This book is the newest addition to the Routledge series ‘Directions in Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis’, which is dedicated to publishing the latest work on the study of human conduct and aptitudes, the (re)production of social orderliness and the methods and aspirations of the social sciences. Keel’s contribution fits perfectly with this aim, analysing interactions between parents and (young) children in the light of socialization theory.
Background: Intellectual disability (ID) is a developmental disorder that causes considerably below-average intellectual performance and adaptive behaviour. In the context of the present study, families raising a child with ID are reported to experience multiple challenges that appear not to be well documented in Pakistan. Methods and procedures: Pakistan, which was conducted in Karachi, Pakistan, followed participatory action research, in which the researcher and participants examined their existing experiences of informal social support and then created, implemented, and evaluated actions to strengthen this informal social support. A total of five families (n = 25) participated in the study. These participating families comprise parents, siblings, and significant others, i.e., aunts, uncles, and grandparents, living with the child with ID. Families with children with ID were selected through a school for children with ID who are under 12 years old. This qualitative action research was conducted in two distinct parts, i.e., a) exploratory part and b) action part. This paper presents the findings of the first exploratory part of the study. Aim: The exploratory phase aimed to explore and examine the experiences and challenges families may experience with informal social support while caring for a child with an intellectual disability in Karachi, Pakistan. Findings: Parents often sacrifice their personal needs and aspirations for their children, leading to decreased tolerance and anxiety. Lack of communication, support, and assistance from family members is another significant issue. Stigmatisation and discrimination from school, relatives, and friends can cause depression and distress. The study emphasises the need for a unified and coordinated approach to support and care. Religious beliefs, siblings, and close friends provide comfort and well-being. When parents manage to connect with similar families, they have the opportunity to express a collective commitment to caregiving. Conclusion: To strengthen the situation, families propose enhancing intimacy and competency within homes and taking action at the governmental level. Governments must provide appropriate services, such as nurses supporting families, support groups, and religious traditions, to promote acceptance and holistic development for intellectually disabled children.
Vergelijkende Europese studie in opdracht van Kees van Aken, toenmalig directeur van de opleiding Social Work i.o. van de Hogeschool Zuyd, naar welke verschillende varianten er mogelijk zijn als er gesproken wordt over een Internationale Bachelor Social Work - Maastricht. Op welke manieren zijn er in Europa reeds internationale bachelors zijn ontwikkeld. Het onderzoek moet een overzicht van enkele blauwdrukken van een Internationale Bachelor Social Work opleveren, om mede op basis daarvan een keuze te maken voor een (eventueel meerdere) voor Hogeschool Zuyd wenselijke variant(en) daarvan in Maastricht. Er is vergelijkend Europees onderzoek gedaan naar de verschillende filosofieën en organisatievormen van curricula International Social Work zoals die op verschillende Hogescholen en Universiteiten in Europa functioneren. Met name zijn “good practice” ervaringen onderzocht en met elkaar vergeleken, om op basis daarvan een aantal varianten helder te krijgen voor de opdrachtgever.
Performance feedback is an important mechanism of adaptation in learning theories, as it provides one of the motivations for organizations to learn (Pettit, Crossan, and Vera 2017). Embedded in the behavioral theory of the firm, organizational learning from performance feedback predicts the probability for organizations to change with an emphasis on organizational aspirations, which serve as a threshold against which absolute performance is evaluated (Cyert and March 1963; Greve 2003). It postulates that performance becomes a ‘problem’, or the trigger to search for alternative procedures, strategies, products and behaviors, when performance is below that threshold. This search is known as problemistic search. Missing from this body of research, is empirically grounded understanding if the characteristics of performance feedback over time matter for the triggering function of the feedback. I explore this gap. This investigation adds temporality as a dimension of the performance feedback concept guided by a worldview of ongoing change and flux where conditions and choices are not given, but made relevant by actors and enacted upon (Tsoukas and Chia 2002). The general aim of the study is to complement the current knowledge of performance feedback as a trigger for problemistic search with an explicit process temporal approach. The main question guiding this project is how temporal patterns of performance feedback influence organizational change, which I answer in four chapters, each zooming into one sub-question.First, I focus on the temporal order of performance feedback by examining performance feedback and change sequences organizations go through. In this section time is under study and the goal is to explore how feedback patterns have evolved over time, just as the change states organizations pass through. Second, I focus on the plurality of performance feedback by investigating performance feedback from multiple aspiration levels (i.e. multiple qualitatively different metrics and multiple reference points) and how over time clusters of performance feedback sequences have evolved. Next, I look into the rate and scope of change relative to performance feedback sequences and add an element of signal strength to the feedback. In the last chapter, time is a predictor (in the sequences), and, it is under study (in the timing of responses). I focus on the timing of organizational responses in relation to performance feedback sequences of multiple metrics and reference points.In sum, all chapters are guided by the timing problem of performance feedback, meaning that performance feedback does not come ‘available’ at a single point in time. Similarly to stones with unequal weight dropped in the river, performance feedback with different strength comes available at multiple points in time and it is plausible that sometimes it is considered by decision-makers as problematic and sometimes it is not, because of the sequence it is part of. Overall, the investigation is grounded in the general principles of organizational learning from performance feedback, and the concept of time as duration, sequences and timing, with a focus on specification of when things happen. The context of the study is universities of applied sciences and hotels in The Netherlands. Project partner: Tilburg University, School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Department of Organization Studies
