Suchergebnisse

COLD WAR STANDARDS FOR EVALUATING U.N. PERFORMANCE ARE OF LITTLE VALUE NOW, BUT THERE HAS BEEN LITTLE GENERAL OR THEORETICAL DISCUSSION OF ALTERNATIVE CRITERIA. IN AN EFFORT TO CLARIFY THE ISSUES, THE AUTHORS DERIVE FOUR DISTINCT PERFORMANCE CRITERIA EXTANT IN THE LITERATURE ON U.N. PERFORMANCE: (1) DECLARATIONS FOUND IN ORGANIC DOCUMENTS (CHARTER-BASED), (2) MEDIUM- AND SHORT-TERM OBJECTIVES ESTABLISHED BY AGENCY OFFICIALS (OPERATIONAL), (3) PAST PERFORMANCE (TREND-BASED), AND (4) A SCENARIO FOLLOWING ELIMINATION OF THE AGENCY (ABSENCE-BASED). THEY DISCUSS THE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF EACH CRITERIA AND CONCLUDE THAT A BLENDING OF THE OPERATIONAL AND TREND-BASED APPROACH OFFERS THE MOST PROMISING AVENUE FOR U.N. EVALUATION.

Although past research has explored the experience of bereaved fathers, few attempts have been made to situate this experience within a pre-existing theoretical framework. This article demonstrates how the narrative moral framework of the philosopher Paul Ricœur, known as his "Petite éthique" can help illuminate some of the features within this experience that contribute to the high rates of mortality and morbidity among these men. To demonstrate its utility, this framework is explored through a secondary analysis of data collected in an earlier phenomenological study that explored the moral experience of bereaved fathers. By clarifying some of the nuance and complexity of the experience of bereaved fathers, Ricœur's "Petite éthique" framework has implications for health-care professionals, bereaved families, and bereaved fathers themselves.

The principal aim of this investigation was to help develop 'Interdisciplinary Studies of Childhood Ethics' as a new field of inquiry. We identified: (i) current intra‐disciplinary and interdisciplinary knowledge gaps in childhood ethics; and (ii) priorities for future research and development. A prominent problem, highlighted within and across disciplines, relates to how the best interests standard should be reconciled with the recognition of children as agents. This project makes an innovative contribution by promoting the development of interdisciplinary childhood ethics knowledge and standards, informing future improvements in childhood research and services.

AbstractAssisted dying legislation is available to support adult deaths in multiple international jurisdictions. In Canada, a parliamentary committee has recommended extending Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) legislation to include 'competent mature minors'. Even though such a policy change would affect young people, to date formal discussions about MAID for minors have excluded them. No empirical studies have elicited youth perspectives on including them in future legislation. This qualitative descriptive study uses focus groups to explore young people's perspectives on MAID and its potential extension to include minors using methodological and theoretical commitments to participatory research and children's agency. Our participants explored philosophical and medical dimensions of MAID, including pain and suffering, the choice to die, and how MAID enables a peaceful, controlled death. They unpacked the concept of maturity vis‐à‐vis age and a child/adult binary, using these reflections to posit safeguards for ensuring minors' MAID requests would be fairly evaluated. Finally, they explored relational dimensions of dying, paying particular attention to the impact of MAID on grievers. Our results illustrate that young people are capable and keen to contribute toward discussions and decisions about MAID. Our study supports the participation of young people in any extension of MAID, as well as in other high‐stakes matters that may affect them, challenging dominant assumptions that underestimate their capacities to do so.

This manuscript explores the integration of participatory hermeneutic ethnography in research with children with complexity, particularly those who communicate differently. Traditional research methods often exclude these children, leading to a lack of representation of their unique experiences. The study employs a participatory approach that emphasizes ethical considerations, relational perspectives, and the inclusion of non-verbal communication methods to better capture the voices of these children. The research involved eight children with medical complexity, along with their families and healthcare professionals, providing a comprehensive understanding of their lived experiences. Data collection was conducted over seven months using methods such as participant observation, informal and structured interviews, and innovative techniques like drawing, storytelling, and play-based activities. The study highlighted the importance of respecting each child's unique communication style and ensuring their active participation in the research process. The findings reveal that traditional biomedical approaches often overlook the complex social and moral realities of children's experiences. By employing a hermeneutic framework, the research provided deeper insights into the children's expressions, both verbal and non-verbal, within their broader social contexts. This approach also underscored the significance of understanding children's voices through the lens of their relational and social environments. The study underscores the necessity of inclusive and participatory research methodologies for effectively capturing the varied experiences of children with medical complexity. It calls for a shift away from normalized expectations of verbal communication and emphasizes the need for continued development of methods that respect and validate the agency of all children, regardless of their communication abilities. The implications of this research extend to both academic inquiry and clinical practice, advocating for more ethically attuned and inclusive approaches in working with children who communicate differently. Future research should build on these findings, exploring innovative strategies to further empower these children and enhance our understanding of their experiences.

This article presents an overview of past and current grief rituals and practices and existing grassroots and institutional initiatives seeking to address the complex, prolonged, and traumatic grief experienced by many Inuit living in Quebec. While conducting a study seeking to identify the strengths, resources, and challenges for Nunavik's Inuit communities related to end-of-life care, results emerged concerning how family caregivers' grief related to the dying process was compounded by the sequelae of historic loss experiences (e.g., losses related to Canada's federal policies, including residential schools, forced relocations, and dog slaughters) and by present loss experiences (e.g., tragic and sudden deaths in local communities). To better support caregivers, an understanding of these grief experiences and a vision of bereavement care inclusive of community mobilization efforts to develop bereavement training and support is needed. We conclude with a discussion of a community capacity approach to bereavement care.

The concept of vulnerability plays a central role in research ethics in signaling that certain research participants warrant more careful consideration because their risk of harm is heightened due to their participation in research. Despite scholarly debates, the descriptive and normative meanings ascribed to the concept have remained disengaged from the perspective of users of the concept and those concerned by its use. In this study, we report a survey- and interview-based investigation of mental health researcher perspectives on vulnerability. We found that autonomy-based understandings of vulnerability were predominant but that other understandings coexisted, reflecting considerable pluralism. A wide range of challenges were associated with this concept, and further training was recommended by researchers.

AbstractThis study was developed to guard against the imposition of settler‐based colonial ethnocentric conceptions of moral development by exploring the everyday moral experiences of children in an Anishinaabeg community. A focused ethnography of 33 children over 3.5 months was conducted, which included participant observation, group activities and individual and group interviews. Drawing on their unique cultural and social background, children showed they had rich moral understandings and acted as moral agents in matters that affected them. These results help advance our understanding of what is morally significant to Anishinaabeg children in their daily experiences, in line with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action.

Addressing health inequalities for Indigenous Peoples and communities is an urgent priority in Canada. The aim of this evidence review was to better understand the challenges and best practices of health planning for Indigenous populations. In total, 29 articles met our inclusion criteria, from which we distilled four main themes: (a) Managing health care in organizations serving Indigenous clientele; (b) Assessing Indigenous health needs and their related costs; (c) Toward cultural safety in health planning; and (d) Stakeholder participation in health planning. Our review indicates that while little has been published about challenges and best practices of health planning for Indigenous populations, there are important lessons to be learned from this literature, including promising practices for decision makers.

AbstractWe describe an ontological approach to childhood studies that we refer to asChildhood Ethics. This involves an interdisciplinary hermeneutic orientation towards examining the morally meaningful dimensions of matters that affect young people. We draw on our empirical research with young people from 3‐ to 17‐years old, examining their experiences in a diversity of contexts and geographical settings. Our investigations challenge dominant binary conceptions of young people along lines of decisional in/capacity and im/maturity. We argue for a view of children as active agents with meaningful relational engagements and participation interests and capacities and outline corresponding implications for research and practice.

Successful responses to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's (TRC, 2015) Calls to Action require "joint leadership, trust-building, and transparency" between Canadian public institutions and First Nations. In the area of health and wellness, community participation in priority setting and planning constitutes one important step forward. In 2013, the Québec Cree regional health and social services agency launched a unique wellness planning initiative involving community participation in regional level policy-making. This article reports on a qualitative study conducted with key agency staff, an early component of a broader developmental participatory evaluation. Focusing on contextual challenges to and ways forward on community participation in planning, thematic analysis of 17 semi-structured interviews revealed important nuances between Cree and non-Cree perspectives: These perspectives reflected an empowerment versus a utilitarian view of participation, respectively. Cree Elders consulted on these results highlighted the ontological and epistemological distinction of Cree perspectives, and the importance of bringing these forth. These interpretations point to the relevance of extending cultural safety to institution-level processes bearing on relationships with communities and potentially building capacity for participation.

Invitation to review a manuscript for publication marks an exciting milestone in graduate and postgraduate students' training. Yet, peer reviewing is seldom explicitly taught. First-time reviewers approaching this task often lack mentorship, guidelines, and confidence. The ongoing debate about how to judge the quality of qualitative research can further complicate the task. In this article, we introduce an innovative model for conducting group peer reviews in the context of qualitative research training. After setting out the model's principles and process, we discuss its merits and reflect on our experiences as trainees and supervisor using the approach. In addition to providing opportunities for mentorship in appraisal methods, writing strategies, and approaches for framing constructive feedback, we suggest the model has the potential to advance trainees' development as collegial peers and their overall learning as qualitative researchers. Finally, we discuss potential ways forward to extend the model in other contexts.