Exploration of the relevance of values to clinical interventions and working with Mentally Disordered Offenders

The relevance of individuals' values to clinical situations is increasingly recognised in political and clinical contexts. Enhancing an individual's capacity to live consistently with their values is assumed to facilitate mental well-being and quality of life (QoL). However, little research has empirically investigated whether this focus is appropriate. This collection of studies will examine the relationship between values, well-being and QoL. "Valued living" is a core aim of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) but it has received little empirical attention. The values identified within ACT may not be equally applicable to all clinical populations. Encouraging value-consistent action is often assumed to be inappropriate to offender populations. Schwartz‟s universal model of human values is introduced to inform understanding of the relationship between values and well-being and whether mentally disordered offenders (MDOs) have similar values to a non-psychologically distressed comparison group. Method Study 1 investigated the relationship between values, quality of life (QoL), psychological distress and psychological inflexibility (cognitive fusion and experiential avoidance) amongst a sample from the non-clinical sample (N = 109) using an online survey. Study 2 compared a subsample from study 1 with MDOs detained in medium security (N = 15) on the same measures. Study 3 explored participants‟ beliefs about the origin and maintenance of meaningful values. Responses were coded according to ACT literature and analysed using content analysis. Results Amongst the non-clinical population, QoL was positively correlated with „valued living‟, and negatively correlated with psychological inflexibility and distress. Psychological distress and psychological inflexibility correlated positively with the Openness to Change value domain and conservatism correlated negatively with psychological distress. No other relationships were observed between psychological flexibility or distress and value domain in the non-clinical population. MDOs had higher rates of psychological distress and lower psychological flexibility and QoL than the non-distressed population; they also attributed less importance to the self-transcendence value domain and more to self-enhancement. Benevolence was ranked significantly lower by the MDO sample. Other large effect sizes were detected reflecting differences between the samples, but they were not statistically significant. Intrinsic reinforcement was considered an important factor that maintained values as meaningful to all participants. Self-report data suggests that there are similarities and differences to how each sample conceptualises values. Discussion A clinical focus on values appears to be justified. The addition of Schwartz‟s model provided insight into the values of MDOs. The clinical and theoretical implications of the results are discussed as are the strengths and limitations of the study

The Meaning of Dwelling Features:

'The Meaning of Dwelling Features. Conceptual and Methodological Issues' relates the research areas of housing preferences and the meaning of a dwelling with each other and with aspects of the means-end approach as applied in marketing research. It results in a conceptual and methodological framework for studying the meaning of preferences for dwelling features. These features are viewed as functional for achieving the goals and values that people pursue. The meaning of dwelling features lies in these functional relationships. The model presented in this study therefore relates preferences for the features of a dwelling to the meaning they have for people. These relationships are called meaning structures. Meaning structures are measured by a semi-structured interviewing technique, which is an adapted version of the laddering technique for measuring means-end chains, and network methods are used for the representation and analysis of these meaning structures

Zeitschrift für Diskursforschung / Journal for Discourse Studies, 03/2017

Inhaltsverzeichnis Willy Viehöver / Reiner Keller / Werner Schneider Editorial 230 Themenbeiträge Florian Elliker, Rixta Wundrak, Christoph Maeder Introduction to the thematic issue and programmatic thoughts on the Sociology of Knowledge Approach to Discourse Ethnography 232 Florian Elliker A Sociology of Knowledge Approach to Discourse Ethnography 249 Rixta Wundrak »Welcome to paradise«. Methodological accentuations to the Sociology of Knowledge Approach to Discourse Ethnography based on field notes from a refugees’ shelter 276 Christoph Maeder Wissenssoziologische Diskursethnographie (WDE)? Die Kombination von Diskursanalyse und Ethnographie als Suchbewegung zwischen Wahrheit und Wirklichkeit 299 Yalız Akbaba Discourse Ethnography on Migrant Other Teachers: Turn the Stigma into Capital! 30

A framework for presenting energy efficiency feedback to operators of buildings

In this study, facilities managers (i.e. operators) of thirty large Australian commercial office buildings received a short computer-generated email message every weekday morning conveying a “judgement” about their building’s energy use for the previous day. Messages conveyed either “good”, “bad” or “average” news in their subject line and a few short descriptive sentences and simple intra-day profile graphics within the body of the message. Together these pointed to performance anomalies and learning opportunities for the recipients to consider and discuss at regular fortnightly meetings with their peers from nearby buildings. The methodology adopted feedback design elements identified as important from residential studies but not previously applied in a non-residential context. Insights from the extensive literature on human motivation and behaviour, feedback methodologies and social learning theory were also applied. A significant divergence between actual and ‘predicted’ daily electricity consumption began to appear after about day 50 of the treatment and a mean improvement of greater than 6 percent was recorded over the entire intervention period. A saving of approximately 10 percent compared to the pre-intervention baseline was observed at 220 days. The study has implications for the design of programs aimed at reducing energy use from non-residential buildings, particularly in relation to the roles of motivation, goal setting and peer interaction, the development of skill and competency, and the permanency of savings. Noting evidence that individual behaviours are heavily influenced by social and institutional contexts and reactions, and hence not easily generalised or up-scaled, specific recommendations for presenting energy efficiency feedback to building operators are offered

Immediation II

All “media-tion” stages and distributes real, embodied – that is, immediate, events. The concept of immediation entails that cultural, technical, aesthetic objects, subjects, and events can no longer be abstracted from the ways in which they contribute to and are changed by broader ecologies. Immediation I and II seek to engage the entwined questions of relation, event and ecology from outside already claimed territories, nomenclature and calls to action

Employee behaviour and the role of culture : the case of Thai Airways

This research explores the interactions of people across cultures. It looks into how cultural distinctiveness and cultural characteristics may serve as a strategic resource for organisations. The research investigates whether the sustained success of South East Asian Airlines in achieving high levels of customer satisfaction is influenced by the application of distinctive cultural traditions and values in the delivery of customer service. Given that this service is delivered by a predominantly female workforce, the research explores cabin crew behaviours and values in relation to assumptions about gender roles that are found within the airline industry generally and South-East Asian cultures specifically. The research is based on a case study of one company, Thai Airways. A triangulated methodology was applied, using a mixture of company documentation, observations and semi-structured interviews. The research aims to inform our understanding of the service interface in a cross-cultural airline environment. Of particular emphasis in this study is the connection between spiritual, cultural values and traditional gender roles within Thai society, which has an impact on the relationship between passengers and cabin crew. The thesis illustrates how the understanding of the relationship between national cultures and individual characteristics can be refined through the use of a conceptual framework. The findings imply that traditional Thai cultural values underpinned by Buddhist spirituality play a part in shaping the way cabin crew think about their work. These influences help them to respond positively to company policy, which in turn can help to achieve Thai Airways’ corporate goals. This synergy between company policy, national culture and spirituality may shape the quality of the service and help to create customer satisfaction. The findings demonstrate that there is a relationship between the satisfaction of basic Thai female needs and work-life balance. Thai cabin crews who work in a female environment tend to balance their career, finances and family so that these needs are met

Taste, Waste and the New Materiality of Food

Anthropocentric thinking produces fractured ecological perspectives that can perpetuate destructive, wasteful behaviours. Learning to recognise the entangled nature of our everyday relationships with food can encourage ethical ecological thinking and lay the foundations for more sustainable lifestyles. This book analyses ethnographic data gathered from participants in Alternative Food Networks from farmers’ markets to community gardens, agricultural shows and food redistribution services. Drawing on theoretical insights from political ecology, eco-feminism, ecological humanities, human geography and critical food studies, the author demonstrates the sticky and enduring nature of anthropocentric discourses. Chapters in this book experiment with alternative grammars to support and amplify ecologically attuned practices of human and more-than-human togetherness. In times of increasing climate variability, this book calls for alternative ontologies and world-making practices centred on food which encourage agility and adaptability and are shown to be enacted through playful tinkering guided by an ethic of convivial dignity. This innovative book offers a valuable insight into food networks and sustainability which will be useful core reading for courses focusing on critical food studies, food ecology and environmental studies