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Background: Endobronchial valve placement is a minimally invasive option for treatment of patients with severe emphysema, by reducing lung volumes in lobes with both poor ventilation and perfusion; ventilation is determined by emphysematous scores and perfusion by quantitative lung perfusion imaging. CT‐based fissure identifying artificial intelligence algorithms have recently demonstrated enhanced quantification of the perfusion in a 5‐lobar analysis. We hypothesized that this newly developed algorithm may offer greater utility in determining target treatment lobes by supplementing the radiographic risk stratification initiated by the conventional emphysematous scores alone. Methods: Quantification images of 43 deidentified individuals underwent perfusion SPECT/CT with Tc99m Macro‐Aggregated Albumin (4mCi/148MBq intravenous) using both conventional zonal anatomy and AI augmented 5‐lobar analysis. Analysis: Images were reviewed to demonstrate that the new algorithm was not inferior to standard of care imaging with zonal segmentation. A pilot subcohort analysis of 4 patients with severe emphysema who had pre‐endobronchial valve placement imaging demonstrated that an emphysema‐perfusion ratio greater than 3 was indicative of a potential target lobe. Discussion: We conclude that 5‐lobar analysis in not inferior to conventional zonal analysis and allows the determination of emphysema‐to‐perfusion ratio. Preliminary review of a small subcohort suggests an emphysema‐to‐perfusion ratio greater than 3 for a lobe may clinically benefit in endobronchial valve placement. Further evaluation with prospective studies and larger sample sizes are recommended before clinical implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Names are increasingly recognised in sociology as important routes for understanding family relationships, as well as familial and individual identities. In this article, we use qualitative 'name story' data to examine the meanings of surnames for adults who were adopted as a child and for adults who have adopted a child. Our findings suggest that adult adoptees and adopters can feel differently about surnames and how these connect them—or otherwise—to familial identities of belonging and to their own individual identities. Especially for adopters, shared surnames are understood as important for 'family-making' through the way they cement and display familial belonging. Adult adoptees' feelings about belonging, birth surnames and adoptive surnames appeared more complicated and often changed over time. For some, adoption enabled a flexibility in the choice and use of different surnames. Cultures of patronymic and patrilineal surnaming meant that women adoptees and women adopters also faced an additional layer of complexity that shaped decisions made about surnames and family belonging. Through examining experiences of and feelings about family names in adoption, our article highlights the complexities of surname praxis in identity construction, adoptive family life and lineages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the motivations and decision-making processes of parents who adopt older children from the UK care system. It draws on interview data from parents from 14 adoptive families to consider what influenced their decision to adopt an older child. Data were analysed thematically, and the analysis was theoretically informed by the concept of adoption as a 'marketplace'. The study shows how prospective adoptive parents can be influenced in their decision-making by the information they have been given or perceive about the state of the adoption marketplace and indicates that making choices and decisions around the characteristics of future children is often an uncomfortable aspect of the process. The participants cited moral reasoning and notions of fate as key factors influencing their decisions. The article concludes by making recommendations for practice. Plain language summary: In this research, parents from 14 families who adopted older children (children aged four and over when they moved into their adoptive home), were asked about why they made the decision to adopt an older child. This is important, as older children are often more difficult to find adoptive homes for than younger children. We found that the messages given in adoption preparation courses and by social workers influenced parents' thoughts around the child or children that they went on to adopt. Parents in the study highlighted that making choices and citing preferences around the characteristics of their future child or children was an uncomfortable part of the adoption process. Several parents saw adopting an older child as a way to provide a permanent home for a child that might not otherwise have this chance. Many spoke of the strong sense of connection they felt to their new child, even before they had met them. Ways to improve practice are noted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers some of the methodological implications of undertaking and representing multimedia and digital, ethnographic work. It explores some of the challenges and opportunities of working with and across a range of media, and explores some of the consequences of bringing hypermedia applications to ethnographic work. The paper draws on a project that sought to explore the learning opportunities and experiences of an interactive science discovery centre, and that utilised a multimedia, ethnographic approach. The paper locates this methodological approach alongside recent and ongoing developments within qualitative research, and aims to situate educational research within the context of these developments. The paper particularly addresses issues of integrating different forms of qualitative data, ethnographic "design", the ethics of research practice, communication and capacity building. (Contains 1 figure.)

Explores the relationships between young people's identity construction and the concept of citizenship in the United Kingdom. Considers how young people's need for space, and their emergent sense of place, are aspects of a citizenship identity that young people learn, work at, and negotiate in their leisure time. (CMK)

The Equal Opportunities Commission report on initial teacher training in England and Wales (1989) illustrated that equal opportunities, and specifically gender, occupy only a marginal place in initial teacher education courses. Questioning recent educational policy roles in promoting equal opportunities and antisexism, this paper argues that certain policy trends discourage positive action. (18 references) (MLH)

Interviews with 14 teacher educators explore why gender issues (official guidance, teacher ideologies, teaching as women's work, and classroom survival) receive low-key treatment in initial teacher education in England and Wales. Interviews illustrate infusion of a women's studies perspective into teacher education and gender into the teacher education agenda. (SLD)

Discourses of citizenship have increasingly featured in social policies aimed at young people, particularly in relation to the promotion and crafting of 'active citizens'. The inclusion of citizenship education in school curricula, the Learning and Skills development agency post16 citizenship development programme, and the recent Green Paper Youth Matters, all speak of instilling in young people the rights and responsibilities that come with citizenship. In this article we draw on empirical work on youth transitions to explore the ways in which citizenship is learnt and lived by young people themselves. The article draws on some of the models of citizenship identified by Lister et al. (2003) in their study on young people's perceptions of citizenship, particularly considering them in relation to the gendered experiences and realities of youth transitions to adulthoods.

Studies have revealed that organizational commitment is often managed through symbolism. This paper focuses upon how time is used in an organizational context, symbolically and pragmatically, to demonstrate and demand commitment by new members. The paper draws upon data collected as part of a qualitative project on the occupational and organizational socialization of graduate accountants. Ethnographic fieldwork was carried out in a regional office of an international firm of chartered accountants in the United Kingdom. One aspect of the data analysis revealed that the management and utilization of time is central to understanding the socializing function of the accountancy firm, and to the ultimate organizational success of the graduate accountants., Introduction The centrality of time to organizational life has been well documented in sociological and organizational research (Turner 1971; Turner 1986; Blyton et al. 1989; Fink 1992). For example Roth [...]

A practical functional assessment format was recently developed that informed a skill‐based treatment for the problem behavior of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Since its inception there have been multiple replications of the procedures; however, the comprehensive model has rarely been applied to populations with more complex comorbid disorders and severe problem behavior such as those diagnosed with anxiety or depression. We conducted the current study to systematically replicate the entire practical functional assessment and skill‐based treatment model with two participants diagnosed with multiple mental health disorders admitted to a severe behavior outpatient unit. The practical functional assessment identified reinforcers that were provided contingent on increasingly complex forms of communication. Problem behavior remained low for both participants after reinforcement was thinned by increasing a response requirement of completing difficult tasks. Furthermore, the results were socially validated by the parents and teachers and the treatment was extended to the home setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we consider the significance and practices of names and naming in adoption to develop understanding of the issue amongst scholars, policymakers, adoption practitioners, and adoption communities. Research on the topic of names and adoption is scarce and focused mostly on international and domestic adoptions in the United States. We draw on the research literature to critically explore names and naming in adoption through two recurrent and related themes. The first is "birth heritage," where names, forenames especially, are shown to be important in the approach taken by adopters to their child's birth family and cultural identity. The second theme is "family‐making," where namesaking and homogeneity of surname emerge, amongst others, as strategies to create, sustain, and display "family." In gathering together for the first time an otherwise scattered, disparate body of research, our article showcases names and naming as illuminating distillations of key contemporary challenges experienced by families formed through adoption. We conclude our article by considering emergent gaps in existing knowledge and understanding about names, naming, and adoption that might usefully be addressed, to inform professional advice and familial decisions about names, and enhance outcomes for adoptees and their families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article addresses the issue of noise, an aspect of everyday life, which is absent or suppressed in social scientific accounts of social life trough a reconsideration of sound. The article is a contribution to the growing awareness of the sonic world as open to qualitative inquiry.

This article reports on findings from the Wales Adoption Study which used a sequential, mixed-method design to explore the early support needs and experiences of newly formed adoptive families. Ninety-six adoptive parents completed a questionnaire four months post-placement and a sub-sample of 40 parents was interviewed in-depth five months thereafter. The main support needs of the families fell within five key domains: promoting children's health and development; strengthening family relationships; fostering children's identity; managing contact with birth parents and significant others; and financial and legal assistance.While the age and developmental stage of the child placed for adoption often influenced the nature of the support required across the various domains, the need for some form of support in every family was universal. Most, however, were not facing insurmountable difficulties. Arguably, many of the support needs identified could have been anticipated as they illustrate the complexities of ‘normal’ adoptive family life. The implications for social work practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors discuss an editorial report that marks the end of their four-year term of office as editors of the journal "Sociology."

The ethical regulation of social research in the UK has been steadily increasing over the last decade or so and comprises a form of audit to which all researchers in Higher Education are subject. Concerns have been raised by social researchers using visual methods that such ethical scrutiny and regulation will place severe limitations on visual research developments and practice. This paper draws on a qualitative study of social researchers using visual methods in the UK. The study explored their views, the challenges they face and the practices they adopt in relation to processes of ethical review. Researchers reflected on the variety of strategies they adopted for managing the ethical approval process in relation to visual research. For some this meant explicitly 'making the case' for undertaking visual research, notwithstanding the ethical challenges, while for others it involved 'normalising' visual methods in ways which delimited the possible ethical dilemmas of visual approaches. Researchers only rarely identified significant barriers to conducting visual research from ethical approval processes, though skilful negotiation and actively managing the system was often required. Nevertheless, the climate of increasing ethical regulation is identified as having a potential detrimental effect on visual research practice and development, in some instances leading to subtle but significant self-censorship in the dissemination of findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A central ethical issue confronting researchers using visual methods is how to manage the use of identifiable images. Photographic and other visual materials can make the anonymisation of individuals problematic; at the same time many researchers, as well as research participants, view image manipulation as undesirable. Anonymisation is one of a range of ethical concerns that need consideration in relation to the use of identifiable images. Other concerns include the contexts in which images were produced and through which they may be consumed, the longevity of images in the public domain and the potential for future uses and secondary analysis of images. This paper explores some of the ways in which researchers specifically approach anonymisation in relation to visual methods, drawing on a qualitative study of ethical issues in visual research. Focus group discussions and interviews with researchers who use visual methods revealed the ongoing challenges of identification and anonymisation. While decisions about visual identification are inevitably complex and situated, our explorations revealed ongoing tensions between, on the one hand, research participants’ rights and researchers’ desire for participants to be seen as well as heard and, on the other hand, researchers’ real and perceived ethical responsibility to safeguard participants. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article examines the professional mission of the scholarly periodical “Sociology.” The editorial responsibilities associated with the journal are discussed, and sales statistics are presented. It is attested that efforts have been made to obtain submissions of articles from authors outside of Great Britain, with 33 percent of submissions in 2010 coming from outside of the nation. The author states that the report intends to outline the progress of the journal and increase transparency in the peer-review process.

This article presents the editor's views on the retirement of educational sociologist Len Barton, Chair of the Executive Editorial Board of the "British Journal of Sociology of Education." The author reflects on Barton's work related to disability studies, special education, and sociological studies of education. Information is also provided on inclusive education, pedagogical philosophy, and discrimination.

The article presents a summary of information related to the editing of the publication on the occasion of the first anniversary of the tenure of its editors. Circulation statistics for the publication are presented as well as statistics related to submissions of academic writing for publication. The authors state their main goals in their strategic plan for the publication, and offer evaluations of the progress made towards each goal. Special attention is paid to the effort to make the publication more international in scope in terms of its scholarship.

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including one by Brendan Gough on the use of psycho-discursive approach to analysing interview data, one by Anna Bagnoli on the use of drawing as a way of developing the art and practice of qualitative interviewing, and one by Sue Heath and colleagues on qualitative social network analysis.