Informal Understanding Research Articles

Influence of societal norms in Mahesh Dattani’s Bravely Fought the Queen

Social norms are viewed as a guideline for appropriate behaviour among communities. Social norms can be codified into rules and laws or they can be informal understandings that guide how people of a society behave. The aim of the paper is to elucidate the influence of social norms in the play Bravely Fought the Queen. Norms are important because they help shape people's needs and preferences, which act as criteria for choosing between options. But the exceeded amount of people blindly following the unwritten norms creates a huge impact on the lives of women and men. The selected play has been subjected to in-depth topic analyses by the researcher through meticulous reading. The study aims to improve character analysis in the chosen work by adding the social norms theory perspective.

Toward a fine-grained understanding of informality: Subjective meanings, perceptions, and expectations in informal housing trajectories

This article focuses on the role of subjective meanings in the production of informal housing. It argues that, although individual and family meanings, aspirations, perceptions, and expectations have usually been overlooked in studies on urban informality, their analysis is fundamental for a sophisticated understanding of the genesis, features, and developing trajectories of informal housing. To this end, the article investigates the informalization process of temporary self-promoted housing units (the so-called casette, i.e. “little houses”) built in the aftermath of the 2009 earthquake in the city of L’Aquila, Italy. Although it is exceptional, the phenomenon of the casette illuminates several traits of other informal housing practices. Thus, it offers two interrelated conceptual insights for a deeper, fine-grained understanding of the varied ontologies of housing informality. First, it illustrates the concurrence of simultaneous drivers, differing in nature (e.g. subjective and objective, structural and agency-related, micro and macro) at the root of the production of informal space, where a key role is also played by inhabitants’ meanings, aspirations, perceptions, and expectations. Second, it shows that informality is not a fixed and unambiguous state. On the contrary, it is a field traversed by intertwined forces in a perpetual state of tension, so that a housing unit can move through different shades of (il)legality entailing varied combinations of subjective and objective drivers.

Dynamics of Informal Settlement Expansion on the Urban Fringe: The Case of Birbir Town, Southern Ethiopia

This study examines the dynamics of fringe land invasion in Birbir Town, southern Ethiopia by adopting a descriptive survey design with both qualitative and quantitative data analyses. Primary data were acquired through a household survey, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and observations. This study also benefited from relevant secondary sources. Using a simple random sampling technique, 156 household heads were selected from Birbir and two adjacent rural areas. The study revealed that informal settlement expansion in the form of fringe land invasion occurs in Birbir Town predominantly due to population increase, urban sprawl, migration, poor land administration and governance systems, a lack of boundary demarcation, and the presence of available unserviced public land near the town. The process was intensified by actors such as farmers, local administrators, informal dealers, politicians, and local elders. The encroachment of urban fringe areas has led to deforestation, relinquishment of cultivable acreage, entitlement disputes, a prevailing trend of illicit land occupation, an unstructured urban expansion pattern, and a surge in criminality, fostering discordant communities. This study contributes to the understanding of informality on the urban fringe as posing socioeconomic and governance challenges in small towns of developing countries by presenting the case of Birbir.

The reproduction of informal settlements in Santiago: Housing policy, cycles of repopulation and the ‘politics of poverty’ as a regime of government

This article analyses the persistence of informal settlements in the city of Santiago, Chile, between 1990 and 2018, a period of democratic governments characterised by falling poverty rates and – paradoxically – state efforts to reduce informality by increasing the provision of housing for low-income groups. Based on a qualitative study that includes document analysis and interviews with poor urban residents and governmental actors, I describe one mechanism of informal housing reproduction: the cyclical repopulation of informal urbanisations, that is, the intertwined processes of relocation of informal residents and the reoccupation of settlement sites by new families. In contrast to dichotomous understandings of informality that explain informal housing as produced by residents’ poverty, the article shows that repopulation cycles respond to a regime of government structured around what I call a ‘politics of poverty’, a framework that labels informal settlements as ‘spatial concentrations of poverty’, therefore creating spatial zones of intervention. While this helps the state to target informal settlements as subjects of poverty policies, residents mobilise the policy’s categories to legitimate informal practices.

Firm informality during the COVID-19 crisis in Argentina: perception of commercial entrepreneurs and public accountants

This article analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the informality of Argentinian micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises based on the perception of commercial entrepreneurs and public accountants from Bahía Blanca (Argentina). Using primary data collected through semi-structured interviews, a qualitative content analysis was performed combining theory-oriented and data-based coding. Despite the widespread use of electronic payments, the findings suggest an increase in income underreporting and the number of unregistered companies, thus supporting the countercyclical behavior of the informal sector during that crisis. The article contributes to a better understanding of informality through a microeconomic-qualitative approach by integrating the perspective of two different actors. Empirical findings are relevant for policymakers seeking to reduce the levels of informality during periods of crisis.

A Comparative Textbook Analysis on Measures of Center in Selected School Mathematics Textbooks of Australia and Turkey

Measures of center have a central role in statistics education. There, however, is not much research on textbook analysis on measures of center, especially at the international level, which is crucial to keep up with the changes in a data-driven globalised world. This study aimed to investigate how selected school mathematics textbooks of Australia and Turkey present the concepts of measures of center to support students’ learning. The content analysis was based on three dimensions: (1) the organization and sequence of the concepts of measures of center across grades, (2) conceptualization of measures of center from mathematical and statistical aspects, and (3) the use of context, visual displays, and technological tools regarding measures of center. The first major finding was that the order of presentation of concepts was different in the two countries’ selected textbooks. Selected textbooks of both countries introduced measures of center formally rather than starting with an understanding of clump notion (informal understanding of measures of center). The second major finding was that both countries’ textbooks focus more on the mathematical aspect of measures of center. Selected Australian textbooks also focus more on the statistical aspect of measures of center than those of Turkey. The third major finding was that the use of context, visual displays, and technological tools also differ. Australian textbooks often used a context with research scenarios about daily life, used a technological package, and related measures of center with a variety of graphs. Findings contribute to our understanding of the differences among countries with different backgrounds in statistics education, pointing to the ways of developing curriculum materials such as textbooks.

The Time Factor in the MFN Obligation in Services Trade: Will the Lion Ever Roar?

Trade disciplines under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) apply to the treatment of products (i.e., services) and to that of producers (i.e., service suppliers). Unlike rules on merchandise trade, the GATS thus covers the conditions governing a producer’s commercial establishment and, hence, its competitive position. That raises the question whether Members are free to modify these conditions over time or, instead, whether they are required under the GATS Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) obligation to provide newly arriving producers with the most attractive conditions they accorded in the past. In the latter case, Members might shy away from launching trade-promoting initiatives beyond their existing GATS commitments, which have remained quite modest overall. As a way forward, Members could consider an informal understanding, possibly inspired by recent regional trade agreements (RTAs), to clarify the application of the GATS MFN obligation over time. services, trade in services, GATS, RTAs, most-favoured nation, MFN, discrimination, time factor, temporal effect

Spatial Governance in Beijing: Informality, Illegality and the Displacement of the “Low-end Population”

AbstractUsing ethnographic data gathered in Beijing during 2017 and 2018, this article examines numerous urban population displacement events using the concept of spatial governance in order to understand the spatialization of governance in urban China. A particular focus of this article are the Beijing-wide displacements of the so-called “low-end population” that followed a fire in Xinjian Village in 2017. The analysis in this article uses geographic understandings of spatial informality to interrogate how space is made informal and subsequently illegal as a means of population control. The article puts forward the idea that spatial governance is one of the key forms, if not the key form, of governance in urban China. It highlights changes in governance that have resulted in space becoming not just a site for control, but the medium for techniques of control over China's urban population.

Distinctive character and added value of civil society organizations - a collaborative project within the Swedish integration system

ABSTRACT Expectations on collaboration between public authorities and civil society organizations (CSOs) have increased in Sweden the past decades, partly due to changes in the organization of welfare services. This article investigates a collaborative project within the migrant integration policy area. It is a collaboration between the employment offices in a region of Sweden and local CSOs with the common goal of easing the integration of migrants. Theories about civil society as service providers emphasize a possible added value of these non-statutory services related to CSOs distinct character. This link has seldom been empirically investigated. This article explores the distinctive character and added value of CSOs as they unfold in a collaborative project. Two previous studies were conducted by the researchers and this study is an extrapolation of the results. The analysis shows that discrepancies between CSOs and public authorities related to both ideology and organizational logics can be linked to an added value for the participants of the project. Paradoxically, the tensions and discrepancies enabled activities revolving around a more personal and informal understanding of integration that departed from the government agencies’ agenda whilst at the same time being enabled through the collaboration with them.

Labour Mobility and Informality: Romanian Migrants in Spain and Ethnic Entrepreneurs in Croatia

Post-Weberian definitions see the state–individual relationship as a “do ut des” one. The state grants protection, education, medical care, and its citizens contribute labour, compliance, and taxes. When this does not occur, it is generally accepted that the citizens are deviating from state goals. However, there are cases where lack of compliance stems from the fact that society members do not feel protected by formal structures, and they rely on informal ones to replace, supplement, or even compete with state institutions. The starting point of this article is that this lack of support may result from enhanced labour mobility (and migration) across Europe, and may enhance the creation and persistence of informal practices. Taking advantage of two case studies, Romanian migrants to Spain and ethnic entrepreneurs in Croatia, we observe how governance is constructed and provide two novel interpretative frameworks. First, we explore the use of informality (informal practices) to suggest that apparently insignificant actions that are repeated routinely and without much thought, are a way to contribute to the construction of the political and that everyday governance should receive more attention. Second, we use this claim to argue that a better understanding of informality can help identify governance areas where interventions are more urgent. These are the spheres of public life where it is possible to identify a larger gap between the wishes of a state and the ways citizens actually act as they informally avoid or bypass its rules.

Informalities in urban transport: Mobilities at the heart of contestations over (in)formalisation processes

This editorial introduces and contextualises the Special Issue on informalities in urban transport and mobility in cities across the Global South, East and North. It identifies a mutual misrecognition between the urban studies literature on informality and research on transport and mobilities, and proposes that urban mobility be understood as a critical site of contestations over (in)formalisation processes. The editorial suggests that the articles gathered in the Special Issue diversify and extend understandings of informality in both the transport and urban studies literatures. It outlines three specific contributions that the articles make. Drawing on conceptualisations of informality from across the social sciences and by offering empirical studies of informalities in urban mobility in the Global East and North, the articles confront the habit of dualistic thinking in relation to informalities in urban mobility. They move beyond the formal/informal binary and challenging the North/South division which associates informality predominantly with the South. The papers in the Special Issue also highlight how ‘informal transport’ is a highly dynamic sector at the vanguard of innovation, digitalisation and platform urbanism. Finally, the articles demonstrate that informalities in urban mobility offer a useful analytical lens onto questions of labour struggles and subject formation within ongoing urban transformations.

Governing extension and extending governance for Pacific organic farming

AbstractOrganic farming in the Pacific region could provide higher‐than‐average premiums to small‐scale farmers. Thus, many farmers seek specific information on market access and internationally recognised global standards and third‐party certification. Agricultural extension work has changed in terms of formal and informal understanding and expression. Concomitantly, pluralist extension networks and innovation have replaced singular, publicly‐delivered extension services because of an increase in private commercial interests under prevailing neoliberal logics. Nevertheless, there are socio‐spatial barriers to farmers accessing extension and establishing relations with certifying bodies and some extension partners. Thus, agricultural extension experts will need to create new governance arrangements with local farmer groups as nodes within pluralist public–private–producer networks and regional information flows to support these groups and their accountability and trust with local constituents. In this article, we argue that geographically disparate local farmer groups should be supported by flatter governance of agricultural extension to better link local farmer nodes in comparable growing regions with other transnational local nodes, and with regional certification bodies. Aided by powerful supporting partners in such a plural extension network, this type of flat governance would build trans‐local connections that better situate small‐scale farming and food security as responsive to future uncertainties.

Overcoming divergence: managing expectations from organisers and members in community supported agriculture in Switzerland

Community supported agriculture (CSA) is a producer–consumer union that aims to shift the predominant paradigm in agriculture towards a model based on social justice, fairness, and participation. However, the long-term existence of CSA initiatives, and their ability to build the social capital envisioned by the initiators, can be challenged by a struggle to generate a sufficient income for a fair salary to be paid to the producer. This study aimed to explore the main challenges faced by eight CSAs in Switzerland, along with the pathways they used to address them. The expectations and perceptions of organisers were collected through in-depth photo elicitation interviews, which were analysed using grounded theory. The perspective of members was evaluated using a quantitative survey with 254 responses. The results showed that organisers are often filled with enthusiastic ideas but experience a sense of deflation when they realise that the members follow a more pragmatic approach. The information flow from members to the organisers leading them to new insights for adjustments, is a key component in overcoming divergence between the expectations of members and organisers. Involving members in administration and fieldwork lowers the workload of the organisers and fosters informal social interactions and mutual understanding, which leads to an increase in social capital. Focusing on local embeddedness and co-creation between members and organisers, thus allowing a dynamic evolution of the CSA, was found to be more beneficial for the long-term existence of the CSA than rigidly trying to implement the initial vision of the organisers.

Development of children's informal understanding of division through sharing: Contributions of reasoning demands and problem situations

This study examined the longitudinal development of young children's informal understanding of division through fair sharing. Two hundred and twelve children were followed from the age of 4.5–5.5 over three waves of assessment. Division understanding was measured with different types of problems (same- versus different-divisor trials) presented with different situations (partitive vs quotitve). Several key findings emerged. First, different-divisor problems were significantly more difficult than same-divisor problems at all age levels, which suggests that tasks that demand children's understanding of the inverse relation between divisor and quotient are more difficult than tasks that demand the understanding of equivalence principle. Second, children found it easier to understand the inverse relation between divisor and quotient in the context of partitive than quotitive situation. Third, with age, there was a sharper improvement in solving different-divisor problems than same-divisor problems, whereas the progress was more prominent for different-divisor problems presented in partitive situations, compared with other problems. Finally, working memory made the most consistent and unique contribution to solving all kinds of division problems at all age levels, compared with other cognitive factors. Theoretical and practical implications in early childhood mathematics education are discussed.

Symptoms of dementia or post-traumatic stress disorder? Under-recognised behaviours in veterans with dementia

Background: The veteran community are at increased risk of poor mental health and developing dementia as a result of their miliary service, with the potential to lead to delayed onset post-traumatic stress disorder (DOPTSD). The manifestation of DOPTSD may be misinterpreted as behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), which create difficulties in caring for the person experiencing these distressing symptoms. Aims: This paper details the development of a screening tool for people with dementia, which aims to reframe and contextualise some of the behaviours under the lens of historic traumatic events. Methods: The utility of the screening tool is demonstrated through the presentation and an analysis of an anonymised case study to support nurse practice development. Conclusions: A trauma history tool offers a more comprehensive and interpretive view of the possible historic, trauma-related causes of current behaviours and can aid informal carers' understanding of the stress and distress reactions of their family members.

Symptoms of dementia or post-traumatic stress disorder? Under-recognised behaviours in veterans with dementia

Background: The veteran community are at increased risk of poor mental health and developing dementia as a result of their miliary service, with the potential to lead to delayed onset post-traumatic stress disorder (DOPTSD). The manifestation of DOPTSD may be misinterpreted as behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), which create difficulties in caring for the person experiencing these distressing symptoms. Aims: This paper details the development of a screening tool for people with dementia, which aims to reframe and contextualise some of the behaviours under the lens of historic traumatic events. Methods: The utility of the screening tool is demonstrated through the presentation and an analysis of an anonymised case study to support nurse practice development. Conclusions: A trauma history tool offers a more comprehensive and interpretive view of the possible historic, trauma-related causes of current behaviours and can aid informal carers' understanding of the stress and distress reactions of their family members.

STUDENTS’ INFORMAL HYPOTHESIS TESTING IN A PROBABILITY CONTEXT WITH CONCRETE RANDOM GENERATORS

This study examines informal hypothesis testing in the context of drawing inferences of underlying probability distributions. Through a small-scale teaching experiment of three lessons, the study explores how fifth-grade students distinguish a non-uniform probability distribution from uniform probability distributions in a data-rich learning environment, and what role processes of data production play in their investigations. The study outlines aspects of students’ informal understanding of hypothesis testing. It shows how students with no formal education can follow the logic that a small difference in samples can be the effect of randomness, while a large difference implies a real difference in the underlying process. The students distinguish the mode and the size of differences in frequencies as signals in data and used these signals to give data-based reasons in processes of informal hypothesis testing. The study also highlights the role of data production and points to a need for further research on the role of data production in an informal approach to the teaching and learning of statistical inference. First published December 2020 at Statistics Education Research Journal: Archives

STUDENTS’ INFORMAL HYPOTHESIS TESTING IN A PROBABILITY CONTEXT WITH CONCRETE RANDOM GENERATORS

This study examines informal hypothesis testing in the context of drawing inferences of underlying probability distributions. Through a small-scale teaching experiment of three lessons, the study explores how fifth-grade students distinguish a non-uniform probability distribution from uniform probability distributions in a data-rich learning environment, and what role processes of data production play in their investigations. The study outlines aspects of students’ informal understanding of hypothesis testing. It shows how students with no formal education can follow the logic that a small difference in samples can be the effect of randomness, while a large difference implies a real difference in the underlying process. The students distinguish the mode and the size of differences in frequencies as signals in data and used these signals to give data-based reasons in processes of informal hypothesis testing. The study also highlights the role of data production and points to a need for further research on the role of data production in an informal approach to the teaching and learning of statistical inference. First published December 2020 at Statistics Education Research Journal: Archives

Abstract PO-045: Selected cognitive biases that influence the decision-making process in clinical trial enrollment of diverse patient populations

Abstract Background: Diverse populations of oncology patients are underrepresented in clinical trials. Barriers to clinical trial participation can be grouped into 2 categories: structural and procedural barriers (including but not limited to lack of public information, inadequate access, and poor insurance coverage) and cognitive and psychological barriers (biases or influences that may affect a patient’s decision to participate in a clinical trial). The focus of this project was to test psychological barriers to discover biases that may affect the decision-making process for clinical trial participation in a diverse oncology patient population. Methods: Oncology patients (n = 75) with various cancer types were recruited and surveyed to determine the influence of decision-making biases. The top 5 cancers represented were breast (n = 10), ovarian (n = 10), prostate (n = 10), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (n = 9), and lung (n = 8), with 13% of patients (n = 10) diagnosed prior to 2010 and 87% (n = 65) diagnosed in 2010 or later. Patients were 28% White (n = 21), 27% African American (n = 20), 23% Hispanic/Latino (n = 17), 9% Asian/Asian American (n = 7), and 13% other (n = 10). Among these patients, 44% had participated in a clinical trial (n = 33) while 56% had not (n = 42). From a database of > 100 potential biases, 15 biases were selected based on potential actionability and testability with survey questions. Results: Five of the 15 biases selected were found to influence clinical trial participation decision-making with > 90% confidence level (CL): generation effect (tendency to recall information generated by oneself compared with information received from others; 92% CL), social norms (informal understandings that govern behaviors in society; 93% CL), confirmation bias (tendency to interpret new information as confirmation of one’s own beliefs; 94% CL), false consensus effect (belief that one’s own beliefs/opinions are shared by others; 98% CL), and subadditivity effect (tendency to judge the whole as less than the sum of its parts; 100% CL). Based on these findings, 4 educational videos were developed and produced to address the actionable biases of generation effect, social norms, confirmation effect, and false consensus effect. Each video simulated an interview in which the health care provider (HCP) presented a clinical trial opportunity to patients of diverse backgrounds who may have been under-served. Videos captured the HCP recognizing the patient’s particular bias and then clarifying the patient’s questions or misconceptions. Conclusions: Generation effect, social norms, confirmation bias, false consensus effect, and subadditivity effect were 5 biases found to influence a patient’s decision-making process when considering clinical trial participation. This novel information was used to develop videos as educational tools to assist HCPs in overcoming these biases in diverse patient populations and ultimately to mitigate the effect of biases and improve enrollment of diverse patient populations in clinical trials. Citation Format: JoAnne Milazzo, Deborah Norton, Cristina Szelingowski, Alyson Urniasz-Lippel. Selected cognitive biases that influence the decision-making process in clinical trial enrollment of diverse patient populations [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Conference: Thirteenth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2020 Oct 2-4. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(12 Suppl):Abstract nr PO-045.

The ‘radical critique of interviews’: a response to recent comments

ABSTRACT This paper responds to some recent discussions in the Journal about how interview data can be used. While recognising the value of detailed analysis of the discourse employed in interviews to identify its formal features, it is argued that such analysis is not essential for all the purposes for which interview data can be employed in social research; that informal understanding of everyday language use, built up through ordinary experience and during the course of inquiry, can often be relied upon. It is also argued that practical cautions against taking interview data at face value must not be conflated with philosophical doubts about whether interview data can serve as a source of evidence about anything beyond the interview context.