Let's dance: Organization studies, medical sociology and health policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Currie, Graeme; Dingwall, Robert; Kitchener, Martin; Waring, Justin

2012-02-01

This Special Issue of Social Science & Medicine investigates the potential for positive inter-disciplinary interaction, a 'generative dance', between organization studies (OS), and two of the journal's traditional disciplinary foundations: health policy and medical sociology. This is both necessary and timely because of the extent to which organizations have become a neglected topic within medical sociology and health policy analysis. We argue there is need for further and more sustained theoretical and conceptual synergy between OS, medical sociology and health policy, which provides, on the one-hand a cutting-edge and thought-provoking basis for the analysis of contemporary health reforms, and on the other hand, enables the development and elaboration of theory. We emphasize that sociologists and policy analysts in healthcare have been leading contributors to our understanding of organizations in modern society, that OS enhances our understanding of medical settings, and that organizations remain one of the most influential actors of our time. As a starting point to discussion, we outline the genealogy of OS and its application to healthcare settings. We then consider how medical sociology and health policy converge or diverge with the concerns of OS in the study of healthcare settings. Following this, we focus upon the material environment, specifically the position of business schools, which frames the generative dance between OS, medical sociology and health policy. This sets the context for introducing the thirteen articles that constitute the Special Issue of Social Science & Medicine. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Health sociology from post-structuralism to the new materialisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Fox, Nick J

2016-01-01

The article reviews the impact of post-structuralism and postmodern social theory upon health sociology during the past 20 years. It then addresses the emergence of new materialist perspectives, which to an extent build upon insights of post-structuralist concerning power, but mark a turn away from a textual or linguistic focus to address the range of materialities that affect health, illness and health care. I conclude by assessing the impact of these movements for health sociology. © The Author(s) 2015.

From Medicalisation to Pharmaceuticalisation - A Sociological Overview. New Scenarios for the Sociology of Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bordogna Mara Tognetti

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to analyse the sociological literature on pharmaceuticalisation and see how sociology helps us understand and explain the phenomenon. We then discuss how sociology, especially in Anglo-Saxon countries, defines the process of pharmaceuticalisation and how this last is evolving. The paper points out that, while medicalisation remains a key concept for health sociology, it is increasingly being queried and/or extended to allow for a techno-scientific era of biomedicalisation (Clarke et al. 2003 and to acknowledge the importance of the pharmaceutical industry in this process (Williams, Martin and Gabe 2011a, 2011b. Particular attention will be paid to the process of pharmaceuticalisation as brought about not just by doctors and their prescriptions, but by the central role of pharmaceutical promoters and the marketing of drugs.

'Taking public health out of the ghetto': the policy and practice of multi-disciplinary public health in the United Kingdom.

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, David

2003-09-01

Until recently, a medical qualification was required for senior public health posts in the UK National Health Service. Since 1997, the new Labour government has expressed its intention to take public health 'out of the ghetto' and to develop multi-disciplinary public health. In particular, it has announced the creation of a new senior professional role of specialist in public health equivalent to the consultant in public health medicine, and open to a range of disciplines. This paper asks 'what is really going on with the policy and practice of multi-disciplinary public health in the UK?' The answer draws on recent debates in the sociology of the professions, in particular the theoretical perspectives of Freidson (Profession of Medicine: a Study of the Sociology of Applied Knowledge, Dodd, Mead & Co, New York, 1970; Professional Powers: a Study of the Institutionalization of Formal Knowledge, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1986) and Larson (The Rise of Professionalism: a Sociological Analysis, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1977) concerning the 'professional project', Foucault's (Ideol. Consciousness 6 (1979) 5) notion of 'governmentality' and Harrison and Wood's (Public Admin. 77 (1999) 751) concept of 'manipulated emergence'. Key characteristics of the professional project are 'autonomy', the profession's ability to control its technical knowledge and application, and 'dominance', control over the work of others in the health care division of labour. Although useful as an explanatory framework for the period 1972-1997, the concept of the professional project does not easily explain the process of change since 1997. Here Foucault's concept of governmentality is helpful. Governmentality entails all those procedures, techniques, mechanisms, institutions and knowledges that empower political programmes. Professions are part of the process of governmentality, and their autonomy is always contingent upon the wider political context. Thus public health

[Disciplinary organization of medical sociology--a contribution to the dialogue with social medicine].

Science.gov (United States)

Siegrist, J

1996-10-01

According to Karl Popper scientific disciplines are characterized by a body of observational knowledge, a specific methodology and terminology and a set of more or less successful theories. This article tries to delineate the disciplinary structure of medical sociology in terms of five important areas of knowledge: 1. sociology of health lifestyles (prevention); 2. sociology of patients careers (rehabilitation); 3. sociology of client-professional interaction (diagnosis, therapy); 4. sociological (social epidemiological) studies of causes of health and disease; 5. sociology of health care systems. It is argued that intensified exchange according to these areas between the academic disciplines of medical sociology and social medicine is needed to generate a significant impact on future training and research both in medicine and in public health.

[For a sociology of intervention in mental health.].

Science.gov (United States)

Rhéaume, J; Sévigny, R

1988-01-01

Mental health workers develop a solid understanding of social phenomenon, which gives them direction and on which they are able to base their interventions. This is what the authors call the "implicit sociology" ("sociologie implicite") of workers. The article describes the principal elements of this special knowledge through information gathered from workers in clinical environments, private practice and "alternative" organizations. The authors focus on the idea workers make of health/mental handicaps, of their clientele, of their involvement, of the organizational and societal context of their work, of their "role" in society. Finally, the authors show how a sociological approach can help improve one's understanding of how to deal with mental health.

Public health educational comprehensiveness: The strategic rationale in establishing networks among schools of public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Otok, Robert; Czabanowska, Katarzyna; Foldspang, Anders

2017-11-01

The establishment and continuing development of a sufficient and competent public health workforce is fundamental for the planning, implementation, evaluation, effect and ethical validity of public health strategies and policies and, thus, for the development of the population's health and the cost-effectiveness of health and public health systems and interventions. Professional public health strategy-making demands a background of a comprehensive multi-disciplinary curriculum including mutually, dynamically coherent competences - not least, competences in sociology and other behavioural sciences and their interaction with, for example, epidemiology, biostatistics, qualitative methods and health promotion and disease prevention. The size of schools and university departments of public health varies, and smaller entities may run into problems if seeking to meet the comprehensive curriculum challenge entirely by use of in-house resources. This commentary discusses the relevance and strength of establishing comprehensive curriculum development networks between schools and university departments of public health, as one means to meet the comprehensiveness challenge. This commentary attempts to consider a two-stage strategy to develop complete curricula at the bachelor and master's as well as PhD levels.

Mapping the field of medical sociology: a comparative analysis of journals.

Science.gov (United States)

Seale, Clive

2008-07-01

A comparative keyword analysis of the content of nine leading journals is used to suggest potential new directions for medical sociology. The major British and American journals in sociology and medical sociology tend to publish authors based in their own countries, contrasting with the internationalism of other social science disciplines relevant to health, although Sociology of Health and Illness is an exception to this. Medical sociology journals on both sides of the Atlantic focus on individual experience more than general sociology journals, which focus more on social systems levels of analysis. While journal contents reveal British medical sociology to be relatively atheoretical when compared with British general sociology journals, American medical sociology appears relatively apolitical on the same comparison with American general journals. American journals of sociology publish more quantitative studies than their British equivalents, more studies concerning race and other social divisions in American society, and less work drawing on social constructionist perspectives or that is engaged with social theory. Analysis of health and health care at societal and global levels and a deeper engagement with the political and public issues that concern non-sociologists represents a possible future for a medical sociology that is internationally relevant and outward looking.

Nutrition and inequalities. A note on sociological approaches.

Science.gov (United States)

Murcott, Anne

2002-09-01

This article provides an overview of three approaches taken to illuminate the sociological contribution to the field of nutrition and inequalities, in the hope of prompting future researchers to pursue the lines of enquiry suggested. Under the heading of inequalities in food use, the paper first exemplifies the utility of 'political arithmetic', possibly the sociological approach best known in public health. This includes socio-economic patterning in food purchases as well as disadvantage in access, where studies of poverty represent a longstanding focus. A rural/urban dimension has, however, been left dormant. A second approach is illustrated by work on public understandings of nutrition, encompassing primarily small-scale studies of beliefs about nutrition, which emphasise the plurality of lay definitions of diet and health. Lacking are studies which build on this work to uncover the relation to health inequalities. Third to be introduced is sociological work on the social distribution of taste, which illuminates the potential for examining enduring, shared ideas of styles in eating embedded in forms of the social organisation of the home that is associated with different socio-economic levels. The paper ends with comment on practical implications for public health practice and policy designed to reduce inequalities in nutrition.

Should We Talk about the Pain? Personalizing Sociology in the Medical Sociology Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Nowakowski, Alexandra C. H.; Sumerau, J. E.

2015-01-01

This article discusses the potential of personalizing sociology curriculum, specifically in Medical Sociology courses, to increase student engagement and sociological awareness. Based on our experiences offering separate Medical Sociology courses at a large public research university and a small private teaching university, respectively, we…

Working for the public health: politics, localism and epistemologies of practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, Gemma; Green, Judith

2015-05-01

The recent move of public health back to English local government has reignited debates about the role of a medicalised public health profession. The explicit policy rationale for the move was that local government is the arena in which the social determinants of health can be addressed, and that public health specialists could provide neutral evidence to support action on these. However, if a discourse of 'evidence-based' policy is in principle (if not practice) relatively unproblematic within the health arena, within the more overtly politicised local government space, rather different policy imperatives come to the fore. Responding to calls for research on evidence in practice, this article draws on ethnographic data of local authorities in the first year of the reorganised public health function. Focusing on alcohol policy, we explore how decisions that affect public health are rationalised and enacted through discourses of localism, empiricism and holism. These frame policy outcomes as inevitably plural and contingent: a framing which sits uneasily with normative discourses of evidence-based policy. We argue that locating public health in local government necessitates a refocusing of how evidence for public health is conceptualised, to incorporate multiple, and political, understandings of health and wellbeing. © 2015 The Authors. Sociology of Health & Illness © 2015 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Health, illness, and healing in an uncertain era: challenges from and for medical sociology.

Science.gov (United States)

Pescosolido, B A; Kronenfeld, J J

1995-01-01

The current situation in health care organizations, among providers and for people, dramatically challenges the "business as usual" roles of medicine, government, insurance companies, the community, and the university. Health care reform marks the first attempt in a century to consider a reconstruction of the social contract between society and medicine. While sociology stands as one of the earliest social sciences to systematically study the health care arena and create a health-focused subfield, there is a perception, not without support, of a desertion of identity from within, an encroachment by other areas from without, and abandonment by the parent discipline. We argue that these situations in medical arenas and in research fields require serious rethinking. The key lies in understanding how these phenomena are related to each other and to larger social forces, and how they offer opportunities, rather than signal limitations, to medical sociologists. We turn to the theoretical tools of sociology to help unravel the complicated challenges that face both policymakers and researchers. After framing these issues in a sociology of knowledge perspective, we use the case of "utilization theory" to illustrate the connections between society and systems of care (as well as studies of them) and to create a future agenda. We end by raising three basic questions: (1) Why is a sociological perspective critical to the understanding of change and reform in health care? (2) Why is medical sociology critical to the survival of the general sociological enterprise? and (3) Why is general sociology critical to the research agenda in medical sociology?

Sport Sociology and the Discipline of Sociology: Present Status and Speculations about the Future.

Science.gov (United States)

Snyder, Eldon E.; Spreitzer, Elmer

The status of the sociology of sport within the discipline of sociology is explored. Review of the subfield since 1971 indicates an increase in the number of publications and communication relating to sport sociology topics. It is hypothesized, however, that sport sociology will not in the near future receive equal acceptance within sociology with…

A health economist on medical sociology: reflections by an unreconstructed reductionist.

Science.gov (United States)

Culyer, A J

1985-01-01

Eleven papers in medical sociology, recommended as representative by the Medical Sociology Group of the British Sociology Association, are evaluated by a health economist using five criteria: appeal of intellectual content, insights into political philosophy, explanatory power, predictive power and opportunities for social improvements. The paper concludes that the medical sociology literature is quite weak when judged by these criteria, though stronger on some than others. Sociologists often seem to confuse issues that involve value judgements with ones that do not, and generally seem to display a disconcerting obsession with methodological issues of the most fundamental kind that has inhibited medical sociology from developing interesting analyses of many issues on which, in principle, it ought to have much to offer.

Sociology, the public sphere, and modern government: a challenge to the dominance of Habermas.

Science.gov (United States)

Wickham, Gary

2010-03-01

There is an unfortunate tendency within some branches of sociology - particularly those usually called 'critical', that is, those associated with 'critical social theory'- to treat with disdain the understanding of the public sphere that many modern governments use daily in making and implementing public policy. The majority of sociologists in those branches seem to prefer, as part and parcel of their normative commitments, Jürgen Habermas's Kantian understanding of the public sphere, which focuses primarily on reason and morality and insists that these two forces are of a higher order than politics and law. This paper offers a set of criticisms of the Habermas-Kant understanding, arguing that its focus on reason and morality, were it to become more widespread, would steer sociology into public policy irrelevance. The paper goes on to describe a very different understanding of the public sphere, a politico-legal or civil-peace understanding which operates as the public policy focus of those governments that have relegated questions of salvation (whether religious or ideological) to the private sphere. This understanding emerged from early modern attempts to carve out a domain of relative freedom and security against the deadly violence of religious disputation sweeping across Europe. The paper readily acknowledges that some 'non-critical' branches of sociology already employ a version of this understanding.

The sociology of health in the United States: recent theoretical contributions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

William C Cockerham

2014-04-01

Full Text Available This paper examines recent trends in theory in health sociology in the United States and finds that the use of theory is flourishing. The central thesis is that the field has reached a mature state and is in the early stage of a paradigm shift away from a past focus on methodological individualism (in which the individual is the primary unit of analysis toward a growing utilization of theories with a structural orientation This outcome is materially aided by research methods (e.g. hierarchal linear modeling, biomarkers providing measures of structural effects on the health of the individual that were often absent or underdeveloped in the past. Structure needs to be accounted for in any social endeavor and contemporary medical sociology appears to be doing precisely that as part of the next stage of its evolution. The recent contributions to theory in the sociology of health discussed in this paper are fundamental cause, medicalization, social capital, neighborhood disadvantage, and health lifestyle theories.

The sociology of health in the United States: recent theoretical contributions.

Science.gov (United States)

Cockerham, William C

2014-04-01

This paper examines recent trends in theory in health sociology in the United States and finds that the use of theory is flourishing. The central thesis is that the field has reached a mature state and is in the early stage of a paradigm shift away from a past focus on methodological individualism (in which the individual is the primary unit of analysis) toward a growing utilization of theories with a structural orientation This outcome is materially aided by research methods (e.g. hierarchal linear modeling, biomarkers) providing measures of structural effects on the health of the individual that were often absent or underdeveloped in the past. Structure needs to be accounted for in any social endeavor and contemporary medical sociology appears to be doing precisely that as part of the next stage of its evolution. The recent contributions to theory in the sociology of health discussed in this paper are fundamental cause, medicalization, social capital, neighborhood disadvantage, and health lifestyle theories.

Sociology of health textbooks and narratives: historical significance.

Science.gov (United States)

Nunes, Everardo Duarte

2016-03-01

This article has as its starting point two central ideas: textbooks as a means of production and dissemination of knowledge and narrative as an approach. After a brief review of studies on health/medical sociology textbooks, I analyze a few of these textbooks from the 1900-2012 period, produced in the United States and England. I have selected eleven textbooks which I thought were representative. In addition to a content analysis, the textbooks are located within the process of constitution of the health/medical sociology with brief references to the biographies of the authors. The textbooks analyzed were classified according to the main narrative features: doctor-centered; interdisciplinary; pedagogical; analytical; almost autobiographical; critical; and synthetic-reflective. In the final remarks, some points about the textbooks, limits and possibilities are presented.

Por una sociología pública Por una sociología pública

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Burawoy

2005-09-01

Full Text Available Responding to the growing gap between the sociological ethos and the world we study, the challenge of public sociology is to engage multiple publics in multiple ways. These public sociologies should not be left out in the cold, but brought into the framework of our discipline. In this way we make public sociology a visible and legitimate enterprise, and, thereby, invigorate the discipline as a whole. Accordingly, if we map out the division of sociological labor, we discover antagonistic interdependence among four types of knowledge: profes- sional, critical, policy, and public. In the best of all worlds the flourishing of each type of sociology is a condition for the flourishing of all, but they can just as easily assume pathological forms or become victims of exclusion and subordination. This field of power beckons us to explore the relations among the four types of sociology as they vary historically and nationally, and as they provide the template for divergent individual careers. Finally, comparing disciplines points to the umbilical chord that connects sociology to the world of publics, underlining sociology’s particular interest in the defense of civil society, itself beleaguered by the encroachment of markets and states.En respuesta a la creciente separación entre el ethos sociológico y el mundo que estudiamos, el desafío para la sociología pública son las diferentes formas en las que comprometerse con sus públicos. Estas sociologías públicas no deberían estar en los márgenes sino que deberían formar parte del marco de trabajo de nuestra disciplina. De esta manera haremos de la sociología pública una empresa legítima y visible y, por ende, reforzaremos en todo su conjunto a nuestra disciplina. Según esto, si observamos la división del trabajo sociológico, descubriremos una interdependencia antagónica entre cuatro tipos de conocimiento, a saber: profesional, crítico, práctico y público. En el mejor de los mundos

The Sociology of Family Health. A Bibliography.

Science.gov (United States)

Jumba-Masagazi, A. H. K., Comp.

This unannotated bibliography is on man, his family, the society he makes and lives in, and his health. It is about man and his East African environment. It attempts to bring together both the applied and social sciences as they affect the family. Among the disciplines drawn from are: anthropology, sociology, medicine, religion, economics, labor…

Public Health Autonomy: A Critical Reappraisal.

Science.gov (United States)

Zimmerman, Frederick J

2017-11-01

The ethical principle of autonomy is among the most fundamental in ethics, and it is particularly salient for those in public health, who must constantly balance the desire to improve health outcomes by changing behavior with respect for individual freedom. Although there are some areas in which there is a genuine tension between public health and autonomy-childhood vaccine mandates, for example-there are many more areas where not only is there no tension, but public health and autonomy come down to the same thing. These areas of overlap are often rendered invisible by a thin understanding of autonomy. Better integrating newer theoretical insights about autonomy into applied ethics can make discussions of public health ethics more rigorous, incisive, and effective. Even more importantly, bringing modern concepts of autonomy into public health ethics can showcase the many areas in which public health and autonomy have the same goals, face the same threats, and can be mutually advanced by the same kinds of solutions. This article provides a schema for relational autonomy in a public health context and gives concrete examples of how autonomy can be served through public-health interventions. It marshals insights from sociology, psychology, and philosophy to advance a theory of autonomy and coercion that recognizes three potential threats to autonomy: threats to choice sets, threats to knowledge, and threats to preferences. © 2017 The Hastings Center.

Multisectoral studies in Public Health in Ukraine

OpenAIRE

Andreeva, Tatiana

2011-01-01

The second issue of the TCPHEE contains materials presented at the conference ‘Economics, sociology, theory and practice of public health’ conducted in Kiev on April 12-15, 2011. Conference participants were the faculty, doctoral and master students of the School of Public Health (SPH) at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (NaUKMA). Reports were first discussed during the conference and then submitted as conference abstracts for the editorial review. The revised versions were then...

Public political thought: bridging the sociological-philosophical divide in the study of legitimacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Abulof, Uriel

2016-06-01

The study of political legitimacy is divided between prescriptive and descriptive approaches. Political philosophy regards legitimacy as principled justification, sociology regards legitimacy as public support. However, all people can, and occasionally do engage in morally reasoning their political life. This paper thus submits that in studying socio-political legitimation - the legitimacy-making process - the philosophical ought and the sociological is can be bridged. I call this construct 'public political thought' (PPT), signifying the public's principled moral reasoning of politics, which need not be democratic or liberal. The paper lays PPT's foundations and identifies its 'builders' and 'building blocks'. I propose that the edifice of PPT is built by moral agents constructing and construing socio-moral order (nomization). PPT's building blocks are justificatory common beliefs (doxa) and the deliberative language of legitimation. I illustrate the merits of this groundwork through two empirical puzzles: the end of apartheid and the emergence of Québécois identity. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2016.

Medical sociology for whom?

Science.gov (United States)

Chaska, N L

1977-12-01

This article defines the role of a medical sociologist in a medical institution concerned with health care delivery. The role in applied research and teaching is also discussed. The distinction is made between sociology in medicine and sociology of medicine. Five broad areas of research included under the category of sociology of medicine are the consumer of health care; the social, cultural, and economic enviroments as they relate to health and illness; health and illness behavior; patient education; and the evaluation of services provided to the consumer. Research methodologies utilized by sociologists are briefly presented, and research issues of concern in the sociology of medicine are outlined. The knowledge and information provided by a medical sociologist are supplemental to the physician's practice and are expressed ultimately as a benefit for the patient.

Connecting a sociology of childhood perspective with the study of child health, illness and wellbeing: introduction.

Science.gov (United States)

Brady, Geraldine; Lowe, Pam; Olin Lauritzen, Sonja

2015-02-01

In the last decades we have seen a growing interest in research into children's own experiences and understandings of health and illness. This development, we would argue, is much stimulated by the sociology of childhood which has drawn our attention to how children as a social group are placed and perceived within the structure of society, and within inter-generational relations, as well as how children are social agents and co-constructors of their social world. Drawing on this tradition, we here address some cross-cutting themes that we think are important to further the study of child health: situating children within health policy, drawing attention to practices around children's health and well-being and a focus on children as health actors. The paper contributes to a critical analysis of child health policy and notions of child health and normality, pointing to theoretical and empirical research potential for the sociology of children's health and illness. © 2015 The Authors. Sociology of Health & Illness © 2015 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

"It's Not Rocket Science!": High School Sociology Teachers' Conceptions of Sociology

Science.gov (United States)

DeCesare, Michael

2006-01-01

Since academic sociology's birth in this country, sociologists have not been shy about publicly praising and ridiculing the discipline. Though sociologists have been the primary participants in the seemingly endless debates about sociology's proper subject matter, methods, and purpose, there is another group that has also struggled over the past…

Sociología de la salud en México Medical Sociology in Mexico

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roberto Castro

2011-09-01

Metropolitan Autonomous University (Xochimilco since the creation of the Masters in Social Medicine in 1975; and c the sociology of public health, prompted by the National Institute of Public Health since its foundation in 1987. Then, the article presents a brief review of the main contributions of each school, as well as of the main academic debates between each other (which, in turn, helped to define the area of influence of each one of them. Afterwards, the main achievements of the “second generation” of Mexican medical sociologists are described. A distinction is made between theoretical, methodological and empirical contributions. Among the later, this article focuses on reproductive health, violence against women, subjectivity and health, and health policy, medical practice and health services utilization.

Psyche, soma, and science studies: new directions in the sociology of mental health and illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Pickersgill, Martyn D

2010-08-01

With the expanding scope of scientific and technological discourse within psychiatry, social scientists need new theoretical tools to grapple with the complex links between psychiatry, science and society. Benefit may be afforded through engagement with the discipline of science and technology studies (STS), which is concerned explicitly with the relationships between science and society. To highlight existing engagements between STS and the sociology of (mental) health, and to encourage researchers to consider ways in which insights from these traditions may be developed further through interdisciplinary debate and analysis. Some of the key works in STS and the sociology of mental illness that use the empirical or theoretical writings of the other were reviewed and appraised. Whilst it is clear that some research synthesizing insights from STS and the sociology of mental health exists, this is currently limited. Sociologists and others concerned with longstanding and emergent issues in mental health might usefully familiarize themselves with some work in STS. A new sociology of psychiatric knowledge production and application represents an important way forward.

[Sociology of health, social ecology and media democracy].

Science.gov (United States)

Julesz, Máté

2012-05-27

The correlation of the sociology of health, social ecology and media democracy is demonstrated in the study. In societies of today, the role of the media is unquestionable in disseminating information relating to health and the environment. According to Paragraph (1) of Article XXI of the Hungarian Constitution of 2011, everyone has the right to a healthy environment. An environmentalist media democracy may forward environmental justice, environmental education, and environmentalist economy, etc. All these are required in order to establish a society where the healthy environment is an objective value.

Social Determinants of Health - contributions from European Health and Medical Sociology Determinantes sociales de la salud - Contribuciones de la sociología médica y de la salud europea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Johannes Siegrist

2011-09-01

Full Text Available

A major domain of recent research in health or medical sociology is concerned with social determinants of health, and more specifically with the explanation of social inequalities in health. Substantial input to this research was provided by European medical sociologists and social epidemiologists. In this article, I give a short review of the current state of art in explaining the social gradient of health, pointing to five complementary approaches: social selection, health care provision, early life deprivation, unhealthy lifestyles, and material and psychosocial stressors/resources in adult life. This latter explanation is discussed in more detail with regard to health-adverse working and employment conditions. New scientific evidence on the influence of poor quality of work on physical and mental health is presented, with particular reference to two sociological models of stressful work, demand control and effort-reward imbalance. Moreover, their contribution towards explaining unequal adult health is discussed in the frame of two hypotheses, the mediation and the effect modification hypothesis. In conclusion, substantial sociological input and progress of the sub-specialty of health or medical sociology was achieved in recent past, and this new knowledge is already being applied in various contexts of health and social policy.

Uno de los principales temas de las investigaciones recientes de la sociología médica o de la salud tiene que ver con los determinantes de la salud, o más específicamente con las inequidades sociales en salud. Sociólogos de la medicina o epidemiólogos sociales europeos han realizado sustanciales aportes al respecto. En este artículo realizo una breve revisión del actual estado de la cuestión sobre el gradiente social en salud, teniendo como referencia cinco aproximaciones complementarias: selección social, provisión de servicios de salud, penurias en los primeros años de vida, estilos de vida poco

Health Resources Statistics; Health Manpower and Health Facilities, 1968. Public Health Service Publication No. 1509.

Science.gov (United States)

National Center for Health Statistics (DHEW/PHS), Hyattsville, MD.

This report is a part of the program of the National Center for Health Statistics to provide current statistics as baseline data for the evaluation, planning, and administration of health programs. Part I presents data concerning the occupational fields: (1) administration, (2) anthropology and sociology, (3) data processing, (4) basic sciences,…

Developing the sociology of health in nurse education: towards a more critical curriculum--part I: andragogy and sociology in Project 2000.

Science.gov (United States)

Balsamo, D; Martin, I S

1995-12-01

This paper examines the potential for developing a more critical and reflexive curriculum around the sociology of health in nurse education. In Part One a review of the literature on Project 2000 to date suggests that insufficient attention has been paid to the scope for linking methodological and epistemological issues. it is argued that the status of 'andragogy' as a strategy of teaching and learning is ill-defined and that the nature of sociological theory in nurse education remains too crude and dichotomous to produce the 'knowledgeable doer', a qualitatively different kind of professional nurse practitioner.

How health risks prevention shapes collective identities: a micro-sociological approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Weenink, D.; Bröer, C.; Boersma, J.

2015-01-01

Sociological theories of health risks in late modernity emphasise the individualisation and increasing anxiety that results from prevention policies, while bio-sociality theories point to the creation of new, biologically or medically based social identities. In this article, we outline an

Sociology in American medical education since the 1960s: the rhetoric or reform.

Science.gov (United States)

Wegar, K

1992-10-01

Despite recommendations by medical reformers that medical sociology be included in the curriculum, there is currently little evidence of a far-reaching integration of sociological perspectives in American medical education. Yet, support for the relevance of sociological knowledge has since the late 1960s helped to diffuse external pressures for change in health care and medical education. As a symbol of the communitarian commitment of the medical profession, claims in favor of the incorporation of sociological perspectives have thus occasionally, and largely unintentionally, served the public relations interests of biomedicine. However, the more recent interest in medical ethics has to some degree transformed medicine's educational agenda and the definition of medical 'human values'. Whereas the rhetorical expropriation of medical sociology primarily has concerned medicine's responsibility vis-à-vis society as a whole, the new medical ethics education signifies a return to a more individualistically oriented medical morality.

Some Sociological Contexts for Consideration When Designing a School Puberty/Sexuality Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Collier-Harris, Christine A.; Goldman, Juliette D. G.

2017-01-01

Sociological contexts are key factors in education and schooling. Contemporary contexts of world-view, or "Weltanschauungen," such as human rights, public health, demographics, biosocial factors including earlier puberty and a developmentalist approach, and technological connectivity, warrant significant professional consideration by…

Regional Sociological Research Experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mikhail Vladimirovich Morev

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The article presents the experience of the Institute of Socio-Economic Development of Territories of RAS in conducting sociological research on the territory of the Vologda Oblast and the Northwestern Federal District. It describes the historical aspects of formation of the system for public opinion monitoring and examines its theoretical and methodological foundations. The author of the article analyzes the structure of monitoring indicators and provides a brief interpretation of research findings that reflect social wellbeing and social perception trends. In addition, the paper analyzes people’s attitude toward the activities of federal and regional authorities, trends in social well-being, consumer sentiment and also the complex indicator – the index of public sentiment in the region – developed by ISEDT RAS researchers. The results of sociological studies carried out at ISEDT RAS correlate with the dynamics of the all-Russian public opinion polls conducted by the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM, Levada-Center, etc. They indicate that Russian society gradually adapts to new conditions of life after the collapse of the USSR. Besides, opinion polls show the most important features of the post-Soviet Russian history at its present stage; they are associated with the intensification of international political relations, the consequences of the “Crimean spring” and the new challenges Russia’s economy is facing now. The article concludes that as global community, of which Russian society is part, is evolving, sociological knowledge begins to play an increasingly important role in administration and national security; this is associated with the greater importance attached to intangible development factors. Therefore, a necessary prerequisite for administration effectiveness in all its stages is to implement the results of sociological research on social

A knowledge management tool for public health: health-evidence.ca

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dobbins Maureen

2010-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The ultimate goal of knowledge translation and exchange (KTE activities is to facilitate incorporation of research knowledge into program and policy development decision making. Evidence-informed decision making involves translation of the best available evidence from a systematically collected, appraised, and analyzed body of knowledge. Knowledge management (KM is emerging as a key factor contributing to the realization of evidence-informed public health decision making. The goal of health-evidence.ca is to promote evidence-informed public health decision making through facilitation of decision maker access to, retrieval, and use of the best available synthesized research evidence evaluating the effectiveness of public health interventions. Methods The systematic reviews that populate health evidence.ca are identified through an extensive search (1985-present of 7 electronic databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Sociological Abstracts, BIOSIS, and SportDiscus; handsearching of over 20 journals; and reference list searches of all relevant reviews. Reviews are assessed for relevance and quality by two independent reviewers. Commonly-used public health terms are used to assign key words to each review, and project staff members compose short summaries highlighting results and implications for policy and practice. Results As of June 2010, there are 1913 reviews in the health-evidence.ca registry in 21 public health and health promotion topic areas. Of these, 78% have been assessed as being of strong or moderate methodological quality. Health-evidence.ca receives approximately 35,000 visits per year, 20,596 of which are unique visitors, representing approximately 100 visits per day. Just under half of all visitors return to the site, with the average user spending six minutes and visiting seven pages per visit. Public health nurses, program managers, health promotion workers, researchers, and program coordinators are

the Sociology of Health and Medicine in australia Sociología de la medicina y de la salud en Australia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fran Collyer

2011-09-01

Full Text Available

This paper offers an analysis of the development and institutionalisation of the sociology of health and medicine in Australia. As a former British colony, sociology was primarily brought into the country with its British and European migrants, and developed in a series of six discrete stages: the formative years of the Colonial period and early decades after Federation; the period of inter-disciplinarity and collaboration in the 1950s and early 60s; a stage of intensification and organisation from the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s; the years of institutional growth and specialisation in the 1980s; a decade of both consolidation and fragmentation during the 1990s; and, in the first ten years of the new century, a time of internationalisation. The evidence suggests the formation and growth of the sociology of health and medicine has closely followed the developmental trajectory of the parent discipline, but unlike the latter, has more permeable disciplinary boundaries.

Este artículo ofrece un análisis del desarrollo y de la institucionalización de la sociología de la salud en Australia. Como una antigua colonia británica, la sociología fue inicialmente introducida al país a través de inmigrantes británicos y europeos, desarrollándose siguiendo cinco diferentes estadios: los años de formación del período colonial y primeras décadas después de la Federación; el período de interdisciplinariedad y colaboración en la década de 1950 y comienzos de la década de 1960; el estado de intensificación y organización desde finales de la década de 1960 y a lo largo de la década de 1979; los años de crecimiento institucional y especialización en la década de 1980; una década de tanto consolidación como de fragmentación a lo largo de la década de 1990; y, en los primeros años del nuevo siglo, un periodo de internacionalización. Las evidencias sugieren que tanto

Labor satisfaction as an indicator of public administration efficiency (sociological analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Galina Valentinovna Leonidova

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Labor satisfaction is an indicator of social wellbeing of the working population. The study of subjective perceptions of labor is an important indicator of public administration efficiency. The article contains the analysis of the population’s satisfaction with labor, particularly, with one of its structural components – labor conditions. It reveals the high correlation of these indicators with the satisfaction with everyday life and labor productivity. It determines the degree of employees’ satisfaction with working conditions in such areas as health and psychological atmosphere at the workplace, equipment capability and security. The study discloses employees’ estimates in socio-demographic and territorialdimensional aspects. The research demonstrates the interrelation between satisfaction with working environment and implementation of labor potential. The analysis indicates the importance of regular sociological research into the issues of satisfaction with various aspects of labor activity. The article indicates that for the country’s development it is necessary to take into account the labor satisfaction factor (in the narrow sense – working conditions while developing strategies and approaches for social-economic policy and defining the standards of social responsibility, primarily, of the state and employers

For a public sociology on participatory democracy. Reflexive feedback on research conducted in an association

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nez, Héloïse

2012-12-01

Full Text Available This paper develops a reflexive approach on the relations between research and action in works on participatory democracy; a topic in which bridges are numerous between academic, political and activist fields. It aims at analyzing the impact of the close links between sociologists and actors on the methods and results of research and, reciprocally, the role of sociology in developing participatory practices. Relying on Michael Burawoy’s reflection on “public sociology”, our own research experience in an association, and other research studies conducted in Europe, we define five ways sociologists carry out research on participatory democracy in collaboration with the actors. Beyond a reflection on the social reception of our research, the challenge is to develop a critical and committed sociology on participatory democracy with a view to contributing to the political debate and public action from a critical viewpoint.

Este artículo desarrolla un enfoque reflexivo sobre las relaciones entre investigación y acción en los trabajos sobre democracia participativa, una temática en la que los vínculos entre los campos académicos, políticos y militantes son numerosos. El objetivo es analizar el impacto de las estrechas relaciones entre sociólogos y actores sociales en los métodos y resultados de la investigación y, al mismo tiempo, el papel de la sociología en el desarrollo de las prácticas participativas. Apoyándose en la reflexión de Michael Burawoy sobre la “sociología pública”, en nuestra propia experiencia de investigación en una asociación y en otras investigaciones en Europa, se definen cinco posturas de sociólogos que trabajan en colaboración con los actores sociales sobre la democracia participativa. Más allá de una reflexión sobre la receptividad social de nuestras investigaciones, el desafío consiste en desarrollar una sociología a la vez crítica y comprometida sobre la democracia participativa, para

The social nature of health and illness--evolution of research approaches in Polish classical medical sociology.

Science.gov (United States)

Piątkowski, Włodzimierz; Skrzypek, Michał

2012-01-01

The cognitive identity of medical sociology has developed in a historical perspective in the context of a specific double frame of reference comprising medicine and general sociology. The purpose of this study is to reconstruct the process of the development of the subdiscipline's research specificity in Poland, drawing attention to the general-sociological context of the conceptualization of basic interpretive and analytical sociomedical categories. In this aspect, the presented study is based on the analysis of Polish sociomedical and general-sociological research published from the early 1960s until 1989. The purpose of the study is also to describe in this perspective the structure of the research field of contemporary Western medical sociology, which was a major point of reference in this process. A look at the chronology of how the scientific identity of medical sociology developed in Poland from a historical perspective shows the gradual balancing-out of the subdiscipline's medical references, typical of the early stage of its development, and manifested in the implementation of research projects for the requirements of doctors, through consistently developed and cultivated connections with general sociology manifested in complementing the knowledge of society with aspects related to health and illness. A sine qua non condition for undertaking this scope of research was to work out strictly sociological formulations of these concepts, which was accomplished as a result of the successful reception of general sociology by the subdiscipline in question. The contemporary understanding of the research field of Polish medical sociology defined by Magdalena Sokołowska and developed as part of the 'school of medical sociology', which she initiated, is characterized by the maintenance of close relations with general sociology (affiliations of sociomedical departments in academic sociological institutions, etc.), and at the same time, by partnership cooperation with

The sociology of medical screening: past, present and future.

Science.gov (United States)

Armstrong, Natalie; Eborall, Helen

2012-02-01

Medical screening raises fundamental issues for sociological inquiry, but at present a well-developed sociology of medical screening is lacking. This special issue on the sociology of screening brings together an exciting collection of new work that tackles medical screening from a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches. In this opening paper, we begin by explaining what we mean by screening, and why we believe screening merits sociological attention. Secondly, we reflect on the sociology of screening to date and provide an introduction for those new to this area. We then provide an overview of the papers in this collection, highlighting links and contrasts between papers. We conclude by reflecting on sociology's potential contribution to wider debates about screening, and propose future research directions. © 2011 The Authors. Sociology of Health & Illness © 2011 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Variations of the social: some reflections on public health, social research and the health-society relation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patricio Rojas

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The idea of a social dimension of health is widely accepted as unavoidable and relevant for public health. This article proposes a reflection around the notion of the social examining some of the manifold ways in which it might be inherited by researchers, professionals, administrative staff and material settings involved in the practices of public health care. It will be argued that this inheritance has deep consequences for efforts of care inasmuch these different versions of the social characterise, circumscribe and reframe the health-society relation, modifying the scope under which public health issues are tackled or dismissed. To ground this seemingly abstract discussion I will work considering a specific public health problem: the case of frequent attenders in public health. Drawing on two approaches from the Sociology of Health (i.e. illness-behaviour and the user-professional relation and the field of Science and Technology Studies, I will show how these ways of framing the study of frequent attenders assume and simultaneously promote three different versions of the social. The article aims to explore how social research in these traditions participate in the achievement and promotion of specific health-society relations, in which certain notions of the social operate helping or limiting research and care efforts by creating richer or poorer possibilities for posing, examining and facing the problems of public health.

Who Needs the Sociology of Health and Illness? A New Agenda for Responsive and Interdisciplinary Sociology of Health and Medicine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sakari Karvonen

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Health and medicine are key areas of sociological specialization, but in the face of rapid global challenges, they are changing. The need for change is becoming more and more urgent and the relevance of some of the traditional approaches, frameworks and theoretical perspectives should be evaluated. The aim of this article is to reflect on this issue and to explore what could be done in response to scientific and societal developments. We argue that more innovative approaches and better research questions would guide us to be more responsive as medical sociologists. In particular, we think that interdisciplinary and translative work hold untapped potentials for our field.

[Science, public health and nursing: highlighting the gender and generation categories in the episteme of praxis].

Science.gov (United States)

Egry, Emiko Yoshikawa; da Fonseca, Rosa Maria Godoy Serpa; Oliveira, Maria Amélia de Campos

2013-09-01

This essay aims to show the relevance of sociological categories gender and generation that underlie the phenomenon of nursing in public health, the episteme of praxis. We understand praxis as the foundation of the historical and dialectic materialism, demonstrating its importance in the process of construction of knowledge in public health nursing. The sociological categories of gender and generation were chosen in this paper because it has the privilege to better illuminate certain phenomena that have been the subject of scientific concern, such as violence against women, children and the elderly, in all its vulnerabilities. The dialectical method was adopted, with an emphasis on the secondary laws of "essence and phenomena" and "reality and possibility". Finally, given that the choice of the approach to the object, as well as the instruments for intervention towards a purpose in the process of scientific knowledge is the choice of the knowing subject, the ethics was related to praxis.

[Pierre Bourdieu and health: a sociological analysis of Actes de la Recherche en Sciences Sociales].

Science.gov (United States)

Montagner, Miguel Angelo

2008-07-01

This study aimed to highlight, illustrate, describe, and comment on the presence of the health category in the work of Pierre Bourdieu, by underlining the themes traditionally related to the sociology of the body. After a systematic analysis of his work in the sociology of medicine and health, the article also addresses the main vehicle for his line of thought, namely Actes de la Recherche en Sciences Sociales, viewed here as the prime channel for most of the research taking Bourdieu's "genetic structuralism" as the main theoretical reference. We analyze the articles published from 1975 to 2001, from the thematic and theoretical/conceptual perspective, by comparing the changes appearing in this journal in opposition to the model previously adopted by the Revue Française de Sociologie.

[Blind alleys and misconceptions in public health].

Science.gov (United States)

Müller, H E

1995-07-01

The concept of hygiene was created in the 19th century although Hippocrates had already conceived an influence of atmosphere, soil and water on human health. The concept of a public health organisation, however, is a fairly recent one. Environmental and social hygiene were the two poles of the new discipline that focussed on public health. However, the ideologies of capitalism, communism and socialism as well as of social darwinism and "survival of the elite" discredited social hygiene. The decline of totalitarianism was associated with a "loss of face" of state-controlled medicine, including social hygiene. Both the post-World War II German constitution and the previous German statutory health insurance ordinance had blocked it, and hence, no Federal bill on public health was carried. The consequences of this disregard of public health are poor protection by vaccination, a gap in compulsory notification and in epidemics control and high rates of nosocomial infections. Absolutely no development of the science of epidemiology was possible whereas that of medical microbiology is choked by the system now in existence. There is a great misconception within individual hygiene by identifying it merely with cleanliness. Hygiene became a synonym for cleanliness, although that had evolved during a long cultural sociological process centuries before hygiene was established. The modern evolution of the science of hygiene shows the danger that emphasis on healthy lifestyles or on environmental protection may result in regulations and finally in a tyranny that may threaten the liberty of human rights. The so-called "principle of concern" is an example of such irrationality because there is no sensible proportion between risk and expense.

The role of the public health nurse in a changing society.

Science.gov (United States)

Nic Philibin, Caitriona Aine; Griffiths, Colin; Byrne, Gobnait; Horan, Paul; Brady, Anne-Marie; Begley, Cecily

2010-04-01

This study is a report of a study to clarify the role of the public health nurse in one Irish community care area in the light of acknowledged problems in defining boundaries of the role. Demographic developments and planned reorientation towards primary care of the health service in Ireland have changed the workload of public health nurses, which is unique compared with other countries. However, there is a lack of clarity and consequent problems in defining the role of the Irish public health nurse. A descriptive qualitative study was conducted with 25 representatives of community nursing from one county in Ireland with a population of 209,077 and a complement of 65 full-time equivalent public health nurses. Purposive sampling was used and 21 public health nurses, two registered general nurses, one assistant director and one school nurse participated. Tape-recorded, individual semi-structured interviews were conducted over a 15-month period from 2002 to 2004. The constant comparative method was used for analysis. Four themes emerged: 'Jack of all trades: the role of the public health nurse defined and described', 'the essence of the role', 'challenges to the role of the public health nurse' and 'communication'. The first theme is discussed in this paper. Public health nurses need to define and redesign their role so that they no longer think that they are the catch-all service in the community. This will enable them to deal with the rapid demographic, sociological and cultural changes in the population, a change that has international resonance.

Medical sociology as a vocation.

Science.gov (United States)

Bosk, Charles L

2014-12-01

This article extends Weber's discussion of science as a vocation by applying it to medical sociology. Having used qualitative methods for nearly 40 years to interpret problems of meaning as they arise in the context of health care, I describe how ethnography, in particular, and qualitative inquiry, more generally, may be used as a tool for understanding fundamental questions close to the heart but far from the mind of medical sociology. Such questions overlap with major policy questions such as how do we achieve a higher standard for quality of care and assure the safety of patients. Using my own research, I show how this engagement takes the form of showing how simple narratives of policy change fail to address the complexities of the problems that they are designed to remedy. I also attempt to explain how I balance objectivity with a commitment to creating a more equitable framework for health care. © American Sociological Association 2014.

The post-2015 landscape: vested interests, corporate social responsibility and public health advocacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Herrick, Clare

2016-09-01

This paper explores the tensions between UN calls for private sector engagement in the post-2015 landscape and public health opposition to those 'harm industries' that are 'corporate vectors of disease' for the mounting global non-communicable disease burden. The UN's support for public-private partnership has provided industries with 'vested interests' in the propagation of unhealthy behaviours with new opportunities for the strategic alignment of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) endeavours with the post-2015 sustainable development agenda. This has galvanised public health advocates to place pressure on the World Health Organisation to formalise their ambiguous stance towards private sector involvement in public policy formation and the resultant 'conflicts of interest'. This paper critically examines the 'gathering storm' between this 'anti-corporate movement' and the alcohol industry in the increasingly politicised domain of CSR. Drawing on the example of SABMiller's Tavern Intervention Program, the paper argues that CSR represents a profound threat to the sanctity and moral authority of the public health worldview. Questions therefore need to be asked about whether the public health-led path of industry non-association will necessarily result in health improvements or just a further retrenchment of the ideological faultlines explored in the paper. © 2016 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness.

Sociological Perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Townley, Charles; Middleton, Mike

This monograph examines sociological perspectives and their applications. It is intended to help the college student coming to sociology for the first time to recognize that there are several perspectives within sociology and to disentangle the mass of terms associated with each. The first distinctive sociological perspective came from the work of…

Tales of sociology and the nursing curriculum: revisiting the debates.

Science.gov (United States)

Aranda, Kay; Law, Kate

2007-08-01

The relationship between nursing and sociology has been extensively debated for more than two decades [Cox, C.A., 1979. Who cares? Nursing and sociology: the development of a symbiotic relationship. Journal of Advanced Nursing 4, 237-252; Cooke, H., 1993. Why teach sociology? Nurse Education Today 13, (3) 210-216; Sharpe, K., 1994. Sociology and the nursing curriculum: a note of caution. Journal of Advanced Nursing 20, (2) 391-395; Sharpe, K., 1995. Why indeed should we teach sociology? A response to Hannah Cooke. Nurse Education Today 15, (1) 52-55; Sharpe, K., 1996. Feedback - sociology and the nursing curriculum: a reply to Sam Porter. Journal of Advanced Nursing 23, (7) 1275-1278; Balsamo, D., Martin, S.I., 1995a. Developing the sociology of health in nurse education: towards a more critical curriculum. Part 1. Andragogy and sociology in Project 2000. Nurse Education Today 15, 427-432; Balsamo, D., Martin, S.I., 1995b. Developing the sociology of health in nurse education: towards a more critical curriculum. Part 2. Linking methodology and epistemology. Nurse Education Today 15, 427-432; Porter, S., 1995. Sociology and the nursing curriculum: a defence. Journal of Advanced Nursing 21, (6) 1130-1135; Porter, S., 1996. Why teach sociology? A contribution to the debate. Nurse Education Today, 16, 170-174; Porter, S., 1997. Sociology and the nursing curriculum: a further comment. Journal of Advanced Nursing 26, (1) 214-218; Porter, S., 1998. Social Theory and Nursing Practice. Macmillan, Basingstoke; Corlett, J., 2000. The perceptions of nurse teacher, student nurses and preceptors of the theory-practice gap in nurse education. Nurse Education Today 20, 499-505; Allen, D., 2001. Review article: nursing and sociology: an uneasy marriage?. Sociology of Health and Illness 23, (3) 386-396; Pinikahana, J., 2003. Role of sociology within the nursing enterprise: some reflections on the unfinished debate. Nursing and health Sciences 5, (2) 175-180; Holland, K., 2004

[Margot Jefferys: the British voice of medical sociology].

Science.gov (United States)

Nunes, Everardo Duarte

2011-03-01

Margot Jefferys (1916-1999) was not only the person who introduced medical sociology into Great Britain, but also the researcher and professor who, during thirty years, exerted the most deep influence on the teaching of health social sciences either in undergraduate or especially graduate studies, since the beginning of her career, in 1953, at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. In addition to create a global panorama concerning the Jefferys' works, this study highlights two texts, which are situated into the field we are researching: the history of health sociology. The first one, published in 1991, discusses the relationships between epidemiology and sociology; and the second, published in 1996, discusses the field of medical sociology. Both texts are a series of considerations regarding the Jefferys' thought and the more recent questions of the field in Great Britain.

Toward a neighborhood resource-based theory of social capital for health: can Bourdieu and sociology help?

Science.gov (United States)

Carpiano, Richard M

2006-01-01

Within the past several years, a considerable body of research on social capital has emerged in public health. Although offering the potential for new insights into how community factors impact health and well being, this research has received criticism for being undertheorized and methodologically flawed. In an effort to address some of these limitations, this paper applies Pierre Bourdieu's (1986) [Bourdieu, P. (1986). Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241-258). New York: Greenwood] social capital theory to create a conceptual model of neighborhood socioeconomic processes, social capital (resources inhered within social networks), and health. After briefly reviewing the social capital conceptualizations of Bourdieu and Putnam, I attempt to integrate these authors' theories to better understand how social capital might operate within neighborhoods or local areas. Next, I describe a conceptual model that incorporates this theoretical integration of social capital into a framework of neighborhood social processes as health determinants. Discussion focuses on the utility of this Bourdieu-based neighborhood social capital theory and model for examining several under-addressed issues of social capital in the neighborhood effects literature and generating specific, empirically testable hypotheses for future research.

Origins and canons: medicine and the history of sociology.

Science.gov (United States)

Collyer, Fran

2010-01-01

Differing accounts are conventionally given of the origins of medical sociology and its parent discipline sociology. These distinct "histories" are justified on the basis that the sociological founders were uninterested in medicine, mortality and disease. This article challenges these "constructions" of the past, proposing the theorization of health not as a "late development of sociology" but an integral part of its formation. Drawing on a selection of key sociological texts, it is argued that evidence of the founders' sustained interest in the infirmities of the individual, of mortality, and in medicine, have been expunged from the historical record through processes of "canonization" and "medicalization."

Public health and allied career choices for AYUSH graduates in India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janmejaya Samal

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction Until the very recent time majority of AYUSH graduates were limited to their own field of study with few exceptions in to the field of public health and allied areas. The reasons could be lack of awareness, unavailability of suitable job opportunity or a sense of insecurity in a relatively new and offbeat domain of work. However more recently, there has been a paradigm shift; with increase in information access, awareness of job opportunities and a great degree of professional and personal satisfaction. This has led to a huge rush of these graduates in to the field of public health and allied areas. Objective ToexplorepublichealthandalliedcareerchoicesforAYUSHgraduateswithspecialreferencetothe scopes and opportunities in each of these fields. Methodology Review based study. Information was obtained by systematic search process using internet based Google, Google Scholar search engines. Discussion The results obtained were pertinent to the domain of public health and allied careers including Public health and related areas such as; Health and Hospital Management, Health Policy, Health Economics, Heath Care Financing, Epidemiology, Medical Sociology, Clinical Research, Pharmaceutical Management etc. it is observed that the placement and job opportunities are much more because of the rapid expansion of health care industry in India with endeavors from public and private stakeholders. There has been a multimillion dollars investment by various national and international donor agencies, pharmaceutical sector, central and state governments and the development partners. Conclusion AYUSH graduates can definitely find this field interesting as well as challenging and job opportunities may not be a problem for the right one.

A sociological dilemma: Race, segregation and US sociology

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

US sociology has been historically segregated in that, at least until the 1960s, there were two distinct institutionally organized traditions of sociological thought – one black and one white. For the most part, however, dominant historiographies have been silent on that segregation and, at best, reproduce it when addressing the US sociological tradition. This is evident in the rarity with which scholars such as WEB Du Bois, E Franklin Frazier, Oliver Cromwell Cox, or other ‘African American Pioneers of Sociology’, as Saint-Arnaud calls them, are presented as core sociological voices within histories of the discipline. This article addresses the absence of African American sociologists from the US sociological canon and, further, discusses the implications of this absence for our understanding of core sociological concepts. With regard to the latter, the article focuses in particular on the debates around equality and emancipation and discusses the ways in which our understanding of these concepts could be extended by taking into account the work of African American sociologists and their different interpretations of core themes. PMID:25418995

History and Content of Public Health Specialization Training and Employment Policies in the World and Turkey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bulent Kilic

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Public health was accepted as a specialty in the mid-19th century in United Kingdom and Germany and, the beginning of 20th century in USA and Russia. In Turkey, public health specialization training started at Refik Saydam Hifzissihha Institute in 1958, at Hacettepe University in 1965 and at Ataturk University in 1967. While sanitation, communicable diseases and immunization subjects had priority in public health specialization training programs in the 1800s, health care management and epidemiology were customary curriculum in the second half of the 1900s. International Health Organizations, health planning and health economics subjects were included in curriculum during European Public Health School Directors meeting in 1966. Later on, public health has become a multidisciplinary field and psychology, sociology, anthropology, health economics and surveillance techniques were added to training programs. There are 520 public health specialists and 286 public health specialization students in Turkey in 2013. Specialization training programmes are offered in 57 departments. Half of the public health specialists work for the Ministry of Health (51%, while 47% of public health specialists work for universities. While 17% of public health specialists in the Ministry of Health worked in managerial positions, this ratio is increased to 25% in 2010. The Ministry of Health does not require public health specialization when assigning health managers. Authors strongly recommend that only the public health specialists should be assigned in managerial positions in the Provincial Directorate of Public Health and Community Health Centers. In addition, number of public health specialists working in central organization of Turkish Public Health Institution should be increased. [TAF Prev Med Bull 2014; 13(6.000: 495-504

Latin american sociology's contribution to sociological imagination: analysis, criticism, and social commitment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Vicente Tavares-dos-Santos

2006-01-01

Full Text Available This paper tackles the role played by sociology in the analysis of the transformation processes in the Latin American societies, in following the construction process of both State and Nation, and in questioning the social issues in Latin America. Six periods of sociology in Latin America and in the Caribbean Islands are analyzed: (i sociology's intellectual inheritance; (ii the authoritative-teaching sociology; (iii the "scientific sociology" period and the configuration of the "critical sociology"; (iv the institutional crisis, consolidation of the "critical sociology", and the diversification of sociology; (v the sociology of authoritarianism, of democracy, and of exclusion; and (vi the institutional consolidation and the worldization of sociology in Latin America (from the year 2000 on. It can be said that the distinctive features of the sociological knowledge in the continent have been: internationalism, hybridism, critical approach to the processes and conflicts in the Latin American societies, and social commitment on the part of the sociologist.

[Multidisciplinary approach in public health research. The example of accidents and safety at work].

Science.gov (United States)

Lert, F; Thebaud, A; Dassa, S; Goldberg, M

1982-01-01

This article critically analyses the various scientific approaches taken to industrial accidents, particularly in epidemiology, ergonomie and sociology, by attempting to outline the epistemological limitations in each respective field. An occupational accident is by its very nature not only a physical injury but also an economic, social and legal phenomenon, which more so than illness, enables us to examine the problems posed by the need for a multidisciplinary approach in Public Health research.

Situating Preparedness Education within Public Pedagogy

Science.gov (United States)

Kitagawa, Kaori

2017-01-01

Both "disaster preparedness" and "public pedagogy" have been broadly defined and diversely utilised. Preparedness has been dealt with in disciplines such as civil engineering, the sociology of disasters, public health and psychology, rather than education. Recently, inquiries into the learning and teaching of preparedness have…

THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. G. Osipova

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The article analyzes the role of sociology in the scientific management of society — namely — the social construction aimed at the prevention of adverse events and the creation of social realities desirable for the individual and society. One of the areas of social reality, as well as the most important sphere of social life which are subject to social construction is public health. Public health is considered as an integrated expression of the dynamics of individual levels of the health of all members of society. The author emphasizes that the public health of the people is formed by the interaction of two groups of factors — endogenous (sex, biological age, race, body type, heredity and type of the human nervous system and exogenous (natural and social factors. The last are created by people themselves in the course of their ability to live and are operated, that is socially designed. The author analyzes the negative processes related to public health, the most important of which is a complex situation in the health system, lack of faith in the possibility of human medicine. An equally important role belongs to the deterioration of environmental significant share of people’s living conditions and social stress. If earlier scientists did not specify, in what degree of threat of infringement of global ecosystems are connected with a state of health and features of diseases of the population now it is established that various forms of irreversible change of environment are directly dangerous to public health. From an antiquity the effect of discrepancy of the wished (abstractly and actually arising future wished (abstractly — effect of human activity is known: people wish one, however actually all terminates differently, practically, on the contrary. And these characteristics of a public sincere, mental condition can be extremely inconsistent in relation to knowledge. They are the basis of so-called “involuntary behaviors�

Pure sociology and social geometry as an example of formal sociological theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Škorić Marko

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper analyzes pure sociology and social geometry of Donald Black as an example of formal sociological theory. Starting with the importance of formal and analytical theory in sociology, we present the bold theoretical strategy and/or the paradigm of the sociology of behavior of social life. The examples of pure sociology and social geometry concerning law, violence and homosexuality are presented as well. A review and critique of pure sociology as a scientific formal theory is offered in the end.

The Integration of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning into the Discipline of Sociology

Science.gov (United States)

McKinney, Kathleen

2018-01-01

Despite decades of sociology scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) research, integration of SoTL in sociology remains insufficient. First, some reasons for the insufficient integration of SoTL in the discipline are noted, and the foci of publications on the history and status of the SoTL in sociology are briefly summarized. Literature…

The Corpus Status of Literature in Teaching Sociology: Novels as "Sociological Reconstruction"

Science.gov (United States)

Carlin, Andrew P.

2010-01-01

Using fiction in teaching sociology involves what Harvey Sacks calls "sociological reconstruction". Numerous comments on teaching sociology provide advice and suggestions on the use of literature and "what counts" as "sociological" literature, including specific titles. This paper goes further: while the use of literature is a routine feature of…

Physical Education, Sociology, and Sociology of Sport: Points of Intersection.

Science.gov (United States)

Sage, George H.

1997-01-01

Examines the rise of sociology and physical education (PE), discussing linkages that initially existed and the separation that transpired between them. Also examines connections between social theory and PE before the sociology of sport was formally developed. Details the rise of sociology of sport, highlighting roles of physical educators. (SM)

In Praise of Sociology.

Science.gov (United States)

Connell, Raewyn

2017-08-01

This reflection on the relevance of sociology starts with the different forms of social knowledge, and some autobiographical reflection on my engagement with the discipline. A research-based social science is made urgent by the prevalence of distortion and pseudoscience in the public realm. However, the research-based knowledge formation is embedded in a global economy of knowledge that centers on a privileged group of institutions and produces major imbalances on a world scale. Sociological data collection has important uses in policy and public discussion. But data need to be embedded in a larger project of understanding the world; this is what gives excitement to the work. Sociology has a potential future of marginality or triviality in the neoliberal economy and its university system. There are better trajectories into the future-but they have to be fought for. Cette réflexion sur l'utilité de la sociologie commence avec les différentes formes de savoir social, ainsi que quelques réflexions biographiques sur mon engagement avec la discipline. Le besoin d'une science sociale orientée vers la recherche est devenue nécessaire suite à la prédominance de la distorsion et de la pseudoscience dans la sphère publique. Par contre, ce savoir centré sur la recherche est lié à une économie globale de la connaissance qui est proche d'un groupe privilégié d'institutions et produit des déséquilibres majeurs au niveau mondial. La collecte de données sociologiques a une grande utilité en politique et dans les discussions publiques. Mais ces données doivent être liées à un projet plus large de compréhension du monde ; c'est ce qui rend ce travail excitant. La sociologie risque la marginalisation ou la trivialité dans une économie néo-libérale et son système universitaire. Il existe de meilleures trajectoires pour l'avenir - mais elles doivent être défendues. © 2017 Canadian Sociological Association/La Société canadienne de sociologie.

When Worlds Collide: Sociology, Disciplinary Nightmares, and Fromm's Revision of Freud.

Science.gov (United States)

McLaughlin, Neil

2017-08-01

After decades of neglect, sociology is experiencing a revival of interest in psychoanalytic insights, and Erich Fromm's work is uniquely valuable for encouraging dialogue between the two fields. A recipient of a PhD in sociology as a young man in the 1920s, Fromm was a prominent psychoanalytic theorist and clinician, as well as a social researcher and public intellectual in the 1930s, up to his death in 1980. After a historical account of the relative neglect of Fromm in both disciplines, this paper examines the place of his psychoanalytic theory within sociology today as a way of discussing sociology's complicated relationship to psychoanalysis and the insights each field can offer the other.

The Challenge of Training in Applied Sociology.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Doyle Paul; And Others

1987-01-01

Explores the challenge of expanding nonacademic employment opportunities for sociologists and training sociology students for such employment. Suggests several interrelated strategies for these students that address issues of marketing and public relations as well as curriculum revision. (Author/BSR)

Committing Canadian sociology: developing a Canadian sociology and a sociology of Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Matthews, Ralph

2014-05-01

This paper is a slightly revised version of the author's "Outstanding Career Award Lecture" presented at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Sociological Association in Victoria, British Columbia on June 6, 2013. The paper distinguishes between Canadian Sociology and the Sociology of Canada. The former involves the explanatory stance that one takes to understanding Canada. The latter addresses the significant social dimensions that underlie Canadian social organization, culture, and behavior. I make a case for a Canadian Sociology that focuses on the unique features of Canadian society rather than adopting a comparative perspective. I also argue that there is a continuing need within the Sociology of Canada to address the issues of staples development. However, I argue that "new" staples analysis must have a directional change from that of the past, in that social processes now largely determine the pattern of staples development. Moreover, new staples analysis must include issues that were never part of earlier staples analysis, such as issues of environmental impacts and of staples depletion under conditions, such as climate change. The paper concludes by analyzing four factors that provide the dominant social contexts for analyzing modern staples development: (1) the rise of neoliberal government, (2) the implementation of globalization and its social consequences, (3) the assumption of aboriginal rights and entitlement, and (4) the rise of environmentalism. These factors were generally not considered in earlier staples approaches. They are critical to understanding the role of staples development and its impact on Canada in the present time.

When Advocacy Obscures Accuracy Online: Digital Pandemics of Public Health Misinformation Through an Antifluoride Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Getman, Rebekah; Saraf, Avinash; Zhang, Lily H.; Kalenderian, Elsbeth

2015-01-01

Objectives. In an antifluoridation case study, we explored digital pandemics and the social spread of scientifically inaccurate health information across the Web, and we considered the potential health effects. Methods. Using the social networking site Facebook and the open source applications Netvizz and Gephi, we analyzed the connectedness of antifluoride networks as a measure of social influence, the social diffusion of information based on conversations about a sample scientific publication as a measure of spread, and the engagement and sentiment about the publication as a measure of attitudes and behaviors. Results. Our study sample was significantly more connected than was the social networking site overall (P Social diffusion was evident; users were forced to navigate multiple pages or never reached the sample publication being discussed 60% and 12% of the time, respectively. Users had a 1 in 2 chance of encountering negative and nonempirical content about fluoride unrelated to the sample publication. Conclusions. Network sociology may be as influential as the information content and scientific validity of a particular health topic discussed using social media. Public health must employ social strategies for improved communication management. PMID:25602893

Measures of Biochemical Sociology

Science.gov (United States)

Snell, Joel; Marsh, Mitchell

2008-01-01

In a previous article, the authors introduced a new sub field in sociology that we labeled "biochemical sociology." We introduced the definition of a sociology that encompasses sociological measures, psychological measures, and biological indicators Snell & Marsh (2003). In this article, we want to demonstrate a research strategy that would assess…

Progress, public health, and power: Foucault and the Homemakers' Clubs of Saskatchewan.

Science.gov (United States)

McLean, Scott; Rollwagen, Heather

2008-08-01

From 1911 to 1979, the Homemakers' Clubs of Saskatchewan mobilized and monitored extensive study and action in the field of public health. This article explores how these clubs exhorted women to strive for progress, and encouraged women to internalize such striving as fundamental to their own identities. The techniques used included encouraging commitment to shared goals, making such goals personal, structuring action, requiring women to report their thoughts and actions, rewarding certain behaviors, and linking those behaviors with emotionally compelling causes. Rooted in a Foucauldian conceptual framework, this article contributes to the sociological understanding of subject formation and governance.

What has become of critique? Reassembling sociology after Latour.

Science.gov (United States)

Mills, Tom

2017-09-06

This paper offers a defence of sociology through an engagement with Actor Network Theory (ANT) and particularly the critique of 'critical' and politically engaged social science developed by Bruno Latour. It argues that ANT identifies some weaknesses in more conventional sociology and social theory, and suggests that 'critical' and 'public' orientated sociologists can learn from the analytical precision and ethnographic sensibilities that characterize ANT as a framework of analysis and a research programme. It argues, however, that Latour et al. have too hastily dispensed with 'critique' in favour of a value neutral descriptive sociology, and that the symmetrical and horizontalist approach adopted in ANT is particularly ill-suited to the development of scientific knowledge about social structures. It argues that a more straightforwardly realist sociology would share many of the strengths of ANT whilst being better able to interrogate, empirically and normatively, the centres of contemporary social power. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2017.

Desperately seeking sociology: nursing student perceptions of sociology on nursing courses.

Science.gov (United States)

Edgley, Alison; Timmons, Stephen; Crosbie, Brian

2009-01-01

This paper will present the findings of a qualitative study exploring the perceptions of students confronted by a requirement to learn sociology within a nursing curriculum. Those teaching sociology have a variety of explanations (more or less desperate), seeking to justify its place on the nursing curriculum. While there may be no resolution to the debate, the dispute thus far, has largely been between sociology and nursing academics. Absent from this debate are the voices of students 'required' to learn both nursing and sociology. What do students make of this contested territory? When students are trying to learn their trade, and know how to practice safely and efficaciously what do they make of the sociological imagination? How realistic is it to expect students to grasp both the concrete and practical with the imaginative and critical? Findings from this qualitative, focus group study suggest that students do indeed find learning sociology within a nursing curriculum "unsettling". It would seem that students cope in a number of ways. They fragment and compartmentalise knowledge(s); they privilege the interception of experiential learning on the path between theory and practice; and yet they appear to employ sociological understanding to account for nursing's gendered and developing professional status.

Did Harriet Martineau's sociological methods influence Emile Durkheim's sociological methods?

OpenAIRE

Fritsch, Jon Eric

1995-01-01

Harriet Martineau (1802-1876) published How to Observe Morals and Manners in 1838. The book was perhaps the first sociological methodology text. Emile Durkheim (1855-1917) published The Rules of Sociological Method (1895) 57 years later. Durkheim's book has traditionally been labeled as the first sociological methodology text, while Martineau's book has been virtually forgotten by modern day sociologists. The author identifies significant similarities between the two tex...

Fifty years of sociological leadership at Social Science and Medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Timmermans, Stefan; Tietbohl, Caroline

2018-01-01

In this review article, we examine some of the conceptual contributions of sociology of health and illness over the past fifty years. Specifically, we focus on research dealing with medicalization, the management of stigma, research on adherence and compliance, and patient-doctor interaction. We show how these themes that originated within sociology, diffused in other disciplines. Sociology in Social Science and Medicine started as an applied research tradition but morphed into a robust, stand-alone social science tradition. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Fourth Sociology and Music Education: Towards a Sociology of Integration

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, Ruth

2014-01-01

By identifying three main sociologies that characterise broad movements in the field since its inception, this paper provides a background to considerations of music education from the perspective of sociology. A fourth sociology is then proposed that may be useful to interrogate the complexities of the field of 21st century music education. This…

Perfiles Latinoamericanos: Regional sociology, connected sociologies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nelson Arteaga Botello

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The landscape of sociology published in the 48 numbers of the Perfiles Latinoamericanos magazineis analyzed. The diversity of topics, perspectives, and methodologies of the articles define aseries of fields of reflection around civil society, collective action, subjectivities and social identities,cities, media, violence, and theory. The essay suggests how the sociology that is producedin Latin America is not isolated but connected with international debates. It converges forms ofdoing theory and research with resonances on a global scale.

[Health services research for the public health service (PHS) and the public health system].

Science.gov (United States)

Hollederer, A; Wildner, M

2015-03-01

There is a great need for health services research in the public health system and in the German public health service. However, the public health service is underrepresented in health services research in Germany. This has several structural, historical and disciplinary-related reasons. The public health service is characterised by a broad range of activities, high qualification requirements and changing framework conditions. The concept of health services research is similar to that of the public health service and public health system, because it includes the principles of multidisciplinarity, multiprofessionalism and daily routine orientation. This article focuses on a specified system theory based model of health services research for the public health system and public health service. The model is based on established models of the health services research and health system research, which are further developed according to specific requirements of the public health service. It provides a theoretical foundation for health services research on the macro-, meso- and microlevels in public health service and the public health system. Prospects for public health service are seen in the development from "old public health" to "new public health" as well as in the integration of health services research and health system research. There is a significant potential for development in a better linkage between university research and public health service as is the case for the "Pettenkofer School of Public Health Munich". © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

The sociology of big science | Public Lecture by Ulrike Felt | 15 July

CERN Multimedia

2014-01-01

"The sociology of big science" Public Lecture by Prof. Ulrike Felt Tuesday 15 July 2014 - 7.30 p.m. Globe of Science and Innovation Lecture in English, translated in French. Entrance free. Limited number of seats. Reservation essential: +41 22 767 76 76 or cern.reception@cern.ch What science for what kind of society? Reflecting the development of big science Without any doubt, CERN can be described as being among the most ambitious scientific enterprises ever undertaken. For 60 years, the Member States have not only invested considerable financial means into this institution, but have also supported the creation of a highly visionary research programme. And this has led to a change in the way science is done, as captured by the idea of "big science". Yet this naturally also raises a number of quite fundamental questions: How did the meaning of "doing science" change? What justifies societal engagement with and support for such a cost-intensive long-t...

Sociological study and provisions for social reasonability of nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sappa, N.N.; Mordovenko, D.N.

1993-01-01

Aspects of sociologic investigations into the problems of nuclear power conducted in different countries are considered. Annual large-scale analysis allows one to follow the dynamics and define trend in the public opinion and to form respectively the strategy of work with the public

Syringe sociology.

Science.gov (United States)

Vitellone, Nicole

2015-06-01

In this article I consider the impact of social epistemologies for understanding the object of the syringe. My aim is to examine the process through which the syringe transforms from an injecting device to a tool of social and political inquiry. Paying particular attention to the uses of Foucault, Becker, Bourdieu, Freud and Latour in empirical studies of injecting heroin use, I examine the sociology of the syringe through the lens of habit and habitus, discourse and deviance, mourning and melancholia, attachment and agencement. In pursuing the theory behind the object my goal is to address a sociological object in the making. In so doing I show how the syringe has been significant for social research, social theory, and sociology. It is the difference the object makes that this article seeks to describe. In tracing the epistemology of the syringe I show how the object is important not just for knowledge of addiction but sociology itself. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2015.

The Communicability of Non-Communicable Diseases: An Overview of Sociological Contributions to Ideas of Contagion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hindhede, Anette Lykke

2018-01-01

-communicable diseases from a distinct sociological view of non- communicable diseases as infectious. I conduct a historical anamnesis of sociological theories that inform contemporary sociological thinking about contagion and/or collective action and the social clustering of (health) behaviour, with a particular focus...

Improving Access to, Use of, and Outcomes from Public Health Programs: The Importance of Building and Maintaining Trust with Patients/Clients

Science.gov (United States)

Ward, Paul Russell

2017-01-01

The central argument in this paper is that “public trust” is critical for developing and maintaining the health and wellbeing of individuals, communities, and societies. I argue that public health practitioners and policy makers need to take “public trust” seriously if they intend to improve both the public’s health and the engagement between members of the public and public health systems. Public health practitioners implement a range of services and interventions aimed at improving health but implicit a requirement for individuals to trust the practitioners and the services/interventions, before they engage with them. I then go on to provide an overview of the theory of trust within sociology and show why it is important to understand this theory in order to promote trust in public health services. I then draw on literature in three classic areas of public health—hospitals, cancer screening, and childhood immunization—to show why trust is vital in terms of understanding and potentially improving uptake of services. The case studies in this paper reveal that public health practitioners need to understand the centrality of building and maintaining trusting relationships with patients/clients because people who distrust public health services are less likely to use them, less likely to follow advice or recommendations, and more likely to have poorer health outcomes. PMID:28337430

Public health emergencies and the public health/managed care challenge.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenbaum, Sara; Skivington, Skip; Praeger, Sandra

2002-01-01

The relationship between insurance and public health is an enduring topic in public health policy and practice. Insurers share certain attributes with public health. But public health agencies operate in relation to the entire community that they are empowered by public law to serve and without regard to the insurance status of community residents; on the other hand, insurers (whether managed care or otherwise) are risk-bearing entities whose obligations are contractually defined and limited to enrolled members and sponsors. Public insurers such as Medicare and Medicaid operate under similar constraints. The fundamental characteristics that distinguish managed care-style insurance and public health become particularly evident during periods of public health emergency, when a public health agency's basic obligations to act with speed and flexibility may come face to face with the constraints on available financing that are inherent in the structure of insurance. Because more than 70% of all personal health care in the United States is financed through insurance, public health agencies effectively depend on insurers to finance necessary care and provide essential patient-level data to the public health system. Critical issues of state and federal policy arise in the context of the public health/insurance relations during public health emergencies. These issues focus on coverage and the power to make coverage decisions, as well as the power to define service networks and classify certain data as exempt from public reporting. The extent to which a formal regulatory approach may become necessary is significantly affected by the extent to which private entities themselves respond to the problem with active efforts to redesign their services and operations to include capabilities and accountability in the realm of public health emergency response.

Training public health superheroes: five talents for public health leadership.

Science.gov (United States)

Day, Matthew; Shickle, Darren; Smith, Kevin; Zakariasen, Ken; Moskol, Jacob; Oliver, Thomas

2014-12-01

Public health leaders have been criticized for their policy stances, relationships with governments and failure to train the next generation. New approaches to the identification and training of public health leaders may be required. To inform these, lessons can be drawn from public health 'superheroes'; public health leaders perceived to be the most admired and effective by their peers. Members and Fellows of the UK Faculty of Public Health were contacted via e-newsletter and magazine and asked to nominate their 'Public Health Superhero'. Twenty-six responses were received, nominating 40 different people. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted. Thematic analysis, based on 'grounded theory', was conducted. Five leadership 'talents' for public health were identified: mentoring-nurturing, shaping-organizing, networking-connecting, knowing-interpreting and advocating-impacting. Talent-based approaches have been effective for leadership development in other sectors. These talents are the first specific to the practice of public health and align with some aspects of existing frameworks. An increased focus on identifying and developing talents during public health training, as opposed to 'competency'-based approaches, may be effective in strengthening public health leadership. Further research to understand the combination and intensity of talents across a larger sample of public health leaders is required. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

[Public health services between "new public health" and "new public management"].

Science.gov (United States)

Oppen, M

1996-04-01

Today, a substantial reorientation of the Public Health services in the Federal Republic of Germany is broadly seen necessary. Patterns of functional and organisational restructuring of Public Health services on the regional and the communal level are closely linked with concepts of prevention and health promotion. Hence, a number of agencies have already adopted new tasks and functions like comprehensive and transorganizational planning, coordination and evaluation as well as the establishment of new reporting systems. Presently, the transformation process from the bureaucratic mode of administering matters of health to a new Public Health orientation receives new impacts from the international "New Public Management" movement. Comparatively late, with the beginning of the 1990s, a growing number of German municipalities has introduced new concepts of administration. Local government administrations, of which the Public Health services are a part, follow the model of modern service organizations producing services in a more efficient, professionalized and consumer-oriented way. Specific elements of economising modernisation programmes like re-distribution of tasks, de-centralisation, extension of managerial capacities, setting of stimulating working conditions that provide employees with greater independence of action as well as career opportunities, are at the same time prerequisites for innovative strategies of health protection and coordination policies of Public Health services.

John Foran’s sociology of revolution: From historical sociology to the sociological imagination

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D Yu Karasyev

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The article considers J. Foran’s sociology of revolution through the stages of evolution of his theoretical and methodological views and the works representing them. The trajectory of Foran’s sociology of revolution reflects in many respects the development of the contemporary comparative and historical sociology of revolution: from the fundamental historical research of a few classical cases to the quantitative study of an extremely wide range of examples and after that to the prediction of the ‘revolution-like’ events’ in future. According to Foran, there are three ways to consider the future of revolutions: 1 the analysis of the revolutions of the past, 2 the look into the future in terms of the existing theories, 3 the sources of sociological imagination. These three methods correspond to three stages in Foran’s sociology of revolution: after conducting the historical study of the situation and revolutions in Iran, the comparative analysis of 39 revolution events in the Third World countries and then an attempt to imagine patterns of future revolutions on the example of Zapatistas’ revolution in Mexico in 1994 and the struggle for global justice at the beginning of the XXI century. Despite the evolution of the subject and methodology of the theory, the concept ‘political culture of opposition’ remained the central category of Foran’s model. This complex notion describes such social process when under the influence of material and discursive elements the revolutionaries found out some common discourse that prescribed them to participate in collective actions to change their societies. Thus, Foran states that revolutions are the product of both structural conditions and human agency and the latter is due to both political-economic and cultural reasons. The cultural-structural character of Foran’s approach makes it relevant for the study of contemporary revolutionary events.

Prison mental health: context is crucial: a sociological exploration of male prisoners' mental health and the provision of mental healthcare in a prison setting

OpenAIRE

Jordan, Melanie

2012-01-01

This thesis represents a sociological exploration of Her Majesty’s Prison Service, male prisoners’ mental health, and the provision of National Health Service mental healthcare in a prison setting. This qualitative social science study is conducted in one prison establishment. The work is characterised as a policy and practice orientated exploratory case study. The study implements an inductive approach to the datum–theory relationship, a constructionist ontological position, and an interpret...

Leprosy: International Public Health Policies and Public Health Eras

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Niyi Awofeso

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Public health policies continue to play important roles in national and international health reforms. However, the influence and legacies of the public health eras during which such policies are formulated remain largely underappreciated. The limited appreciation of this relationship may hinder consistent adoption of public health policies by nation-states, and encumber disinvestment from ineffective or anachronistic policies. This article reviews seven public health eras and highlights how each era has influenced international policy formulation for leprosy control—“the fertile soil for policy learning”. The author reiterates the role of health leadership and health activism in facilitating consistency in international health policy formulation and implementation for leprosy control.

Sociological perspectives on self-help groups

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Adamsen, L; Rasmussen, J M

2001-01-01

and significance of self-help groups. FINDINGS: New empirical sociological evidence shows that health care professionals - nurses, psychologists, social workers - have become an integrated part and thus essential actors in self-help groups within as well as outside the framework of the formal health care system...... that it is necessary to introduce new aspects and themes for discussion in the health care debate and the work that goes beyond the predominantly individual orientated treatment and care function....

INSTRUMENTAL CONCEPTUALIZATION SUBJECT AREA SOCIOLOGY: SOME POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. V. Maslennikov

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The article outlines some of the possible ways of integrating the deployment tool conceptualizing domains of sociology on the basis of the machine sets of steps3. Substantiates the urgency of the problem of application of structural constructs of mathematics as a structure-formalism domain of sociology as a combination of theoretical knowledge. Formulated understanding of the sociological dimension in a broad sense of the concept of research as a measurement based on the use of instrumental in conceptualizing the methodology of sociological research. Under instrumental conceptualization refers to the construction of complex conceptual (conceptual schema structurally interconnected relationships between their individual elements, which are the units of the consideration related conceptual integrity, derived from interpretation of the properties “Set” construct. The paper proposes a definition based on the properties set in the scale set by the structure of N. Bourbaki4 relations systems in the data sets under the structural dimension of social phenomena to understand the interpretation of the investigated properties of social phenomena in terms of a construct that lies at the basis of the theoretical model that reflects the diversity of these qualities with the help of conceptual schemes that determine the quality of each as a structure of relations systems (ie, property in these qualities. In conclusion, the article lists presented in a number of publications, some preliminary results of the application of the methodology of conceptualizing instrumental in related disciplines from sociology. These works can perform suggestive role in the knowledge and understanding of methods of problem fields and objectives of the work on the conceptualization of theoretical sociology, using the mathematical theory of forms. 

Sociology as a Vocation.

Science.gov (United States)

Lechner, Frank J.

1990-01-01

Examines the meaning of practicing sociology, claiming to "commit a social science" still makes sense. Accepts Max Weber's arguments that sociology clarifies human affairs and is oriented to certain virtues. Suggests, however, that sociology is a passion as well as a profession, something Weber recognized but did not elaborate. (NL)

Knowledge networking on Sociology: network analysis of blogs, YouTube videos and tweets about Sociology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julián Cárdenas

2017-06-01

Full Text Available While mainstream scientific knowledge production have been widely studied in recent years with the development of scientometrics and bibliometrics, an emergent number of studies have focused on alternative sources of production and dissemination of knowledge such as blogs, YouTube videos and comments on Twitter. These online sources of knowledge become relevant in fields such as Sociology, where some academics seek to bring the sociological knowledge to the general population. To explore which knowledge on Sociology is produced and disseminated, and how is organized in these online sources, we analyze the knowledge networking of blogs, YouTube videos and tweets on Twitter using network analysis approach. Specifically, the present research analyzes the hyperlink network of the main blogs on Sociology, the networks of tags used to classify videos on Sociology hosted on YouTube, and the network of hashtags linked to #sociología on Twitter. The main results point out the existence of a cohesive and strongly connected community of blogs on Sociology, the very low presence of YouTube videos on Sociology in Spanish, and Sociology on Twitter is linked to others social sciences, classical scholars and social media

Mobile sociology. 2000.

Science.gov (United States)

Urry, John

2010-01-01

This article seeks to develop a manifesto for a sociology concerned with the diverse mobilities of peoples, objects, images, information, and wastes; and of the complex interdependencies between, and social consequences of, such diverse mobilities. A number of key concepts relevant for such a sociology are elaborated: 'gamekeeping', networks, fluids, scapes, flows, complexity and iteration. The article concludes by suggesting that a 'global civil society' might constitute the social base of a sociology of mobilities as we move into the twenty-first century.

The idea of philosophical sociology.

Science.gov (United States)

Chernilo, Daniel

2014-06-01

This article introduces the idea of philosophical sociology as an enquiry into the relationships between implicit notions of human nature and explicit conceptualizations of social life within sociology. Philosophical sociology is also an invitation to reflect on the role of the normative in social life by looking at it sociologically and philosophically at the same: normative self-reflection is a fundamental aspect of sociology's scientific tasks because key sociological questions are, in the last instance, also philosophical ones. For the normative to emerge, we need to move away from the reductionism of hedonistic, essentialist or cynical conceptions of human nature and be able to grasp the conceptions of the good life, justice, democracy or freedom whose normative contents depend on more or less articulated conceptions of our shared humanity. The idea of philosophical sociology is then sustained on three main pillars and I use them to structure this article: (1) a revalorization of the relationships between sociology and philosophy; (2) a universalistic principle of humanity that works as a major regulative idea of sociological research, and; (3) an argument on the social (immanent) and pre-social (transcendental) sources of the normative in social life. As invitations to embrace posthuman cyborgs, non-human actants and material cultures proliferate, philosophical sociology offers the reminder that we still have to understand more fully who are the human beings that populate the social world. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2014.

Problems With Sociology Education in Turkey on Its 100th Anniversary

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aytul Kasapoglu

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Although sociology education began a century ago in Turkey, sociology is considered a scientific discipline rather than a profession in which graduates can earn money. The primary aim of this article is to identify the essence of this problem in sociology education based on students’ and sociologists’ views. To achieve the study objectives, a phenomenological study based on standpoint theory was designed and conducted with 25 students and 20 working sociologists. The findings reveal that sociology education is quite far removed from being considered a professional education. Theoretical courses without field studies are not in accordance with the requirements of both the public and private sectors. Students and sociologists are quite romantic regarding what sociology is and what sociologists do. Students mostly begin the study of sociology involuntarily and without a clear understanding of the discipline. Sometimes students find themselves in a paradox or dilemma: Although the knowledge and skills they have developed during their sociology education enable students to express themselves effectively and understand social events more comprehensively, the risk of unemployment is a severe threat. Even if they are employed, graduates are disappointed because they are not prepared to conduct the tasks that their jobs demand. Students assess these activities as social work and thus inappropriate. To solve the problems of sociology as a profession in society and as an academic field in the university, both problems must be clearly defined and programs must be carefully reconfigured to meet the demands of both society and sociologists.

Partners in Public Health: Public Health Collaborations With Schools of Pharmacy, 2015.

Science.gov (United States)

DiPietro Mager, Natalie A; Ochs, Leslie; Ranelli, Paul L; Kahaleh, Abby A; Lahoz, Monina R; Patel, Radha V; Garza, Oscar W; Isaacs, Diana; Clark, Suzanne

To collect data on public health collaborations with schools of pharmacy, we sent a short electronic survey to accredited and preaccredited pharmacy programs in 2015. We categorized public health collaborations as working or partnering with local and/or state public health departments, local and/or state public health organizations, academic schools or programs of public health, and other public health collaborations. Of 134 schools, 65 responded (49% response rate). Forty-six (71%) responding institutions indicated collaborations with local and/or state public health departments, 34 (52%) with schools or programs of public health, and 24 (37%) with local and/or state public health organizations. Common themes of collaborations included educational programs, community outreach, research, and teaching in areas such as tobacco control, emergency preparedness, chronic disease, drug abuse, immunizations, and medication therapy management. Interdisciplinary public health collaborations with schools of pharmacy provide additional resources for ensuring the health of communities and expose student pharmacists to opportunities to use their training and abilities to affect public health. Examples of these partnerships may stimulate additional ideas for possible collaborations between public health organizations and schools of pharmacy.

Sociology, Basis for the Secondary-School Subject of Social Sciences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lieke Meijs

2009-12-01

Full Text Available This paper reformulates the question of ‘sociology, who needs it’ in two ways, The first question we address is that of the reason why the educational system itself did not come to sociology for help in their long quest for a clear-cut content of the subject. The second question is why sociology did not adopt the orphaned subject of social studies back in 1960. The answer to the first question lies in the vulnerability of a subject that is dependent for its continued existence on the political leanings of the day. This led to a new goal for the subject almost every decade: from social education in the sixties and social and political education in the seventies, to a focus on citizenship education in the nineties. Although the objective was renamed on several occasions, the prescriptive viewpoint is recognizable in each. This perspective is difficult to reconcile with a social science content. The answer to the second questions points towards Dutch social scientists with a strong focus on academic sociology and not for critical, policy or public sociology. This choice was also made in order to win the competition with psychologists and for the discipline to get rid of the poor image it had acquired in the 1960s. The new subject social sciences, with a strong focus on science made it possible for sociology to become the pillar of this new subject.

Sociological and medical aspects of Chernobyl accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kotlyarov, I.V.; Terebov, A.S.

1993-01-01

The sociological survey data, the results of the state of health service in some districts of Gomel and Mogilev regions as well as of the completeness of the fulfillment of state resolutions concerning the liquidation of the Chernobyl accident after effects are given

Undergraduate Public Health Majors: Why They Choose Public Health or Medicine?

Science.gov (United States)

Hilton, Warren

2013-01-01

This mixed methods study examined the relationship between the motivations for attending college of undergraduate students with a focus on students with a public health major, and their desire to pursue graduate training in public health and subsequently, public health careers. The study highlighted the current public health workforce shortage and…

[The national public discourse on priority setting in health care in German print media].

Science.gov (United States)

Liesching, Florian; Meyer, Thorsten; Raspe, Heiner

2012-01-01

Germany's Central Ethics Committee of the Federal Chamber of Physicians (FCP) and other relevant national actors called for a public discourse on priority setting in health care. Politicians, members of a Federal Joint Committee and health insurance representatives, however, refused to promote or participate in the establishment of a public discussion. A change to that attitude only became apparent after former FCP President Hoppe's opening speech at the annual FCP assembly in Mainz in 2009. The present paper applies the Sociology of Knowledge Approach to Discourse, implemented through Qualitative Content Analysis and elements of Grounded Theory, to examine the development of the national public discourse in leading German print media. It creates a matrix that represents the discourse development between May 2009 and May 2010 and reflects central actors, their "communicative phenomena" and their interactions. Additionally, the matrix has been extended to cover the period until December 2011. Hoppe's arguments for priority setting in health care are faced with a wide opposition assuming opposing prerequisites and thus demanding alternative remedies. The lack of interaction between the different parties prevents any development of the speakers' positions. Incorrect accounts, reductions and left-outs in the media representation add to this effect. Consequently, the public discussion on priority setting is far from being an evolving rational discourse. Instead, it constitutes an exchange of preformed opposing positions. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

Sociology through Photography

Science.gov (United States)

Hyde, Katherine

2015-01-01

This chapter describes how photography can inspire and cultivate sociological mindfulness. One set of assignments uses self-portraiture to highlight the complexity of visual representations of social identity. Another uses photography to guide sociological inquiry. Both sets of assignments draw on the Literacy Through Photography methodology,…

Keeping the "public" in schools of public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Freudenberg, Nicholas; Klitzman, Susan; Diamond, Catherine; El-Mohandes, Ayman

2015-03-01

In this article, we compared the characteristics of public and private accredited public health training programs. We analyzed the distinct opportunities and challenges that publicly funded schools of public health face in preparing the nation's public health workforce. Using our experience in creating a new, collaborative public school of public health in the nation's largest urban public university system, we described efforts to use our public status and mission to develop new approaches to educating a workforce that meets the health needs of our region and contributes to the goal of reducing health inequalities. Finally, we considered policies that could protect and strengthen the distinct contributions that public schools of public health make to improving population health and reducing health inequalities.

The Place of Sport and Physical Activity in Young People's Lives and Its Implications for Health: Some Sociological Comments

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Andrew; Green, Ken

2005-01-01

This exploratory paper seeks, first, to offer some critical sociological comments on the common-sense, or rather ideological, claims surrounding two supposedly emerging "crises": namely, the alleged poor health and declining sport and physical activity participation levels of young people. In this regard, it is suggested that while young people…

Regarding Bioethics: A Sociology of Morality.

Science.gov (United States)

De Vries, Raymond

2017-01-01

C. Wright Mills said that when done well, sociology illuminates the intersection of biography and history. This essay examines how the author's vocational choices and career path were shaped by historical circumstance, leading him to a degree in sociology and to participation in the odd and interesting interdiscipline of bioethics. Drawing on a distinction between sociology in bioethics and sociology of bioethics, the essay considers the value of sociology to the bioethical project.

On sociological catastrophe analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clausen, L.

1974-01-01

The present paper deals with standard terms of sociological catastrophe theory hitherto existing, collective behaviour during the catastrophe, and consequences for the empiric catastrophe sociology. (RW) [de

What can we learn on public accountability from non-health disciplines: a meta-narrative review

Science.gov (United States)

Van Belle, Sara; Mayhew, Susannah H

2016-01-01

Objective In health, accountability has since long been acknowledged as a central issue, but it remains an elusive concept. The literature on accountability spans various disciplines and research traditions, with differing interpretations. There has been little transfer of ideas and concepts from other disciplines to public health and global health. In the frame of a study of accountability of (international) non-governmental organisations in local health systems, we carried out a meta-narrative review to address this gap. Our research questions were: (1) What are the main approaches to accountability in the selected research traditions? (2) How is accountability defined? (3) Which current accountability approaches are relevant for the organisation and regulation of local health systems and its multiple actors? Setting The search covered peer-reviewed journals, monographs and readers published between 1992 and 2012 from political science, public administration, organisational sociology, ethics and development studies. 34 papers were selected and analysed. Results Our review confirms the wide range of approaches to the conceptualisation of accountability. The definition of accountability used by the authors allows the categorisation of these approaches into four groups: the institutionalist, rights-based, individual choice and collective action group. These four approaches can be considered to be complementary. Conclusions We argue that in order to effectively achieve public accountability, accountability strategies are to be complementary and synergistic. PMID:27388347

The essential role of social theory in qualitative public health research.

Science.gov (United States)

Willis, Karen; Daly, Jeanne; Kealy, Michelle; Small, Rhonda; Koutroulis, Glenda; Green, Julie; Gibbs, Lisa; Thomas, Samantha

2007-10-01

To define the role of social theory and examine how research studies using qualitative methods can use social theory to generalize their results beyond the setting of the study or to other social groups. The assumptions underlying public health research using qualitative methods derive from a range of social theories that include conflict theory, structural functionalism, symbolic interactionism, the sociology of knowledge and feminism. Depending on the research problem, these and other social theories provide conceptual tools and models for constructing a suitable research framework, and for collecting and analysing data. In combination with the substantive health literature, the theoretical literature provides the conceptual bridge that links the conclusions of the study to other social groups and settings. While descriptive studies using qualitative research methods can generate important insights into social experience, the use of social theory in the construction and conduct of research enables researchers to extrapolate their findings to settings and groups broader than the ones in which the research was conducted.

Sociology of Sport.

Science.gov (United States)

Greendorfer, Susan L.

1985-01-01

The author describes the issues which created the schism between physical education and sociology. If the subdiscipline of sports sociology is to survive, these misunderstandings must be erased. Current investigations of relevant topics are of interest to both physical educators and coaches and could begin to bridge the gap. (MT)

Racism, empire and sociology

OpenAIRE

Smith, Andrew

2017-01-01

Reviews of Gurminder K Bhambra, Connected Sociologies; Peo Hansen and Stefan Jonsson, Eurafrica: The Untold History of European Integration and Colonialism; Wulf D. Hund, Alana Lentin (eds) Racism and Sociology

Introduktion til klassisk sociologi

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dupont, Søren

Papiret introducerer til en række klassiske sociologer: Comte, Spencer, Weber, Durkheim og Habermas......Papiret introducerer til en række klassiske sociologer: Comte, Spencer, Weber, Durkheim og Habermas...

Max Weber in the American Journal of Sociology: A case of circulating knowledge.

Science.gov (United States)

Rijks, Marlise

2012-01-01

By the middle of the 1970s, a Max Weber revival commenced in American sociology. Almost 75 percent of the articles on Weber in the American Journal of Sociology published in the past six decades appeared in the 1970s and 1980s. The Weber revival in American sociology is a phenomenon observed in leading literature. New translations and publications are frequently indicated reasons for the renewed interest in Weber. Without dismissing this factor, it is not an entirely satisfactory explanation. This article accounts for the Weber revival in a new way. Taking the American Journal of Sociology as a case study, I argue that the Weber revival was a case of circulating knowledge. Certain historically set issues led to a reorientation of Weber, which meant that knowledge about Weber was moved, extended, and transformed. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Publication productivity of Czech sociology in scientific journals within the last decade

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Basl, J.; Münich, D.; Sidorkin, Oleg

-, č. 392 (2009), s. 1-41 ISSN 1211-3298 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LC542 Institutional research plan: CEZ:MSM0021620846 Keywords : Czech sociology * research * journals with impact factor Subject RIV: AH - Economics http://www.cerge-ei.cz/pdf/wp/Wp392.pdf

Toward a Sociology of Environmental Flows: A New Agenda for Twenty-First-Century Environmental Sociology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mol, A.P.J.; Spaargaren, G.

2006-01-01

The emerging sociology of networks and flows, as it can be found in the works of Castells and Urry among others, offers promising perspectives for environmental sociology in rethinking its principle object of study: nature and environment. The sociology of flow perspective takes us beyond the

Going Public: Networking Globally and Locally

Science.gov (United States)

Sachs, Carolyn E.

2007-01-01

Rural sociologists figure prominently in the move towards public sociology. The paper takes up Michael Burawoy's call for public sociology and discusses what rural sociologists have to offer to publics and how we stand to gain as a discipline in working with publics. The paper argues that rural sociologists' ability to adopt a cosmopolitan view…

Psychological and sociological approaches to study risk perception

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Renn, O [Kernforschungsanlage Juelich G.m.b.H. (Germany, F.R.). Programmgruppe Technik und Gesellschaft; Swaton, E [International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna (Austria). Joint IAEA-IIASA Risk Assessment Group

1984-01-01

Technological progress and its impacts on humankind has caused an increasing awareness of risk, and objective, statistical estimations are often inadequate to alleviate the public's fright and fear. Research on risk perception using psychological and sociological approaches is trying to bridge this gap. As a first step, a distinction must be made between the technical definition of risk (probability x consequences) and the social definition, in which additional parameters (source, dimensions, timeframe, exposure) need to be included. The methodology of risk assessment, though objective by design, is limited in the interpretability of its results, if the calculation of consequences does not take public perceptions and social effects into account. The problems and advantages of risk assessment are discussed, and the key questions for risk perception research are presented. Various techniques are available to study risk perception and attitudes towards risk; selection of a specific technique is determined by the objective of the research, namely sociological implications or psychological cognitions. Several empirical studies in both areas are presented and the results discussed.

Psychological and sociological approaches to study risk perception

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Renn, O.; Swaton, E.

1984-01-01

Technological progress and its impacts on humankind has caused an increasing awareness of risk, and objective, statistical estimations are often inadequate to alleviate the public's fright and fear. Research on risk perception using psychological and sociological approaches is trying to bridge this gap. As a first step, a distinction must be made between the technical definition of risk (probability x consequences) and the social definition, in which additional parameters (source, dimensions, timeframe, exposure) need to be included. The methodology of risk assessment, though objective by design, is limited in the interpretability of its results, if the calculation of consequences does not take public perceptions and social effects into account. The problems and advantages of risk assessment are discussed, and the key questions for risk perception research are presented. Various techniques are available to study risk perception and attitudes towards risk; selection of a specific technique is determined by the objective of the research, namely sociological implications or psychological cognitions. Several empirical studies in both areas are presented and the results discussed. (author)

Debating DSM-5: diagnosis and the sociology of critique.

Science.gov (United States)

Pickersgill, Martyn D

2014-08-01

The development of the fifth edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-the DSM-5-has reenergised and driven further forward critical discourse about the place and role of diagnosis in mental health. The DSM-5 has attracted considerable criticism, not least about its role in processes of medicalisation. This paper suggests the need for a sociology of psychiatric critique. Sociological analysis can help map fields of contention, and cast fresh light on the assumptions and nuances of debate around the DSM-5; it underscores the importance of diagnosis to the governance of social and clinical life, as well as the wider discourses critical commentaries connect with and are activated by. More normatively, a sociology of critique can indicate which interests and values are structuring the dialogues being articulated, and just how diverse clinical opinion regarding the DSM can actually be. This has implications for the considerations of health services and policy decision-makers who might look to such debates for guidance. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Teaching Inequalities: Using Public Transportation and Visual Sociology to Make It Real

Science.gov (United States)

Grauerholz, Liz; Settembrino, Marc

2016-01-01

In this article, we describe an adaptation of Nichols, Berry, and Kalogrides's "Hop on the Bus" exercise. In addition to riding the bus, we incorporated a visual component similar to that developed by Whitley by having students conduct a sociological, photographic exercise after they disembarked. Qualitative and quantitative assessment…

A Sociology "of" or a Sociology "for" Education? The New Zealand Experience of the Dilemma

Science.gov (United States)

Rata, Elizabeth

2010-01-01

The sociology of education in New Zealand, as in other countries, is affected by the dilemma inherent to the discipline, namely: is it a sociology "of" education or a sociology "for" education? In this article I analyse three factors in which the dilemma is played out: "cultural oppositionism" in the indigenous…

Revitalizing sociology: urban life and mental illness between history and the present.

Science.gov (United States)

Fitzgerald, Des; Rose, Nikolas; Singh, Ilina

2016-03-01

This paper proposes a re-thinking of the relationship between sociology and the biological sciences. Tracing lines of connection between the history of sociology and the contemporary landscape of biology, the paper argues for a reconfiguration of this relationship beyond popular rhetorics of 'biologization' or 'medicalization'. At the heart of the paper is a claim that, today, there are some potent new frames for re-imagining the traffic between sociological and biological research - even for 'revitalizing' the sociological enterprise as such. The paper threads this argument through one empirical case: the relationship between urban life and mental illness. In its first section, it shows how this relationship enlivened both early psychiatric epidemiology, and some forms of the new discipline of sociology; it then traces the historical division of these sciences, as the sociological investment in psychiatric questions waned, and 'the social' become marginalized within an increasingly 'biological' psychiatry. In its third section, however, the paper shows how this relationship has lately been revivified, but now by a nuanced epigenetic and neurobiological attention to the links between mental health and urban life. What role can sociology play here? In its final section, the paper shows how this older sociology, with its lively interest in the psychiatric and neurobiological vicissitudes of urban social life, can be our guide in helping to identify intersections between sociological and biological attention. With a new century now underway, the paper concludes by suggesting that the relationship between urban life and mental illness may prove a core testing-ground for a 'revitalized' sociology. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2016.

Sociology: a view from the diaspora.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenfeld, Richard

2010-12-01

From the vantage point of criminology, one of sociology's main export subject areas, the present and future of sociology appear a good deal more promising than John Holmwood's essay on the discipline's misfortune would suggest. Sociology remains in high demand by students and faculty hiring remains strong, even in its more critical sub-fields, such as race and ethnicity, sex and gender, and social inequality. Holmwood is correct that sociology is vulnerable to external pressures to demonstrate its relevance to social practice, but those pressures come from left-wing social movements as well as from centres of power. He is also correct that external pressures contribute to internal disagreement, but sociology has been at war with itself since the 1960s, with little evident decline in its academic standing or intellectual vitality. Those of us on the discipline's diaspora, who depend on sociology for both support and light, must remain hopeful about sociology's continued good fortune.

Navigating the evidentiary turn in public health: Sensemaking strategies to integrate genomics into state-level chronic disease prevention programs.

Science.gov (United States)

Senier, Laura; Smollin, Leandra; Lee, Rachael; Nicoll, Lauren; Shields, Michael; Tan, Catherine

2018-06-23

In the past decade, healthcare delivery has faced two major disruptions: the mapping of the human genome and the rise of evidence-based practice. Sociologists have documented the paradigmatic shift towards evidence-based practice in medicine, but have yet to examine its effect on other health professions or the broader healthcare arena. This article shows how evidence-based practice is transforming public health in the United States. We present an in-depth qualitative analysis of interview, ethnographic, and archival data to show how Michigan's state public health agency has navigated the turn to evidence-based practice, as they have integrated scientific advances in genomics into their chronic disease prevention programming. Drawing on organizational theory, we demonstrate how they managed ambiguity through a combination of sensegiving and sensemaking activities. Specifically, they linked novel developments in genomics to a long-accepted public health planning model, the Core Public Health Functions. This made cutting edge advances in genomics more familiar to their peers in the state health agency. They also marshaled state-specific surveillance data to illustrate the public health burden of hereditary cancers in Michigan, and to make expert panel recommendations for genetic screening more locally relevant. Finally, they mobilized expertise to help their internal colleagues and external partners modernize conventional public health activities in chronic disease prevention. Our findings show that tools and concepts from organizational sociology can help medical sociologists understand how evidence-based practice is shaping institutions and interprofessional relations in the healthcare arena. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Oregon Public Health Policy Institute: Building Competencies for Public Health Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, Jangho; Bernell, Stephanie; Tynan, Michael; Alvarado, Carla Sarai; Eversole, Tom; Mosbaek, Craig; Beathard, Candice

2015-01-01

The Oregon Public Health Policy Institute (PHPI) was designed to enhance public health policy competencies among state and local health department staff. The Oregon Health Authority funded the College of Public Health and Human Sciences at Oregon State University to develop the PHPI curriculum in 2012 and offer it to participants from 4 state public health programs and 5 local health departments in 2013. The curriculum interspersed short instructional sessions on policy development, implementation, and evaluation with longer hands-on team exercises in which participants applied these skills to policy topics their teams had selected. Panel discussions provided insights from legislators and senior Oregon health experts. Participants reported statistically significant increases in public health policy competencies and high satisfaction with PHPI overall. PMID:26066925

[Brazilian bibliographical output on public oral health in public health and dentistry journals].

Science.gov (United States)

Celeste, Roger Keller; Warmling, Cristine Maria

2014-06-01

The scope of this paper is to describe characteristics of the scientific output in the area of public oral health in journals on public health and dentistry nationwide. The Scopus database of abstracts and quotations was used and eight journals in public health, as well as ten in dentistry, dating from 1947 to 2011 were selected. A research strategy using key words regarding oral health in public health and key words about public health in dentistry was used to locate articles. The themes selected were based on the frequency of key words. Of the total number of articles, 4.7% (n = 642) were found in oral health journals and 6.8% (n = 245) in public health journals. Among the authors who published most, only 12% published in both fields. There was a percentile growth of public oral health publications in dentistry journals, though not in public health journals. In dentistry, only studies indexed as being on the topic of epidemiology showed an increase. In the area of public health, planning was predominant in all the phases studied. Research to evaluate the impact of research and postgraduate policies in scientific production is required.

Publication productivity of Czech sociology in scientific journals within the last decade

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Basl, Josef; Münich, Daniel; Sidorkin, O.

-, č. 392 (2009), s. 1-41 ISSN 1211-3298 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LC542 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z70850503; CEZ:AV0Z70280505 Keywords : Czech sociologist * research * journals with impact factor Subject RIV: AO - Sociology, Demography http://www.cerge-ei.cz/pdf/wp/Wp392.pdf

Opportunities for Public Relations Research in Public Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Wise, Kurt

2001-01-01

Considers how communication researchers have developed a solid body of knowledge in the health field but know little about the activities of public relations practitioners in public health bodies. Suggests that public relations scholarship and practice have much to offer the field of public health in helping public health bodies meet their…

Resistance in Unjust Times: Archer, Structured Agency and the Sociology of Health Inequalities.

Science.gov (United States)

Scambler, Graham

2013-02-01

Few sociologists dissent from the notion that the mid- to late 1970s witnessed a shift in capitalism's modus operandi . Its association with a rapid increase of social and material inequality is beyond dispute. This article opens with a brief summation of contemporary British trends in economic inequalities, and finds an echo of these trends in health inequalities. It is suggested that the sociology of health inequalities in Britain lacks an analysis of agency, and that such an analysis is crucial. A case is made that the recent critical realist contribution of Margaret Archer on 'internal conversations' lends itself to an understanding of agency that is salient here. The article develops her typology of internal conversations to present characterizations of the 'focused autonomous reflexives' whose mind-sets are causally efficacious for producing and reproducing inequalities, and the 'dedicated meta-reflexives' whose casts of mind might yet predispose them to mobilize resistance to inequalities.

Ethics in public health research: privacy and public health at risk: public health confidentiality in the digital age.

Science.gov (United States)

Myers, Julie; Frieden, Thomas R; Bherwani, Kamal M; Henning, Kelly J

2008-05-01

Public health agencies increasingly use electronic means to acquire, use, maintain, and store personal health information. Electronic data formats can improve performance of core public health functions, but potentially threaten privacy because they can be easily duplicated and transmitted to unauthorized people. Although such security breaches do occur, electronic data can be better secured than paper records, because authentication, authorization, auditing, and accountability can be facilitated. Public health professionals should collaborate with law and information technology colleagues to assess possible threats, implement updated policies, train staff, and develop preventive engineering measures to protect information. Tightened physical and electronic controls can prevent misuse of data, minimize the risk of security breaches, and help maintain the reputation and integrity of public health agencies.

The high-rise building. A review of sociological approaches for study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorge Vergara Vidal

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The verticalization of Chilean cities is a phenomenon that attracts the public interest and requires an understanding that exceeds the economic reasons and technical possibilities that lead to the proliferation of high buildings within them. This paper reviews in the sociological literature the treatment given to high-rise buildings with the aim of providing clues that collaborate with the social study of these architectural forms. The conclusions identify an epistemological turn that has allowed tools to link the architectural, material and technical aspects involved in high-rise buildings with the sociological analysis of these.

What is analytical sociology? Towards sociology as 'normal science'

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dekić Milovan

2013-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper I analyze the basics of analytical sociology, relatively new and in our scientific community little known intellectual movement. In the introductory part I try to identify the general causes of its occurrence. In the second part I provide its preliminary definition. In the third part I reconstruct its prehistory. In the fourth and main part I discuss the basis of its scientific program. In the final part I try to establish implications of the adoption of this program as a guide for the sociological enterprise in the future.

Sociological theories of subjective well-being

NARCIS (Netherlands)

R. Veenhoven (Ruut)

2009-01-01

textabstractSubjective well-being is no great issue in sociology; the subject is not mentioned in sociological textbooks (a notable exception is Nolan & Lenski, 2004) and is rarely discussed in sociological journals. This absence has many reasons: pragmatic, ideological, and theoretical. To begin

[Terrorism, public health and health services].

Science.gov (United States)

Arcos González, Pedro; Castro Delgado, Rafael; Cuartas Alvarez, Tatiana; Pérez-Berrocal Alonso, Jorge

2009-01-01

Today the terrorism is a problem of global distribution and increasing interest for the international public health. The terrorism related violence affects the public health and the health care services in an important way and in different scopes, among them, increase mortality, morbidity and disability, generates a context of fear and anxiety that makes the psychopathological diseases very frequent, seriously alters the operation of the health care services and produces important social, political and economic damages. These effects are, in addition, especially intense when the phenomenon takes place on a chronic way in a community. The objective of this paper is to examine the relation between terrorism and public health, focusing on its effects on public health and the health care services, as well as to examine the possible frames to face the terrorism as a public health concern, with special reference to the situation in Spain. To face this problem, both the public health systems and the health care services, would have to especially adapt their approaches and operational methods in six high-priority areas related to: (1) the coordination between the different health and non health emergency response agencies; (2) the reinforcement of the epidemiological surveillance systems; (3) the improvement of the capacities of the public health laboratories and response emergency care systems to specific types of terrorism as the chemical or biological terrorism; (3) the mental health services; (4) the planning and coordination of the emergency response of the health services; (5) the relations with the population and mass media and, finally; (6) a greater transparency in the diffusion of the information and a greater degree of analysis of the carried out health actions in the scope of the emergency response.

Teaching Sociology and Womens’ Critical Thinking

OpenAIRE

Mohammad-Ali Zaki

2013-01-01

Introduction Sociology of Teaching sociology is seen as a fresh new place to explore the importance and role of critical thinking in the sociology of education has been one of the most important issues to consider.Principles of Sociology course ample opportunities for students to develop critical thinking skills and attitudes and serves as a missionary spirit, critical thinking has suggested an alternative,Areas has brought the development of critical thinking. Learn the basics of critical...

Genetics, health care, and public policy: an introduction to public health genetics

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Stewart, Alison

2007-01-01

... initiative About this book Further reading and resources Principles of public health The emergence of public health genetics The human genome project and 'genomic medicine' Community genetics Current developments in public health genetics Genomics and global health 2 Genetic science and technology Basic molecular genetics Genes and the geno...

Goffman: contribuições para a Sociologia da Saúde Goffman: contributions to health sociology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Everardo Duarte Nunes

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Com uma obra que trouxe inegáveis contribuições, Goffman inovou a pesquisa etnográfica nos estudos socioantropológicos. Esta marca pode ser observada desde os seus primeiros trabalhos nos quais aborda a apresentação do self na vida diária, os manicômios, o estigma e são, por sinal, aqueles que mais referências receberam nos estudos sociais sobre a doença, instituições e práticas de saúde. Neste artigo são analisadas essas contribuições e a importância que tiveram para a construção da sociologia da saúde. O texto destaca alguns conceitos que se tornaram fundamentais para os estudos sociológicos da doença e do paciente, como carreira do paciente, instituição total, interação estratégica e organizações formais instrumentais.Author of a work with undeniable contributions, Goffman brought innovation to ethnographic research in socio-anthropological studies. This characteristic may be already observed in his first works - where he approaches the presentation of 'self' in daily life, asylums, and stigma -, which are those more cited in social studies about the disease, institutions and health practices. This study analyzes these contributions and their importance for the development of the field of health sociology. The text highlights some concepts considered fundamental for sociological studies on the disease and the patient, such as the patient's career, the whole institution, the strategic interaction, and instrumental formal organizations.

Sociology of the Prison Classroom: Marginalized Identities and Sociological Imaginations behind Bars

Science.gov (United States)

Parrotta, Kylie L.; Thompson, Gretchen H.

2011-01-01

The authors use sociology of the college classroom to analyze their experiences as feminists teaching sociology courses in the "unconventional setting" of prison. Reflective writing was used to chronicle experiences in the classes. They apply the concepts of doing gender, interaction order, and emotion work to the prison classroom. Based on their…

Metaphor of society (a sociological essay

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gennadii Vasil’evich Osipov

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The essay by Academician G.V. Osipov, who is the patriarch of Russian sociology, is dedicated to one of the most cognitive topics of modern sociology – identification of sociological metaphor as such and its application in research projects. This topic is avant-garde for the world sociological thought, and in Russia such kind of research is making its first steps. However, its future importance is difficult to overestimate. Sociological metaphor, if a methodology for its application is developed, can provide scientists with qualitatively new synthetic research tools. It can also bring together scientific structures and artifacts on the space of interdisciplinary and inter-subject borderland and give them qualitatively new intellectual and sensuous (system and mental technological capabilities for learning the surrounding world. The advantage of the following essay can be found in the fact that it is based on the objective analysis of the real embodiment of social metaphor in the work of art – a pictorial triptych “The Mystery of the 21st Century”. This is the first such experience in domestic sociological and artistic-painting practice. The authors of the final product are a scientist of great scientific and life experience and a young artist, who received in-depth sociological training and defended his Ph.D. in Sociology dissertation. But the main result of their collaboration is a product that combines scientific (sociological knowledge and insight and intuitive-creative artistic perception in a qualitatively new perception of the world and world outlook

Towards a public health profession

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Foldspang, Anders

2015-01-01

in the theoretical as well as the practical potential of the public health professional. Thus, he and she must be able to perform, what WHO Europe has developed as Essential Public Health Operations (EPHOs).3 This, in turn, implies that the public health professional possesses the set of intellectual (knowledge...... endorsed by WHO Europe’s member states as the basis for the public health education in Europe.5 The sections of the lists include: Public health methods; Population health and: Its social and economic determinants, and: Its material environmental determinants; Man-made interventions and systems, namely...... Health policy, health economics, organizational theory, health legislation, and public health leadership and management; Health promotion—health education, health protection, disease prevention; public health ethics. This should form the central part of the basis for all public health professionals...

Comparative education and the ?new? sociologies

Science.gov (United States)

Trusz, Andrew R.; Parks-Trusz, Sandra L.

1981-12-01

The authors examine the impact of the `new' sociologies on comparative education by reviewing five comparative readers published during the past twenty years. While the `new' sociologies have had considerable impact within sociology and the sociology of education, minimal impact is found within comparative education. The authors further show that while critical new sociologies such as Marxism, neo-Marxism, and Critical theory have had some penetration into comparative education, use of the interpretative sociologies such as symbolic interactionism, ethnomethodology, and semiotics has generally been absent. The authors conclude by suggesting that a synthesis of the critical and interpretative modes would prove fruitful for further work in comparative education. The five texts are: Halsey, Floud and Anderson (eds.), Education, Economy and Society (1961); Eckstein and Noah (eds.), Scientific Investigations in Comparative Education (1969); Beck, Perspectives on World Education (1970); Karabel and Halsey (eds.), Power and Ideology in Education (1977); and Altbach and Kelly (eds.), Education and Colonialism (1978).

Communications on hazards to the ecology, public health and the society as a result of modern technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoffmann, R.; Borgmann, M.; Wiedemann, P.; Rohrmann, B.

1988-01-01

The bibliography covers journals, books and grey literature published since 1980 to date in the field of communications research on the issue of hazards to the ecology, public health and the society as a result of modern technologies. The scientific research disciplines contributing in this context are sociology, psychology, political sciences, appropriate sectors of engineering science and scientific management. The technological subjects covered include: Nuclear energy, fossil energy sources, other energy sources, the chemical industry and pharmaceutical industry, the petrochemical industry, biological engineering, climate research, the CO 2 problem and the ozone layer, and medical aspects. (DG) [de

Pigs in Public Health

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svendsen, Mette N.

2017-01-01

of public health, made me re-evaluate both what ‘public’ and what ‘health’ means in public health. In this commentary I provide a short personal account of that intellectual journey. I argue that entanglements between species make it urgent that public health scholars investigate the moral, socio......Animals are rare topics in public health science texts and speech despite the fact that animal bodies and lives are woven into the health of human populations, and vice versa. Years of ethnographic and documentary research – following pigs and their humans in and out of biomedical research – made......-economic, material, and bacterial passages between humans and animals that constitute the various publics of public health and profoundly shape the health of human and animal populations in a globalized world....

A Life with the Sociology of Education

Science.gov (United States)

Whitty, Geoff

2012-01-01

In this article, the author talks about a life with the sociology of education. He begins by describing the "old" and "new" sociologies of education. Then, he discusses the sociology of education policy and the relevance of Basil Bernstein, who remained the dominant presence within the sociology of education in the UK until his…

Advancing Transdisciplinary and Translational Research Practice: Issues and Models of Doctoral Education in Public Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Linda Neuhauser

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Finding solutions to complex health problems, such as obesity, violence, and climate change, will require radical changes in cross-disciplinary education, research, and practice. The fundamental determinants of health include many interrelated factors such as poverty, culture, education, environment, and government policies. However, traditional public health training has tended to focus more narrowly on diseases and risk factors, and has not adequately leveraged the rich contributions of sociology, anthropology, economics, geography, communication, political science, and other disciplines. Further, students are often not sufficiently trained to work across sectors to translate research findings into effective, large-scale sustainable actions.During the past 2 decades, national and international organizations have called for more effective interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and translational approaches to graduate education. Although it has been difficult to work across traditional academic boundaries, some promising models draw on pedagogical theory and feature cross-disciplinary training focused on real-world problems, linkage between research, professional practice, community action, and cultivation of leadership skills.We describe the development the Doctor of Public Health program at the University of California, Berkeley, USA and its efforts to improve transdisciplinary and translational research education. We stress the need for international collaboration to improve educational approaches and better evaluate their impact.

Methodological pluralism and structure of sociological theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. L. Polyakova

2015-01-01

Full Text Available In the paper the historical-sociological analysis is used as a means to show the differences between theoretical and empirical sociology. There exist several, basic traditions in theoretical sociology. The investigation of their competing theoretical and methodological principles carried out in the paper; identify some fundamental features of sociological theory as a whole.

Does the Center Hold? Reflections on a Sociological Core

Science.gov (United States)

Ballantine, Jeanne; Greenwood, Nancy; Howard, Jay R.; Kain, Edward L.; Pike, Diane; Schwartz, Michael; Smith, R. Tyson; Zipp, John F.

2016-01-01

Is there a distinct disciplinary core (or foundation of agreed on knowledge) in sociology? Should we define a core in our broad field to build consensus? If so, what should it look like? We address these questions by presenting three viewpoints that lean for and against identifying a core for department curricula, students, and the public face of…

Profile of Public Health Leadership.

Science.gov (United States)

Little, Ruth Gaskins; Greer, Annette; Clay, Maria; McFadden, Cheryl

2016-01-01

Public health leaders play pivotal roles in ensuring the population health for our nation. Since 2000, the number of schools of public health has almost doubled. The scholarly credentials for leaders of public health in academic and practice are important, as they make decisions that shape the future public health workforce and important public health policies. This research brief describes the educational degrees of deans of schools of public health and state health directors, as well as their demographic profiles, providing important information for future public health leadership planning. Data were extracted from a database containing information obtained from multiple Web sites including academic institution Web sites and state government Web sites. Variables describe 2 sets of public health leaders: academic deans of schools of public health and state health directors. Deans of schools of public health were 73% males and 27% females; the PhD degree was held by 40% deans, and the MD degree by 33% deans. Seventy percent of deans obtained their terminal degree more than 35 years ago. State health directors were 60% males and 40% females. Sixty percent of state health directors had an MD degree, 4% a PhD degree, and 26% no terminal degree at all. Sixty-four percent of state health directors received their terminal degree more than 25 years ago. In addition to terminal degrees, 56% of deans and 40% of state health directors held MPH degrees. The findings call into question competencies needed by future public health professionals and leadership and the need to clarify further the level of public health training and degree type that should be required for leadership qualifications in public health.

Sociology of Hidden Curriculum

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alireza Moradi

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This paper reviews the concept of hidden curriculum in the sociological theories and wants to explain sociological aspects of formation of hidden curriculum. The main question concentrates on the theoretical approaches in which hidden curriculum is explained sociologically.For this purpose it was applied qualitative research methodology. The relevant data include various sociological concepts and theories of hidden curriculum collected by the documentary method. The study showed a set of rules, procedures, relationships and social structure of education have decisive role in the formation of hidden curriculum. A hidden curriculum reinforces by existed inequalities among learners (based on their social classes or statues. There is, in fact, a balance between the learner's "knowledge receptions" with their "inequality proportion".The hidden curriculum studies from different major sociological theories such as Functionalism, Marxism and critical theory, Symbolic internationalism and Feminism. According to the functionalist perspective a hidden curriculum has a social function because it transmits social values. Marxists and critical thinkers correlate between hidden curriculum and the totality of social structure. They depicts that curriculum prepares learners for the exploitation in the work markets. Symbolic internationalism rejects absolute hegemony of hidden curriculum on education and looks to the socialization as a result of interaction between learner and instructor. Feminism theory also considers hidden curriculum as a vehicle which legitimates gender stereotypes.

Public Health Departments

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Homeland Security — State and Local Public Health Departments in the United States Governmental public health departments are responsible for creating and maintaining conditions that...

Principles of Sociology in Systems Engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Watson, Michael D.; Andrews, James G.; Larsen, Jordan A.

2017-01-01

Systems engineering involves both the integration of the system and the integration of the disciplines which develop and operate the system. Integrating the disciplines is a sociological effort to bring together different groups, often with different terminology, to achieve a common goal, the system. The focus for the systems engineer is information flow through the organization, between the disciplines, to ensure the system is developed and operated with all relevant information informing system decisions. Robert K. Merton studied the sociological principles of the sciences and the sociological principles he developed apply to systems engineering. Concepts such as specification of ignorance, common terminology, opportunity structures, role-sets, and the reclama (reconsideration) process are all important sociological approaches that should be employed by the systems engineer. In bringing the disciplines together, the systems engineer must also be wary of social ambivalence, social anomie, social dysfunction, insider-outsider behavior, unintended consequences, and the self-fulfilling prophecy. These sociological principles provide the systems engineer with key approaches to manage the information flow through the organization as the disciplines are integrated and share their information. This also helps identify key sociological barriers to information flow through the organization. This paper will discuss this theoretical basis for the application of sociological principles to systems engineering.

Social History and Historical Sociology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wolfgang Knöbl

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with exchanges and misunderstandings between the German school of social history (most prominently represented by scholars from the University of Bielefeld (such as Hans-Ulrich Wehler and Anglo-American trends in historical sociology (exemplified by the works of Barrington Moore, Theda Skocpol and Michael Mann. The social historians tended to dismiss historical sociology as too dependent on modernization theory, without taking into account the critique of that tradition by authors who brought processes of state formation and revolutionary change into the debate. On the other side, mainstream historical sociology worked with assumptions that limited its ability to change the terms and directions of sociological discourse, and to assimilate lessons from history. Among these inbuilt biases, organizational realism and materialism – particularly pronounced in the work of Michael Mann – stand out as particularly important. The paper closes with arguments in favour of bringing more history into historical sociology, with particular emphasis on three sets of problems. There is a need for more historical approaches to differentiation, less dependent on functionalist premises than the hitherto prevalent paradigm. A more explicit thematization of temporality in history and society would, among other things, help to clarify issues linked to the notion of path dependency. Finally, a reconsideration of the models and types of explanation in historical sociology would place more emphasis on their interpretive dimension.

Social History and Historical Sociology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wolfgang Knöbl

2013-06-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with exchanges and misunderstandings between the German school of social history (most prominently represented by scholars from the University of Bielefeld (such as Hans-Ulrich Wehler and Anglo-American trends in historical sociology (exemplified by the works of Barrington Moore, Theda Skocpol and Michael Mann. The social historians tended to dismiss historical sociology as too dependent on modernization theory, without taking into account the critique of that tradition by authors who brought processes of state formation and revolutionary change into the debate. On the other side, mainstream historical sociology worked with assumptions that limited its ability to change the terms and directions of sociological discourse, and to assimilate lessons from history. Among these inbuilt biases, organizational realism and materialism - particularly pronounced in the work of Michael Mann - stand out as particularly important. The paper closes with arguments in favour of bringing more history into historical sociology, with particular emphasis on three sets of problems. There is a need for more historical approaches to differentiation, less dependent on functionalist premises than the hitherto prevalent paradigm. A more explicit thematization of temporality in history and society would, among other things, help to clarify issues linked to the notion of path dependency. Finally, a reconsideration of the models and types of explanation in historical sociology would place more emphasis on their interpretive dimension.

The Public Health Innovation Model: Merging Private Sector Processes with Public Health Strengths.

Science.gov (United States)

Lister, Cameron; Payne, Hannah; Hanson, Carl L; Barnes, Michael D; Davis, Siena F; Manwaring, Todd

2017-01-01

Public health enjoyed a number of successes over the twentieth century. However, public health agencies have arguably been ill equipped to sustain these successes and address the complex threats we face today, including morbidity and mortality associated with persistent chronic diseases and emerging infectious diseases, in the context of flat funding and new and changing health care legislation. Transformational leaders, who are not afraid of taking risks to develop innovative approaches to combat present-day threats, are needed within public health agencies. We propose the Public Health Innovation Model (PHIM) as a tool for public health leaders who wish to integrate innovation into public health practice. This model merges traditional public health program planning models with innovation principles adapted from the private sector, including design thinking, seeking funding from private sector entities, and more strongly emphasizing program outcomes. We also discuss principles that leaders should consider adopting when transitioning to the PHIM, including cross-collaboration, community buy-in, human-centered assessment, autonomy and creativity, rapid experimentation and prototyping, and accountability to outcomes.

The Public Health Innovation Model: Merging Private Sector Processes with Public Health Strengths

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cameron Lister

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Public health enjoyed a number of successes over the twentieth century. However, public health agencies have arguably been ill equipped to sustain these successes and address the complex threats we face today, including morbidity and mortality associated with persistent chronic diseases and emerging infectious diseases, in the context of flat funding and new and changing health care legislation. Transformational leaders, who are not afraid of taking risks to develop innovative approaches to combat present-day threats, are needed within public health agencies. We propose the Public Health Innovation Model (PHIM as a tool for public health leaders who wish to integrate innovation into public health practice. This model merges traditional public health program planning models with innovation principles adapted from the private sector, including design thinking, seeking funding from private sector entities, and more strongly emphasizing program outcomes. We also discuss principles that leaders should consider adopting when transitioning to the PHIM, including cross-collaboration, community buy-in, human-centered assessment, autonomy and creativity, rapid experimentation and prototyping, and accountability to outcomes.

Feminism and public health nursing: partners for health.

Science.gov (United States)

Leipert, B D

2001-01-01

It is a well-known fact that nursing and feminism have enjoyed an uneasy alliance. In recent years, however, nursing has begun to recognize the importance of feminism. Nevertheless, the literature still rarely addresses the relevance of feminism for public health nursing. In this article, I articulate the relevance of feminism for public health nursing knowledge and practice. First, I define and describe feminism and public health nursing and then I discuss the importance of feminism for public health nursing practice. The importance of feminism for the metaparadigm concepts of public health nursing is then reviewed. Finally, I examine several existing challenges relating to feminism and public health nursing research, education, and practice. The thesis of this article is that feminism is vitally important for the development of public health nursing and for public health care.

Meta-Analysis for Sociology – A Measure-Driven Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Roelfs, David J.; Shor, Eran; Falzon, Louise; Davidson, Karina W.; Schwartz, Joseph E.

2013-01-01

Meta-analytic methods are becoming increasingly important in sociological research. In this article we present an approach for meta-analysis which is especially helpful for sociologists. Conventional approaches to meta-analysis often prioritize “concept-driven” literature searches. However, in disciplines with high theoretical diversity, such as sociology, this search approach might constrain the researcher’s ability to fully exploit the entire body of relevant work. We explicate a “measure-driven” approach, in which iterative searches and new computerized search techniques are used to increase the range of publications found (and thus the range of possible analyses) and to traverse time and disciplinary boundaries. We demonstrate this measure-driven search approach with two meta-analytic projects, examining the effects of various social variables on all-cause mortality. PMID:24163498

What can we learn on public accountability from non-health disciplines: a meta-narrative review.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Belle, Sara; Mayhew, Susannah H

2016-07-07

In health, accountability has since long been acknowledged as a central issue, but it remains an elusive concept. The literature on accountability spans various disciplines and research traditions, with differing interpretations. There has been little transfer of ideas and concepts from other disciplines to public health and global health. In the frame of a study of accountability of (international) non-governmental organisations in local health systems, we carried out a meta-narrative review to address this gap. Our research questions were: (1) What are the main approaches to accountability in the selected research traditions? (2) How is accountability defined? (3) Which current accountability approaches are relevant for the organisation and regulation of local health systems and its multiple actors? The search covered peer-reviewed journals, monographs and readers published between 1992 and 2012 from political science, public administration, organisational sociology, ethics and development studies. 34 papers were selected and analysed. Our review confirms the wide range of approaches to the conceptualisation of accountability. The definition of accountability used by the authors allows the categorisation of these approaches into four groups: the institutionalist, rights-based, individual choice and collective action group. These four approaches can be considered to be complementary. We argue that in order to effectively achieve public accountability, accountability strategies are to be complementary and synergistic. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Sociological interpretation of social problems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. V. Katsora

2015-04-01

The article considers such sociological approaches to social problems as social pathology, social disorganization, functional and critical approaches, the approach of value conflict, constructionsite approach and the approach of «labelling». Each approach has its own peculiarities of consideration of social problems, that is related with the historical period in which it arose and settled down, and the views of members of a particular sociological approach to social problems. Also, the article discusses the main advantages and disadvantages of sociological approaches to dealing the social problems.

Critical Nexus or Pluralist Discipline? Institutional Ambivalence and the Future of Canadian Sociology.

Science.gov (United States)

Puddephatt, Antony J; McLaughlin, Neil

2015-08-01

While some scholars believe in a transdisciplinary future for the social sciences and humanities, we argue that sociology would do well to maintain its disciplinary borders, while celebrating the plurality of its intellectual, social, and political content. Although a pluralist position can threaten disciplinary coherence and increase fragmentation, we argue the counterbalance ought to be convergence around shared institutional norms of knowledge production. Establishing these norms is not easy, since there is a great deal of institutional ambivalence at play in the field of sociology. As such, sociology is pushed and pulled between two poles of at least four major continuums of knowledge production, which include the following: (1) interdisciplinary versus discipline-based research; (2) political versus analytical scholarship; (3) professional versus public/policy sociology; and (4) local/national versus global audiences. Since both sides of these ideal-typical continuums contain their own pathologies, we propose adopting a balanced position to correct for the shortcomings of each. Rather than imposing one philosophical or theoretical paradigm for the field, we suggest that embracing the "chaos" of our diverse forms of knowledge and centralizing and integrating findings will serve to strengthen our collective efforts in the long term. © 2015 Canadian Sociological Association/La Société canadienne de sociologie.

Love, from a sociological point of view

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chiara Piazzesi

2015-08-01

Full Text Available What does it mean to examine erotic love and intimacy from a sociological point of view? Does this endeavour entail a definition of love, and, if so, is such a definition possible from a sociological perspective? This paper discusses the epistemological challenges implied by the task of constructing love as the object of sociological inquiry. We will start by giving a definition of the task itself and by detailing the peculiarities of a sociological inquiry on love. We will point out why it is imperative for such an inquiry to remain open to the historicity of love as an emotion and as a form of interaction. Finally we will explore love as the object of a sociological investigation in order to spell out what becomes visible to the sociological eye once the correct epistemological precautions are taken.

Nuclear power and the public good

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tombs, F.

1977-01-01

Energy sources are considered from different points of view, including technical, economic, sociological and environmental. The contribution that can be made by nuclear power is discussed. Various aspects reviewed are: consequences of continued use of fossil fuels, energy conservation, alternative energy sources, world energy needs, health and safety of various energy systems, terrorist activities and security measures, waste disposal, nuclear weapons proliferation, public relations. (U.K.)

The next public health revolution: public health information fusion and social networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Ali S; Fleischauer, Aaron; Casani, Julie; Groseclose, Samuel L

2010-07-01

Social, political, and economic disruptions caused by natural and human-caused public health emergencies have catalyzed public health efforts to expand the scope of biosurveillance and increase the timeliness, quality, and comprehensiveness of disease detection, alerting, response, and prediction. Unfortunately, efforts to acquire, render, and visualize the diversity of health intelligence information are hindered by its wide distribution across disparate fields, multiple levels of government, and the complex interagency environment. Achieving this new level of situation awareness within public health will require a fundamental cultural shift in methods of acquiring, analyzing, and disseminating information. The notion of information "fusion" may provide opportunities to expand data access, analysis, and information exchange to better inform public health action.

Feminism and public health ethics.

Science.gov (United States)

Rogers, W A

2006-06-01

This paper sketches an account of public health ethics drawing upon established scholarship in feminist ethics. Health inequities are one of the central problems in public health ethics; a feminist approach leads us to examine not only the connections between gender, disadvantage, and health, but also the distribution of power in the processes of public health, from policy making through to programme delivery. The complexity of public health demands investigation using multiple perspectives and an attention to detail that is capable of identifying the health issues that are important to women, and investigating ways to address these issues. Finally, a feminist account of public health ethics embraces rather than avoids the inescapable political dimensions of public health.

Public health and Plowshare

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Terrill, Jr, J G [Consumer Protection and Environmental Health Service, U.S. PubIic Health Service, Washington, DC (United States)

1969-07-01

The protection of public health and safety is a principal area of concern in any application of nuclear energy. A health and safety analysis must be conducted and reviewed by appropriate agencies and the final results made available to interested agencies and groups, both public and private, prior to the application. This is especially important for the Plowshare Program - the peaceful uses of nuclear explosives - where the public is to be the ultimate beneficiary. Because public health must be a primary concern in the Plowshare Program, it is essential that the potential risk be weighed against the expected benefits to the public. Public health agencies must play an increasingly important role in the planning and operational stages of the peaceful applications of nuclear explosives and in the final stage of consumer use of Plowshare-generated products. There are many long term and long distance ramifications of the Plowshare Program, such a the potential radiological contamination of consumer products that may reach the consumer at long times after the event or at great distances from the site of the event. Criteria for evaluating public exposure to radiation from these products need to be developed based on sound scientific research. Standards for radioactivity in consumer products must be developed in relation to potential exposure of the public. Above all, a clear benefit to the public with a minimum of risk must be shown. The major purpose of this Symposium on the Public Health Aspects of Peaceful Uses of Nuclear-Explosives is to focus attention on the health and safety aspects, present the results of safety analyses accomplished to date and other information necessary to an understanding of the public health aspects, and to identify areas where additional research is required. A general overview of the total symposium content is presented with emphasis on the relationship of the topics to public health. (author)

Public health and Plowshare

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Terrill, J.G. Jr.

1969-01-01

The protection of public health and safety is a principal area of concern in any application of nuclear energy. A health and safety analysis must be conducted and reviewed by appropriate agencies and the final results made available to interested agencies and groups, both public and private, prior to the application. This is especially important for the Plowshare Program - the peaceful uses of nuclear explosives - where the public is to be the ultimate beneficiary. Because public health must be a primary concern in the Plowshare Program, it is essential that the potential risk be weighed against the expected benefits to the public. Public health agencies must play an increasingly important role in the planning and operational stages of the peaceful applications of nuclear explosives and in the final stage of consumer use of Plowshare-generated products. There are many long term and long distance ramifications of the Plowshare Program, such a the potential radiological contamination of consumer products that may reach the consumer at long times after the event or at great distances from the site of the event. Criteria for evaluating public exposure to radiation from these products need to be developed based on sound scientific research. Standards for radioactivity in consumer products must be developed in relation to potential exposure of the public. Above all, a clear benefit to the public with a minimum of risk must be shown. The major purpose of this Symposium on the Public Health Aspects of Peaceful Uses of Nuclear-Explosives is to focus attention on the health and safety aspects, present the results of safety analyses accomplished to date and other information necessary to an understanding of the public health aspects, and to identify areas where additional research is required. A general overview of the total symposium content is presented with emphasis on the relationship of the topics to public health. (author)

Sociological Discourse(s) on Freedom

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bertilsson, Margareta

The concept of freedom is often thought of as antithetical to sociology. The discipline is more prone to detect and unveil forms of unfreedom, as Zygmunt Bauman (1988) has pointed out. The question remains if any academic discipline, however, including sociology can do away with the concept...... of freedom al together! In matters of science, the problem of determinism vs. chance and spontaneity is essential. Hence, freedom, in one sense or the other, is necessarily at bottom also of sociological discourse. This text is an attempt to map the predominant forms of freedom found in sociological...... discourses. While starting out with the classic liberal concept informing theories of modernity followed by the various critiques directed against liberalism, not the least the most recently occurring (Lyotard, Agamben), the aim here is to spot possible trajectories in our comprehension of freedom, also...

Gambling and the Health of the Public: Adopting a Public Health Perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Korn, David A.; Shaffer, Howard J.

1999-01-01

During the last decade there has been an unprecedented expansion of legalized gambling throughout North America. Three primary forces appear to be motivating this growth: (1) the desire of governments to identify new sources of revenue without invoking new or higher taxes; (2) tourism entrepreneurs developing new destinations for entertainment and leisure; and (3) the rise of new technologies and forms of gambling (e.g., video lottery terminals, powerball mega-lotteries, and computer offshore gambling). Associated with this phenomenon, there has been an increase in the prevalence of problem and pathological gambling among the general adult population, as well as a sustained high level of gambling-related problems among youth. To date there has been little dialogue within the public health sector in particular, or among health care practitioners in general, about the potential health impact of gambling or gambling-related problems. This article encourages the adoption of a public health perspective towards gambling. More specifically, this discussion has four primary objectives:1. Create awareness among health professionals about gambling, its rapid expansion and its relationship with the health care system;2. Place gambling within a public health framework by examining it from several perspectives, including population health, human ecology and addictive behaviors;3. Outline the major public health issues about how gambling can affect individuals, families and communities;4. Propose an agenda for strengthening policy, prevention and treatment practices through greater public health involvement, using the framework of The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion as a guide.By understanding gambling and its potential impacts on the public's health, policy makers and health practitioners can minimize gambling's negative impacts and appreciate its potential benefits.

Sociología y alimentación

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Díaz Méndez, Cecilia

2005-04-01

Full Text Available This work presents briefly the relationship between sociology and food matters. In the first place, we point out some of the reasons by which we might explain why sociology has only lately started to systematically tackle this aspect of social life and we also point out what conditions have brought about this recent interest of this discipline in food. Secondly, we include an outline of the attention paid to food by some of the most important sociology scholars. Then we present an outline of the main theories underlying food sociology (and anthropology and we end up with a proposal to define the field of food sociology, starting from the analysis of the content of some of the most important current works on the sociology of food.

En este trabajo, se exponen las relaciones entre la sociología y el fenómeno alimentario. En primer lugar, se apuntan algunas de las razones que podrían explicar el retraso con que la sociología se ha ocupado de forma sistemática de este ámbito de la vida social y las condiciones que han despertado el interés reciente de esta disciplina por el fenómeno alimentario. En segundo lugar, se presenta un esquema de la atención prestada por los clásicos de la sociología a la alimentación, de modo que se pueda contrastar la naturaleza de esta atención con el análisis sociológico actual. En tercer lugar, se presenta un esquema de las principales orientaciones teóricas que han marcado la sociología (y la antropología de la alimentación, para terminar con una propuesta de definición del campo de la sociología de la alimentación a partir de la consideración de los contenidos de algunos textos actuales de este campo de estudio.

Development of an online tool for public health: the European Public Health Law Network.

Science.gov (United States)

Basak, P

2011-09-01

The European Public Health Law Network was established in 2007 as part of the European Union (EU) co-funded Public Health Law Flu project. The aims of the website consisted of designing an interactive network of specialist information and encouraging an exchange of expertise amongst members. The website sought to appeal to academics, public health professionals and lawyers. The Public Health Law Flu project team designed and managed the website. Registered network members were recruited through publicity, advertising and word of mouth. Details of the network were sent to health organizations and universities throughout Europe. Corresponding website links attracted many new visitors. Publications, news, events and a pandemic glossary became popular features on the site. Although the website initially focused only on pandemic diseases it has grown into a multidisciplinary website covering a range of public health law topics. The network contains over 700 publications divided into 28 public health law categories. News, events, front page content, legislation and the francophone section are updated on a regular basis. Since 2007 the website has received over 15,000 views from 156 countries. Newsletter subscribers have risen to 304. There are now 723 followers on the associated Twitter site. The European Public Health Law Network has been a successful and innovative site in the area of public health law. Interest in the site continues to grow. Future funding can contribute to a bigger site with interactive features and pages in a wider variety of languages to attract a wider global audience. Copyright © 2011 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Integrated Sociology Program Assessment: Inclusion of a Senior Portfolio Graduation Requirement

Science.gov (United States)

Crockett, Jason L.; Fu, Albert S.; Greenwood, Joleen L.; John, Mauricia A.

2018-01-01

This article presents information about the planning, implementation, and findings of an assessment-based student portfolio designed by the faculty of a sociology program at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, a midsized public regional liberal arts institution. First, we briefly present the rationale for implementing a portfolio system and the…

Public health and peace.

Science.gov (United States)

Laaser, Ulrich; Donev, Donco; Bjegović, Vesna; Sarolli, Ylli

2002-04-01

The modern concept of public health, the New Public Health, carries a great potential for healthy and therefore less aggressive societies. Its core disciplines are health promotion, environmental health, and health care management based on advanced epidemiological methodologies. The main principles of living together in healthy societies can be summarized as four ethical concepts of the New Public Health essential to violence reduction equity, participation, subsidiarity, and sustainability. The following issues are discussed as violence determinants: the process of urbanization; type of neighborhood and accommodation, and consequent stigmatization; level of education; employment status; socialization of the family; women's status; alcohol and drug consumption; availability of the firearms; religious, ethnic, and racial prejudices; and poverty. Development of the health systems has to contribute to peace, since aggression, violence, and warfare are among the greatest risks for health and the economic welfare. This contribution can be described as follows: 1) full and indiscriminate access to all necessary services, 2) monitoring of their quality, 3) providing special support to vulnerable groups, and 4) constant scientific and public accountability of the evaluation of the epidemiological outcome. Violence can also destroy solidarity and social cohesion of groups, such as family, team, neighborhood, or any other social organization. Durkheim coined the term anomie for a state in which social disruption of the community results in health risks for individuals. Health professionals can make a threefold contribution to peace by 1) analyzing the causal interrelationships of violence phenomena, 2) curbing the determinants of violence according to the professional standards, and 3) training professionals for this increasingly important task. Because tolerance is an essential part of an amended definition of health, monitoring of the early signs of public intolerance is

Public Health's Falling Share of US Health Spending.

Science.gov (United States)

Himmelstein, David U; Woolhandler, Steffie

2016-01-01

We examined trends in US public health expenditures by analyzing historical and projected National Health Expenditure Accounts data. Per-capita public health spending (inflation-adjusted) rose from $39 in 1960 to $281 in 2008, and has fallen by 9.3% since then. Public health's share of total health expenditures rose from 1.36% in 1960 to 3.18% in 2002, then fell to 2.65% in 2014; it is projected to fall to 2.40% in 2023. Public health spending has declined, potentially undermining prevention and weakening responses to health inequalities and new health threats.

Cooperation between medicine and sociology in head and neck oncology.

Science.gov (United States)

Babin, Emmanuel; Grandazzi, Guillaume

2014-05-01

Twenty-first-century medicine is facing many challenges--knowledge and command of technical advances, research development, team management, knowledge transmission, and adaptation to economic constraints--without neglecting "human" aspects, via transformed carer-patient relationships, social change, and so on. The "modern" physicians know that simply treating disease is no longer enough. One of their essential missions lies in offering the individual patient overall care, which implies acknowledging the latter as an individual within a family, social, and professional environment. Indeed, medical practice requires pluridimensional knowledge of the patients' experience of their disease. Yet the contribution sociology can offer to health care remains largely unknown to many physicians, and medical training includes only limited instruction in the human sciences. On the basis of a few observations taken from sociological research, we would like to demonstrate how, in head and neck oncology, interdisciplinary collaboration between medicine and sociology can prove propitious to improving patient care and attention to their close relations.

Sociology as Moral Philosophy (and Vice Versa).

Science.gov (United States)

Vandenberghe, Frédéric

2017-11-01

In this article, I want to make an attempt to reconnect sociology to moral philosophy and moral philosophy to sociology. The thesis I want to defend is that sociology continues by other means the venerable tradition of practical and moral philosophy. Like its forebears, it stands and falls with a defense of "practical wisdom" (Aristotle) and "practical reason" (Kant). The development of a moral sociology presupposes, however, that one recognizes and rejects Max Weber's theory of axiological neutrality as an extremist position and that one carefully articulates prescriptive and descriptive, internal and external, as well as observer and actor positions. © 2017 Canadian Sociological Association/La Société canadienne de sociologie.

First Contact: Teaching and Learning in Introductory Sociology

Science.gov (United States)

Greenwood, Nancy A.

2011-01-01

The Introduction to Sociology course is usually the first contact that students have with the discipline of sociology. This course can determine whether students take other sociology courses or learn to use sociology in their lives as adults and citizens. "First Contact" identifies important issues facing instructors in introducing students to the…

Why, Where, and How to Infuse the Atlanta Sociological Laboratory into the Sociology Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, Earl, II

2012-01-01

The Atlanta Sociological Laboratory is the moniker bestowed on scholars engaged in sociological research at Atlanta University between 1895 and 1924. Under the leadership of W. E. B. Du Bois, 1897-1914, this school made substantive yet marginalized contributions to the discipline. Its accomplishments include, but are not limited to, its…

Transportation and public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Litman, Todd

2013-01-01

This article investigates various ways that transportation policy and planning decisions affect public health and better ways to incorporate public health objectives into transport planning. Conventional planning tends to consider some public health impacts, such as crash risk and pollution emissions measured per vehicle-kilometer, but generally ignores health problems resulting from less active transport (reduced walking and cycling activity) and the additional crashes and pollution caused by increased vehicle mileage. As a result, transport agencies tend to undervalue strategies that increase transport system diversity and reduce vehicle travel. This article identifies various win-win strategies that can help improve public health and other planning objectives.

Public health systems under attack in Canada: Evidence on public health system performance challenges arbitrary reform.

Science.gov (United States)

Guyon, Ak'ingabe; Perreault, Robert

2016-10-20

Public health is currently being weakened in several Canadian jurisdictions. Unprecedented and arbitrary cuts to the public health budget in Quebec in 2015 were a striking example of this. In order to support public health leaders and citizens in their capacity to advocate for evidence-informed public health reforms, we propose a knowledge synthesis of elements of public health systems that are significantly associated with improved performance. Research consistently and significantly associates four elements of public health systems with improved productivity: 1) increased financial resources, 2) increased staffing per capita, 3) population size between 50,000 and 500,000, and 4) specific evidence-based organizational and administrative features. Furthermore, increased financial resources and increased staffing per capita are significantly associated with improved population health outcomes. We contend that any effort at optimization of public health systems should at least be guided by these four evidence-informed factors. Canada already has existing capacity in carrying out public health systems and services research. Further advancement of our academic and professional expertise on public health systems will allow Canadian public health jurisdictions to be inspired by the best public health models and become stronger advocates for public health's resources, interventions and outcomes when they need to be celebrated or defended.

Population morbidity in the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant observation zone as an integral part of public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Khomenko, I M; Zakladna, N V; Orlova, N M

2017-12-01

To evaluate the health status of adult population living in the Ukrainian nuclear power industry obser vation zone on the example of Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. System review, analytic, sociological survey and statistical methods. There was established an increase in the incidence of digestive diseases among adult population in Nikopol of Dnipropetrovsk region, which is included in the Zaporizhzhia NPP observation zone. The highest increase was observed in the incidence of peptic ulcer, gastritis and duodenitis, cholecystitis and cholangitis by 340 %, 305 % and 83 %, respectively. In connection with the residence in industrially developed region and NPP life extension in Ukraine, the possible influence of harmful factors on health status of the population of observation zones, an increase in the incidence of digestive diseases among adult population, there is required continuous monitoring and detailed study of public health. I. M. Khomenko, N. V. Zakladna, N. M. Orlova.

Young smokers' narratives: public health, disadvantage and structural violence.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Sue; Russell, Andrew

2013-06-01

This research article on youth smoking in disadvantaged communities is the product of a qualitative study to understand the issues faced by young smokers--and those trying not to be smokers--in such communities. Environmental factors and peer influence are widely recognised influences on adolescents' take-up and continuation of smoking but less is known about whether, what, how and why circumstances in disadvantaged communities affect young people's pathways towards and away from smoking. Focusing on a youth club in a disadvantaged neighbourhood in the North East of England, narratives about young people's relationships with tobacco provide an ethnographically rich, thick description of the experiences of a group that is too often easily ignored. We argue that young people are caught between competing domains that together exert a form of structural violence. These are, first, the economic and political structures that have overseen de-industrialisation; second, the media structures that create desire for what they cannot afford; third the structures of international organised crime that conspire to provide them with the means to consume from which 'legitimate' structures effectively exclude them. Rather than expecting young people to comply with the health imperative, interventions need to bridge issues of agency and critical consciousness, which structural violence otherwise insidiously erodes. © 2013 The Authors. Sociology of Health & Illness © 2013 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Toward a Sociology of Oceans.

Science.gov (United States)

Hannigan, John

2017-02-01

Despite covering around 70 percent of the earth's surface, the ocean has long been ignored by sociology or treated as merely an extension of land-based systems. Increasingly, however, oceans are assuming a higher profile, emerging both as a new resource frontier, a medium for geopolitical rivalry and conflict, and a unique and threatened ecological hot spot. In this article, I propose a new sociological specialty area, the "sociology of oceans" to be situated at the interface between environmental sociology and traditional maritime studies. After reviewing existing sociological research on maritime topics and the consideration of (or lack of consideration) the sea by classic sociological theorists, I briefly discuss several contemporary sociological approaches to the ocean that have attracted some notice. In the final section of the paper, I make the case for a distinct sociology of oceans and briefly sketch what this might look like. One possible trajectory for creating a shared vision or common paradigm, I argue, is to draw on Deleuze and Guattari's dialectical theory of the smooth and the striated. Même s'il couvre 70% de la surface de la Terre, l'océan a été longtemps ignoré en sociologie ou traité comme une extension des systèmes terrestres. De plus en plus, toutefois, l'océan retient l'attention, en étant vu comme une nouvelle frontière en termes de ressources, un médium pour les rivalités et les conflits géopolitiques, et un lieu écologique névralgique et unique. Dans cet article, je propose une nouvelle spécialisation sociologique, la 'sociologie des océans', se situant dans l'interface entre la sociologie environnementale et les études maritimes traditionnelles. Après une recension de la recherche sociologique existante sur les sujets maritimes et la prise en compte (ou l'absence de prise en compte) de l'océan par les théoriciens de la sociologie classique, je discute brièvement quelques approches sociologiques contemporaines de l

Transitions in state public health law: comparative analysis of state public health law reform following the Turning Point Model State Public Health Act.

Science.gov (United States)

Meier, Benjamin Mason; Hodge, James G; Gebbie, Kristine M

2009-03-01

Given the public health importance of law modernization, we undertook a comparative analysis of policy efforts in 4 states (Alaska, South Carolina, Wisconsin, and Nebraska) that have considered public health law reform based on the Turning Point Model State Public Health Act. Through national legislative tracking and state case studies, we investigated how the Turning Point Act's model legal language has been considered for incorporation into state law and analyzed key facilitating and inhibiting factors for public health law reform. Our findings provide the practice community with a research base to facilitate further law reform and inform future scholarship on the role of law as a determinant of the public's health.

Can the sociology of social problems help us to understand and manage 'lifestyle drift'?

Science.gov (United States)

Carey, Gemma; Malbon, Eleanor; Crammond, Brad; Pescud, Melanie; Baker, Philip

2017-08-01

Lifestyle drift is increasingly seen as a barrier to broad action on the social determinants of health. The term is currently used in the population health literature to describe how broad policy initiatives for tackling inequalities in health that start off with social determinants (upstream) approach drift downstream to largely individual lifestyle factors, as well as the general trend of investing a the individual level. Lifestyle drift occurs despite the on-going efforts of public health advocates, such as anti-obesity campaigners, to draw attention to the social factors which shape health behavior and outcomes. In this article, we explore whether the sociology of social problems can help understand lifestyle drift in the context of obesity. Specifically, we apply Jamrozik and Nocella's residualist conversion model to the problem of obesity in order to explore whether such an approach can provide greater insight into the processes that underpin lifestyle drift and inform our attempts to mitigate it. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Greens, suits, and bureaucrats: A sociological study of dynamic organizational relationships in energy efficient appliance policy

Science.gov (United States)

Shwom-Evelich, Rachael Leah

In this dissertation I develop an approach to understanding dynamic organizational relations and the processes of environmental degradation and reform. To do this, I draw on environmental and organizational sociology to inform an empirical study of interorganizational relationships in defining and promoting energy efficient appliances in the United States (US). The dissertation follows a three paper approach which involves (a) an overall introduction to the substantive issue of appliance energy efficiency in the US; (b) producing three separate and stand alone articles of publishable quality to be submitted to professional journals; and (c) an overall conclusion. The three articles are as follows: (1) a synthetic literature review identifying five lessons that organizational sociology and environmental sociology can learn from each other to advance our sociological understanding of organizations, energy issues, and climate change (2) a qualitative case study of the changing relationships between business, government and environmental and energy advocacy organizations around mandatory appliance efficiency standards supporting the development of a context-dependent theory of ecological modernization and treadmill of production theories in environmental sociology and (3) a network analysis of public government, business and energy efficiency advocate's interorganizational relationships and its influence on subsequent organizational behaviors in the appliance energy efficiency field. The second and third articles are based on extensive archival research on organizational negotiations of public record over defining energy efficient appliances in both regulatory and voluntary settings. Finally I will provide an overall conclusion that brings together the most significant findings of each individual article in anticipation of a synthetic approach to the study of organizations in environmental reform.

Teaching Sociology through Student Portfolios

Science.gov (United States)

Trepagnier, Barbara

2004-01-01

After several years of teaching Sociological Thought--an upper division course that focuses on classical, modern, and contemporary sociological theories--the author came across the idea of student portfolios. As a consequence, the course has undergone far-reaching changes. The content remains relatively intact; however, today the theory course…

Gangs and a global sociological imagination.

Science.gov (United States)

Fraser, Alistair; Hagedorn, John M

2018-02-01

Across the globe, the phenomenon of youth gangs has become an important and sensitive public issue. In this context, an increasing level of research attention has focused on the development of universalized definitions of gangs in a global context. In this article, we argue that this search for similarity has resulted in a failure to recognize and understand difference. Drawing on an alternative methodology we call a 'global exchange', this article suggests three concepts-homologies of habitus, vectors of difference and transnational reflexivity-that seek to re-engage the sociological imagination in the study of gangs and globalization.

The sociological subject through the streets of Brasília

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roberta Tiburri

2013-12-01

Full Text Available This article discusses the sociological subject, as conceptualized by Stuart Hall (2006, in the modernist architecture and urbanism, using the city of Brasilia as an icon. The sociological subject is the result of modernity in transformation, with its characteristics of isolation and individualism, together with a process of decentralization and fragmentation of identities. This idea will be led through the streets of the city-symbol of our modernism, largely designed from the principles of the Athens Charter, which aimed to solve the problems caused by rapid growth of cities. We try to understand how the modernist principles of the Athens Charter, who are considered to be the most significant manifest of the International Congress of Modern Architecture (CIAM, are present in Brasilia and how both the collective and the individual interact as well as how the sociological subject can move about those spaces. To do so, we analyze the principles of the Athens Charter, applied to Brasilia’s urban design, and determine how our sociological subject in practice interacts with this “ideal city” by observing the interactions between the collective, the individual, the public and private, the center, and the periphery.  We also consider the political and economic conditions in Brasilia during the 1950s and early 1960s, under the developmental policy of President Kubitschek, combined with the precepts of the ideal modern city. Thus, our analysis focuses on the sociological subject, who is individualistic and changes modern society, interacting with the structures of the nation-state, industrialization, democracy, and modern capitalism, and is part of a modernist city, with aspirations of community and social and spatial order in a country facing the future, progress, and development.

Educating the future public health workforce: do schools of public health teach students about the private sector?

Science.gov (United States)

Rutkow, Lainie; Traub, Arielle; Howard, Rachel; Frattaroli, Shannon

2013-01-01

Recent surveys indicate that approximately 40% of graduates from schools of public health are employed within the private sector or have an employer charged with regulating the private sector. These data suggest that schools of public health should provide curricular opportunities for their students--the future public health workforce--to learn about the relationship between the private sector and the public's health. To identify opportunities for graduate students in schools of public health to select course work that educates them about the relationship between the private sector and public health. We systematically identified and analyzed data gathered from publicly available course titles and descriptions on the Web sites of accredited schools of public health. Data were collected in the United States. The sample consisted of accredited schools of public health. Descriptions of the number and types of courses that schools of public health offer about the private sector and identification of how course descriptions frame the private sector relative to public health. We identified 104 unique courses with content about the private sector's relationship to public health. More than 75% of accredited schools of public health offered at least 1 such course. Nearly 25% of identified courses focused exclusively on the health insurance industry. Qualitative analysis of the data revealed 5 frames used to describe the private sector, including its role as a stakeholder in the policy process. Schools of public health face a curricular gap, with relatively few course offerings that teach students about the relationship between the private sector and the public's health. By developing new courses or revising existing ones, schools of public health can expose the future public health workforce to the varied ways public health professionals interact with the private sector, and potentially influence students' career paths.

Economics of Convention and New Economic Sociology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jagd, Søren

2007-01-01

The aim of the article is to explore potential common themes in economic sociology and economics of conventions. The article explores two issues raised by economics of conventions that may be of particular importance to economic sociology. First, the explicit exploration of the consequences...... of a plurality of forms of justification, as elaborated in économie de la grandeur. This perspective was recently taken up in economic sociology by David Stark's introduction of the notion ‘sociology of worth'. The second issue, recently suggested by André Orléan, is the need to denaturalize economic theory...... and economic action to demonstrate the social constructed nature of economic action. It is argued that these two issues demonstrate that a fruitful dialogue is indeed possible between economic sociology and economics of convention and should be encouraged....

Why Do People Work in Public Health? Exploring Recruitment and Retention Among Public Health Workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Yeager, Valerie A; Wisniewski, Janna M; Amos, Kathleen; Bialek, Ron

2016-01-01

The public health workforce is critical to the functioning of the public health system and protection of the population's health. Ensuring a sufficient workforce depends on effectively recruiting and retaining workers. This study examines factors influencing decisions to take and remain in jobs within public health, particularly for workers employed in governmental public health. This cross-sectional study employed a secondary data set from a 2010 national survey of US public health workers. Survey respondents were included in this study if they responded to at least 1 survey item related to recruitment and retention. A total of 10 859 survey responses fit this criterion. Data examined demographics of public health workers and factors that influenced decisions to take jobs in and remain in public health. Job security (β = 0.42; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.28-0.56) and competitive benefits (β = 0.49; 95% CI, 0.28-0.70) were significantly and positively associated with governmental employees' decisions to take positions with their current employers compared with public health workers employed by other types of organizations. The same finding held with regard to retention: job security (β = 0.40; 95% CI, 0.23-0.57) and competitive benefits (β = 0.53; 95% CI, 0.24-0.83). Two personal factors, personal commitment to public service (β = 0.30; 95% CI, 0.17-0.42) and wanted a job in the public health field (β = 0.44; 95% CI, 0.18-0.69), were significantly and positively related to governmental employees deciding to remain with their current employers. It is important to recognize the value of competitive benefits for both current and potential employees. Public health agencies should maintain these if possible and make the value of these benefits known to policy makers or other agencies setting these benefit policies. Job security associated with governmental public health jobs also appears to offer public health an advantage in recruiting and retaining employees.

Public mental health.

Science.gov (United States)

Lindert, Jutta; Bilsen, Johan; Jakubauskiene, Marija

2017-10-01

Public mental health (PMH) is a major challenge for public health research and practice. This article is organized in six parts. First, we will highlight the significance of PMH; second, we will define mental health and mental disorders; third, we identify and describe determinants of mental health and mental disorders on which we worked in the past 10 years since the establishment of the PMH section such as social determinants and violence. Fourth, we will describe the development of the EUPHA PMH section and provide details on vulnerable groups in the field of PMH, on violence as a main determinant and on suicide as an outcome which affects all countries in the European region. Fifth, we describe policy and practice implications of the development of PMH and highlight the European dimension of PMH. We will conclude this article by providing an outlook on potential further development of PMH as regards research and policy and practice. Finally, we hope that the EUPHA PMH section will contribute to public health in the next 25 years and we can contribute to improvement of PMH in Europe. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

Practicing Sociological Imagination through Writing Sociological Autobiography

Science.gov (United States)

Kebede, Alem

2009-01-01

Sociological imagination is a quality of mind that cannot be adopted by simply teaching students its discursive assumptions. Rather, it is a disposition, in competition with other forms of sensibility, which can be acquired only when it is practiced. Adhering to this important pedagogical assumption, students were assigned to write their…

Social media in public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Kass-Hout, Taha A; Alhinnawi, Hend

2013-01-01

While social media interactions are currently not fully understood, as individual health behaviors and outcomes are shared online, social media offers an increasingly clear picture of the dynamics of these processes. Social media is becoming an increasingly common platform among clinicians and public health officials to share information with the public, track or predict diseases. Social media can be used for engaging the public and communicating key public health interventions, while providing an important tool for public health surveillance. Social media has advantages over traditional public health surveillance, as well as limitations, such as poor specificity, that warrant additional study. Social media can provide timely, relevant and transparent information of public health importance; such as tracking or predicting the spread or severity of influenza, west nile virus or meningitis as they propagate in the community, and, in identifying disease outbreaks or clusters of chronic illnesses. Further work is needed on social media as a valid data source for detecting or predicting diseases or conditions. Also, whether or not it is an effective tool for communicating key public health messages and engaging both, the general public and policy-makers.

Brazilian environmental sociology: a provisional review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ferreira Leila da Costa

2002-01-01

Full Text Available The article aims firstly at the reconstitution and analysis of history within the scope of international environmental sociology situated in the context of contemporary sociology. It also discusses - from the standpoint of literature (Buttel, Dunlap, Hanning, among others - its theoretical-methodological and institutional aspects as well in order to understand the obstacles encountered to legitimate and consolidate a set of problems which, until recently, were not dealt with by social sciences. Secondly, it analyses the Brazilian case. Environmental sociology in Brazil is strongly influenced by American empirical sociology, the precursor of the institutionalization process for the themes. On the other hand, further analysis of this case is relevant to understand the relationship between the scientific sphere, and the creation of environmental policies and social movements.

Towards a global environmental sociology? Legacies, trends and future directions.

Science.gov (United States)

Lidskog, Rolf; Mol, Arthur Pj; Oosterveer, Peter

2015-05-01

A current debate on environmental sociology involves how the subdiscipline should conceptualise and investigate the environment and whether it should be prescriptive and deliver policy recommendations. Taking this debate as a point of departure this article discusses the current and future role of sociology in a globalised world. It discusses how environmental sociology in the US and Europe differ in their understandings of sociology's contribution to the study of the environment. Particular stress is placed on how these two regions differ with respect to their use of the tradition of sociological thought, views on what constitutes the environment and ways of institutionalising environmental sociology as a sociological field. In conclusion, the question is raised of whether current versions of environmental sociology are appropriate for analysing a globalised world environment; or whether environmental sociology's strong roots in European and US cultures make it less relevant when facing an increasingly globalised world. Finally, the article proposes some new rules for a global environmental sociology and describes some of their possible implications for the sociological study of climate change.

Assessing the public health impact of using poison center data for public health surveillance.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Alice; Law, Royal; Lyons, Rebecca; Choudhary, Ekta; Wolkin, Amy; Schier, Joshua

2017-12-13

The National Poison Data System (NPDS) is a database and surveillance system for US poison centers (PCs) call data. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) use NPDS to identify incidents of potential public health significance. State health departments are notified by CDC of incidents identified by NPDS to be of potential public health significance. Our objective was to describe the public health impact of CDC's notifications and the use of NPDS data for surveillance. We described how NPDS data informed three public health responses: the Deepwater Horizon incident, national exposures to laundry detergent pods, and national exposures to e-cigarettes. Additionally, we extracted survey results of state epidemiologists regarding NPDS incident notification follow-up from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2016 to assess current public health application of NPDS data using Epi Info 7.2 and analyzed data using SAS 9.3. We assessed whether state health departments were aware of incidents before notification, what actions were taken, and whether CDC notifications contributed to actions. NPDS data provided evidence for industry changes to improve laundry detergent pod containers safety and highlighted the need to regulate e-cigarette sale and manufacturing. NPDS data were used to improve situational awareness during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Of 59 health departments and PCs who responded to CDC notifications about anomalies (response rate = 49.2%), 27 (46%) reported no previous awareness of the incident, and 20 (34%) said that notifications contributed to public health action. Monitoring NPDS data for anomalies can identify emerging public health threats and provide evidence-based science to support public health action and policy changes.

20 Suggestions for Improving the Departmental Procedures for Hiring Teachers of Sociology.

Science.gov (United States)

Ewens, Bill

Twenty suggestions are given to help university sociology departments develop procedures for hiring good teachers in the field. The first five ideas are about publicizing the position and initial screening of applications. Jobs should be announced in professional journals and at graduate departments with good reputations. Standardized forms should…

The impact of globalization on public health: implications for the UK Faculty of Public Health Medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, K

2000-09-01

There has been substantial discussion of globalization in the scholarly and popular press yet limited attention so far among public health professionals. This is so despite the many potential impacts of globalization on public health. Defining public health broadly, as focused on the collective health of populations requiring a range of intersectoral activities, globalization can be seen to have particular relevance. Globalization, in turn, can be defined as a process that is changing the nature of human interaction across a wide range of spheres and along at least three dimensions. Understanding public health and globalization in these ways suggests the urgent need for research to better understand the linkages between the two, and effective policy responses by a range of public health institutions, including the UK Faculty of Public Health Medicine. The paper is based on a review of secondary literature on globalization that led to the development of a conceptual framework for understanding potential impacts on the determinants of health and public health. The paper then discusses major areas of public health in relation to these potential impacts. It concludes with recommendations on how the UK Faculty of Public Health Medicine might contribute to addressing these impacts through its various activities. Although there is growing attention to the importance of globalization to public health, there has been limited research and policy development in the United Kingdom. The UK Faculty of Public Health Medicine needs to play an active role in bringing relevant issues to the attention of policy makers, and encourage its members to take up research, teaching and policy initiatives. The potential impacts of globalization support a broader understanding and practice of public health that embraces a wide range of health determinants.

The public health leadership certificate: a public health and primary care interprofessional training opportunity.

Science.gov (United States)

Matson, Christine C; Lake, Jeffrey L; Bradshaw, R Dana; Matson, David O

2014-03-01

This article describes a public health leadership certificate curriculum developed by the Commonwealth Public Health Training Center for employees in public health and medical trainees in primary care to share didactic and experiential learning. As part of the program, trainees are involved in improving the health of their communities and thus gain a blended perspective on the effectiveness of interprofessional teams in improving population health. The certificate curriculum includes eight one-credit-hour didactic courses offered through an MPH program and a two-credit-hour, community-based participatory research project conducted by teams of trainees under the mentorship of health district directors. Fiscal sustainability is achieved by sharing didactic courses with MPH degree students, thereby enabling trainees to take advantage of a reduced, continuing education tuition rate. Public health employee and primary care trainees jointly learn knowledge and skills required for community health improvement in interprofessional teams and gain an integrated perspective through opportunities to question assumptions and broaden disciplinary approaches. At the same time, the required community projects have benefited public health in Virginia.

Zamyšlení nad soudobou českou sociologií

OpenAIRE

Musil, Jiri

2002-01-01

The following comments compare the present orientations of Czech sociology with recent developments in European sociology. The analysis of sociology in Europe shows that the attention of European sociologists has shifted to social theory & social philosophy, sociology of culture, media, gender & feminism, political sociology, nationalism, ethnicity, & racism. Czech sociology, in the opinion of the author, still does not pay sufficient attention to such pressing issues of Czech society as nati...

Sociology of Drug Consumption

OpenAIRE

2004-01-01

In this article which is a review of sociological ideas and studies of drug abusers in social situation, drug addiction steps (particularly alcohol, heroin and cocaine consumption) are revised and some explanations are made. Also, the role of some sociological ideas in drug addiction is considered in which Anomie Theory reads: "because of such duality, the individuals who are not satisfied with their role are in hurt." According to this theory, drug users choose seclusion and neglecting usual...

Developing an academia-based public health observatory: the new global public health observatory with emphasis on urban health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Castillo-Salgado

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Health observatories may differ according to their mission, institutional setting, topical emphasis or geographic coverage. This paper discusses the development of a new urban-focused health observatory, and its operational research and training infrastructure under the academic umbrella of the Department of Epidemiology and the Institute of Urban Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (BSPH in Baltimore, USA. Recognizing the higher education mission of the BSPH, the development of a new professional training in public health was an important first step for the development of this observatory. This new academia-based observatory is an innovative public health research and training platform offering faculty, investigators, professional epidemiology students and research partners a physical and methodological infrastructure for their operational research and training activities with both a local urban focus and a global reach. The concept of a public health observatory and its role in addressing social health inequalities in local urban settings is discussed.

Developing an academia-based public health observatory: the new global public health observatory with emphasis on urban health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Castillo-Salgado, Carlos

2015-11-01

Health observatories may differ according to their mission, institutional setting, topical emphasis or geographic coverage. This paper discusses the development of a new urban-focused health observatory, and its operational research and training infrastructure under the academic umbrella of the Department of Epidemiology and the Institute of Urban Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (BSPH) in Baltimore, USA. Recognizing the higher education mission of the BSPH, the development of a new professional training in public health was an important first step for the development of this observatory. This new academia-based observatory is an innovative public health research and training platform offering faculty, investigators, professional epidemiology students and research partners a physical and methodological infrastructure for their operational research and training activities with both a local urban focus and a global reach. The concept of a public health observatory and its role in addressing social health inequalities in local urban settings is discussed.

Rethinking the relationship between socioeconomic status and health: Challenging how socioeconomic status is currently used in health inequality research.

Science.gov (United States)

Gagné, Thierry; Ghenadenik, Adrian E

2018-02-01

The Scandinavian Journal of Public Health recently reiterated the importance of addressing social justice and health inequalities in its new editorial policy announcement. One of the related challenges highlighted in that issue was the limited use of sociological theories able to inform the complexity linking the resources and mechanisms captured by the concept of socioeconomic status. This debate article argues that part of the problem lies in the often unchallenged reliance on a generic conceptualization and operationalization of socioeconomic status. These practices hinder researchers' capacity to examine in finer detail how resources and circumstances promote the unequal distribution of health through distinct yet intertwined pathways. As a potential way forward, this commentary explores how research practices can be challenged through concrete publication policies and guidelines. To this end, we propose a set of recommendations as a tool to strengthen the study of socioeconomic status and, ultimately, the quality of health inequality research. Authors, reviewers, and editors can become champions of change toward the implementation of sociological theory by holding higher standards regarding the conceptualization, operationalization, analysis, and interpretation of results in health inequality research.

Advances in dental public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Holt, R D

2001-07-01

Dental public health has been defined as 'the science and art of preventing oral diseases, promoting oral health and improving the quality of life through the organised efforts of society'. Dental practitioners most often have the oral health of individual patients as their primary focus but the aim of public health is to benefit populations. Early developments in dental public health were concerned largely with demonstrating levels of disease and with treatment services. With greater appreciation of the nature of oral health and disease, and of their determinants has come recognition of the need for wider public health action if the effects of prevention and oral health promotion are to be maximized.

Health needs and public health functions addressed in scientific publications in Francophone sub-Saharan Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Benie-Bi, J; Cambon, L; Grimaud, O; Kivits, J; Alla, F

2013-09-01

To describe the reporting of public health research in Francophone sub-Saharan Africa (FSA). A bibliometric research study of scientific public health publications in FSA, which includes 24 countries and approximately 260 million people. Two researchers analysed original articles published in 2007 in the medical or social sciences fields and indexed in Scopus. At least one co-author of articles had to be based in FSA. The analysis focused on research field, public health function (WHO classification), FSA country author's affiliation, language, journal type and global burden of disease (WHO classification). Of 1047 articles retrieved by the search, 212 were from the public health field. The number of articles per country varied from 0 to 36. Public health functions examined were health service research (24.5%), health monitoring (27.4%), prevention (15%) and legislation (0.5%). The distribution of health needs described in the articles was close to that of the WHO data for Africa for 2004: infectious and parasitic diseases (70% vs 54%), maternal and perinatal conditions (15% vs 17%), non-communicable diseases (15.6% vs 21%), and injuries (0.5% vs 8%). The areas reported in published articles from sub-Saharan Africa reflect the health needs distribution in Africa; however, the number of publications is low, particularly for prevention. In light of the current focus on evidence-based public health, this study questions whether the international scientific community adequately considers the expertise and perspectives of African researchers and professionals. Copyright © 2013 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Healthcare Provider Professional Secrecy: an Issue for Public Health Democracy somewhere between Immanence and Alienation.

Science.gov (United States)

Pautier, Silvère

2017-09-01

For a long time considered as total and absolute, healthcare professional secrecy is today difficult to reconcile with care practices. Lots of paradoxes question its preservation in favour of general interest and public order against the protection of private interest within an individualistic normative society. Exploring this interrogation, the article's objective is to initiate an ethical discussion from a professional caregiver secrecy's historical and sociological evolution perspective. Thus, with the help of theoretical understandings, especially those by Michel Foucault, medical secrecy is considered a defense of rationality specific to populations' government. This conceptualization finds arguments through social collective norms attached to an alienating biopower at the expense of secrecy integrated as an individualistic and immanent social norm. However, beyond the well-known debate on the absolute necessity for change, evolution… the distance from the Socratic and Hippocratic principles engage people and society in real democratic decisions about Health. Also, health professionals, patients, usgers and society must consider the limits that would lead to medical confidentiality.

Assessing entrepreneurship in governmental public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobson, Peter D; Wasserman, Jeffrey; Wu, Helen W; Lauer, Johanna R

2015-04-01

We assessed the feasibility and desirability of public health entrepreneurship (PHE) in governmental public health. Using a qualitative case study approach with semistructured interview protocols, we conducted interviews between April 2010 and January 2011 at 32 local health departments (LHDs) in 18 states. Respondents included chief health officers and senior LHD staff, representatives from national public health organizations, health authorities, and public health institutes. Respondents identified PHE through 3 overlapping practices: strategic planning, operational efficiency, and revenue generation. Clinical services offer the strongest revenue-generating potential, and traditional public health services offer only limited entrepreneurial opportunities. Barriers include civil service rules, a risk-averse culture, and concerns that PHE would compromise core public health values. Ongoing PHE activity has the potential to reduce LHDs' reliance on unstable general public revenues. Yet under the best of circumstances, it is difficult to generate revenue from public health services. Although governmental public health contains pockets of entrepreneurial activity, its culture does not sustain significant entrepreneurial activity. The question remains as to whether LHDs' current public revenue sources are sustainable and, if not, whether PHE is a feasible or desirable alternative.

On the nature and sociology of bioethics.

Science.gov (United States)

Sheehan, Mark; Dunn, Michael

2013-03-01

Much has been written in the last decade about how we should understand the value of the sociology of bioethics. Increasingly the value of the sociology of bioethics is interpreted by its advocates directly in terms of its relationship to bioethics. It is claimed that the sociology of bioethics (and related disciplinary approaches) should be seen as an important component of work in bioethics. In this paper we wish to examine whether, and how, the sociology of bioethics can be defended as a valid and justified research activity, in the context of debates about the nature of bioethics. We begin by presenting and arguing for an account of bioethics that does justice to the content of the field, the range of questions that belong within this field, and the justificatory standards (and methodological orientations) that can provide convincing answers to these questions. We then consider the role of sociology in bioethics and show how and under what conditions it can contribute to answering questions within bioethics. In the final section, we return to the sociology of bioethics to show that it can make only a limited contribution to the field.

French Economics of Convention and Economic Sociology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jagd, Søren

foundation of markets and of money may be an occasion for economic sociology to focus even more on elaborating on the institutional void created by traditional economic theory. A second point is that economic sociology could benefit from the perspective of a plurality of forms of coordination involved......The French Economics of convention tradition has developed to be an influential research tradition situated in the area between economics and sociology. The aim of the paper is to explore some of the themes that may be common to economics of conventions and economic sociology by looking more...... closely into three recent texts from the economics of convention tradition discussing, in slightly different ways, differences and similarities between economics of convention and economic sociology. It is argued that André Orléan’s point that a common aim could be to ‘denaturalise’ the institutional...

American Sociology in a Transnational World: Against Parochialism.

Science.gov (United States)

Lie, John

1995-01-01

Maintains that, in spite of its cosmopolitan origins, U.S. sociology is regarded widely as parochial in its outlook and concerns. Discusses factors contributing to the intellectual isolationism of U.S. sociological research and pedagogy. Provides suggestions for internationalizing the sociology curriculum. (CFR)

Social inequality: philosophical and sociological reflection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Sh. Victorov

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Social inequality is the phenomena that is hypothetically the base for first human communities genesis. Modern model for capitalist society as market relations form fails to satisfy the needs of society’s social development, and strongly requires to create new social knowledge structure and new approach for inequality sociology theory development. Our study conceptual logic comprises routine, philosophic and ideological reflexions analysis to create new social inequality definition in the context of new sociologic knowledge structure. Social inequality is the one of key problems in global sociology; the need is obvious to extract social inequality into separate discipline. Inequality sociology target is the decision of theoretical and practical problems in the formation of comprehensive knowledge about inequality phenomena in modern community, and in the development of common and specialized theoretical-methodological base for inequality study.

The Reflexive Principle of Sociological Theorization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R T Ubaidullayeva

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The article attempts to describe the reflexive principle in theory-making, which integrates the basic modern methodological paradigms and lays the foundation for the development of sociology. On the basis of the theoretical ideas of P. Bourdieu, A. Giddens and P. Ricoeur the author defines the concept of social reflexion and reveals its peculiarities in sociology as compared to reflexion in philosophy. According to the author, the fulfillment of reflexive functions in sociology is connected with the task of analyzing the complex structure of the polysemantic object, considering the specific quality of the subjects and their various trends of development. The presence of the poles — objectivity-subjectivity, rationality-irrationality, consciousness-unconsciousness etc, requires a reproduction of the dichotomies engendering them in social life and development of cognitive methods for their study in sociology.

42 CFR 90.9 - Public health advisory.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Public health advisory. 90.9 Section 90.9 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HEALTH ASSESSMENTS AND HEALTH... PROCEDURES § 90.9 Public health advisory. ATSDR may issue a public health advisory based on the findings of a...

The sociology of popular music, interdisciplinarity and aesthetic autonomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Marshall, Lee

2011-03-01

This paper considers the impact of interdisciplinarity upon sociological research, focusing on one particular case: the academic study of popular music. 'Popular music studies' is an area of research characterized by interdisciplinarity and, in keeping with broader intellectual trends, this approach is assumed to offer significant advantages. As such, popular music studies is broadly typical of contemporary intellectual and governmental attitudes regarding the best way to research specific topics. Such interdisciplinarity, however, has potential costs and this paper highlights one of the most significant: an over-emphasis upon shared substantive interests and subsequent undervaluation of shared epistemological understandings. The end result is a form of 'ghettoization' within sociology itself, with residents of any particular ghetto displaying little awareness of developments in neighbouring ghettos. Reporting from one such ghetto, this paper considers some of the ways in which the sociology of popular music has been limited by its positioning within an interdisciplinary environment and suggests two strategies for developing a more fully-realized sociology of popular music. First, based on the assumption that a sociological understanding of popular music shares much in common with a sociological understanding of everything else, this paper calls for increased intradisciplinary research between sociologists of varying specialisms. The second strategy, however, involves a reconceptualization of the disciplinary limits of sociology, as it argues that a sociology of popular music needs to accept musical specificity as part of its remit. Such acceptance has thus far been limited not only by an interdisciplinary context but also by the long-standing sociological scepticism toward the analysis of aesthetic objects. As such, this paper offers an intervention into wider debates concerning the remit of sociological enquiry, and whether it is ever appropriate for sociological

GIS and Public Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefania Bertazzon

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This Special Issue on GIS and public health is the result of a highly selective process, which saw the participation of some 20 expert peer-reviewers and led to the acceptance of one half of the high-quality submissions received over the past year. Many threads link these papers to each other and, indeed, to our original call for papers, but the element that most clearly emerges from these works is the inextricable connection between public health and the environment. Indeed, GIS analysis of public health simply cannot disregard the geospatial dimension of environmental resources and risks. What consistently emerges from these analyses is that current geospatial research can only scratch the surface of the complex interactions of spatial resources, risks, and public health. In today’s world, or at least in the developed world, researchers and practitioners can count on virtually endless data, on inexpensive computational power, and on seamless connectivity. In this research environment, these papers point to the need for improved analytical tools, covering concepts, representation, modeling and reliability. These works are important contributions that help us to identify what advances in geospatial analysis can better address the complex interactions of public health with our physical and cultural environment, and bridge research and practice, so that geospatial analyses can inform public health policy making. [...

Mental health in prisons: A public health agenda.

Science.gov (United States)

Fraser, A

2009-01-01

Mental illness affects the majority of prisoners. Mental health issues are beginning to take a central position in the development of prison health services, reflecting this burden of disease. This change in focus is not before time. But prison mental health services cannot exist in isolation. Public health systems should lead provision of care for patients with acute and severe illness. A whole prison approach to health and, specifically, mental health will offer the greatest likelihood that offenders will thrive, benefit from imprisonment, and lead law-abiding lives after release. Public awareness of the scale and commitment of prisons to mental health and illness, and understanding of prisons' role in society, are necessary developments that would protect and enhance public mental health, as well as creating a healthier and safer society. This article draws on recent reviews, information and statements to set out a public health agenda for mental health in prisons.

Psychological and Sociological Determinants of Academic ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study investigated the psychological and sociological determinants of academic achievement of school-going adolescents. Six self-report measures were administered randomly to 280 senior secondary III students in Ibadan. Results showed that the six psychological and sociological factors (motivation, anxiety, and ...

Academic dental public health diplomates: their distribution and recommendations concerning the predoctoral dental public health faculty.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaste, L M; Sadler, Z E; Hayes, K L; Narendran, S; Niessen, L C; Weintraub, J A

1998-01-01

The purpose of this study was to assess the representation of academically based diplomates of the American Board of Dental Public Health (ABDPH) and to identify their perceptions on the training of dental public health predoctoral faculty. Data were collected by a mailed, self-administered, 13-item questionnaire. The population was the 48 diplomates of the ABDPH as of March 1997 associated with academic institutions. Twenty of the 55 US dental schools had a diplomate of the ABDPH with a mean of 1.8 diplomates per school with a diplomate. An average of 4.5 full-time faculty members per school were associated with teaching dental public health. A master's degree in public health (MPH) was the most frequently suggested educational requirement for dental public health faculty. Continuing education courses were training needs perceived for dental public health faculty. The lack of time, money, and incentives, along with perceived rigidity of requirements for board certification, were reported as major barriers for faculty becoming dental public health board certified. Numerous challenges confront the development of a strong dental public health presence in US dental schools. These challenges include, among others, insufficient numbers of academic dental public health specialists and insufficient motivations to encourage promising candidates to pursue specialty status.

[Psychological theory and implicit sociology.].

Science.gov (United States)

Sévigny, R

1983-01-01

This text is based on the hypothesis that every theory on the psychology of personality must inevitably, in one manner or another, have a sociological referent, that is to say, it must refer to a body of knowledge which deals with a diversity of social contexts and their relations to individuals. According to this working hypothesis, such a sociology is implicit. This text then discusses a group of theoretical approaches in an effort to verify this hypothesis. This approach allows the extrication of diverse forms or diverse expressions of this implicit sociology within this context several currents are rapidly explored : psychoanalysis, behaviorism, gestalt, classical theory of needs. The author also comments on the approach, inspired by oriental techniques or philosophies, which employs the notion of myth to deepen self awareness. Finally, from the same perspective, he comments at greater length on the work of Carl Rogers, highlighting the diverse form of implicit sociology. In addition to Carl Rogers, this text refers to Freud, Jung, Adler, Reich, Perls, Goodman, Skinner as well as to Ginette Paris and various analysts of Taoism. In conclusion, the author indicates the significance of his analysis from double viewpoint of psychological theory and practice.

Sociological analysis and comparative education

Science.gov (United States)

Woock, Roger R.

1981-12-01

It is argued that comparative education is essentially a derivative field of study, in that it borrows theories and methods from academic disciplines. After a brief humanistic phase, in which history and philosophy were central for comparative education, sociology became an important source. In the mid-50's and 60's, sociology in the United States was characterised by Structural Functionalism as a theory, and Social Survey as a dominant methodology. Both were incorporated into the development of comparative education. Increasingly in the 70's, and certainly today, the new developments in sociology are characterised by an attack on Positivism, which is seen as the philosophical position underlying both functionalism and survey methods. New or re-discovered theories with their attendant methodologies included Marxism, Phenomenological Sociology, Critical Theory, and Historical Social Science. The current relationship between comparative education and social science is one of uncertainty, but since social science is seen to be returning to its European roots, the hope is held out for the development of an integrated social theory and method which will provide a much stronger basis for developments in comparative education.

Utility and justice in public health.

Science.gov (United States)

MacKay, Kathryn

2017-12-11

Many public health practitioners and organizations view themselves as engaged in the promotion or achievement of equity. However, discussions around public health frequently assume that practitioners and policy-makers take a utilitarian approach to this work. I argue that public health is better understood as a social justice endeavor. I begin by presenting the utility view of public health and then discuss the equity view. This is a theoretical argument, which should help public health to justify interventions for communicable and non-communicable diseases equally, and which contributes to breaking down the 'old/new' public health divide. This argument captures practitioners' views of the work they are engaged in and allows for the moral and policy justification of important interventions in communicable and non-communicable diseases. Systemic interventions are necessary to remedy high rates of disease among certain groups and, generally, to improve the health of entire populations. By viewing diseases as partly the result of failures of health protective systems in society, public health may justify interventions in communicable and non-communicable diseases equally. Public health holds a duty to improve the health of the worst-off in society; by prioritizing this group, the health of the whole community may improve. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

Public health

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Berg, van den A.E.

2007-01-01

Agnes van den Berg wrote an essay about human health and nature, establishing that subject as an important policy argument in developing (urban) nature in the Netherlands. She studied the public balance of fear and fascination for nature, summarising benefits on human health. In this chapter, she

Thinking about think tanks in health care: a call for a new research agenda.

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw, Sara E; Russell, Jill; Greenhalgh, Trisha; Korica, Maja

2014-03-01

Little sociological attention has been given to the role of think tanks in health policy and planning. Existing work in political science and public administration tends to define and categorise think tanks and situate them as a disinterested source of policy expertise. Despite the increasingly visible presence of think tanks in the world of health care, such work has done little to reveal how they operate, by whom and to what ends. Our article seeks to redress this firstly by examining why they have remained relatively hidden in academic analyses and secondly by advocating an interpretive approach that incorporates think tanks within the wider landscape of health policy and planning. In contrast to most existing literature, an interpretive approach acknowledges that much of the messy business of healthcare policy and planning remains hidden from view and that much can be gleaned by examining the range of organisations, actors, coalitions, everyday activities, artefacts and interactions that make up the think tank stage and that work together to shape health policy and planning. Given the paucity of research in this area, we urge the medical sociology community to open the field to further academic scrutiny. © 2013 The Authors. Sociology of Health & Illness © 2013 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Toward a Buddhist Sociology: Theories, Methods, and Possibilities

Science.gov (United States)

Schipper, Janine

2012-01-01

This article explores potential links between Buddhism and sociology, highlighting the many commonalities between sociology and Buddhism, with an emphasis on ways that Buddhist thought and practice may contribute to the field of sociology. What could Buddhism offer to our understanding of social institutions, social problems, and to the dynamics…

Critical perspectives in public health

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Green, Judith; Labonte, Ronald N

2008-01-01

... the contemporary roles of 'critical voices' in public health research and practice from a range of disciplines and contexts. The book covers many of the pressing concerns for public health practitioners and researchers, including: * * * * * the implications of new genetic technologies for public health; the impact of globalisation on local practice...

Development of Systematic Knowledge Management for Public Health: A Public Health Law Ontology

Science.gov (United States)

Keeling, Jonathan

2012-01-01

The Institute of Medicine has stated that legal structures and the authority vested in health agencies and other partners within the public health system are essential to improving the public's health. Variation between the laws of different jurisdictions within the United States allows for natural experimentation and research into their…

Public health leadership education in North America

OpenAIRE

Uno, Hideo; Zakariasen,Kenneth

2010-01-01

Hideo Uno, Kenneth ZakariasenDepartment of Public Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, CanadaAbstract: Public health leadership is one of the priority disciplines public health professionals need to learn well if they are to deal with demanding public health issues effectively and efficiently. This article looks at the trends in public health leadership education by reviewing the literature and using the Internet to explore the public health leadershi...

Scientific Discovery in Deep Social Space: Sociology without Borders

OpenAIRE

Joseph Michalski

2008-01-01

Globalization affords an excellent opportunity to develop a genuinely universal, scientific sociology. In recent decades the politicization of the discipline has undermined the central mission of sociology: scientific discovery and explanation. The paper identifies several intellectual shifts that will facilitate the expansion and communication of such a science in an emerging global village of sociological analysts: 1) breaking with classical sociology to build upon innovative theoretical id...

Towards a global environmental sociology? Legacies, trends and future directions

Science.gov (United States)

Lidskog, Rolf; Mol, Arthur PJ; Oosterveer, Peter

2014-01-01

A current debate on environmental sociology involves how the subdiscipline should conceptualise and investigate the environment and whether it should be prescriptive and deliver policy recommendations. Taking this debate as a point of departure this article discusses the current and future role of sociology in a globalised world. It discusses how environmental sociology in the US and Europe differ in their understandings of sociology’s contribution to the study of the environment. Particular stress is placed on how these two regions differ with respect to their use of the tradition of sociological thought, views on what constitutes the environment and ways of institutionalising environmental sociology as a sociological field. In conclusion, the question is raised of whether current versions of environmental sociology are appropriate for analysing a globalised world environment; or whether environmental sociology’s strong roots in European and US cultures make it less relevant when facing an increasingly globalised world. Finally, the article proposes some new rules for a global environmental sociology and describes some of their possible implications for the sociological study of climate change. PMID:25937642

Renewing Sociology of Education? Knowledge Spaces, Situated Enactments, and Sociological Practice in a World on the Move

Science.gov (United States)

Seddon, Terri

2014-01-01

Sociology of education is caught in a dilemma. The study of education and society that unfolded through the twentieth century produced educational vocabularies that spoke into education policy and practice about inequality and social justice. Now that sociologically informed educational discourse is marginalised by individualistic…

Conceptualizing ORGANIZATIONAL HEALTH - Public health management and leadership perspectives

OpenAIRE

Orvik, Arne

2016-01-01

The thesis introduces a new conceptual model of organizational health and discusses its implications for public health management and leadership. It is developed with reference to organizational theories and ideologies, including New Public Management, the use of which has coincided with increasing workplace health problems in health care organizations. The model is based on empirical research and theories in the fields of public health, health care organization and management, and institutio...

Economic Sociology and Economics of Convention

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jagd, Søren

This paper is part of a larger exploration of the French Economics of Convention tradition. The aim of the paper is to explore potential themes of common interest to economic sociology and Economics of Conventions. The paper is in two parts. First, I summarise the main theoretical features of EC...... the institutional framework of social action. Second, I explore two issues raised by economics of conventions that may be particularly important to consider for economic sociology. The first issue is the explicit exploration of the consequences of a plurality of forms of justification suggested by Luc Boltanski...... and Laurent Thévenot in ‘économie de la grandeur’. This perspective has already been taken up in economic sociology in David Stark’s notion of a ‘Sociology of Worth’. The second issue, recently suggested by André Orléan, is the need to denaturalise economic theory and economic action to demonstrate the social...

The sociology of innovation in modern astronomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Edge, D.

1977-01-01

This paper describes some of the main features of the development of astronomy since 1945, stressing sociological factors, and drawing examples mainly from the history of radio astronomy. Particular attention is given to aspects which appear to distinguish astronomy from other recently-studied sciences - notably, the prevalence of serendipitous discoveries, and the lack of any general resistance from the 'parent' discipline. The work of Kuhn and Hagstrom is used to illuminate these features, and also to indicate how a sociological analysis can be advanced of individual research decisions, and of the nature of disputes within science. Common misconceptions about the nature and scope of sociology are briefly discussed; in particular, it is emphasized that the kind of sociology of science under discussion cannot be normative. (author)

[Pierre Bourdieu: sociology as a "symbolic revolution"].

Science.gov (United States)

Suaud, Charles

2014-03-01

The article combines two objectives: understand the genesis and development of the sociology of Bourdieu in connection with his social and intellectual positioning. The sociology of Bourdieu is a theory of Action which reconciles the double requirement of objectification and taking account of the practical logic bound by social agents. From the character both objective and subjective of social space, he analyzes how different institutions (firstly School) are doing that mental structures match the objective structures of society. By making acceptable reality and registering it in the body, these instances contribute to reproduce social divisions and participate in the work of domination. Gradually, Bourdieu develops a general theory about Power, which leads to a sociology of State. But he refuses any sociological fatalism. Because he perceived homologies between the sociologist and the artist facing the social order, each in their own way, he devoted two researches to Flaubert and Manet, seized in the same enterprise of aesthetic subversion he described as a 'symbolic revolution'. In many aspects, the sociology of Bourdieu opens ways of looking for an objectification of caregivers and their practices.

PPACA and public health: creating a framework to focus on prevention and wellness and improve the public's health.

Science.gov (United States)

Majette, Gwendolyn Roberts

2011-01-01

PPACA epitomizes comprehensive health care reform legislation. Public health, disease prevention, and wellness were integral considerations in its development. This article reveals the author's personal experiences while working on the framework for health care reform in the United States Senate and reviews activity in the United States House of Representatives. This insider's perspective delineates PPACA's positive effect on public health by examining the infrastructure Congress designed to focus on prevention, wellness, and public health, with a particular focus on the National Prevention, Health Promotion and Public Health Council; the National Prevention, Health Promotion, Public Health, and Integrative Health Care Strategy; and the Prevention and Public Health Fund. The Council, strategy, and fund are especially important because they reflect compliance with some of the Institute of Medicine's recommendations to improve public health in the United States, as well as international health and human rights norms that protect the right to health. © 2011 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Inc.

One Health Perspectives on Emerging Public Health Threats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sukhyun Ryu

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Antimicrobial resistance and emerging infectious diseases, including avian influenza, Ebola virus disease, and Zika virus disease have significantly affected humankind in recent years. In the premodern era, no distinction was made between animal and human medicine. However, as medical science developed, the gap between human and animal science grew deeper. Cooperation among human, animal, and environmental sciences to combat emerging public health threats has become an important issue under the One Health Initiative. Herein, we presented the history of One Health, reviewed current public health threats, and suggested opportunities for the field of public health through better understanding of the One Health paradigm.

Climate Change and Public Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Ciesielski, Timothy

2017-05-01

It is clear that the public health community is concerned about the human health impacts of climate change, but are we inadvertently underestimating the scope of the problem and obfuscating potentially useful interventions by using a narrow intellectual frame in our discussions with policy makers? If we take a more holistic approach, we see that the public health impacts of climate change are only one subset of the enormous public health impacts of fossil fuel burning. This broader perspective can provide a more accurate and comprehensive assessment that is more useful for decision making in public policy settings.

The Institution of Sociological Theory in Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Guzman, Cinthya; Silver, Daniel

2018-02-01

Using theory syllabi and departmental data collected for three academic years, this paper investigates the institutional practice of theory in sociology departments across Canada. In particular, it examines the position of theory within the sociological curriculum, and how this varies among universities. Taken together, our analyses indicate that theory remains deeply institutionalized at the core of sociological education and Canadian sociologists' self-understanding; that theorists as a whole show some coherence in how they define themselves, but differ in various ways, especially along lines of region, intellectual background, and gender; that despite these differences, the classical versus contemporary heuristic largely cuts across these divides, as does the strongly ingrained position of a small group of European authors as classics of the discipline as a whole. Nevertheless, who is a classic remains an unsettled question, alternatives to the "classical versus contemporary" heuristic do exist, and theorists' syllabi reveal diverse "others" as potential candidates. Our findings show that the field of sociology is neither marked by universal agreement nor by absolute division when it comes to its theoretical underpinnings. To the extent that they reveal a unified field, the findings suggest that unity lies more in a distinctive form than in a distinctive content, which defines the space and structure of the field of sociology. © 2018 Canadian Sociological Association/La Société canadienne de sociologie.

Another sociology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Carleheden, Mikael

1998-01-01

contributing dianostics of the social pathologies of the modern state. Such an approach can find inspiration in classical sociology, but it is also important to realize that, today, we are living in another modernity. A liberation from social technology must thus include a liberation from objectivistic methods....

Liberalism and Public Health Ethics.

Science.gov (United States)

Rajczi, Alex

2016-02-01

Many public health dilemmas involve a tension between the promotion of health and the rights of individuals. This article suggests that we should resolve the tension using our familiar liberal principles of government. The article considers the common objections that (i) liberalism is incompatible with standard public health interventions such as anti-smoking measures or intervention in food markets; (2) there are special reasons for hard paternalism in public health; and (3) liberalism is incompatible with proper protection of the community good. The article argues that we should examine these critiques in a larger methodological framework by first acknowledging that the right theory of public health ethics is the one we arrive at in reflective equilibrium. Once we examine the arguments for and against liberalism in that light, we can see the weaknesses in the objections and the strength of the case for liberalism in public health. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Sociology of bodies/emotions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adrián Scribano

2012-12-01

Full Text Available This paper aims at pointing out that the division between a sociology of the bodies and the emotions is, to say the least, unnecessary. The basic idea that runs through this argument is very simple but needs to be justified: it is not possible to search and reflect on bodies/emotions separately, as if it were any chance of one not referring to the other and viceversa. The strategy of the exposition we have selected is as follows: 1 we outline in an introductory manner the existing approaches in the social studies on bodies and emotions, 2 we point out three kinds of reasons/motives to argue the inadequacy of the categorical/aporetic division of a sociology of the bodies and one of the emotions, 3 we put forward our perspective regarding a sociology of bodies/emotions, and 4 we analize the problem of hunger as an example of our viewpoint. Finally, we invite to reflect on the exposed as a means to open a possible discussion in methodological, theoretical, epistemological and political terms.

Toward a Global Sociology of Religion

Science.gov (United States)

Parvez, Z. Fareen

2017-01-01

This article offers an example of a global approach to teaching the sociology of religion, a course that typically focuses on American religious phenomena. It builds on three interventions in the movement for a global sociology: connecting the local and global, moving beyond methodological nationalism, and developing an ethical orientation toward…

Enhancing crisis leadership in public health emergencies.

Science.gov (United States)

Deitchman, Scott

2013-10-01

Reviews of public health emergency responses have identified a need for crisis leadership skills in health leaders, but these skills are not routinely taught in public health curricula. To develop criteria for crisis leadership in public health, published sources were reviewed to identify attributes of successful crisis leadership in aviation, public safety, military operations, and mining. These sources were abstracted to identify crisis leadership attributes associated with those disciplines and compare those attributes with crisis leadership challenges in public health. Based on this review, the following attributes are proposed for crisis leadership in public health: competence in public health science; decisiveness with flexibility; ability to maintain situational awareness and provide situational assessment; ability to coordinate diverse participants across very different disciplines; communication skills; and the ability to inspire trust. Of these attributes, only competence in public health science is currently a goal of public health education. Strategies to teach the other proposed attributes of crisis leadership will better prepare public health leaders to meet the challenges of public health crises.

Conceptualizing ORGANIZATIONAL HEALTH - Public health management and leadership perspectives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Orvik, Arne

The thesis introduces a new conceptual model of organizational health and discusses its implications for public health management and leadership. It is developed with reference to organizational theories and ideologies, including New Public Management, the use of which has coincided with increasing...... as the disintegration of such values. Possible implications for public health management and leadership include four different forms. The application of the conceptual model can potentially draw attention to value conflicts and help to clarify contradictory, institutional logics. It can also potentially support health...... workplace health problems in health care organizations. The model is based on empirical research and theories in the fields of public health, health care organization and management, and institutional theory. It includes five dimensions and defines organizational health in terms of how an organization...

Analytical Sociology: A Bungean Appreciation

Science.gov (United States)

Wan, Poe Yu-ze

2012-10-01

Analytical sociology, an intellectual project that has garnered considerable attention across a variety of disciplines in recent years, aims to explain complex social processes by dissecting them, accentuating their most important constituent parts, and constructing appropriate models to understand the emergence of what is observed. To achieve this goal, analytical sociologists demonstrate an unequivocal focus on the mechanism-based explanation grounded in action theory. In this article I attempt a critical appreciation of analytical sociology from the perspective of Mario Bunge's philosophical system, which I characterize as emergentist systemism. I submit that while the principles of analytical sociology and those of Bunge's approach share a lot in common, the latter brings to the fore the ontological status and explanatory importance of supra-individual actors (as concrete systems endowed with emergent causal powers) and macro-social mechanisms (as processes unfolding in and among social systems), and therefore it does not stipulate that every causal explanation of social facts has to include explicit references to individual-level actors and mechanisms. In this sense, Bunge's approach provides a reasonable middle course between the Scylla of sociological reification and the Charybdis of ontological individualism, and thus serves as an antidote to the untenable "strong program of microfoundations" to which some analytical sociologists are committed.

Surfing the net for public health resources.

Science.gov (United States)

Angell, C; Hemingway, A; Hartwell, H

2011-08-01

To identify public health open educational resources (OER) available online, map the identified OER to The Public Health Skills and Career Framework (PHSCF), and triangulate these findings with public health practitioners. Systematic online search for public health OER. An online search was undertaken using a pre-defined set of search terms and inclusion/exclusion criteria. Public health OER were then mapped against the UK PHSCF. The findings of the search were discussed with public health specialists to determine whether or not they used these resources. A number of public health OER were identified, located on 42 websites from around the world. Mapping against the UK PHSCF demonstrated a lack of coverage in some areas of public health education. It was noted that many of the OER websites identified were not those generally used in practice, and those sites preferred by public health specialists were not identified by the online search. Public health OER are available from a number of providers, frequently universities and government organizations. However, these reflect a relatively small pool of original OER providers. Tagging of websites does not always identify their public health content. In addition, users of public health OER may not use search engines to identify resources but locate them using other means. Copyright © 2011 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Intercultural competency in public health: a call for action to incorporate training into public health education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julia eFleckman

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Due to increasing national diversity, programs addressing cultural competence have multiplied in U.S. medical training institutions. Little progress has been made to translate cultural competency training from the clinical setting into the public health setting where the focus is on population-based health, preventative programming, and epidemiological and behavioral research. The need for culturally relevant public health programming and culturally sensitive public health research is more critical than ever. Awareness of differing cultural roles needs to be included in all processes of planning, implementation and evaluation. In focusing on community-based health program planning and research, cultural competence implies that it is possible for public health professionals to completely know another culture, whereas intercultural competence implies it is a dual-sided process. Public health professionals need a commitment toward intercultural competence and skills that demonstrate flexibility, openness and self-reflection so that cultural learning is possible. In this article, the authors recommend a number of elements to develop, adapt and strengthen intercultural competence education in public health educational institutions.

The State Public Health Laboratory System.

Science.gov (United States)

Inhorn, Stanley L; Astles, J Rex; Gradus, Stephen; Malmberg, Veronica; Snippes, Paula M; Wilcke, Burton W; White, Vanessa A

2010-01-01

This article describes the development since 2000 of the State Public Health Laboratory System in the United States. These state systems collectively are related to several other recent public health laboratory (PHL) initiatives. The first is the Core Functions and Capabilities of State Public Health Laboratories, a white paper that defined the basic responsibilities of the state PHL. Another is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Laboratory System (NLS) initiative, the goal of which is to promote public-private collaboration to assure quality laboratory services and public health surveillance. To enhance the realization of the NLS, the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) launched in 2004 a State Public Health Laboratory System Improvement Program. In the same year, APHL developed a Comprehensive Laboratory Services Survey, a tool to measure improvement through the decade to assure that essential PHL services are provided.

Polish Qualitative Sociology: The General Features and Development

OpenAIRE

Konecki, Krzysztof Tomasz

2005-01-01

The article explores the development of Polish qualitative sociology in Poland by presenting its main intellectual routes and some of the general features of Polish sociology. Romanticism and inductionmethod are crucial elements for the development of this discipline in Poland and contribute to its. unigueness. The role of Florian Znaniecki in creating the Polish qualitative sociology is also underlined. Krzysztof Konecki

Ethics in public health: call for shared moral public health literacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Maeckelberghe, Els L M; Schröder-Bäck, Peter

2017-10-01

Public Health (PH) in Europe has become much more vocal about its moral understandings since 1992. The rising awareness that PH issues were inseparable from issues of human rights and social justice almost self-evidently directed the agenda of EUPHA and the European Public Health (EPH)-conferences. Problems of cultural and behavioural change, and environmental issues on a global scale were also added. The Section Ethics in PH invited the EPH community to join in 'arm chair thinking': coming together at conferences not only to share the 'how' and 'what' of PH research, practices and policies but also the 'why'. Time has been reserved to genuinely discuss what moral values are at stake in the work of PH and to actively develop a moral language and framework for PH Ethics. The challenge for the next decades is to find ways to involve the general public in the cultivation of a shared moral PH literacy. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

De la sociología de la crisis a la crisis de la sociología. XVIII Conferencias Aranguren

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sotelo, Ignacio

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Criticism and crisis are the key concepts in the emergence of sociology. The concept of crisis that shapes the beginning of sociology, when it fuses with philosophy of history, disappears during the reconstruction of sociology that takes place on the eve of World War One. It was the main purpose of Max Weber, its most outstanding representative, to overcome philosophy of history by removing any metaphysical residue in social science. The crisis of sociology is shown in its failure in attaining an identity that could be broadly shared by the scientific community of sociologists, despite last decades efforts. Sociologists are clearly divided between those who aim at a global vision of society and those who reject general approaches and try to integrate collected facts into middle range theories.

Crítica y crisis son los dos conceptos claves en el emerger de la sociología. El concepto de crisis que informa a la sociología en su primera etapa, en la que ésta termina por fundirse con la filosofía de la historia, desaparece en la reconstitución de la sociología que se lleva a cabo en vísperas de la Primera Guerra Mundial y que tiene en Max Weber a su representante más conspicuo. El empeño principal de este autor es superar la filosofía de la historia, eliminando cualquier residuo metafísico en la ciencia social. La crisis de la sociología se evidencia en que, pese a los esfuerzos de los últimos decenios, no ha logrado una identidad ampliamente compartida por la comunidad científica de los que se llaman sociólogos, claramente divididos entre los que aspiran a una visión global de la sociedad y los que rechazan planteamientos generales y tratan de integrar los hechos recogidos en teorías de mediano alcance.

Intercultural Competency in Public Health: A Call for Action to Incorporate Training into Public Health Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Fleckman, Julia M; Dal Corso, Mark; Ramirez, Shokufeh; Begalieva, Maya; Johnson, Carolyn C

2015-01-01

Due to increasing national diversity, programs addressing cultural competence have multiplied in U.S. medical training institutions. Although these programs share common goals for improving clinical care for patients and reducing health disparities, there is little standardization across programs. Furthermore, little progress has been made to translate cultural competency training from the clinical setting into the public health setting where the focus is on population-based health, preventative programming, and epidemiological and behavioral research. The need for culturally relevant public health programming and culturally sensitive public health research is more critical than ever. Awareness of differing cultures needs to be included in all processes of planning, implementation and evaluation. By focusing on community-based health program planning and research, cultural competence implies that it is possible for public health professionals to completely know another culture, whereas intercultural competence implies it is a dual-sided process. Public health professionals need a commitment toward intercultural competence and skills that demonstrate flexibility, openness, and self-reflection so that cultural learning is possible. In this article, the authors recommend a number of elements to develop, adapt, and strengthen intercultural competence education in public health educational institutions.

Conventional and ecological public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Rayner, G

2009-09-01

This paper suggests that current models of public health are no longer sufficient as a means for understanding the health challenges of the anthropogenic age, and argues for an alternative based upon an ecological model. The roots of this perspective originated within the Victorian era, although it found only limited expression at that time. Ecological thinking in public health has only been revived relatively recently. Derived from an analysis of obesity, this paper proposes the development of an approach to ecological public health based on four dimensions of existence: the material, the physiological, the social and the cultural-cognitive. The implications for public policy are considered.

Why feminism in public health?

Science.gov (United States)

Hammarström, A

1999-12-01

The issues raised in this editorial and exemplified within a number of the studies reported in this issue indicate new directions for public health, directions which take feminist scholarship, both outside and within the medical framework, into account. The changing potential of feminist public health, as derived from the articles in this issue, can be summarised within the following issues: new research areas, positioning women as actors, development of theoretical frameworks, reflexive theory of science, interplay between sex and gender, gender-sensitive methods, diversities among women/men, pro-feminist research on men's health and using the results for change. Thus, feminist public health represents a shift towards the new public health, with holistic and multidisciplinary activities, based on theoretical pluralism, multiple perspectives and collective actions with the aim of improving the health of gender-subordinated groups.

Education Improves Public Health and Promotes Health Equity.

Science.gov (United States)

Hahn, Robert A; Truman, Benedict I

2015-01-01

This article describes a framework and empirical evidence to support the argument that educational programs and policies are crucial public health interventions. Concepts of education and health are developed and linked, and we review a wide range of empirical studies to clarify pathways of linkage and explore implications. Basic educational expertise and skills, including fundamental knowledge, reasoning ability, emotional self-regulation, and interactional abilities, are critical components of health. Moreover, education is a fundamental social determinant of health - an upstream cause of health. Programs that close gaps in educational outcomes between low-income or racial and ethnic minority populations and higher-income or majority populations are needed to promote health equity. Public health policy makers, health practitioners and educators, and departments of health and education can collaborate to implement educational programs and policies for which systematic evidence indicates clear public health benefits. © The Author(s) 2015.

Applications of health information exchange information to public health practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Kierkegaard, Patrick; Kaushal, Rainu; Vest, Joshua R

2014-01-01

Increased information availability, timeliness, and comprehensiveness through health information exchange (HIE) can support public health practice. The potential benefits to disease monitoring, disaster response, and other public health activities served as an important justification for the US' investments in HIE. After several years of HIE implementation and funding, we sought to determine if any of the anticipated benefits of exchange participation were accruing to state and local public health practitioners participating in five different exchanges. Using qualitative interviews and template analyses, we identified public health efforts and activities that were improved by participation in HIE. HIE supported public health activities consistent with expectations in the literature. However, no single department realized all the potential benefits of HIE identified. These findings suggest ways to improve HIE usage in public health.

Public health emergencies in urban India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bhabani Prasad Acharya

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Public health emergencies in urban India can be caused by natural or man-made disasters. Occurrence of a public health emergency adds to the already stretched health system. This paper looks into the public health emergency conditions in urban India, and our preparedness to tackle them. To address this composite threat to nation’s health and development, a concerted public health response is needed, that can ensure efficient delivery in emergency situations Public health emergency is an occurrence or eminent threat of an illness or health condition caused by bio-terrorism, epidemic or pandemic disease, or novel and highly fatal infectious agent or biological toxin, that possess a substantial risk of a significant number of human facilities or incidents or permanent or long–term disability (1. It is a condition that requires the government to declare a state of public health emergency. The declaration of a state of public health emergency permits the government to suspend state regulations,and change the functions of state agencies (2. Term “Urban” refers to perplexing variety of environments.  Health circumstances of small cities and town differ in many ways from larger cities and metros. Within cities, change in lifestyle of residents is observed. The urban system is often present with full array of health providers ranging from traditional healer, street drug seller to highly –trained surgeons (3.

Practical Application of Sociology in Systems Engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Watson, Michael D.; Andrews, James G.; Eckley, Jeri Cassel; Culver, Michael L.

2017-01-01

Systems engineering involves both the integration of the system and the integration of the disciplines which develop and operate the system. Integrating the disciplines is a sociological effort to bring together different groups, who often have different terminology, to achieve a common goal, the system. The focus for the systems engineer is information flow through the organization, between the disciplines, to ensure the system is developed and operated will all relevant information informing system decisions. The practical application of the sociology in systems engineering brings in various organizational development concepts including the principles of planned renegotiation and the application of principles to address information barriers created by organizational culture. Concepts such as specification of ignorance, consistent terminology, opportunity structures, role-sets, and the reclama (reconsideration) process are all important sociological approaches that help address the organizational social structure (culture). In bringing the disciplines together, the systems engineer must also be wary of social ambivalence, social anomie, social dysfunction, and insider-outsider behavior. Unintended consequences can result when these social issues are present. These issues can occur when localized subcultures shift from the overarching organizational culture, or when the organizational culture prevents achievement of system goals. These sociological principles provide the systems engineer with key approaches to manage the information flow through the organization as the disciplines are integrated and share their information and provides key sociological barriers to information flow through the organization. This paper will discuss the practical application of sociological principles to systems engineering.

Classical sociology and cosmopolitanism: a critical defence of the social.

Science.gov (United States)

Turner, Bryan S

2006-03-01

It is frequently argued that classical sociology, if not sociology as a whole, cannot provide any significant insight into globalization, primarily because its assumptions about the nation-state, national cultures and national societies are no longer relevant to a global world. Sociology cannot consequently contribute to a normative debate about cosmopolitanism, which invites us to consider loyalties and identities that reach beyond the nation-state. My argument considers four principal topics. First, I defend the classical legacy by arguing that classical sociology involved the study of 'the social' not national societies. This argument is illustration by reference to Emile Durkheim and Talcott Parsons. Secondly, Durkheim specifically developed the notion of a cosmopolitan sociology to challenge the nationalist assumptions of his day. Thirdly, I attempt to develop a critical version of Max Weber's verstehende soziologie to consider the conditions for critical recognition theory in sociology as a necessary precondition of cosmopolitanism. Finally, I consider the limitations of some contemporary versions of global sociology in the example of 'flexible citizenship' to provide an empirical case study of the limitations of globalization processes and 'sociology beyond society'. While many institutions have become global, some cannot make this transition. Hence, we should consider the limitations on as well as the opportunities for cosmopolitan sociology.

Influencing public health without authority.

Science.gov (United States)

Suresh, K

2012-01-01

This paper analyzes the present processes, products and needs of post-graduate public health education for the health programming, implementation and oversight responsibilities at field level and suggests some solutions for the institutes to adopt or adapt for improving the quality of their scholars. Large number of institutions has cropped up in India in the recent years to meet the growing demand of public health specialists/practitioners in various national health projects, international development partners, national and international NGOs. Throwing open MPH courses to multi-disciplinary graduate's is a new phenomenon in India and may be a two edged sword. On one hand it is advantageous to produce multi-faceted Public health postgraduates to meet the multi tasking required, on the other hand getting all of them to a common basic understanding, demystifying technical teaching and churning out products that are acceptable to the traditional health system. These Institutions can and must influence public health in the country through producing professionals of MPH/ MD degree with right attitude and skill-mix. Engaging learners in experimentation, experience sharing projects, stepping into health professionals' roles and similar activities lead to development of relatively clear and permanent neural traces in the brain. The MPH institutes may not have all efficient faculties, for which they should try to achieve this by inviting veterans in public health and professionals from corporate health industry for interface with students on a regular basis. The corporate and public health stalwarts have the capacities to transmit the winning skills and knowledge and also inspire them to adopt or adapt in order to achieve the desired goals.

One Hundred Years of Sociological Solitude?

Science.gov (United States)

Rumbaut, Ruben G.

2005-01-01

This Cuban-born author presents a narrative on the social events in the United States that marked his life as he embarked on a career in the field of sociology in the 1960s and 70s. He advocates for sociologists' awareness of social realities and the evolution of sociological studies from a socially-conscious perspective.

Twitter and Public Health (Part 1): How Individual Public Health Professionals Use Twitter for Professional Development.

Science.gov (United States)

Hart, Mark; Stetten, Nichole E; Islam, Sabrina; Pizarro, Katherine

2017-09-20

The use of social networking sites is increasingly being adopted in public health, in part, because of the barriers to funding and reduced resources. Public health professionals are using social media platforms, specifically Twitter, as a way to facilitate professional development. The objective of this study was to identify public health professionals using Twitter and to analyze how they use this platform to enhance their formal and informal professional development within the context of public health. Keyword searches were conducted to identify and invite potential participants to complete a survey related to their use of Twitter for public health and professional experiences. Data regarding demographic attributes, Twitter usage, and qualitative information were obtained through an anonymous Web-based survey. Open-response survey questions were analyzed using the constant comparison method. "Using Twitter makes it easier to expand my networking opportunities" and "I find Twitter useful for professional development" scored highest, with a mean score of 4.57 (standard deviation [SD] 0.74) and 4.43 (SD 0.76) on a 5-point Likert scale. Analysis of the qualitative data shows the emergence of the following themes for why public health professionals mostly use Twitter: (1) geography, (2) continuing education, (3) professional gain, and (4) communication. For public health professionals in this study, Twitter is a platform best used for their networking and professional development. Furthermore, the use of Twitter allows public health professionals to overcome a series of barriers and enhances opportunities for growth. ©Mark Hart, Nichole E Stetten, Sabrina Islam, Katherine Pizarro. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (http://publichealth.jmir.org), 20.09.2017.

Public health terminology: Hindrance to a Health in All Policies approach?

Science.gov (United States)

Synnevåg, Ellen S; Amdam, Roar; Fosse, Elisabeth

2018-02-01

National public health policies in Norway are based on a Health in All Policies (HiAP) approach. At the local level, this means that public health, as a cross-sectional responsibility, should be implemented in all municipal sectors by integrating public health policies in municipal planning and management systems. The paper investigates these local processes, focusing on the use of public health terminology and how this terminology is translated from national to local contexts. We ask whether the terms 'public health' and 'public health work' are suitable when implementing an HiAP approach. A qualitative case study based on analyses of interviews and planning documents was performed in three Norwegian municipalities. The results present dilemmas associated with using public health terminology when implementing an HiAP approach. On the one hand, the terms are experienced as wide, complex, advanced and unnecessary. On the other hand, the terms are experienced as important for a systematic approach towards understanding public health ideology and cross-sectional responsibility. One municipality used alternative terminology. This paper promotes debate about the appropriateness of using the terms 'public health' and 'public health work' at the local level. It suggests that adaptation is suitable and necessary, unless it compromises knowledge, responsibility and a systematic approach. This study concludes that the use of terminology is a central factor when implementing the Norwegian Public Health Act at the local level.

Public health challenges in sun protection.

Science.gov (United States)

Eide, Melody J; Weinstock, Martin A

2006-01-01

Sunscreens are a popular choice for protection from ultraviolet radiation, and hence, important components in the public health campaign to reduce the burden of skin cancer. Public health messages in skin cancer prevention have been used effectively in educational campaigns. The benefits of sunscreen extend beyond skin cancer prevention into other aspects of health and disease prevention: sunscreen decreases the risk for sunburn during physical activity outdoors and seems not to increase the risk for osteoporosis. Public health efforts have laid a solid foundation on which to face the continuing challenge of promoting and developing effective public health campaigns and health policies that encourage sunscreen use, sun protection, and the primary prevention of skin cancer. In this article, the controversies, concerns, and challenges of sunscreen use as it relates to public health are discussed.

Periodontal health and global public health

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Poul E; Baehni, Pierre C

2012-01-01

Chronic diseases are a growing burden to people, to health-care systems and to societies across the world. The rapid increase in the burden of chronic diseases is particularly prevalent in the developing countries. Periodontal disease is one of the two most important oral diseases contributing...... to the global burden of chronic disease. In addition to social determinants, periodontal health status is related to several proximal factors. Modifiable risk factors, such as tobacco use, excessive alcohol consumption, poor diet and nutrition, obesity, psychological stress and insufficient personal....../oral hygiene, are important and these principal risk factors for periodontal disease are shared by other chronic diseases. The present monograph is devoted to the existing evidence on the practice of public health related to periodontal health. Public health is defined as the process of mobilizing and engaging...

(Public) Health and Human Rights in Practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Annas, George J; Mariner, Wendy K

2016-02-01

Public health's reliance on law to define and carry out public activities makes it impossible to define a set of ethical principles unique to public health. Public health ethics must be encompassed within--and consistent with--a broader set of principles that define the power and limits of governmental institutions. These include human rights, health law, and even medical ethics. The human right to health requires governments not only to respect individual human rights and personal freedoms, but also, importantly, to protect people from harm from external sources and third parties, and to fulfill the health needs of the population. Even if human rights are the natural language for public health, not all public health professionals are comfortable with the language of human rights. Some argue that individual human rights--such as autonomy and privacy--unfairly limit the permissible means to achieve the goal of health protection. We argue that public health should welcome and promote the human rights framework. In almost every instance, this will make public health more effective in the long run, because the goals of public health and human rights are the same: to promote human flourishing. Copyright © 2016 by Duke University Press.

EVALUATION OF LABOR CONDITIONS BY PUBLIC HEALTH WORKERS IN THE RUSSIAN FAR EAST

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu. V. Kirik

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of the study is to analyze the conditions and organization of work of public health workers of state medical organizations in the Far East of Russia according to a medical and sociological survey. Materials and methods. A questionnaire survey was chosen. There are 835 people took part in the poll. To gather social information, three groups of respondents were selected: 1 senior and middle managers, 2 heads of structural units; 3 doctors, various clinical specialties, included in the reserve of management personnel. The collection of statistical data was conducted in 2015- 2017. Statistical analysis of the data was carried out using the methods of calculating relative values, calculating the average values, and ANOVA. Results. According to the obtained results, all groups of respondents believe that present healthcare industry in Russia is developed satisfactorily. Participants in the survey estimate the current state of resources of public health institutions rather low. According to the survey results, health workers give an unsatisfactory assessment of the technical condition of the buildings of medical organizations, of the provision of doctors and middle medical personnel. Among the proposed motivational factors of labor activity, healthcare workers and give a satisfactory assessment of such factors as: the discipline of work, the amount of work, the safety in the workplace, the stability of the workplace and interpersonal relations with colleagues. Opinion of medical workers does not coincide in the assessment of factors: wages, technical support of the workplace, the volume of document circulation, the opportunity for professional development, self-realization and career growth. Senior and middle managers assess these factors as «satisfactory», doctors give an assessment of «unsatisfactory». Heads of structural subdivisions assess the factors of technical support for the workplace, the size of wages and volume of document

Primary health care and public health: foundations of universal health systems.

Science.gov (United States)

White, Franklin

2015-01-01

The aim of this review is to advocate for more integrated and universally accessible health systems, built on a foundation of primary health care and public health. The perspective outlined identified health systems as the frame of reference, clarified terminology and examined complementary perspectives on health. It explored the prospects for universal and integrated health systems from a global perspective, the role of healthy public policy in achieving population health and the value of the social-ecological model in guiding how best to align the components of an integrated health service. The importance of an ethical private sector in partnership with the public sector is recognized. Most health systems around the world, still heavily focused on illness, are doing relatively little to optimize health and minimize illness burdens, especially for vulnerable groups. This failure to improve the underlying conditions for health is compounded by insufficient allocation of resources to address priority needs with equity (universality, accessibility and affordability). Finally, public health and primary health care are the cornerstones of sustainable health systems, and this should be reflected in the health policies and professional education systems of all nations wishing to achieve a health system that is effective, equitable, efficient and affordable. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Para una sociología de la sexualidad

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

OSCAR GUASCH

1993-01-01

Full Text Available La sociología deja la sexualidad en manos del psicoanálisis y de la medicina, primero, y de la sexología, después. La sociología de la sexualidad comparte objeto de estudio con otras especializaciones de la disciplina como la sociología de la familia o la sociología del género. El objeto de estudio de la sociología de la sexualidad es el sexo: el sexo en tanto que actividad social. Se ocupa de definir que es sexo y que no lo es, describe que espacios y tiempos tiene adjudicados, que actores lo ejecutan y cuales no, de que modo lo hacen, y las razones y consecuencias sociales de todo ello. En este artículo se define el marco sociohistórico que deben tener en cuenta futuras investigaciones sociológicas sobre sexualidad, revisando los distintos modos mediante los cuales occidente organiza el control social de la actividad sexual.

Chiropractic care and public health

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johnson, Claire; Rubinstein, Sidney M; Côté, Pierre

2012-01-01

The purpose of this collaborative summary is to document current chiropractic involvement in the public health movement, reflect on social ecological levels of influence as a profession, and summarize the relationship of chiropractic to the current public health topics of: safety, health issues...... disorders? How can chiropractic use cognitive behavioral therapy to address chronic low back pain as a public health problem? What opportunities exist for doctors of chiropractic to more effectively serve the aging population? What is the role of ethics and the contribution of the chiropractic profession...

Public health medicine: the constant dilemma.

Science.gov (United States)

Eskin, Frada

2002-03-01

There is a well-known quotation by the nineteenth-century sociologist Virchow (quoted in Ref. 1) that aptly captures the dilemma that has confronted public health medicine since the specialty was created as a discrete entity in 1848. Virchow said: 'Medicine is politics and social medicine is politics writ large!' What does this mean in relation to effective public health medicine practice and how is it likely to affect its future? There is increasingly limited freedom of expression within the current context of political correctness, central control and a rapidly burgeoning litigious climate. The purpose of this paper is to explore these issues and to propose a means of maintaining public health medicine integrity within a working environment where action is becoming rapidly constrained by political rigidity. An additional factor to be included in the dialogue is the current context within which public health physicians work. Because the majority of public health doctors are employed within the National Health Service (NHS), they are finding themselves being expected to take on tasks and responsibilities marginal to their essential purpose and function. For example, public health physicians spend a great deal of time involved in detailed deliberations about health service provision. Although there is a great deal of evidence to show that good quality health care provision positively affects the health of the individual, there is no evidence to show that this activity has any effect on the population's health status. The essence of public health medicine practice is the prevention of ill-health and the promotion of the health of the population and, consequently, attention needs to be focused on the root causes of disease. However, as these are outside the aegis of the NHS, public health medicine involvement in such issues as education, nutrition, housing, transport and poverty is regarded as marginal to the NHS corporate agenda.

Polish Qualitative Sociology: The General Features and Development

OpenAIRE

Konecki, Krzysztof Tomasz; Kacperczyk, Anna; Marciniak, Łukasz

2005-01-01

Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research,2005, 6(3) The article explores the development of Polish qualitative sociology in Poland by presenting its main intellectual routes and some of the general features of Polish sociology. Romanticism and inductionmethod are crucial elements for the development of this discipline in Poland and contribute to its. unigueness. The role of Florian Znaniecki in creating the Polish qualitative sociology is also underlined.

[Religion and health: the public intervention of Catholic religious agents trained in bioethics in the parliamentary debate on death with dignity in Argentina].

Science.gov (United States)

Irrazábal, Gabriela

2015-09-01

This paper discusses from a sociological perspective one of Catholicism's fronts of public intervention in the development and enactment of health legislation. In particular we analyze the debate in parliamentary committees on the so-called "death with dignity" law (No. 26742), for which a group of bioethics experts was convened to counsel senators regarding the scope and limits of the law. The majority of the invited experts advocated a personalist bioethics perspective, which is a theological bioethics development of contemporary Catholicism. In the debate no representatives of other faiths were present, reinforcing the widely studied overlap between Catholicism and politics in Argentina.

Child public health

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Blair, Mitch

2010-01-01

"Despite children making up around a quarter of the population, the first edition of this book was the first to focus on a public health approach to the health and sickness of children and young people...

The Development of Visual Sociology: A view from the inside

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Douglas Harper

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This paper is a reflection by one of the founding members of the IVSA (International Visual Sociology Association about the events, ideas, social trends and revolutions within sociology that contributed to development of visual sociology. In 2016 the IVSA entered its 34th year and the author has been a participant in the organization for its full duration. The paper details the importance of documentary photography in the early era of visual sociology. During this era key papers by Howard Becker contributed to the intellectual movement’s original intellectual definition and created a pedagogical model that has served as a model for teaching visual sociology to this day. Moving from visual sociology as a method based on black and white photography, the discipline embraced and developed collaborative methods including photo elicitation and photovoice. A parallel track of visual sociology focused on the analysis of the visual dimension of society, drawing on semiotics and cultural studies. More recently visual sociology has begun to explore the rapidly changing meaning and social function of photographic imagery, as cameras and images have become ubiquitous in the cell phone era.

[Non-reciprocal social exchange is a health risk: a medical sociological research model].

Science.gov (United States)

Siegrist, J

2002-02-01

Contrary to a reductionist disease concept prevailing in molecular medicine, a systemic disease concept is emphasised in this sociopsychosomatic approach towards analysing disease as a result of disturbed social exchange among people. More precisely, violations of the norms of social reciprocity in core social roles in adult life, in particular in the work role, are assumed to trigger stressful experience with adverse long-term consequences for health. The model of effort-reward imbalance at work provides an illustrative case of nonreciprocal social exchange. It defines distinct conditions in which an imbalance between high efforts spent and low rewards received in turn is maintained by the workers. In this model social rewards are analysed in terms of money, esteem and promotion prospect including job security. The contribution summarises results from 6 international prospective and cross-sectional epidemiological investigations testing the model of effort-reward imbalance at work with regard to different health indicators (especially coronary heart disease, hypertension, depression, alcohol dependence). In all instances an elevated risk of illness is observed among those who experience non-reciprocal social exchange in terms of effort-reward imbalance at work, compared to people who are free from this type of stressful experience. Results are derived from logistic regression analysis adjusting for the effects of potential confounders. In view of this evidence the medical sociological approach outlined here may be helpful in contrasting a reductionist concept of disease with a systemic concept centred around the sociopsychosomatic aspects of human health and disease. Copyright 2002 S. Karger GmbH, Freiburg

Socialkonstruktivismer i klassisk og moderne sociologi

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasborg, Klaus

2004-01-01

En videnskabsteoretisk diskussion af socialkonstruktivismens genealogi, samt af en række fremtrædende socialkonstruktivistiske positioner i klassisk og moderne sociologi (Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Berger & Luckmann, Goffman og Bourdieu)......En videnskabsteoretisk diskussion af socialkonstruktivismens genealogi, samt af en række fremtrædende socialkonstruktivistiske positioner i klassisk og moderne sociologi (Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Berger & Luckmann, Goffman og Bourdieu)...

[Where are we in general sociology ?].

Science.gov (United States)

Brian, Eric

2012-01-01

Over the last two decades, history and social sciences have experienced a kind of merging, and a vast number of specialized domains have emerged. Yet the durkheim - ian register of "general sociology" seems somehow neglected. Firstly, this article analyzes the reasons for this neglect, and secondly, it indicates how, through a long-term reflexivity, one can formulate a new agenda for general sociology.

The sociology of space as a catalyst for innovation in the health sector.

Science.gov (United States)

Saidi, Trust; de Villiers, Katusha; Douglas, Tania S

2017-05-01

This paper reviews the role of space in facilitating innovation. It draws on the sociology of space in exploring the social practices, institutional forces and material complexity of how people and spaces interact. We assess how space influences the development of innovative solutions to challenges in the health sector. Our aim is to advance an understanding of the social production of space for healthcare innovation. We draw empirical examples from the Innovation Hub at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town to illustrate that innovation does not take place in an institutional vacuum, but requires space that facilitates interaction of different players. This paper demonstrates that space matters in promoting innovation, particularly through its influence on social relationships and networks. An attractive and novel space, which is different from the usual workplace, stimulates innovation, mainly through being a base for the creation of an ecosystem for the productive interaction of different players. The interaction is important in inspiring new ideas, facilitating creative thought processes, maintaining the flow of information and bringing innovation to life. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Can consumer choice replace trust in the National Health Service in England? Towards developing an affective psychosocial conception of trust in health care.

Science.gov (United States)

Fotaki, Marianna

2014-11-01

Trust has long been regarded as a vitally important aspect of the relationship between health service providers and patients. Recently, consumer choice has been increasingly advocated as a means of improving the quality and effectiveness of health service provision. However, it is uncertain how the increase of information necessary to allow users of health services to exercise choice, and the simultaneous introduction of markets in public health systems, will affect various dimensions of trust, and how changing relations of trust will impact upon patients and services. This article employs a theory-driven approach to investigate conceptual and material links between choice, trust and markets in health care in the context of the National Health Service in England. It also examines the implications of patient choice on systemic, organisational and interpersonal trust. The article is divided into two parts. The first argues that the shift to marketisation in public health services might lead to an over-reliance on rational-calculative aspects of trust at the expense of embodied, relational and social attributes. The second develops an alternative psychosocial conception of trust: it focuses on the central role of affect and accounts for the material and symbolic links between choice, trust and markets in health care. © 2014 The Author. Sociology of Health & Illness © 2014 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

[Survey on public health nursing education-in the comparison of nursing education courses, universities, advanced courses for public health nurse with junior nursing colleges, and public health nursing school].

Science.gov (United States)

Hirano, Kayoko; Ikeda, Nobuko; Kanagawa, Katuko; Shiomi, Sigeki; Suzuki, Akira; Hirayama, Tomoko; Furuya, Akie; Ymazaki, Kyoko; Yasumura, Seiji

2005-08-01

Changes in public health nursing education have been consideration. Theses changes include a dramatic increase in the number of public health nurses (PHNs) who have enrolled for nursing courses at university. This study was conducted to assess the current status and future of public health nursing education as perceived by teachers and students at three types of schools: universities offering nursing courses, advanced courses for PHNs with junior nursing colleges, and public health nursing schools. Questionnaires were distributed to teachers and students by mail. The questions that were sent to teachers asked which subjects were required to become a certified PHN, which lecture methods were employed to teach public health-particularly community health assessment methods, and what was the level of awareness of the activities of PHNs. Students were asked about their motivation to be a PHN, their understanding of public health, their views of public health activities and their images of PHNs. Responses were analyzed and differences between questionnaires from different schools were noted. These included the number of subjects and the total number of hours spent doing practical training and field experience in universities and the other types of schools, and the number of teachers. Differences also were noted among students at three types of schools about their age, methods of public health activities, knowledge about activities undertaken by PHNs, and their images of PHNs. No differences were observed among the schools with respect to the students' conceptual understanding of public health. Student age, practical training and field experience were found to contribute to their level of understanding of public health and public health nursing. It is thus necessary to consider the teaching methods employed by universities that administer nursing courses and the effectiveness of courses offered by graduate schools.

Protecting Health and Saving Lives: The Part-Time/Internet-Based Master of Public Health Program at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Science.gov (United States)

Bruce, Linda; Gresh, Kathy; Vanchiswaran, Rohini; Werapitiya, Deepthi

2007-01-01

This article discusses the part-time/Internet-based Master of Public Health (MPH) program at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH). The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health was the first school of public health in the United States to offer a Master of Public Health program via the Internet. The JHSPH MPH Program…

Citizen Science for public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Den Broeder, Lea; Devilee, Jeroen; Van Oers, Hans; Schuit, A Jantine; Wagemakers, Annemarie

2016-12-23

Community engagement in public health policy is easier said than done. One reason is that public health policy is produced in a complex process resulting in policies that may appear not to link up to citizen perspectives. We therefore address the central question as to whether citizen engagement in knowledge production could enable inclusive health policy making. Building on non-health work fields, we describe different types of citizen engagement in scientific research, or 'Citizen Science'. We describe the challenges that Citizen Science poses for public health, and how these could be addressed. Despite these challenges, we expect that Citizen Science or similar approaches such as participatory action research and 'popular epidemiology' may yield better knowledge, empowered communities, and improved community health. We provide a draft framework to enable evaluation of Citizen Science in practice, consisting of a descriptive typology of different kinds of Citizen Science and a causal framework that shows how Citizen Science in public health might benefit both the knowledge produced as well as the 'Citizen Scientists' as active participants. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

77 FR 38296 - Draft Public Health Action Plan-A National Public Health Action Plan for the Detection...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-27

... Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Reproductive Health, Attn: National Public Health Action Plan... Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Reproductive Health, 4770 Buford Highway NE... topic's public health importance, existing challenges, and opportunities for action to decrease the...

Dementia: sociological and philosophical constructions.

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Daniel H J

2004-01-01

This analysis presents a challenge to the biomedical view of dementia as a disease. This view is critiqued from two perspectives: those of sociology and philosophy. Because these domains inform the creation of the medical discourse, their analysis provides an important refinement to the apprehension of the phenomenon of dementia. From the work of Foucault, and in particular his analysis of the historical origins of modern medicine, the sociological construction of dementia is considered. Following this, the philosophical question of Being is discussed, considering particularly the positions of Heidegger and Merleau-Ponty. Lastly aspects of dementia nursing that are damaging to those relatives forced to take on the role of primary carer are isolated, in the context of Kitwood's view that it is possible to maintain personhood at the extremes of this condition. It is suggested that this critique of sociological and philosophical foundations of dementia might offer a way of approaching the dismantling of the self and revise current conceptions of dementia care for the better.

Population mental health: evidence, policy, and public health practice

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Cohen, Neal L; Galea, Sandro

2011-01-01

... on population mental health with public mental health policy and practice. Issues covered in the book include the influence of mental health policies on the care and well-­ being of individuals with mental illness, the interconnectedness of physical and mental disorders, the obstacles to adopting a public health orientation to mental health/mental ill...

The Cultural Turn in Sociology: Can It Help Us Resolve an Age-Old Problem in Understanding Decision Making for Health Care?

Science.gov (United States)

Pescosolido, Bernice A; Olafsdottir, Sigrun

2010-12-01

Culture has long affected individuals' response to problems. A classic puzzle in the sociology of health and illness is discrepancy between theory and research regarding cultural beliefs and knowledge of medical care service use. "Utilization research," examining individuals' responses to the onset of health problems, has not consistently affected culture on the uptake of formal treatment. First, while ethnographic research often describes how culture shapes illness behaviors, survey-based studies rarely find significant beliefs or predispositions once "need" is controlled. Second, in quantitative studies, individuals report supportive treatment beliefs or predispositions to use services but low utilization levels, reinforcing claims about lack of utility of cultural ideologies in health-care decision making. We ask whether innovations in the sociology of culture and cognition provide theoretical scaffolding to conceptualize and measure culture in health service utilization. Rather than estimating effect of cultural beliefs on health-care decisionmaking, we question the measurement of cultural beliefs in understanding service use. Examining data from the General Social Survey, we focus on how approaches to culture might explain the paradox of high cultural predispositions and low actual use. Children with mental health problems provide a comparison between suggestions and endorsements. Suggestions, sources of care offered by individuals in response to a case description without any other social cues, align with new cultural approaches, and are measured by responses to open-ended questions about what should be done for the child described (with clinical criteria for ADHD, major depression, asthma, or "daily troubles"). Endorsements, requiring less cognitive work and cultural resistance, align with traditional conceptualizations of culture, and are measured by closed-ended questions that ask respondents to agree or disagree with seeking help from different treatment

The Sociological Imagination and Community-Based Learning: Using an Asset-Based Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Garoutte, Lisa

2018-01-01

Fostering a sociological imagination in students is a central goal for most introductory sociology courses and sociology departments generally, yet success is difficult to achieve. This project suggests that using elements of asset-based community development can be used in sociology classrooms to develop a sociological perspective. After…

Applications of health information exchange information to public health practice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kierkegaard, Patrick; Kaushal, Rainu; Vest, Joshua R.

2014-01-01

Health information exchange (HIE) can support several aspects of public health practice by increasing the availability, timeliness, and comprehensiveness individual-level patient information. The potential benefits to disease monitoring, disaster response, and other public health activities served...... as an important justification for the US’ investments in HIE. After several years of HIE implementation and funding, we sought to determine if any of the anticipated benefits of exchange participation were accruing to state and local public health practitioners participating in five different exchanges. Using...... qualitative interviews and template analyses, we identified public health efforts and activities that were improved by participation in HIE. We derived the codes for the template analysis through a literature review. HIE supported public health activities consistent with expectations in the literature...

Mind the public health leadership gap: the opportunities and challenges of engaging high-profile individuals in the public health agenda.

Science.gov (United States)

Shickle, Darren; Day, Matthew; Smith, Kevin; Zakariasen, Ken; Moskol, Jacob; Oliver, Thomas

2014-12-01

Public health leadership has been criticized as being ineffective. The public health profession is relatively small. Critics have argued that there is over-emphasis on technical aspects and insufficient use of the 'community as a source of public health actions'. The paper analyses the resources, motivations and skills utilized by high-profile individuals who have made contributions to the public health agenda. The phenomenon of celebrity diplomacy is critiqued. Two exemplars are discussed: Jamie Oliver and Michael Bloomberg. The risks of involving celebrities are also considered. Leaders for public health demonstrate 'a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will' to make the 'right decisions happen'. While they may have ego or self-interest, in this context, at least, they channel their ambition for the public health cause, not themselves. Leaders from outside public health may have no understanding of what public health is nor consider their work as part of a wider public health agenda. It is important to understand why they become leaders for public health. This will inform a strategy for how others may be encouraged to collaborate for public health causes. Some key points for working with high-profile leaders for public health are identified. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Big and broad social data and the sociological imagination: A collaborative response

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

William Housley

2014-08-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we reflect on the disciplinary contours of contemporary sociology, and social science more generally, in the age of ‘big and broad’ social data. Our aim is to suggest how sociology and social sciences may respond to the challenges and opportunities presented by this ‘data deluge’ in ways that are innovative yet sensitive to the social and ethical life of data and methods. We begin by reviewing relevant contemporary methodological debates and consider how they relate to the emergence of big and broad social data as a product, reflexive artefact and organizational feature of emerging global digital society. We then explore the challenges and opportunities afforded to social science through the widespread adoption of a new generation of distributed, digital technologies and the gathering momentum of the open data movement, grounding our observations in the work of the Collaborative Online Social Media ObServatory (COSMOS project. In conclusion, we argue that these challenges and opportunities motivate a renewed interest in the programme for a ‘public sociology’, characterized by the co-production of social scientific knowledge involving a broad range of actors and publics.

A relational approach to health practices: towards transcending the agency-structure divide.

Science.gov (United States)

Veenstra, Gerry; Burnett, Patrick John

2014-02-01

Many health scholars find that Pierre Bourdieu's theory of practice leaves too little room for individual agency. We contend that, by virtue of its relational, field-theoretic underpinnings, the idea of leaving room for agency in Bourdieu's theory of practice is misguided. With agency manifested in interactions and social structures consisting of relations built upon relations, the stark distinction between agency and structure inherent to substantialist thinking is undermined, even dissolved, in a relational field-theoretic context. We also contend that, when treated as relationally bound phenomena, Bourdieu's notions of habitus, doxa, capital and field illuminate creative, adaptive and future-looking practices. We conclude by discussing difficulties inherent to implementing a relational theory of practice in health promotion and public health. © 2014 The Authors. Sociology of Health & Illness © 2014 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Public Health Responsibility Deal: brokering a deal for public health, but on whose terms?

Science.gov (United States)

Panjwani, Clare; Caraher, Martin

2014-02-01

Coalitions of multinational food and drink businesses have pledged to reformulate their products and to market them responsibly. Largely business-led and self-regulated, the integrity of these voluntary initiatives has been questioned. The Public Health Responsibility Deal in England is an example of a voluntary initiative that is government-led. Does this approach provide evidence that with public leadership there is potential for voluntary actions to deliver meaningful results for public health? The subject of the research is the calorie reduction initiative of the Responsibility Deal. Source material was obtained primarily through a series of UK Freedom of Information requests and comprises previously unpublished Department of Health documentation relating to relevant meetings held during 2011 and 2012. The Responsibility Deal approach to calorie reduction deliberately involves the food industry in the specification of the measures it is to implement (reformulation and portion control). Finding the common ground between private and public interests has resulted in the deflection of public health objectives and the preclusion of adequate monitoring and evaluation. The Responsibility Deal approach is fundamentally flawed in its expectation that industry will take voluntary actions that prioritise public health interests above its own. Being government-led counts for little in the absence of sanctions to drive compliance. Instead the initiative affords private interests the opportunity to influence in their favour the public health policies and strategies that affect their products. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

THE CULTURE AND ARTS ORGANIZATION: MACRO-SOCIOLOGICAL ASPECT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Margarita Rasimovna Pashaeva

2013-11-01

Full Text Available In this study we analyze the macro-sociological aspect of culture and arts organization. The subject of research is reputation policy and communication technologies in  macro-sociological aspect of culture and arts organization. The target is the research the effects of macro-sociological aspect in the activities of such organization. In the study were used such methods of research: theoretical study and  synthesis; quantative method of elicitation: questionnaire; information processing methods of primary analysis; interpretation. The results of research can be applied in the activities of different culture and arts organization. The research identified the negative and positive tendencies in the context of the macro-sociological aspect.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12731/2218-7405-2013-8-49

Public health legal preparedness in Indian country.

Science.gov (United States)

Bryan, Ralph T; Schaefer, Rebecca McLaughlin; DeBruyn, Lemyra; Stier, Daniel D

2009-04-01

American Indian/Alaska Native tribal governments are sovereign entities with inherent authority to create laws and enact health regulations. Laws are an essential tool for ensuring effective public health responses to emerging threats. To analyze how tribal laws support public health practice in tribal communities, we reviewed tribal legal documentation available through online databases and talked with subject-matter experts in tribal public health law. Of the 70 tribal codes we found, 14 (20%) had no clearly identifiable public health provisions. The public health-related statutes within the remaining codes were rarely well integrated or comprehensive. Our findings provide an evidence base to help tribal leaders strengthen public health legal foundations in tribal communities.

Sociology of Discourse

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Agustin, Oscar Garcia

Sociology of Discourse takes the perspective that collective actors like social movements are capable of creating social change from below by creating new institutions through alternative discourses. Institutionalization becomes a process of moving away from existing institutions towards creating...

Global Interconnectedness and Multiculturalism in Undergraduate Sociology Courses in the USA

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Kyoung-Ho

2014-01-01

This study attempts to explain a process of inserting global transnational elements into an undergraduate sociology course. After a review of global themes covered in introductory sociology textbooks, the author administered two projects (Global Multiculturalism and Sociology of Wal-Mart) in an undergraduate sociology course. The current study…

Systematic review of public health branding.

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, W Douglas; Blitstein, Jonathan; Hersey, James C; Renaud, Jeanette; Yaroch, Amy L

2008-12-01

Brands build relationships between consumers and products, services, or lifestyles by providing beneficial exchanges and adding value to their objects. Brands can be measured through associations that consumers hold for products and services. Public health brands are the associations that individuals hold for health behaviors, or lifestyles that embody multiple health behaviors. We systematically reviewed the literature on public health brands; developed a methodology for describing branded health messages and campaigns; and examined specific branding strategies across a range of topic areas, campaigns, and global settings. We searched the literature for published studies on public health branding available through all relevant, major online publication databases. Public health branding was operationalized as any manuscripts in the health, social science, and business literature on branding or brands in health promotion marketing. We developed formalized decision rules and applied them in identifying articles for review. We initially identified 154 articles and reviewed a final set of 37, 10 from Africa, Australia, and Europe. Branded health campaigns spanned most of the major domains of public health and numerous communication strategies and evaluation methodologies. Most studies provided clear information on planning, development, and evaluation of the branding effort, while some provided minimal information. Branded health messages typically are theory based, and there is a body of evidence on their behavior change effectiveness, especially in nutrition, tobacco control, and HIV/AIDS. More rigorous research is needed, however, on how branded health messages impact specific populations and behaviors.

New public management and policies of secrecy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lise DEMAILLY

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Crossing a survey of literature in sociology of health and her own inquiries in the field of mental health, the author studies the historical change in policies of secrecy in health domains and specifically, in modern democracies, practical aporias opposing rights and duties to and towards secrecy, rights and duty to and towards transparency. The paper describes weakening of medical secret regarding legitimization of standards of transparency, coordination and evaluation supported by the New Public Management (NPM. Two forms of resistance against technocratic enforcement to publicizing are suggested. The first of these forms is the historical exception, nowadays vilified as out of date, of psychoanalysis bound to strict secret of the singular interview and building there a space for emancipation, preventing any governance of behavior by healthiness. The second one: some intentional and paradoxical break of secret can result in symbolic reversal against domination and shame.

Risk tradeoffs and public health protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Charnley, G.

1998-01-01

Full text of publication follows: over the last 25 years, the traditional command-and-control, chemical-by-chemical environmental medium-by-environmental medium, risk-by-risk approach to protecting public health from environmental risks has worked well to greatly improve the quality of our food, air, water, and workplaces, but we are now left with the more complex problems, like urban air pollution or personal dietary behavior, that a chemical-by-chemical approach is not going to solve. Because current environmental regulatory programs have curbed the 'low-hanging fruit' and because of today's emphasis on achieving risk reductions cost-effectively, new and creative public health-based approaches to risk management are needed. Since public concern about pollution-related disease become serious in the 1960's and 1970's and regulatory agencies and laws began to proliferate, the public health goals of environmental protection have been obscured. As a society, we have made a tradeoff between environmental health and public health. The public health foundation of environmental health protection has been obscured by legalistic, technical, centralized decision-making processes that have often mistaken hazard for risk. A greater focus on public health would help us to assess aggregate risks and to target risk management resources by focusing on a problem and then identifying what is causing the problem as a guide to determining how best to solve it. Most of our current approaches start with a cause and then try to eliminate it without determining the extent to which it actually may contribute to a problem, making it difficult to set priorities among risks or to evaluate the impact of risk management actions on public health. (author)

How to characterize the public health workforce based on essential public health operations? environmental public health workers in the Netherlands as an example

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jambroes, M.; van Honschooten, R.; Doosje, J.; Stronks, K.; Essink-Bot, M. L.

2015-01-01

Public health workforce planning and policy development require adequate data on the public health workforce and the services provided. If existing data sources do not contain the necessary information, or apply to part of the workforce only, primary data collection is required. The aim of this

Personalism for public health ethics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlo Petrini

2010-06-01

Full Text Available In public health ethics, as in bioethics, utilitarian approaches usually prevail, followed by Kantian and communitarian foundations. If one considers the nature and core functions of public health, which are focused on a population perspective, utilitarianism seems still more applicable to public health ethics. Nevertheless, faulting additional protections towards the human person, utilitarianism doesn't offer appropriate solutions when conflicts among values do arise. Further criteria must be applied to protect the fundamental principles of respect for human life. Personalism offers similar advantages to utilitarianism but warrants more protection to the human person. We suggest a possible adaptation of personalism in the specific field of public health by means of four principles: absolute respect for life or principle of inviolability; subsidiarity and the "minimum" mandatory principle; solidarity; justice and non discrimination.

Personalism for public health ethics.

Science.gov (United States)

Petrini, Carlo; Gainotti, Sabina; Requena, Pablo

2010-01-01

In public health ethics, as in bioethics, utilitarian approaches usually prevail, followed by Kantian and communitarian foundations. If one considers the nature and core functions of public health, which are focused on a population perspective, utilitarianism seems still more applicable to public health ethics. Nevertheless, faulting additional protections towards the human person, utilitarianism doesn't offer appropriate solutions when conflicts among values do arise. Further criteria must be applied to protect the fundamental principles of respect for human life. Personalism offers similar advantages to utilitarianism but warrants more protection to the human person. We suggest a possible adaptation of personalism in the specific field of public health by means of four principles: absolute respect for life or principle of inviolability; subsidiarity and the "minimum" mandatory principle; solidarity; justice and non discrimination.

Enriching Sociology 100: Using the Novel "Things Fall Apart"

Science.gov (United States)

Hartman, Cheryl J.

2005-01-01

The author has been teaching Introduction to Sociology for several years, and each semester new students bring their own perspectives to the study of sociology, making the content fresh and new. In order to help students understand sociological concepts in more experiential ways and to give them a glimpse into a culture that may be different from…

Petroleum Scarcity and Public Health: Considerations for Local Health Departments

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, Cindy L.; Caine, Virginia A.; McKee, Mary; Shirley, Lillian M.; Links, Jonathan M.

2011-01-01

Recognition of petroleum as a finite global resource has spurred increasing interest in the intersection between petroleum scarcity and public health. Local health departments represent a critical yet highly vulnerable component of the public health infrastructure. These frontline agencies currently face daunting resource constraints and rely heavily on petroleum for vital population-based health services. Against this backdrop, petroleum scarcity may necessitate reconfiguring local public health service approaches. We describe the anticipated impacts of petroleum scarcity on local health departments, recommend the use of the 10 Essential Public Health Services as a framework for examining attendant operational challenges and potential responses to them, and describe approaches that local health departments and their stakeholders could consider as part of timely planning efforts. PMID:21778471

Back to Hegel? On Gillian Rose's critique of sociological reason.

Science.gov (United States)

Fuller, Brian W

2017-08-22

Thirty-five years ago, Gillian Rose articulated a significant critique of classical sociological reason, emphasizing its relationship to its philosophical forebears. In a series of works, but most significantly in her Hegel contra Sociology, Rose worked to specify the implications of sociology's failure, both in its critical Marxist and its 'scientific' forms, to move beyond Kant and to fully come to terms with the thought of Hegel. In this article, I unpack and explain the substance of her criticisms, developing the necessary Hegelian philosophical background on which she founded them. I argue that Rose's attempted recuperation of 'speculative reason' for social theory remains little understood, despite its continued relevance to contemporary debates concerning the nature and scope of sociological reason. As an illustration, I employ Rose to critique Chernilo's recent call for a more philosophically sophisticated sociology. From the vantage point of Rose, this particular account of a 'philosophical sociology' remains abstract and rooted in the neo-Kantian contradictions that continue to characterize sociology. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2017.

Public health and the Australian Constitution.

Science.gov (United States)

Reynolds, C

1995-06-01

The powers vested in the Commonwealth Government by the Constitution contain the basis of much public health law in Australia. Yet this is not often recognised; public health law is generally, and historically, seen as the states' responsibility. This article surveys the broad range of constitutional powers that the Commonwealth Government can rely upon to make public health laws. It considers areas of power specified in the Constitution, such as those with respect to external affairs and corporations. Decisions of the High Court have interpreted the various heads of power very broadly and have significantly enhanced the potential of the Commonwealth to pass detailed and far-reaching public health law. To this fact must be added the taxation arrangements in Australia and, with these, the very extensive control that the Commonwealth can exercise through its monopoly of major taxation sources. Its power to make financial arrangements can tie dependent states into specific policies (including public health policies) as a condition of the grants made to them. However, these broad powers may be limited in some important respects: the High Court is increasingly identifying rights and freedoms in the Constitution that may increasingly bring both state and Commonwealth public health law under challenge. Despite this possibility, the Commonwealth may prove to be our most significant source of public health law, and public health policy makers should recognise the full potential of its power to make such laws.

Heuristic resources of the ‘classics’: Perspectives of sociological enlightenment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D G Podvoyskiy

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The article discusses the methodological question traditional for the humanities and social sciences (and, above all, sociology, namely, the question about their world view status, functions and aims. According to the author, ‘sociological enlightenment’ provides a chance to justify the purport of scientific research on the theory and history of sociology (research that is culturally significant beyond the narrow professional frames of sociology. The most important component of this ‘enlightenment’ is the demonstration of ‘heuristic resources’ of classical and modern theoretical sociology as a means of scientific explanation and conceptualization of social problems at a level comprehensible to non-academic audiences.

The right to public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, James

2016-06-01

Much work in public health ethics is shaped by an 'autonomy first' view, which takes it to be axiomatic that it is difficult to justify state interference in the lives of competent adults unless the behaviours interfered with are compromised in terms of their autonomy, or would wrongfully infringe on the autonomy of others. However, such an approach is difficult to square with much of traditional public heath practice. Recent years have seen running battles between those who assume that an 'autonomy first' approach is basically sound (and so much the worse for public health practice) and those who assume that public health practice is basically sound (and so much the worse for the 'autonomy first' approach). This paper aims to reconcile in a normatively satisfying way what is best about the 'autonomy first' approach with what is best about a standard public health approach. It develops a positive case for state action to promote and protect health as a duty that is owed to each individual. According to this view, the state violates individuals' rights if it fails to take cost-effective and proportionate measures to remove health threats from the environment. It is thus a mistake to approach public health in the way that 'autonomy first' accounts do, as primarily a matter of individual entitlements versus the common good. Too little state intervention in the cause of improving population health can violate individuals' rights, just as too much can. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Publication ethics in public health emergencies.

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw, David; Elger, Bernice S

2017-09-01

In this article, we describe and analyse three issues in publication ethics that are raised when conducting research in emergencies and disasters. These include reluctance to share data and samples because of concerns about publications, loss of individual authorship in high high-profile multi-entity publications, and the deaths of authors during dangerous research projects. An emergency research pledge may be useful in avoiding some of these issues. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

An ecological public health approach to understanding the relationships between sustainable urban environments, public health and social equity.

Science.gov (United States)

Bentley, Michael

2014-09-01

The environmental determinants of public health and social equity present many challenges to a sustainable urbanism-climate change, water shortages and oil dependency to name a few. There are many pathways from urban environments to human health. Numerous links have been described but some underlying mechanisms behind these relationships are less understood. Combining theory and methods is a way of understanding and explaining how the underlying structures of urban environments relate to public health and social equity. This paper proposes a model for an ecological public health, which can be used to explore these relationships. Four principles of an ecological public health-conviviality, equity, sustainability and global responsibility-are used to derive theoretical concepts that can inform ecological public health thinking, which, among other things, provides a way of exploring the underlying mechanisms that link urban environments to public health and social equity. Theories of more-than-human agency inform ways of living together (conviviality) in urban areas. Political ecology links the equity concerns about environmental and social justice. Resilience thinking offers a better way of coming to grips with sustainability. Integrating ecological ethics into public health considers the global consequences of local urban living and thus attends to global responsibility. This way of looking at the relationships between urban environments, public health and social equity answers the call to craft an ecological public health for the twenty-first century by re-imagining public health in a way that acknowledges humans as part of the ecosystem, not separate from it, though not central to it. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Analyzing public health policy: three approaches.

Science.gov (United States)

Coveney, John

2010-07-01

Policy is an important feature of public and private organizations. Within the field of health as a policy arena, public health has emerged in which policy is vital to decision making and the deployment of resources. Public health practitioners and students need to be able to analyze public health policy, yet many feel daunted by the subject's complexity. This article discusses three approaches that simplify policy analysis: Bacchi's "What's the problem?" approach examines the way that policy represents problems. Colebatch's governmentality approach provides a way of analyzing the implementation of policy. Bridgman and Davis's policy cycle allows for an appraisal of public policy development. Each approach provides an analytical framework from which to rigorously study policy. Practitioners and students of public health gain much in engaging with the politicized nature of policy, and a simple approach to policy analysis can greatly assist one's understanding and involvement in policy work.

What makes health public?: a critical evaluation of moral, legal, and political claims in public health

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Coggon, John

2012-01-01

.... Covering important works from legal, moral, and political theory, public health, public health law and ethics, and bioethics, this is a foundational text for scholars, practitioners and policy bodies interested in freedoms, rights and responsibilities relating to health"--

African Sociological Review / Revue Africaine de Sociologie: About ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

African Sociological Review / Revue Africaine de Sociologie: About this journal. Journal Home > African Sociological Review / Revue Africaine de Sociologie: About this journal. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

East African Journal of Public Health

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The East African Journal of Public Health is a multi-disciplinary journal publishing scientific research work from a range of public health related disciplines including community medicine, epidemiology, nutrition, behavioural sciences, health promotion, health education, communicable and non-communicable disease.

Gender issues in medical and public health education.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Y L

2000-01-01

There is no doubt that gender bias has been inherent in medical and public health education, research, and clinical practice. This paper discusses the central question for medical and public health educators viz. whether women's health concerns and needs could be best addressed by the conventional biomedical approach to medical and public health education, research, and practice. Gender inequalities in health and gender bias in medical and public health education are revealed. It is found that in most public health and prevention issues related to women's health, the core issue is male-female power relations, and not merely the lack of public health services, medical technology, or information. There is, thus, an urgent need to gender-sensitize public health and medical education. The paper proposes a gender analysis of health to distinguish between biological causes and social explanations for the health differentials between men and women. It also assessed some of the gender approaches to public health and medical education currently adopted in the Asia-Pacific region. It poses the pressing question of how medical and public health educators integrate the gender perspective into medical and public health education. The paper exhorts all medical and public health practitioners to explore new directions and identify innovative strategies to formulate a gender-sensitive curriculum towards the best practices in medicine and public health that will meet the health needs of women and men in the 21st century.

Tests to evaluate public health disease reporting systems in local public health agencies

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Dausey, David J

2005-01-01

... to evaluate the ability to receive and respond to case reports 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We refined these tests by beta-testing them at 20 metropolitan area local public health agencies across the country over the course of 10 months. The contents of this manual will be of interest to public health professionals at the state and local l...

Early growth and chronic disease: a public health overview.

Science.gov (United States)

Law, Catherine

2005-07-01

Infant and childhood growth result from and reflect a range of influences in pre- and postnatal life. These include nutrition, burden of infection and the psycho-social environment. Nutrition in young children is dependent on individual level factors such as fetal experience, infant feeding and weaning practices, and on societal factors such as education of women and economic conditions. The relationship of early postnatal growth to adult disease may be indicative or causal, and may reveal both biological and sociological processes. Although non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and obesity are risk factors for ischaemic heart disease, the relationships of these three conditions to infant growth differ. Poor infant growth has been associated with higher levels of NIDDM and ischaemic heart disease, but lower levels of adult obesity. Most research has been of populations living in developed countries at different stages of nutritional transition. However, differences in context are not simply limited to the stage of the nutritional transition. They also need to consider the nature of that transition and its social correlates, which may result in the clustering of aetiological influences such as increased body mass and poverty. The size of effect of the relationship of infant growth to adult disease is important not only to determine its relative aetiological importance but also for its potential for public health policy. Such policy also needs to consider the relationships of infant growth to a range of outcomes, both health and human capital, which are not the subject of this workshop.

Academic stratospheres-cum-underworlds: When highs and lows of publication cultures meet

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Stöckelová, Tereza; Vostal, Filip

2017-01-01

Roč. 69, č. 5 (2017), s. 516-528 ISSN 2050-3806 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA15-16452S; GA ČR(CZ) GJ16-18371Y Institutional support: RVO:68378025 ; RVO:67985955 Keywords : predatory publishing * publication cultures * Web of Science * Elsevier * publishing oligopoly Subject RIV: AO - Sociology, Demography; AO - Sociology, Demography (FLU-F) OBOR OECD: Sociology; Sociology (FLU-F) Impact factor: 1.514, year: 2016

The pull of public health studies

OpenAIRE

Braine, Theresa

2007-01-01

Public health has burgeoned over the past 100 years, from the study of tropical diseases in the 19th century to national public health systems after World War One and, more recently, to include international public health. Education has kept up with these trends, and today there are hundreds of schools around the world, many flourishing in developing countries.

Public health nursing, ethics and human rights.

Science.gov (United States)

Ivanov, Luba L; Oden, Tami L

2013-05-01

Public health nursing has a code of ethics that guides practice. This includes the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses, Principles of the Ethical Practice of Public Health, and the Scope and Standards of Public Health Nursing. Human rights and Rights-based care in public health nursing practice are relatively new. They reflect human rights principles as outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and applied to public health practice. As our health care system is restructured and there are new advances in technology and genetics, a focus on providing care that is ethical and respects human rights is needed. Public health nurses can be in the forefront of providing care that reflects an ethical base and a rights-based approach to practice with populations. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

What does social justice require for the public's health? Public health ethics and policy imperatives.

Science.gov (United States)

Gostin, Lawrence O; Powers, Madison

2006-01-01

Justice is so central to the mission of public health that it has been described as the field's core value. This account of justice stresses the fair disbursement of common advantages and the sharing of common burdens. It captures the twin moral impulses that animate public health: to advance human well-being by improving health and to do so particularly by focusing on the needs of the most disadvantaged. This Commentary explores how social justice sheds light on major ongoing controversies in the field, and it provides examples of the kinds of policies that public health agencies, guided by a robust conception of justice, would adopt.

Methodological and epistemological problems in the sociological study of foreign immigration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ramón Llopis Goig

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to identify and to analyze the main technical and methodological difficulties faced by the sociological research on immigration carried out in Spain during the last years. More concretely, what is sought is to figure out the epistemological assumptions which support the social research practices that generate the mentioned techno-methodological problems. For that, firstly, we study some problems generated in the sociological study of immigration as a consequence of the prevalence, in the field of the practices of social research, of a neopositivist methodology, what we have called «public opinion syndrome». Secondly, we examine the difficulties derived from the necessity of considering «empirical reflexivity» methodologically. And thirdly, we present the derived difficulties of the implicit assumption of a «methodological nationalism». These analyses are supplemented with several reflections leading to the establishment of guidelines for the design and the implementation of future research

Do we develop public health leaders?- association between public health competencies and emotional intelligence: a cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Czabanowska, Katarzyna; Malho, André; Schröder-Bäck, Peter; Popa, Daniela; Burazeri, Genc

2014-04-17

Professional development of public health leaders requires a form of instruction which is competency-based to help them develop the abilities to address complex and evolving demands of health care systems. Concurrently, emotional intelligence (EI) is a key to organisational success. Our aim was twofold: i) to assess the relationship between the level of self-assessed public health and EI competencies among Master of European Public Health (MEPH) students and graduates at Maastricht University, and; ii) to determine the relationship between different groups of public health competencies and specific EI skills. A cross-sectional study was conducted including all recent MEPH graduates and students from 2009-2012, out of 67 eligible candidates N = 51 were contacted and N = 33 responded (11 males and 22 females; overall response: 64.7%).Two validated tools were employed: i) public health competencies self-assessment questionnaire, and; ii) Assessing Emotions Scale. Females scored higher than males in all seven domains of the self-assessed key public health competencies (NS) and emotional intelligence competences (P = 0.022). Overall, the mean value of public health competencies was the lowest in students with "staff" preferences and the highest among students with mixed job preferences (P leadership.

Global public health today: connecting the dots

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marta Lomazzi

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Background: Global public health today faces new challenges and is impacted by a range of actors from within and outside state boundaries. The diversity of the actors involved has created challenges and a complex environment that requires a new context-tailored global approach. The World Federation of Public Health Associations has embarked on a collaborative consultation with the World Health Organization to encourage a debate on how to adapt public health to its future role in global health. Design: A qualitative study was undertaken. High-level stakeholders from leading universities, multilateral organizations, and other institutions worldwide participated in the study. Inductive content analyses were performed. Results: Stakeholders underscored that global public health today should tackle the political, commercial, economic, social, and environmental determinants of health and social inequalities. A multisectoral and holistic approach should be guaranteed, engaging public health in broad dialogues and a concerted decision-making process. The connection between neoliberal ideology and public health reforms should be taken into account. The WHO must show leadership and play a supervising and technical role. More and better data are required across many programmatic areas of public health. Resources should be allocated in a sustainable and accountable way. Public health professionals need new skills that should be provided by a collaborative global education system. A common framework context-tailored to influence governments has been evaluated as useful. Conclusions: The study highlighted some of the main public health challenges currently under debate in the global arena, providing interesting ideas. A more inclusive integrated vision of global health in its complexity, shared and advocated for by all stakeholders involved in decision-making processes, is crucial. This vision represents the first step in innovating public health at the

Global public health today: connecting the dots

Science.gov (United States)

Lomazzi, Marta; Jenkins, Christopher; Borisch, Bettina

2016-01-01

Background Global public health today faces new challenges and is impacted by a range of actors from within and outside state boundaries. The diversity of the actors involved has created challenges and a complex environment that requires a new context-tailored global approach. The World Federation of Public Health Associations has embarked on a collaborative consultation with the World Health Organization to encourage a debate on how to adapt public health to its future role in global health. Design A qualitative study was undertaken. High-level stakeholders from leading universities, multilateral organizations, and other institutions worldwide participated in the study. Inductive content analyses were performed. Results Stakeholders underscored that global public health today should tackle the political, commercial, economic, social, and environmental determinants of health and social inequalities. A multisectoral and holistic approach should be guaranteed, engaging public health in broad dialogues and a concerted decision-making process. The connection between neoliberal ideology and public health reforms should be taken into account. The WHO must show leadership and play a supervising and technical role. More and better data are required across many programmatic areas of public health. Resources should be allocated in a sustainable and accountable way. Public health professionals need new skills that should be provided by a collaborative global education system. A common framework context-tailored to influence governments has been evaluated as useful. Conclusions The study highlighted some of the main public health challenges currently under debate in the global arena, providing interesting ideas. A more inclusive integrated vision of global health in its complexity, shared and advocated for by all stakeholders involved in decision-making processes, is crucial. This vision represents the first step in innovating public health at the global level and should lead

Putting the public (back) into public health: leadership, evidence and action.

Science.gov (United States)

South, J; Connolly, A M; Stansfield, J A; Johnstone, P; Henderson, G; Fenton, K A

2018-03-13

There is a strong evidence-based rationale for community capacity building and community empowerment as part of a strategic response to reduce health inequalities. Within the current UK policy context, there are calls for increased public engagement in prevention and local decision-making in order to give people greater control over the conditions that determine health. With reference to the challenges and opportunities within the English public health system, this essay seeks to open debate about what is required to mainstream community-centred approaches and ensure that the public is central to public health. The essay sets out the case for a reorientation of public health practice in order to build impactful action with communities at scale leading to a reduction in the health gap. National frameworks that support local practice are described. Four areas of challenge that could potentially drive an implementation gap are discussed: (i) achieving integration and scale, (ii) effective community mobilization, (iii) evidencing impact and (iv) achieving a shift in power. The essay concludes with a call to action for developing a contemporary public health practice that is rooted in communities and offers local leadership to strengthen local assets, increase community control and reduce health inequalities.

Sociology and Social Work in Nigeria: Characteristics ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper presents the evolution of sociology and social work in Nigeria and examines the current characteristics and areas of convergences and divergences in both fields. It was only in the 1960s that universities in Nigeria began to offer degree programmes in sociology with the. first sub-department and full department ...

The Economic Crisis and Public Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Victor Sidel

2009-06-01

Full Text Available The current global economic crisis seriously threatens the health of the public. Challenges include increases in malnutrition; homelessness and inadequate housing; unemployment; substance abuse, depression, and other mental health problems; mortality; child health problems; violence; environmental and occupational health problems; and social injustice and violation of human rights; as well as decreased availability, accessibility, and affordability of quality medical and dental care. Health professionals can respond by promoting surveillance and documentation of human needs, reassessing public health priorities, educating the public and policymakers about health problems worsened by the economic crisis, advocating for sound policies and programs to address these problems, and directly providing necessary programs and services.

Advancing the business creed? The framing of decisions about public sector managed care.

Science.gov (United States)

Waitzkin, Howard; Yager, Joel; Santos, Richard

2012-01-01

Relatively little research has clarified how executives of for-profit healthcare organisations frame their own motivations and behaviour, or how government officials frame their interactions with executives. Because managed care has provided an organisational structure for health services in many countries, we focused our study on executives and government officials who were administering public sector managed care services. Emphasising theoretically the economic versus non-economic motivations that guide economic behaviour, we extended a long-term research project on public sector Medicaid managed care (MMC) in the United States. Our method involved in-depth, structured interviews with chief executive officers of managed care organisations, as well as high-ranking officials of state government. Data analysis involved iterative interpretation of interview data. We found that the rate of profit, which proved relatively low in the MMC programme, occupied a limited place in executives' self-described motivations and in state officials' descriptions of corporation-government interactions. Non-economic motivations included a strong orientation toward corporate social responsibility and a creed in which market processes advanced human wellbeing. Such patterns contradict some of the given wisdom about how corporate executives and government officials construct their reality. © 2011 The Authors. Sociology of Health & Illness © 2011 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

The Influence of psychological-sociological factors on self-employment

OpenAIRE

Remeikienė, Rita; Startienė, Gražina; Vasauskaitė, Jovita

2011-01-01

The article deals with the influence of psychological-sociological factors on a self-employed person, which is little explored in business literature. Analysis of scientific literature revealed that the psychological-sociological factors of self-employment can be divided into groups based on certain personal characteristics and individual psychological states, and the influence of psychological-sociological factors of self-employment is threefold: positive, negative, and unclear (both positiv...

[Notes for understanding the problem of "public" health in the health sector].

Science.gov (United States)

Guimarães, Cristian Fabiano; da Silva, Rosane Azevedo Neves

2015-03-01

This paper presents a theoretical review of how the public health concept has been perceived in health practices, based on the problematic field introduced in Italian and Brazilian health reforms, in order to understand the construction of public health and the meanings that this term acquires in the health arena. The main goal is to understand how public health appears in the context of health movements in Italy and Brazil, as well as its movement of variation. In this sense, an attempt is made to identify elements that contribute to the composition of a genealogy of public health. From the investigation of public health practices, the tensions produced by this concept are analyzed, giving visibility to those practices that demonstrate the public health experience as a force in the world of health.

Soil and public health: invisible bridges

Science.gov (United States)

Pachepsky, Yakov

2017-04-01

Public health institutions, as ancient as civilizations itself, are intrinsically connected with soils. The massive body of the empirical knowledge about this connection has been accumulated. Recently unraveling the underlying mechanisms of this link has begun, and many of them appear to have the microbiological origin. The impressive progress in understanding the nexus between soil and health has been achieved by experimentation with preserved soil microbial systems functioning along with the metagenomic characterization. The objective of this work is to present an overview of some recent onsets. In the food safety arena, survival of human pathogens in soils has been related to the degree of soil eutrophication and/or related structure of soil microbial communities. Soil microbial systems affect the affinity of plants to internalizing pathogenic organisms. Pharmaceutical arsenals benefit from using field soil environment for developing antibiotics. Enzyme production by soil bacteria is used as the signal source for drug activation. Sanitary functions of sols are dependent on soil microbial system workings. The healthy living can be enhanced by the human immune system training received from direct contact with soils. The hygiene hypothesis considers the microbial input due to exposure to soil as the essential ecosystem service. The invisible links between soil and public health result in large-scale consequences. Examples of concurrent degradation of soil and public health are worth scrutinizing. Public health records can provide valuable sources of 'soil-public health' interactions. It may be worthwhile to examine current assessments of soil health from the public health standpoint. Soil management can be an efficient instrument of public health control.

REFLECTIONS ABOUT NURSES WORK IN PUBLIC HEALTH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Alves Barbosa

2006-12-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT: This research is a part of CIPESC (Classification of Nursing Practice in Public Health project, with national coordination by ABEn (Brazilian Nursing Association witch purpose was to elaborate an inventory of activities developed by Public Health Nurses. It sough to analyze the contribution of the nurses in public health in the South Sanitary District in the city of Goiânia (GO – Brazil, and to identify the meaning of nurses work contribution at Public Health Services, by users and managers. The study was developed by a descriptive-analytical investigation in a qualitative approach. The subjects were managers and users of the Public Health System. Data was collected by individual semi-structured interview directed to the managers and controlling and the Technique of Focal Group. The results had been grouped in three categories: "Performance of the professional", "Education Perspective of Nurses Work”, and "Health-care attendance". As conclusion was found that the nurses give great contribution in the implantation and maintenance of the health politics; that it has concern with the professional formation, that many times is responsible for the incompatibility between the service and the expected potential; it is stand out performance of the nurse as health education professional in the inserted activities in the public health, being intense its contact with the community. KEY WORDS: Public Health; Nursing; Public Health Nursing.

The case for transforming governmental public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Salinsky, Eileen; Gursky, Elin A

2006-01-01

Changing threats to the public's health necessitate a profound transformation of the public health enterprise. Despite recent attention to the biodefense role of public health, policymakers have not developed a clear, realistic vision for the structure and functionality of the governmental public health system. Lack of leadership and organizational disconnects across levels of government have prevented strategic alignment of resources and undermined momentum for meaningful change. A transformed public health system is needed to address the demands of emergency preparedness and health protection. Such transformation should include focused, risk-based resource allocation; regional planning; technological upgrades; workforce restructuring; improved integration of private-sector assets; and better performance monitoring.

The Impact of Feminism on Sociology

OpenAIRE

Sylvia Walby

2011-01-01

The paper investigates the impact of feminism on British sociology over the last 60 years. It focuses on changes in the intellectual content of the discipline, including epistemology, methodology, theory, concepts and the fields of economy, polity, violence and civil society. It situates these changes in the context of changes in gendered organisation of sociology, the rise of women's/gender studies, the ecology of social sciences and societal changes, especially the transformation of the gen...

Under the veil of neoliberalism: inequality, health, and capabilities

OpenAIRE

Kemp, Eagan

2008-01-01

The relationship between income inequality and health has received substantial attention in the fields of medical sociology and public health and continues to be debated. In Chile, previous findings indicate that there is an income inequality effect; respondents who live in areas with high inequality experience a greater probability of poor self-reported health. This study examines the Wilkinson income inequality hypothesis in a new way by using it in conjunction with Sen’s capability approac...