Category / Sociology & Social Policy

Paper ahead of its time?

Presentation1Sometimes my co-authors and I wonder why a particular paper get more cited after a few years of publication.  Is is because the paper and the research were are ahead of their time?  Or is there simply a lag time between publication and other researchers publishing in the field finding your paper (or stumbling upon it perhaps)?

Take for example the following paper published in 2006 when I was still based in the Department of Public Health at the University of Aberdeen: Promoting physical activity in primary care settings: Health visitors’ and practice nurses’ views and experiences in  the Journal of Advanced Nursing.[1]

 

Published in 2006 our paper was first cited in Scopus in 2007 (just once),three time in the following year (2008), five times in 2009 and then just a few times per year until this year. In 2015 we have six citations already and the year is not even finished.

We really wonder what lies behind that increased popularity of this 2006 paper.

citations JAN

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

 

Reference:

  1. Douglas, F., van Teijlingen E.R., Torrance, N., Fearn, P., Kerr, A., Meloni, S. (2006) Promoting physical activity in primary care settings: Health visitors’ and practice nurses’ views and experiences Journal of Advanced Nursing, 55(2): 159-168.

American Sociological Association Annual Conference in Chicago, Puts Romance, Internet Dating and Relationships Center-Stage

By Professor Ann Brooks

The American Sociological Association (ASA) Annual Conference in August, set against the stunning backdrop of the city of Chicago and Lake Ontario, and the socio-cultural earthquakes of Ashley Madison and the political challenges of Donald Trump proved to be even more dynamic than usual. The theme this year was Sexualities in the Social World and attracted hundreds of iconic figures from the sociological world and global sociologists more generally. Iconic figures such as Sasskia Sassen, Sylvia Walby, Anne Swidler, Eva Illouz, Judy Wajcman, Eric Kleinenberg, Robert Sampson, Lynne Jamieson and many many more ….. a veritable whos who in the contemporary world of sociology, presented and contributed enormously to this major conference in sociology.

sexualities in the social world

Plenary sessions included: The Politics of Same-Sex Marriage: Public Opinion and the Courts; Modern Romance: Dating, Mating and Marriage; The Rise of Nonmarital Births; Internet Dating; Abortion in America; and in addition a huge range of Presidental (ASA) Panels included : Birth Control in America; Women on the Battlefield: Integrating Women into the U.S. Military; Aging and Sexuality; Cohabitation; and many many more.

I chose sessions to reinforce the new undergraduate course I am offering in Sem 2, 2015-6 entitled Love and Intimacy in Contemporary Society and these major Plenary sessions did not disappoint. In fact they turned out to be real highpoints of the conference. A packed Saturday evening Plenary Panel entitled Romance Matters included Eric Kleinenberg (NYU), Azis Ansari (Comedian, Author, and TV Presenter), Helen Fisher (Rutgers, psychotherapist and Consultant to match.com), Christain Rudder (Ok Cupid) and Eli Finkel (Northwestern) enthralled the audience with serious and amusing presentations. This was followed by the signing of the Anzari and Kleinenberg new book …Romance Matters. I have to say the students will really enjoy this bringing together of research and teaching.

ASA Eric Kleinenberg       ASA Keynote Modern Romanceaziz

 

I convened a session on Gender, Sexuality and Work with 5 excellent papers, many of which are being published within books or journals.

The Presidential address by Paula England looked at the Changing Nature of Sexuality and and a further Presidential Panel looked at the advantages and disadvantages of Internet Dating also as an evening Keynote panel.

ASA Presidential addressASA Internet Dating

A truly inspiring conference with significant relevance for my new BU course. Thank you BU and HSS for supporting this.

Professor Ann Brooks September 7, 2015

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing

emily Emily Rosenorn-Lanng Research Assistant

FullSizeRender Rebecca Johnson Research Assistant

FullSizeRender[1] Sarah Wincewicz Research Admin Assistant

 

 

 

 

 

 

Financial scamming is costing the UK public approximately £3.5 billion each year. It is a problem which has developed in recent years and has hit the press because of the relationship with charity mugging, or ‘chugging’ (charities coercing people to give money). Although both scamming and ‘chugging’ result in the coercion of money from donors, they differ in approach, perception and legality. Having a charity connection gives ‘chuggers’ a sense of morality, which gives them a sense of legality, allowing them to tug on the heartstrings of consumers and persuade them, sometimes by intimidation, to part with money. Once a donation has been made, and details have been obtained, charities feel they have the right to regularly hound their donors for further contributions, and have recently been discovered to sell their details on to non-charitable organisations.

The Daily Mail’s investigation into the story of former Army Colonel, Mr Rae, highlights the relationship between scamming and ‘chugging’. Charities who acquired Mr Rae’s personal details sold them up to 200 times to other charities and list brokers who then passed them to scammers who deceived £4,000 from him.

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To what extent is it a problem?

The following figures, specific to Mr Rae, demonstrate the relationship that ‘chugging’ has with scamming:
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The alarming figures demonstrate the impact of this relationship and raise plenty of questions. How valuable is personal information to a charity? Why are charities selling personal information to non-charities? Where are the moral boundaries in this? What part do charities play in the scamming of vulnerable people?

What are we doing about it?

Here at the National Centre for Post Qualifying Social Work and Professional Practice we are working with Trading Standards to tackle scamming and chugging. To do this we are looking into:

  • Early intervention
  • The cost to victims and the knock on effect of being scammed
  • Developing a sophisticated profile for a potential victim, allowing the creation of ethical mailing lists that charities and public bodies could use
  • Reviewing the understanding of the Data Protection Act to make it potentially easier to remove people from databases (mail, telesales and charity approach) for the most vulnerable
  • Developing good practice guides and advice for professionals working in this field and for vulnerable citizens and their families/carers.

We recognise that this will all take time, but there are steps that you can take today. You can help protect the most vulnerable members of society from this sort of exploitation. How? Have that conversation with Mum, Dad, Nan, Grandad, Aunt or an elderly neighbour. Keep an eye out for scam mail and an ear out for scam phone calls. Make them aware they have a choice as to whether to respond or not, or whether to donate or not.

Most of all, make sure they are not lonely. Time and time again, we hear how loneliness is a key factor in chugging and scamming. If we can ensure our friends and family are not so lonely, then we may be able to ensure they are less vulnerable.

Introducing Rebecca Johnson: PQSW Research Assistant

FullSizeRenderI have joined Bournemouth University as a Research Assistant for the National Centre of Post-Qualifying Social Work and Professional Practice. The Centre is very dynamic and has a wide range of interesting projects and professional development programmes to engage with. I am looking forward to becoming involved with research into financial scamming and mass marketing fraud.

I founded my research background with a Human and Physical Geography degree in which I was able to work with NASA’s Environment and Energy team on research into the economic and environmental impact of launching the space shuttle. I have previously worked in both the public and private sectors in public consultation and communication roles. Most recently I worked with Exeter International Airport as an Air Traffic Control Assistant, an intense role which has left me with a personal interest in aircraft; particularly those that are fast and red.

Outside of work I like to travel, principally North America, and keep active with running and dance. I have an interest in World War 2 history and take part in living history events in the UK and in France. After my second week I am enjoying life as a member of the University and am keen to embrace all that it offers.

New publication by BU PhD student Jib Acharya

Jib paper India 2015

Congratulations to FHSS Ph.D. student Mr. Jib Acharya, whose paper ‘Study of nutritional problems in preschool aged children in Kaski District in Nepal’  has just been published in the Journal of Multidisciplinary Research in Healthcare [1].  The academic paper, based on his Ph.D. thesis, reports on his mixed-methods Public Health study addressing attitudes and knowledge of mothers of young children (pre-school aged) in one particular district in Nepal.  The research comprises a quantitative survey and qualitative focus groups.   Jib Acharya, who is originally from Nepal, compares and contrasts the attitudes, knowledge and behaviour of poor rural and poor urban women (=mothers) in that district.   The research is supervised by Dr. Jane Murphy, Dr. Martin Hind and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen.

SAM_3423

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

Reference:

  1. Acharya, J., van Teijlingen, E., Murphy, J., Hind, M. (2015) Study of nutritional problems in preschool aged children in Kaski District in Nepal, Journal of Multidisciplinary Research in Healthcare 1(2): 97-118.