Partisanship and positionality in qualitative research: Exploring the influences of the researcher’s experiences of serious crime on the research process

Debates on positionality and partisanship in the research process are long-standing, complex and often highly contentious. Engaging with, and contributing to both these key debates, this paper introduces the concept of victim-as-researcher. There is a growing body of literature which engages with participatory research undertaken with victims of crime. Nevertheless, there is a paucity of literature which speaks to the experiences of victims of serious, violent crime who subsequently engage in qualitative research with offenders who have been convicted of offences similar to the ones experienced by the researcher and which, therefore, can elicit trauma whilst in the field and through analysis. In reflecting on the dilemmas and challenges navigated by the victim-as-researcher seeking to produce an authentic, appreciative account that foregrounds the voices of offenders and seeks to humanise them, this paper engages with a number of key issues including, emotional labour, victimology and reflexivity. Following this discussion of relevant concepts and ideas, the second part of the paper focusses on practical tips to help others who share a positionality as victim-as-researcher. Thus, this paper aims to extend the literature on positionality and victimology by foregrounding the victim-as-researcher as an important category in reflexive sociological and criminological research

Continuity and change?: Exploring reactions to a guided self-management intervention in a randomised controlled trial for IBS with reference to prior experience of managing a long term condition

Self-care interventions are promoted as effective strategies for improving the quality of life and health outcomes for individuals with long-term health conditions. Outcome measures used in evaluations using Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) are not designed to consider patients' prior management strategies and experience of illness. Yet the experience of illness literature suggests that adjusting to living with chronic illness, together with broader contextual influences, are likely to be relevant to understanding responses to self-management initiatives. Using group and individual interview data we attempt to illuminate the transposition of IBS from a condition unsatisfactorily managed by medicine to one successfully managed within the life worlds of individuals. If routine embedding of complex interventions depends on the accomplishment of integration and workability in patients' everyday lives then the design and evaluation of such interventions should view participation as part of a process of continuity as well as change. Responses to formal self-management can be extended beyond psychological and other quantitatively measured outcomes. A useful addendum to trial outcomes for self-management education is an understanding of change as being inextricably linked to people's previous attempts to, and experience of, managing long-term conditions. We suggest that the benefits of understanding the prior experience of managing illness and contact with health services include the acceptability and workability of complex interventions in patients' everyday lives

Ventral and dorsal striatal dopamine efflux and behavior in rats with simple vs. co-morbid histories of cocaine sensitization and neonatal ventral hippocampal lesions

xposing animal models of mental illness to addictive drugs provides an approach to understanding the neural etiology of dual diagnosis disorders. Previous studies have shown that neonatal ventral hippocampal lesions (NVHL) in rats produce features of both schizophrenia and addiction vulnerability. Objective This study investigated ventral and dorsal striatal dopamine (DA) efflux in NVHL rats combined with behavioral sensitization to cocaine. Methods Adult NVHL vs. SHAM-operated rats underwent a 5-day injection series of cocaine (15 mg/kg/day) vs. saline. One week later, rats were cannulated in nucleus accumbens SHELL, CORE, or caudate–putamen. Another week later, in vivo microdialysis sampled DA during locomotor testing in which a single cocaine injection (15 mg/kg) was delivered. Results NVHLs and cocaine history significantly increased behavioral activation approximately 2-fold over SHAM-saline history rats. DA efflux curves corresponded time dependently with the cocaine injection and locomotor curves and varied significantly by striatal region: Baseline DA levels increased 5-fold while cocaine-stimulated DA efflux decreased by half across a ventral to dorsal striatal gradient. However, NVHLs, prior cocaine history, and individual differences in behavior were not underpinned by differential DA efflux overall or within any striatal region.Conclusion Differences in ventral/dorsal striatal DA efflux are not present in and are not required for producing differential levels of acute cocaine-induced behavioral activation in NVHLs with and without a behaviorally sensitizing cocaine history. These findings suggest other neurotransmitter systems, and alterations in striatal network function post-synaptic to DA transmission are more important to understanding the interactive effects of addictive drugs and mental illness

A Project Portfolio Management Approach to Tacklingthe Exploration/Exploitation Trade-off

Organizational ambidexterity (OA) is an essen-tial capability for surviving in dynamic business environ-ments that advocates the simultaneous engagement inexploration and exploitation. Over the last decades,knowledge on OA has substantially matured, coveringinsights into antecedents, outcomes, and moderators of OA.However, there is little prescriptive knowledge that offersguidance on how to put OA into practice and to tackle thetrade-off between exploration and exploitation. To addressthis gap, the authors adopt the design science researchparadigm and propose an economic decision model asartifact. The decision model assists organizations inselecting and scheduling exploration and exploitation pro-jects to become ambidextrous in an economically reason-able manner. As for justificatory knowledge, the decisionmodel draws from prescriptive knowledge on projectportfolio management and value-based management, andfrom descriptive knowledge related to OA to structure thefield of action. To evaluate the decision model, its designspecification is discussed against theory-backed designobjectives and with industry experts. The paper alsoinstantiates the decision model as a software prototype andapplies the prototype to a case based on real-world data

High-Performance Work Systems and Organizational Performance in Emerging Economies: Evidence from MNEs in Turkey

This study examines the association between the usage of high-performance work systems (HPWS) by subsidiaries of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in Turkey and employee and subsidiary level outcomes. The study is based on a survey of 148 MNE subsidiaries operating in Turkey. The results show that the usage of HPWS has a significant positive impact on employee effectiveness. However, their impact on employee skills and development, and organizational financial performance are far less clear. Our findings highlight the extent to which HWPS need to be adapted to take account of context-specific institutional realities. © 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg