Participatory action research: The distress of (not) making a difference

Participatory action research (PAR) is alluring for researchers investigating traumatic and sensitive topics. While it is distressing for interviewees to recount these stories – and for researchers to hear them – PAR promises to make the pain worthwhile. Something good will come of it. In this paper, I reflect on a PAR project conducted with Tanzanian child domestic workers. Research vignettes are used to highlight moments of emotional complexity unique to PAR projects. First, the emotional burdens of PAR are distributed across a research team. Researchers need to think carefully about the appropriate ‘level’ of participation to pursue. Second, there is no guarantee that the impacts of PAR projects will be unambiguously positive. The risk of doing more harm than good can weigh heavily on the minds of the research team. Third, when PAR projects are conceived with the intent of producing long-lasting structural changes that benefit marginalised people, ‘failure’ can become a source of great distress. Those attempting PAR need to be prepared for the emotional pitfalls of research endeavours that seek to tangibly intervene in traumatised people's lives.     

纳米认知增强技术的伦理考量

纳米认知增强技术是在纳米尺度上对大脑进行直接干预,从而提升正常个体认知功能的技术。该技术以其在微观环境下的高效和精准而独得宠爱,但也可引发安全和风险、自主和尊严、公平与正义以及“过时人”方面的伦理问题。在该技术的开发和将来应用过程中,必须遵循生命伦理原则,并从风险评估、伦理审查、研发主体和使用主体的道德约束和责任感、监管体系、社会价值导向和舆论环境等多角度、全方位入手,实施积极有效的对策,以使其始终沿着促进人类福祉的道路发展。

     

Age‐Related Differences in Ethnic Prejudice: Evidence of the Mediating Effect of Right‐Wing Attitudes

The present study revealed age‐related differences in ethnic prejudice in a heterogeneous (total N = 1,308) and a representative (N = 800) sample, using measures of blatant and subtle prejudice. The relationship between age and blatant and subtle prejudice was found to be fully mediated by right‐wing social‐cultural attitudes (i.e. authoritarianism and cultural conservatism). Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Longitudinal Analysis of Loneliness Among Older People in Great Britain

Longitudinal studies of loneliness among older people are comparatively rare. At 8 years after the initial survey in 1999–2000, we followed up on the 999 people aged 65+ years who were living in the community in the United Kingdom. We found that 583 participants were still alive, and 287 (58%) participated in the follow-up survey. The overall prevalence of loneliness at both time points was very similar, with 9% reporting severe loneliness; 30% reporting that they were sometimes lonely, and 61% reporting that they were never lonely. We developed a 12-category typology to describe changes in loneliness across the follow-up period and report that 60% of participants had a stable loneliness rating, with 40–50% rating themselves as never lonely, and 20–25% rating themselves as persistently lonely; 25% demonstrated decreased loneliness, and approximately 15% demonstrated worse loneliness. Changes in loneliness were linked with changes in marital status, living arrangements, social networks, and physical health. Importantly improvements in physical health and improved social relationships were linked to reduced levels of loneliness. This result suggests that strategies to combat loneliness are not confined to the arena of social interventions such as befriending services, which aim to build and support social embeddedness, but may also result from the treatment of chronic and long-term health conditions.     

失业人员求职行为的影响因素及作用机制 ——基于沈阳市的一项研究

对失业人员求职行为影响因素的研究是开展失业人员求职培训的重要依据。本研究对272名失业人员的求职行为的影响因素及作用机制进行了研究。多元回归分析的结果表明,（1）环境变量对求职行为没有显著的预测作用,而经济压力和知觉到的就业机会对求职意向有显著的预测作用。（2）求职自我效能感和就业承诺对求职行为起到了显著的预测作用。求职自我效能感和就业承诺越高,求职行为的频率越高。（3）求职意向对求职行为有显著的正向预测作用。（4）求职意向在求职自我效能感、就业承诺对求职行为的作用过程中中介作用显著;在知觉到的就业机会、经济压力和社会支持对求职行为的作用过程中中介作用不显著     

“以人为本”不是“以政为本”——《关于深化医药卫生体制改革的意见》的儒家意见

试从儒家的观点出发评价《深化医药卫生体制改革的意见（征求意见稿）》,论证其建议没有真正遵循“以人为本”的原则。具体说来,其建议未能贯彻“藏富于民”的精神,没有实行“家庭决策”的方式,未能充分致力于建设一个人性化的公立医院制度和医疗保健市场。     

How should utilitarians think about the future?

Abstract

Utilitarians must think collectively about the future because many contemporary moral issues require collective responses to avoid possible future harms. But current rule utilitarianism does not accommodate the distant future. Drawing on my recent books Future People and Ethics for a Broken World, I defend a new utilitarianism whose central ethical question is: What moral code should we teach the next generation? This new theory honours utilitarianism’s past and provides the flexibility to adapt to the full range of credible futures – from futures broken by climate change to the digital, virtual and predictable futures produced by various possible technologies.     

Religion as capital: Christianity in the lives of Anglo-Indian youth in India

Religion is an important marker of identity for India’s Anglo-Indians. It distinguishes them within the principally non-Christian context and is integral to socializing youth to their distinct Anglo-Indian culture and heritage. This can be observed in Anglo-Indian practice—attending Christian schools, church-going, celebrating religious festivals, making pilgrimages—which forms a significant part of a matrix through which young Anglo-Indians learn how to perform their Anglo-Indianness. Our recent research (2013–2014) looked at the role of religion in the lives of Anglo-Indians intergenerationally and transnationally, through a survey, interviews, and participant observation. The results suggest that the performed religiosity of Anglo-Indian youth in India yields certain benefits for this group. It constitutes a capital which has the potential to make an enormous difference to their lives—socially, culturally, and otherwise. For example, Christian practice provides them with access to élite Christian educational institutions and the career possibilities that follow from such education. This article describes our research, focusing upon the findings related to Anglo-Indian youth in India. In particular, it argues that in various ways, the practice of Christianity both acts and is recognized by young Anglo-Indians as a source of capital in their lives, which is not to say that religion is practised for the purpose of acquiring capital. Rather, religious practice is a part of being Anglo-Indian that in India accrues capital.     

Socio-cultural variation in attitudes to adolescents’ decision-making

Little is known about cultural variation in perceptions about the age when youngsters should be regarded as competent to make decisions. This is of particular importance as research has shown the significant effect of parental influence on their children’s decision-making. A public survey of 400 adults from diverse socio-cultural backgrounds in the UK and Spain was carried out. Their attitudes regarding adolescents’ ability with regard to common areas of decision-making were assessed using case vignettes including discontinuing family traditions and religious practice. It was found that White British adults agreed for younger adolescents to make decisions about themselves compared with the other ethnic groups. High religious practice was associated with later age to make decisions. The paper argues that there is socio-cultural variation in adults’ attitudes regarding the age when youngsters should make decisions about themselves and for the need of professionals to take this into account.