Sarah Redshaw

Articulations of the Car: The Dominant Articulations of Racing and Rally Driving

Drawing on a number of sources, including social and cultural accounts of mobility, such as those of Sheller and Urry and by Zygmunt Bauman, car advertising, and focus group discussions with young drivers, the violence of the car and its shaping influence in contemporary life are considered through an application of the idea of articulation from Grossberg. Highlighting articulations of the car, particularly the dominant articulations of racing and rally driving evident in particular types of advertising, allows an examination of the destructive potential of particular driving cultures and also illustrates the meanings inscribed into the car, thus challenging its apparent neutrality. The racing articulations are connected to aggressive, competitive styles of driving, extending into competitive social relations and implicating an emphasis on aggressive individualism. There has been some dialogue in the road safety community about what counts as aggressive behaviour but these discussions often do not take into account the innate violence of the car itself and tend to consider only extreme behaviours as aggressive. The forms of self‐control that arise in relation to the dominant articulations and the desires appealed to in advertising are sketched. Focus group responses to two car advertisements emphasising social competition and extreme thrill‐seeking are discussed.

Narratives of the heart: telling the story of children with a cardiac condition through a bead program

AIMSnTo present and discuss the significance of a bead program in assisting families to put together the story of a childs journey through cardiac intervention. The main focus of the article is the importance to families of developing a narrative in making sense of the experience of discovering their child has a cardiac condition and how this is enhanced by the bead program.nnnBACKGROUNDnThe Heart Beads Program involved giving families beads related to procedures and processes the children undergo while they are in hospital. Research on narratives related to illness suggests that forming a narrative that incorporates the health condition facilitates the ability to talk about these experiences and helps to make sense of and deal with the stressors related to such traumatic life events.nnnDESIGNnA qualitative methodology was used to evaluate the program employing semi-structured interviews and content analysis following a grounded theory approach.nnnMETHODSnInterviews were undertaken with 11 families to highlight their experiences of being involved in the Heart Beads Program. Themes were identified from the interviews and critical discussion was used to structure and connect the themes.nnnRESULTSnThe major theme that emerged from the analysis of the interviews was the importance of the beads in enabling the telling of the childs story. Five subthemes were identified in this theme: symbolism, encouraging/uplifting, acknowledgement, connection with others and imagining the future. The themes are outlined and expressed through specific comments from interviews.nnnCONCLUSIONSnThe Heart Beads are seen as presenting a significant way for children and families to comprehend their time in hospital as part of the childs life story.nnnRELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICEnThe program can offer the opportunity for health care professionals to relate to the child and familys story and to engage with that story in a person centred way.

Community nurses' perceptions of providing bereavement care

This study explored the perceptions of bereavement support offered to clients and their carers and family by community nurses (CNs) in three community health centres located in a single area health service. In the context of an ageing population, it is pertinent to review CNs perceptions in providing bereavement services. Early assessment and intervention is likely to prevent complicated grief occurring in the community. The bereavement support provided by CNs, considered here within a person-centred framework, enables identification of complicated grief. Semistructured interviews were held with 10 CNs and were transcribed verbatim. Transcriptions were analysed for major themes, and responses were grouped in relation to the study aims and themes emerging from the interviews. The themes discussed in this paper are as follows: the carer as a focus of palliative care; bereavement support as an outlet for carers; and the ending of the relationship between carers and CNs that is facilitated through bereavement support. The study provides evidence that supports the adoption of a model of bereavement support delivered by CNs as a means of reducing the likelihood of complicated grief occurring in the community. Further, the visits provide an important opportunity for nurses and carers to satisfactorily complete their relationship.

The heart beads program

From July 2008 through June 2009, 760 infants and children with cardiac conditions were admitted to a pediatric hospital in Australia with approximately 360 cardiac surgical procedures performed.This was the first experience in hospital for many of these children, with diagnoses signaling the beginning of a long and arduous journey. These children undergo multiple treatments and procedures,as well as multiple admissions for further surgeries. Procedures in any regard can cause stress and anxiety, especially in children who often have limited understanding and so little control over what happens to them (Lau, 2002).A heart center for children exists at the hospital with the aim of providing a consistent experience for children with cardiac conditions as they move through the different hospital environments, from preadmission clinic to operating theaters to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), and then on to the cardiac ward. The Heart Beads Program was developed within a context of person-centered care to enrich the experience of children with cardiac conditions by providing them with distinctive beads specific to each procedure, treatment, or event in recognition of their experiences and endurance (McCormack et al., 2008). This column focuses on the process of starting the program and on preliminary responses from staff, children, and families.Column Editor: Bonnie Gance-Cleveland n n n nFamily-Centered Care provides a forum for sharing information about basic components of caring for children and families, including respect, information sharing, collaboration, family-to-family support, and confidence building.

Gambling drivers: Regulating cultural technologies, subjects, spaces and practices of mobility

Abstract In this article, we analyse intersections between gambling and driving as everyday cultural practices of mobility. Building on Nikolas Rose’s argument that subjects in post‐industrial democratic societies are governed through appeals to ‘freedom’ rather than through overt forms of coercion or organised campaigns of state propaganda, we explore the different ways that producers, regulators and consumer advocates involved in gambling and driving appeal to our ‘powers of freedom’. We demonstrate that promotional and regulatory discourses of driving and gambling rely on a concept of freedom as self‐regulation. And we argue that the cultivation of social responsiveness is needed to address some of the problems created by individualising practices, spaces and technologies of mobility currently offered by automobiles and poker machines.

Feminist Preludes to Relational Sociology

Feminists have critiqued many of the dichotomies in Western thought such as nature and culture, mind and body, emotion and reason, public and private, and developed critiques of central notions such as individualism and abstract generalization. In this chapter, Nancy Chodorow’s relational individualism, Benhabib’s generalized and concrete other and Gilligan’s “different voice” are discussed, and their relevance to Crossley’s relational sociology is highlighted.

Sibling involvement in childhood chronic heart disease through a bead program

In interviews with parents for the evaluation of a cardiac ward programme in a children’s hospital, a number of parents mentioned the role of the Heart Beads Program in including siblings in the hospitalisation of the child with congenital heart condition (CHD). Inclusion of siblings in the events surrounding the child with the cardiac condition was of two kinds: (a) touching and explaining about the beads and the child’s condition and (b) involvement in collecting and threading the beads. Discussion of the needs of siblings suggests that inclusion of siblings in activities related to the care and understanding of the CHD child as well as the creation and shaping of the family narrative is important. These cases illustrate the different ways in which siblings are involved and acknowledged and how involvement can be facilitated by a programme like Heart Beads.

The Impact of Observed Trauma on Parents in a PICU

Objective: To explore parents’ experiences of “observed trauma,” defined as traumatic events, unrelated to their own child, that parents/carers witness while in a PICU. Design: Exploratory qualitative study. Setting: Nineteen-bed mixed surgical/medical PICU in a tertiary university-affiliated children’s hospital. Participants: Parents of 11 children, screened from a total sample of 100 children admitted to the PICU for greater than 48 hours. Interventions: Face-to-face screening interviews were conducted with parents following their child’s discharge from PICU. Parents who reported observed trauma were interviewed a second time to explore their experiences. Measurements and Main Results: Two questionnaires were designed, one to screen for observed trauma and a second one to guide semistructured interviews. Of 100 parents who participated in a structured screening interview, 19% reported observed trauma. Of the 19 parents, 11 completed the second interview. Significant themes included: involuntary exposure; privacy and confidentiality; empathy for children and their families; reflection and personal growth; and staff communication. Conclusions: Observed trauma is not uncommon in the PICU. The results suggest that timely support may alleviate the short-term negative impact. Furthermore, some parents have reported positive aspects to their experience.

Assessing the impact of vulnerability on perceptions of social cohesion in the context of community resilience to disaster in the Blue Mountains

OBJECTIVEnTo assess the impact of network communications, community participation and elements of vulnerability on the perception of social cohesiveness in the Blue Mountains local government area (Blue Mountains LGA).nnnDESIGNnA questionnaire was administered to residents of the Blue Mountains LGA. Econometric analysis of the resulting data was undertaken.nnnSETTINGnBlue Mountains LGA, Australia.nnnPARTICIPANTSnOne thousand one hundred and three residents of the Blue Mountains LGA responded to the questionnaire.nnnMAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S)nThe responses enabled the construction of variables measuring individual perceptions of community cohesiveness, their network communications and community participation. Demographic data and data on the vulnerabilities of individuals were also collected.nnnRESULTSnThe data were used in an econometric model which identified that network communications and community participation impacted positively on perceptions of social cohesiveness while vulnerability factors had a negative impact.nnnCONCLUSIONSnRemedial action to build community cohesiveness and network communications can be expected to have a positive impact on social cohesiveness. In developing strategies to build community cohesiveness and network communication, particular care needs to be taken to ensure the inclusion of those members of society who are regarded as the most vulnerable.

Emergency decision making: an exploration of tensions between communities of practice

Through the lens of communities of practice (Wenger, 2000) we examined decision-making boundaries and tensions in multiagency settings. Sixteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with operational decision makers from services across Australia. Data analysis was contextual and narrative, focusing on meanings signifying cultures and practices. Results indicate that protocols and guidelines which provide boundaries for a community of practice, could at times become an obstacle. Participants reported difficulties in sharing a common level of understanding and getting the bigger picture. The strongest theme was the importance placed on building relationships between services prior to emergency events. We found capability of multiagency decision making is enhanced when informal multiagency networks are already in place. These networks contribute to building a shared understanding. We propose that multiagency communities of practice could be enhanced if services increased their level of formal multiagency engagement and promoted the informal multiagency networking of their members and teams.