Subjective Wellbeing in Large Cities: a Comparative Analysis of London and Mexico City

Subjective wellbeing (SWB) encompasses experiencing positive emotions, the absence of negative emotions and judgments of life satisfaction. One might expect that individuals living in societal conditions that better fulfil predictors of SWB are happier than those living in less favourable conditions. However, levels of SWB in some Latin American countries are similar or even higher than those in some more developed countries in Western Europe, despite the well-documented social challenges faced within the region. This discrepancy highlights an important issue in SWB research: the discounting of diverse cultural factors in the construction of happiness. Bringing together social representations theory and cultural models, this thesis examines SWB in common sense thinking –and its underpinning cultural forces– of people living in London and Mexico City. Two cross-cultural studies were conducted using the Grid Elaboration Method (GEM), a novel free association and interview technique. In the first study, experiences of the city of 24 London and 24 Mexico City dwellers were investigated. Thematic analysis of the data suggested that representations of the self and the other guided participants’ emotional and cognitive experiences associated with living in the city. Moreover, it identified the special relevance that feelings of detachment and relegation from the environment had in London dwellers’ unhappiness and the influence that family had for Mexico City dwellers’ SWB. Building on these results, the second study examines in more depth the representation of family in 24 London dwellers and 24 Mexico City dwellers. Following the same methodology it was found that cultural values underpinned conceptualisations of relatedness and autonomy, which shaped participants’ practices and affective experiences associated with family. This work makes a unique contribution in contextualising the plethora of quantitative SWB data and invites the consideration of socio-cultural factors in the design and implementation of SWB-related interventions and policies

From Challenge to Opportunity: Virtual Qualitative Research During COVID-19 and Beyond

COVID-19 has required researchers to adapt methodologies for remote data collection. While virtual interviewing has traditionally received limited attention in the qualitative literature, recent adaptations to the pandemic have prompted increased discussion and adoption. Yet, current discussion has focussed on practical and ethical concerns and retained a tone of compromise, of coping in a crisis. This paper extends the nascent conversations begun prior to the pandemic to consider the wider methodological implications of video-call interviews. Beyond the short-term, practical challenges of the pandemic, these adaptations demonstrate scope for longer-term, beneficial digitalisation of both traditional and emergent interview methods. Updating traditional interview methods digitally has demonstrated how conversion to video interviewing proves beneficial in its own right. Virtual focus-group-based research during COVID-19, for example, accessed marginalised populations and elicited notable rapport and rich data, uniting people in synchronous conversation across many environments. Moreover, emergent interview methods such as the Grid Elaboration Method (a specialised free-associative method) demonstrated further digitalised enhancements, including effective online recruitment with flexible scheduling, virtual interactions with significant rapport, and valuable recording and transcription functions. This paper looks beyond the pandemic to future research contexts where such forms of virtual interviewing may confer unique advantages: supporting researcher and participant populations with mobility challenges; enhancing international research where researcher presence or travel may be problematic. When opportunities for traditional face-to-face methods return, the opportunity for virtual innovation should not be overlooked

Adolescent girls’ representations of the role of schools and teachers post-disaster: “second parents, second homes”

Disasters can result in poor psychosocial outcomes for adolescents. One pathway to mitigate these risks and foster resilience is via schools, where teachers can offer students support. However, existing research lacks consideration of the role schools and teachers play from the perspective of students, particularly those from marginalized populations. Therefore, this study examines adolescents’ representations of the role of schools and teachers after a major disaster in Indonesia using a free association interview technique. Thematic analysis of adolescents’ interviews (N = 46) yielded two salient themes: ‘the school as a place of recovery’ and ‘the school as a place of risk’. While the school and teachers were conceptualized positively in that they promoted students’ recovery, students also identified aspects of the post-disaster school environment that produced uncertainty, loss and discomfort thereby heightening their sense of risk. The paper concludes with recommendations for resilience-building, such as ensuring teachers receive relevant training

Community Resilience after Disasters: Exploring Teacher, Caregiver and Student Conceptualisations in Indonesia

Despite the potentially catastrophic nature of disasters, survivors can be highly resilient. Resilience, the capacity to successfully adapt to adversity, is both individual and collective. Policymakers and academics have recently emphasised the importance of community resilience, but with little consideration of local survivors’ perspectives, particularly young survivors within low- and middle-income countries. Therefore, this exploratory study aims to give voice to disaster-affected caregivers, teachers and female adolescent students by examining their conceptualisations of community coping and priorities for resilient recovery following the 2018 Central Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami. A total of 127 survivors of the devastating disaster, including 47 adolescents, answered open-ended survey questions related to post-disaster resilience. A content analysis identified key constituents of community resilience. The results indicate that survivors highly value community cohesion and participation, drawing on the community’s intra-personal strengths to overcome post-disaster stressors. Student conceptualisations of and recommendations for a resilient recovery often differ from the views of important adults in their lives, for example, regarding the role played by the built environment, “trauma healing” and religiosity in the recovery process. These findings have implications for the design of disaster resilience interventions

Conocimiento y percepción de la avifauna en niños de dos comunidades en la selva Lacandona, Chiapas, México: hacia una conservación biocultural

Este artículo documenta y analiza el Conocimiento Tradicional (CT), usos y percepciones de los niños sobre las a ves en las comunidades Reforma Agraria (RA) y Frontera Corozal (FC) que se encuentran en la zona Laca ndona en Chiapas, México. Ambas pertenecen a la zona de influencia de la Reserva de la Biósfera Montes Azules (REBIMA) y la segunda también del Monumento Natural Yaxchilán (MNY). Se realizaron actividades participativas en las escuelas de educación básica que consistían en cuestionarios, entrevistas, sociodramas, elaboración de dibujos y de historias sobre las aves, entre otras. Los niños reconocen 42 especies de aves (en RA) y 31 especies en cada una de las dos escuelas de FC, e identifican su uso como mascotas, ornamentales (las plumas) , comestibles, agoreras y en algunos casos medicinales. Su conocimiento se basa en su cercanía con la selva y en la observación recurrente de su entorno. La percepción que tienen de la avifauna es positiva. Sienten una gran atracción y aprecio debido a sus colores, cantos y diversidad. Actualmente las instituciones de gobierno aprovechan escasamente las oportunidades alrededor de este conocimiento y es necesario que se considere para apoyar la conservación de estos organismos y la de su entorno ecológico, i ncorporando cada vez más un enfoque biocultural e intercultural en sus actividades