Dorothy Pawluch

Bio: Dorothy Pawluch is an academic researcher from McMaster University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Everyday life & Competence (human resources). The author has an hindex of 12, co-authored 16 publications receiving 842 citations. Previous affiliations of Dorothy Pawluch include Concordia University & McGill University.

Ontological Gerrymandering: The Anatomy of Social Problems Explanations

Abstract: Recent explanations of social problems have increasingly adopted the “definitional” perspective. This paper provides a critical commentary on the form of sociological explanation common to this approach. Viewed as a practical accomplishment, both theoretical statements and empirical case studies manipulate a boundary, making certain phenomena problematic while leaving others unproblematic. We call the main strategy for managing this boundary ontological gerrymandering. After applying this concept to both theoretical and empirical studies of social problems, we show that the same conceptual problems arise with respect to the labeling theory of deviance. We argue that investigation of the practical management of these problems will contribute to a deeper understanding both of social problems explanations and sociological explanation more generally.

Stockholm Syndrome as Vernacular Resource

Abstract: First coined in 1973 to describe a pathological response on the part of individuals involved in kidnapping or hostage-taking situations, the label “Stockholm syndrome” has since been used in a much broader range of contexts including reference to wife battering and human trafficking, and in debates about gender and race politics as well as international relations. Tracing the domain expansion of Stockholm syndrome since the 1970s, we examine how the label offers claims-makers a device for neutralizing the arguments of those with opposing points of view, and, in so doing, reinforces collective narratives and “formula stories” of victimization.

Doing ethnography : studying everyday life

Abstract: Section headings: Considering the Merits of Qualitative Research Interviewing Strategies Relating to Respondents Writing About Social Life Constructing Perspectives Constructing Identities Doing and Relating Index.

An Ecological Perspective on Health Promotion Programs

Abstract: During the past 20 years there has been a dramatic increase in societal interest in preventing disability and death in the United States by changing individual behaviors linked to the risk of contracting chronic diseases. This renewed interest in health promotion and disease prevention has not been without its critics. Some critics have accused proponents of life-style interventions of promoting a victim-blaming ideology by neglecting the importance of social influences on health and disease. This article proposes an ecological model for health promotion which focuses attention on both individual and social environmental factors as targets for health promotion interventions. It addresses the importance of interventions directed at changing interpersonal, organizational, community, and public policy, factors which support and maintain unhealthy behaviors. The model assumes that appropriate changes in the social environment will produce changes in individuals, and that the support of individuals in the population is essential for implementing environmental changes.

The Rise and Fall of Social Problems: A Public Arenas Model

Abstract: This paper develops a model of the process through which social problems rise and fall. Treating public attention as a scarce resource, the model emphasizes competition and selection in the media and other arenas of public discourse. Linkages among public arenas produce feedback that drives the growth of social problems. Growth is constrained by the finite "carrying capacities" of public arenas, by competition, and by the need for sustained drama. The tension between the constraints and forces for growth produces successive waves of problem definitions, as problems and those who promote them compete to enter and to remain on the public agenda. Suggestions for empirical tests of the model are specified.

Configuring the User: The Case of Usability Trials:

Abstract: The paper explores the metaphor of machine as text, set within the context of longstanding problems in social theory about agency and object. These problems concern both the conventional basis of attribution of intentionality and presumptions about the boundedness of entities. In particular, our preconceptions about the nature and capacity of different entities shape what counts as legitimate accounts of action and behaviour. Materials from an ethnography of computers are used to show how the design and production of a new entity (a new range of microcomputers) amounts to a process of configuring its user, where 'configuring' includes defining the identity of putative users, and setting constraints upon their likely future actions. Configuring occurs in a context where knowledge and expertise about users is socially distributed. As a result of this process, the new machine becomes its relationship with its configured users. In participants' determinations of the character of users, the new machine's case provides a powerful symbol of the boundary between insiders and outsiders to the company. An analysis of audio and video records of usability trials suggests the importance of boundary work in deciding the adequacy of the relationship between machine and user.

Analyzing Qualitative Data

Abstract: This major inter-disciplinary collection, edited by two of the best respected figures in the field, provides a superb general introduction to this subject. Chapters include discussions of fieldwork methodology, analyzing discourse, the advantages and pitfalls of team approaches, the uses of computers, and the applications of qualitative data analysis for social policy. Shrewd and insightful, the collection will be required reading for students of the latest thinking on research methods.