Multiple-level analysis as a tool for policy: An example of the use of contextualism and causal layered analysis

In 1970 Scribner described four types of community psychologists. Despite social change being a common theme, the four types were differentiated by the extent to which they were inside government and organisations or outside, agitating for change. Community psychology and policy change appear to be implicitly connected. Despite this, engagement of community psychologists in policy change has proven to be minimal. Distinctions between first (cosmetic) and second order (systemic) change (Watzlawick, Weakland & Fisch, 1974) reflect the intractability of fundamental change due to deep systemic cultural influences, and should act as a motivator for community psychologists in the policy arena. We argue that psychology’s failure to adopt a multiplicity of epistemologies, in particular a contextualist epistemology, has meant that psychology, and particularly, community psychology has had limited impact. Further, we argue the need to consider community worldviews and culture, in general, if we are to engage more fully in policy development and implementation. Contending with the social issues relevant to policy settings requires an articulation of the worldview and cultural context. Causal layered analysis, a futures methodology, has been adopted to allow a reflective and contextual approach to policy implementation and involves a structured layered deconstruction of social issues. An example of this approach will be highlighted with its application to the implementation of sustainable Australian agricultural policy in the face of climate change.What is revealed is a psychological paradox involving the general endorsement of sustainable policy alongside cultural impediments to its adoption. Community psychologists have a natural and important role to play in policy formulation, given our epistemologies, methodologies and motivation for genuine and transformative social change

The Australian Mainstream Media’s Portrayal of Youth Climate Activism and Dissent

The March 2019 School Strikes 4 Climate, predominantly organized by young students, garnered widespread and polarizing media coverage. We aimed to identify how Australian mainstream print news media portrays youth involvement and dissent within climate action movements. A qualitative media framing analysis was conducted to determine how youth climate activists and dissent were presented during the first large-scale youth climate protests in Australia. Australian newspaper articles and opinion pieces (N = 101) were identified via ProQuest and screened. An inductive thematic analysis was conducted in NVivo12. Findings were assessed through a typology of dissent to determine how different forms of dissent were represented in the Australian print news media. The framing of dissent in Australian media coverage was varied, with news articles being more likely to prioritize the voices of young people, while opinion pieces resorted to fear-mongering rhetoric that critiqued and invalidated their agency. Protestors used combinations of dutiful and disruptive dissent to advocate for climate action, with the latter being more effective for challenging systemic drivers of climate change

Directions for research practice in decolonising methodologies: Contending with paradox

The complex nature of colonisation presents with the potential for paradoxes in decolonising approaches, hence, fixed conventions and methods are discouraged. In this way, decolonising methodologies concerns interrogating dominant conventions in research that have typically excluded alternative ways of knowing from academia. This raises concern about the issue of breaking conventions, when it is potentially difficult to realise that one is depending upon them. An incremental approach to the research process and subsequent knowledge generated provides opportunity to challenge the conventions that typically dictate research praxis. In addition, fostering epistemological transformation and pluralism presents a solution to problems derived from dominant cultural assumptions and practices. My aim for this article is to extend upon the literature pertaining to decolonising methodologies, with this contribution of focusing on the research process as a means to avoid paradox in the decolonial intention. Accordingly, a process imperative that focuses on how researchers do research, over the tendency to focus on outcomes, emerges as a strategy to identify and contend with paradoxes within decolonial work. A questioning convention is posited as a means for mining the assumptions and biases of the dominant culture that would otherwise ensnare ones thinking. Consequently, research may be better liberated from oppressive colonising practices that are tacit within research and academic conventions. Narratives are provided throughout for illustrative example, and to better explore the concepts named

Piloting ‘Clever Kids’: A randomized-controlled trial assessing feasibility, efficacy, and acceptability of a socioemotional well-being programme for children with dyslexia

Children with dyslexia are at elevated risk of internalizing (emotional) and externalizing (behavioural) problems. Clever Kids is a nine-week socioemotional well-being programme developed specifically for upper primary school children with dyslexia. In a small randomized-controlled trial, we tested the feasibility, efficacy, and acceptability of the Clever Kids programme. ‘Forty children (Mage = 10.45 years, 65% male) with clinically diagnosed dyslexia too part in the study. Children were randomized to either attend Clever Kids (n = 20) or to a wait-list control condition (n = 20). Coping skills, self-esteem, resilience, emotion regulation, and internalizing and externalizing symptoms were measured at pre-programme, post-programme, and at three-month follow-up. Recruitment and retention rates indicate high feasibility for further evaluation of the programme. There was a significant interaction between intervention condition and time for non-productive coping [F(2, 76) = 4.29, p = 0.017, f2 = 0.11]. Children who attended Clever Kids significantly reduced their use of non-productive coping strategies, and this was maintained at three-month follow-up assessment. For all other outcomes, the interactions between intervention condition and time were non-significant. The programme appears acceptable to children with dyslexia and their families, but may be improved by further reducing the number of activities involving reading and writing. Clever Kids improved the coping skills of children with dyslexia; however, a larger trial is needed to replicate this finding and investigate whether programme attendance is associated with additional improvements in children’s socioemotional well-being

Assessing the Impact of Stakeholder Engagement in Management Strategy Evaluation

After completing a large, regional, multi-use Management Strategy Evaluation, we attempt to assess the impact of stakeholder engagement on the project. We do so by comparing the original project plan to the actual project development and highlight the changes which can be more directly related to stakeholder engagement aided by the application of a logic model for program evaluation. The impact can be summarised into four broad classes: a) change in the actual project development; b) a measurable change in the network of interactions both stakeholders (which includes researchers); c) changes in how the computer model was developed and run; and d) changes in attitudes among stakeholders (including researchers). We discuss these changes, the way they have been detected and some lessons we learnt which may benefit future Management Strategy Evaluation projects

A multi-model approach to stakeholder engagement in complex environmental problems

We describe the different types of models we used as part of an effort to inform policy-making aiming at the management of the Ningaloo coast in the Gascoyne region, Western Australia. This provides an overview of how these models interact, the different roles they cover, how they fit into a full decision making process and what we learnt about the stakeholders involved in our project via their use. When modelling is explicitly used to address socio-ecological issues, the key determinant of success is whether the models, their results and recommendations are taken up by stakeholders; such uptake in turn depends on addressing stakeholders’ concerns, on engaging them in the project, on ensuring they feel ownership of the decision process at large, and that they understand and trust the modelling effort. This observation has guided our approach and has resulted in treating ‘building a model’ as the catalyst, rather than the final aim, of the process. In other words, extensive interactions in order to introduce, showcase, discuss and tune the model used for final decision making have represented both a requirement and an opportunity to ensure (i) model relevance, (ii) its acceptance, (iii) that all information available in the stakeholder team was accounted for and (iv) that stakeholders holding different levels of understanding of modelling, what it does and what it can provide to decision-making could develop an informed opinion on its use. To fulfil these roles we developed five broad classes of models: conceptual models, toy-models, singlesystem models, shuttle-models and a full-system model. In conceptual models the main drivers of a system are highlighted for subsequent representation as components of the full-system model. This usually results in a diagram summarising our understanding of how the system works. In toy-models a problem is simplified in such a way that only a handful of components are included. The purpose of these models is mostly educational: we want to understand how each component affects the problem and in order to achieve this, we temporarily renounce a satisfactory understanding of the overall problem. In single-system models we include a fairly detailed representation of a single component of the system (in our case recreational fishing and tourism); these models can be used to introduce stakeholders to modelling, provide temporary results from the study of a single activity, which will feed into the development of the final full-system model, or address sector-specific issues. In shuttle-models, we include the minimum number of processes we believe are crucial for a basic understanding of the overall problem. We know these models are still too simple for full system description, but they provide a sufficient understanding to enable us to contemplate, build and use the more complex models needed for full problem description. The term ‘shuttle’ refers to taking us from a minimum to a full description of the problem, a journey which is necessary both to developers in model definition and parameterisation and to stakeholders in the interpretation of the final full-system model results. Finally, the full-system model includes all information collected through the project and addresses all scenarios of stakeholders concern, and whose definition has been greatly eased by use of the ‘simpler’ models. As an example, a conceptual model may identify fishing and tourism as the main drivers of a region; a toymodel may describe how catches affect fish stocks; a single-system model may include the effect of gear, regulations and other processes affecting recreational fishing; a shuttle-model may include a simplified representation of the interaction between fishing, tourism, and infrastructure development on the overall health of the local ecosystem; this will gradually ‘take’ us to comprehend the ‘full’ model which may include tourism pressure, fish market values, climate effect, larger food-webs, etc

Outdoing the Joneses: Understanding community acceptance of an alternative water supply scheme and sustainable urban design

Concern regarding the sustainability of Australia's potable water supply has prompted investigation into the use of alternative water supply options and other sustainable urban design features at the household and neighbourhood level. This paper details a mixed methodology research project exploring the acceptability of a non-potable groundwater supply system, as well as attitudes towards and uptake of other sustainable urban design options. Results from a photo-elicitation survey depicting aesthetically degraded water in different use scenarios demonstrate that overall participants are accepting of some degree of aesthetic degradation for all uses; however issues relating to fairness and ‘keeping up appearances’ were raised. When asked about sustainable urban design options most participants felt these were important to have, yet few had these in their homes, and noted many barriers to adoption. Notable during interviews was the reported pressure to out-do others in the neighbourhood with respect to home upkeep. Findings from our research suggest that normative processes are highly important, seen to shape the way in which people engage with sustainable urban design in the public/private space, as well as the expectations that they have on others and themselves. We suggest that current social norms need to be challenged to encourage home owners to adopt more sustainable practices or utilised so that new developments present an opportunity for neighbours to compete over the ‘greenest’ housing design rather than the greenest lawn

Social science and socialising: adopting causal layered analysis to reveal multi-stakeholder perceptions of natural resource management in Australia

The social context of Natural Resource Management (NRM) in Australia is now considered to be a major contributing factor behind the success or failure of landscape improvement programmes. This paper investigates NRM social issues via an alternative interpretative method, Causal Layered Analysis (CLA). CLA was utilised in nine focus groups, comprising landholders and staff from NRM regional bodies in central west New South Wales. A multitude of stakeholder concerns emerged, particularly regarding the concept of sustainability and confusion over roles and responsibilities. We propose that continued use of CLA by those in the local catchment community can help overcome complexity in the social landscape and lead to more engaged and empowered communities

Unblurring the lines: a qualitative exploration of young women’s opinions on popular music

© 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group Music is an important part of the human experience, arguably contributing to identity and the formation of relationships and group memberships. However, the way women are portrayed in music has been identified as harmful and disempowering. Past research relating music to these trends has often failed to “give voice” to participants by asking them what think about the music they listen to, which is in itself disempowering. Therefore, the aim of this study was to gain an understanding of young women’s perspectives of popular music. Face-to-face, in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 young women. Causal layered analysis was used to deconstruct participants’ understandings of popular music. Findings revealed that for participants, music can both reflect and contribute to conflicting worldviews regarding women’s freedom of expression and sexual conservatism. Music also acted as a conduit for discussion of the social construction of women; participants articulated that female artists are seen rather than heard, reduced to body parts and commodified. Findings indicate that participants are cognizant of gendered power differences in music, rendering popular music in particular a mechanism for the oppression of women, but also a useful means to monitor and challenge problematic cultural attitudes directed at women

Dealing with Wicked Problems: Conducting a Causal Layered Analysis of Complex Social Psychological Issues

Causal layered analysis (CLA) is an emerging qualitative methodology adopted in the discipline of planning as an approach to deconstruct complex social issues. With psychologists increasingly confronted with complex, and “wicked” social and community issues, we argue that the discipline of psychology would benefit from adopting CLA as an analytical method. Until now, the application of CLA for data interpretation has generally been poorly defined and overwhelming for the novice. In this paper we propose an approach to CLA that provides a method for the deconstruction and analysis of complex social psychological issues. We introduce CLA as a qualitative methodology well suited for psychology, introduce the epistemological foundations of CLA, define a space for it adoption within the discipline, and, outline the steps for conducting a CLA using an applied example