The United Kingdom, in common with many countries, has an ageing demographic. Changes accompanying ageing can influence food choice and dietary habits. This study explored older adults' perceptions ...and practices related to dietary behaviour and the factors influencing their food choice in later life. Semi-structured focus-group discussions were conducted with 30 individuals (aged 63-90 years) in a UK city. An inductive thematic approach was adopted for data analysis, and 4 themes and 12 sub-themes emerged: age-related changes (lower appetite, food changes, declining physical function); food access (food cost, support with food, maintaining independence); on your own (cooking for one, eating alone, shopping for one); and relationship with food (food variety, eating what you want, dieting). These influenced participants' food acquisition, food preparation and cooking, as well as eating habits. Living alone and its substantial influence, as well as associated social isolation and loneliness, were highlighted in many of the discussions. Given the possible implications for nutritional intake, further work is recommended in this area. Likewise, steps should be taken to improve food access, increase opportunities for commensal eating and, fundamentally, address social isolation and loneliness in the older population.
The perception that food affects our health has increased over the past fifty years in industrialised Western countries. The notion of “healthy food” has become ubiquitous in medical, political, and ...media discourse as well as in the discourses of the lay population. This study seeks to understand the social representations of “healthy food” of Brazilian, Spanish and French dietitians and young laywomen. A qualitative and comparative methodology based on 131 individual semi-structured interviews was set up. According to the analysis of the discourses, the notion of “healthy food” is ambivalent and polysemic. Scientific-nutritional rationality is not the only way to think about “healthy food”. Two main ways of categorising “healthy foods” are observed in the three countries. They are based on eating analysis criteria that referred to diverse value systems and different scientific, symbolic and moral rationalities: on the one hand, a physiological, nutritional and functional conception, and on the other, an “eco-ideological” conception that took into account production, culture and distribution methods. Though dietitians have a greater technical knowledge of nutrients and metabolic processes than laywomen, professionals and young laywomen, mainly within the same nationality, shared similar discourses concerning the notion of “healthy food”, revealing patterns that differentiate each nationality. Taking together, the results reveal that although medical-nutritional discourses are disseminated internationally, discourses on “healthy food” are constructed taking into account social, cultural, symbolic and moral dimensions. These discourses are linked to a historical and sociocultural context.
Background
There is emerging evidence of the potentially detrimental impact of social media on young people’s mental health. Against this background, online self‐harm content has been a recent focus ...of concern across academia, policy and the media. It has been argued to encourage or even cause acts such as self‐cutting through mechanisms of contagion. However, little is known about why a young person might engage with such content or about its impact on behaviour or well‐being.
Methods
Online ethnographic observation of interactions around self‐harm on Twitter, Reddit and Instagram: collection and analysis of 10,169 original posts and 36,934 comments, both written and pictorial, at two time‐points in 2018 and 2019. Ten in‐depth semi‐structured interviews exploring engagements with self‐harm content on social media.
Results
Our data show that peer support is the central component of online interactions around self‐harm. Young people accessing such content are likely to already be self‐harming; they may turn to social media to understand, and seek help for, their actions and feelings in a context of offline stigma and service support gaps. This paper engages with the mechanisms, complexities and impact of this peer‐support, reflecting on the benefits and dangers to caring for oneself and others through social media.
Conclusions
Self‐harm content is a fraught issue at the centre of current debates around risks and opportunities for child and adolescent mental health in the digital age. Whilst the importance of supporting young people’s online safety is clear, moves to eradicate self‐harm content must be undertaken with caution so as not to cause unintentional harm. Our research highlights a need to think beyond a model of contagion, instead attending to other mechanisms of harm and benefit. In so doing, it challenges prevailing attitudes towards online communication about self‐harm and accepted approaches to managing this.
The beginnings of corporal expression have been and are being analyzed from different perspectives. This work has attempted to delve into the beginnings that occurred throughout the 20th century, ...when this emerging discipline was nourished by multiple sources: society, arts, education, psychology, etc. Patricia Stokoe (1919-1996), devoted her life to the study of body language-dance. Considered one of the initiators in this field (Kalmar, 2005; Cardona, 2009; Ruano & Sánchez, 2009), her work continues to be a reference nowadays and it is present in a large part of the scientific production generated in this discipline. It is in the research by Cardona (2009), who carried out a doctoral thesis, where the study of the life and work of the author has been deepened. We present here how this qualitative research was carried out. A cross-sectional descriptive treatment was carried out, using the analysis of documents and interviews. We conducted more than thirty interviews between Buenos Aires and Spain, establishing 4 dimensions / fields that provided structure and clarity to the study: life analysis; analysis of the influences on life and work; analysis of the work; bibliographic essay of the work. We obtained results that make the life and work of Patricia Stokoe one of the pioneers in the construction and genesis of corporal expression.
Los inicios de la Expresión Corporal (EC) han sido y están siendo analizados desde diferentes perspectivas. Este trabajo ha pretendido profundizar en los comienzos acaecidos a lo largo del siglo XX, en donde esta disciplina emergente se nutrió de múltiples fuentes: de lo social, las artes, la educación, la psicología, etc. Patricia Stokoe (1919-1996), dedicó su vida al estudio de la Expresión Corporal-Danza (ECy D). Considerada como una de las iniciadoras en este campo (Kalmar, 2005; Cardona, 2009; Ruano & Sánchez, 2009). Su obra sigue siendo referente en la actualidad y está presente en gran parte de la producción científica que se genera en esta disciplina. Es la investigación de Cardona (2009), en donde se ha profundizado en el estudio de la vida y la obra de la autora. Exponemos aquí cómo se llevó a cabo dicha investigación cualitativa. Se hizo un tratamiento descriptivo transversal, utilizando el análisis de documentos y las entrevistas. Realizamos más de treinta entrevistas entre Buenos Aires y España. Estableciéndose 4 dimensiones/campos que aportaron estructura y claridad al estudio: análisis de la vida; análisis de las influencias en la vida y la obra; análisis de la obra; ensayo bibliográfico de la obra. Se obtuvieron unos resultados y conclusiones que convierte a Patricia Stokoe en una de las pioneras en la construcción y génesis de la Expresión Corporal.
Abstract
Although the experiences of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people are increasingly recognised as relevant sites of inquiry in social work scholarship, empirically substantiated ...insights on equitable approaches to social work practice with TGD communities remain scant. In this qualitative study, we draw on semi-structured virtual interviews with TGD social service users in a Canadian province (n = 20), along with social workers in the same jurisdiction (n = 10), to generate knowledge on equitable social work practice with TGD populations. We rely on critical ecosystemic and intersectional lenses as guiding theoretical frameworks, together with constructivist approaches to grounded theory, to inform our analytical process. Our findings highlight that equitable social work practice with TGD communities may involve the following constituents: (1) accounting for social and historical context; (2) practising allyship by way of humility and reflexivity; (3) challenging cisnormativity interpersonally and organisationally and (4) promoting structural measures of trans inclusion to transform social work and social services. Drawing on our findings, we call on social work scholars, educators and practitioners to adopt various reflexive, relational, organisational and structural measures that promise to enhance social work’s contribution to greater equity and social justice for TGD communities.
This study explores the way mass-media outlets make use of digital games to convey journalistic messages. Newsgames have been defined by several scholars in the intersection between digital ...journalism and game studies. However, because of the heterogeneity of this phenomenon, there is still a lack of clarity of what could be considered, or not, a newsgame. This study aims to shed light into this question by exploring how newsgames are used in practice by journalists. We therefore approach the understanding of this phenomenon from a bottom-up perspective to give an answer to the following research question: How are journalistic messages structured within newsgames published by online mass-media outlets? A grounded theory approach is used to analyze 75 games published in a total of 47 mass-media digital outlets from 17 countries. The results of this study have led to the proposal of a more systematic identification and analytical approach for newsgames.
This article critiques the prevailing future-oriented collective visions often used in energy research, emphasizing the need for ethnographic examination of individual interpretations and responses ...to energy transitions. It explores how individuals coexist with evolving energy landscapes, particularly in rural areas. Despite recommendations for qualitative research on energy aesthetics, there is a gap in understanding of the experiential, visual elements of energy transitions. Studies predominantly prioritize quantifiable preferences over subjective experiences. Drawing a distinction between aesthetics and visuality, it delves into the subjective experience of visual interactions with energy infrastructure. Grounded in empirical data gathered over a year in the Orkney Islands, it utilizes participatory photography and photo-elicitation to capture local perspectives. This offers an alternative approach to researching energy transitions in rural landscapes. The findings emphasise the complexities of living with localised energy development at an individual level, highlighting dilemmas, challenges, and opportunities. Integrating individual visual perspectives into future planning remains a challenge, yet individuals often develop unique strategies to coexist with energy infrastructure in rapidly changing landscapes. Engaging with local stakeholders through (visual) ethnographic research can reveal diverse perspectives, contributing to the understanding of the impact of energy transitions in rural communities such as the Orkney Islands.
Coding is an integral part of qualitative research for many scholars that use interview or focus group data. However, current practices in coding require transcription of audio/visual data prior to ...coding. Transcription before the coding process is an essential process for data analysis and even with meticulous detail, the nuances of nonverbal behavior found in audio and video data can be missed. In this article, we propose an alternative to coding with transcripts using a method called live coding which allows for simultaneous manual coding while listening or watching audio or video recording. We compared the method of live coding with transcript coding of text using focus group data from a perinatal telehealth group addressing depression. Based on the themes that emerged from analyzing the process, it is likely that live coding can be beneficial in preserving the voice of the participant especially used within focus group data. Live coding allowed us to see and hear the participants, an empowering process which allowed intent, context, and meaning of the words to be present in the results. Further study of live coding should include using digital tools for the analysis of qualitative data.
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