and socialization‐oriented activities, which have high cognitive load and require effort management for second‐language learners. Interest in English learning was consistently a significant predictor of all four types of technological activities. Interest in pursuing personal interest in English played a significant role in information‐ and entertainment‐oriented technological activities. The findings recommend greater attention to individual interest when promoting self‐directed informal learning. The findings further suggest adopting a differentiated approach to bolstering self‐directed learning for different purposes. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Self‐regulation is important to self‐directed learning. Subject‐matter interest and self‐regulation interplay to influence academic performance in formal learning contexts. What this paper adds Interest and self‐regulation interplayed to shape self‐direction in informal learning contexts. Self‐regulation was predictive of instruction‐, information‐ and socialization‐oriented activities. Interest factors added additional explanation power on self‐directed technological activities. Both subject‐matter interest and the integration of personal interest with subject learning were significant determinants. The integration of personal interest with subject learning mediated the influence of subject‐matter interest. Implications for practice and/or policy Educational interventions need to work simultaneously on both interest and self‐regulation to bolster self‐directed learning. Educators need to address different factors when boosting different types of technological activities. A relative stance needs to be taken since self‐regulation might play a less significant role in less taxing technological activities. It is important to deliberately integrate students' personal interests into English learning and help students perceive and act on the integration.

Making a deal with the devil? Portuguese and Finnish activists’ everyday negotiations on the value of social media

ABSTRACT This article explores how young activists in Portugal and Finland negotiate the value of social media in their practices. Considering the near ubiquitous intertwinement of online-offline environments, and its contradictory promises for social movements, we look at these negotiations through the moral principles drawn upon to critique and justify social media practices. Based on ethnographic data from Portuguese climate activists and Finnish mental health activists, we build on pragmatist sociology as an analytical frame to investigate value and meaning-making within these social movements. Results show how activists predominantly criticize social media for its fame-valued logic, which they consider leading to the individualization and depoliticization of communication and the ‘marketization’ of messages and practices. These challenges are managed with reference to the groups’ civic values through two sets of practices: 1) grounding the online and 2) repurposing individualism. Yet these practices reveal different compromise strategies in each country to accommodate social media demands and core group values, highlighting different interpretations of civic values that materialize in competing stances in relation to ‘political’ content and ‘individual’ action. We argue that an analytical framework focusing on values as they unfold in everyday practices is particularly apt to understanding meaning construction in social movements, whose very essence is the evaluation and critique of existing justifications within certain socio-political arrangements.

Caregiver openness in emotionally focused family therapy: A critical shift.

Through the application of a discovery-oriented task analysis, this research delineated specific therapist behaviors that resulted in a successful caregiver openness event in emotionally focused family therapy (EFFT). EFFT experts were recruited via email and asked to submit family therapy recordings where they believed a caregiver openness event occurred. Ten family therapy recordings were submitted by three experts. Within these recordings, 12 caregiver openness events were discovered and critically analyzed. Nine themes were identified and interventions therapists applied to accomplish these themes were delineated using the emotionally focused therapy-coding scheme (EFT-CS). These themes included:(1) validating and reframing the child's protected stance, (2) processing the impact of the child's unmet attachment longings, (3) validating the caregiver's blocked relational stance, (4) expanding caregiving intentions, (5) enacting the caregiver's intentions to meet the child's attachment longings, (6) processing the enactment, (7) processing and promoting caregiver accessibility to the child's response, (8) heightening the caregiver's accessible stance, and (9) enhancing shifting family dynamics. Additional findings, implications for clinical practice, training, and future research are discussed.

Desenvolvimento de questionário para indicar posicionamentos em relação às Sociedades Sustentáveis partindo de conceitos correlatos

Abstract Presents the process of preparing the Composite Index of Social and Environmental Concepts (ICCSA): a multi-response model questionnaire that addresses the themes of Environmental Education, Sustainability and Environment from the perspective of the transition to Sustainable Societies. During the elaboration process, two internal consistency and validity analysis phases were conducted with participation of experts. The final version of the ICCSA presents 43 statements, arranged in six dimensions, suggesting sufficiency in terms of internal reliability and content and discriminant validity. The results show that the instrument can be used to indicate stances in relation to the transition to Sustainable Societies. It is recommended that future studies be carried out, with larger populations, to complement the reliability and validity analyzes with non-specialist participants. ICCSA is available for any researchers who might wish to use it.

From National Hero to National Problem: The Image of the Worker in Pix (1938–1954)

ABSTRACT Despite its reputation as a frivolous and licentious magazine, Pix (1938–1972) published a large number of documentary photo essays on work and the daily strife of the Australian labourer. More importantly, the popular magazine promoted a stern work ethic, presented as a sign of patriotism and moral virtue. Pix’s politics are hard to pin down insofar as the magazine never endorsed specific parties or social movements; instead, it adopted an apparently neutral stance in relation to political issues, giving equal coverage to the three mainstream parties of the time. If the national narrative of work that Pix glorified was, fundamentally, a bipartisan narrative, was Pix really apolitical and value-free? I say no: the locus of Pix’s politics has to be found in the way the magazine mobilised the discourse of the work ethic. By reducing work to a moral obligation, Pix tended to individualise and normalise waged work, concealing the unequal and coercive relations informing the social space of the factory. In so doing, the magazine conveyed and championed values such as independence and entrepreneurship that were central to the liberal ideology that found expression in Robert Menzies’s contemporary speeches.

“Vergil and Homer opened my Books:” The Sibylline Oracles and the non-Jewish canon

The hybrid cultural weave of the Sibylline Oracles is one of the most arresting aspects of a collection which preserves Judaeo-Christian compositions in Greek ranging from c. second century BCE to the seventh century CE. Reviewing world history in the form of prophecy, sketching rewards and punishments due at the end of days, and urging ethical behavior, these oracles in Homerizing hexameters combine Classical and Biblical traditions and are attributed to an ancient Sibyl. This article focuses on a distinctive case of repetition within the Sibylline corpus to highlight how the sense of a Classical canon is updated in the Jewish development of this prophetic genre. The passages triggering both intertextual and intratextual investigation ar Sibylline Oracles 3.419–25, which “predicts” that the blind Homer will be the first to open the Sibylline books and copy her tale of Troy, and the far less studied Sibylline Oracles 11.163–71, where phrases about Homer are revised to produce an emphasis on Vergil’s skill as a poet and discretion in concealing the Sibylline writings until his death. Study of these lines in their immediate and wider narrative contexts reveals the Jewish sibyllists exploiting the literary knowledge of Classically-educated readers, first and foremost in order to build up the Sibylline authority, a priority which is developed through both “combative” and “parasitic” stances in relation to canonical authors. Overall, this study offers new information about modes of allusion in Jewish Greek literature and the relationship between the tracks of Homeric and Vergilian reception in cross-cultural contexts.

Health literacy, financial insecurity and health outcomes among people living with HIV in Australia

It is well documented that lower socio-economic status is associated with poorer health outcomes, while health literacy is considered important for improving health. What is less clear, is the extent to which greater health literacy can improve health outcomes among people for whom poverty or financial insecurity are important barriers to health. The paper presents findings from an Australian survey of people living with HIV (PLHIV) (N = 835) in which we explored the relationship between financial insecurity and health outcomes, looking at the extent to which health literacy mediates this relationship. The study drew on a comprehensive definition of health literacy, measuring participant's confidence to communicate with healthcare providers, navigate the health system and take an active stance in relation to their health. Findings showed that financial insecurity was associated with lower health literacy and poorer self-reported physical and mental health. Health literacy mediated 16.2% of the effect of financial insecurity on physical health scores and 16.6% of the effect of financial insecurity on mental health scores. This suggests that programmes which seek to build health literacy among PLHIV may improve health outcomes among PLHIV who are struggling financially. Health literacy programmes are likely to be effective if they build confidence and resourcefulness among people to engage with health information, decision-making and care.

The cost of pleasing social expectations: A serial mediation of Israeli mothers’ anxiety and depression in the relationship between defensiveness and parental self-efficacy

In a social atmosphere of expecting mothers to sacrifice their own wellbeing for the sake of their children's wellbeing, pregnant women are compelled to find their stance in relation to these sets of expectations. The current study aimed at exploring the relationship between Israeli women's tendency to meet social expectations, that is, defensiveness at the end of pregnancy and parental self-efficacy five months postnatal, and at examining the role of anxiety and depression two months postnatal in this relationship. Participants included 238 Israeli women who completed self-reported questionnaires at three time points: during the third trimester of pregnancy (T1), two months after giving birth (T2), and three months later (T3). The questionnaires focused on background variables, defensiveness (T1), anxiety (T2), depression (T2), and parental self-efficacy (T3). Multiple regression analyses were conducted to assess a serial mediating model, which revealed that defensiveness (T1) impacts parental self-efficacy (T3). Additionally, anxiety (T2) and depression (T2) mediate this relationship, while controlling for age, education, and income (T1). The findings suggest that in the relationship between defensiveness at the end of pregnancy and parental self-efficacy five months postnatal, anxiety and depression served as the detrimental mechanism. The findings are discussed considering self-theories.