Week 2 Flashcards
Equity and Social Justice in Developing Theories
This chapter presents an analysis of the ideological structures that shape theory development in nursing and proposes that theory, particularly situation-specific theory, can reach beyond structures and systems that sustain inequities. Specific characteristics of situation-specific theory are examined in light of the emancipatory approaches that address social injustice.
Caring in Nursing Theory
Theories of caring in nursing, developed over decades, are rooted in the ethical principle of respect for human dignity and an expectation of nurse behaviour that demonstrates caritas. This article describes the context and evolution of caring-theory development; presents an overview of caring theories, their components, and studies framed by a caring theory; and examines the current state of caring-theory development. The body of knowledge framed by caring theories, constructs, and models contributes to caring science. Caring science depends on how future research and scholarship are guided, translated, disseminated, and expanded to strengthen caring science and to direct nursing praxis.
Feminist Theory in Sociology
Key areas of focus within feminist theory include:
discrimination and exclusion on the basis of sex and gender
objectification
structural and economic inequality
power and oppression
gender roles and stereotypes
In reality, feminist theory has always been about viewing the social world in a way that illuminates the forces that create and support inequality, oppression, and injustice, and in doing so, promotes the pursuit of equality and justice.
That said, since the experiences and perspectives of women and girls were historically excluded for years from social theory and social science, much feminist theory has focused on their interactions and experiences within society to ensure that half the world’s population is not left out of how we see and understand social forces, relations, and problems.
Part of what makes feminist theory creative and inclusive is that it often considers how systems of power and oppression interact, which is to say it does not just focus on gendered power and oppression, but on how this might intersect with systemic racism, a hierarchical class system, sexuality, nationality, and (dis)ability, among other things.
Understanding Critical Theory
Critical theory is a social theory oriented toward critiquing and changing society as a whole. It differs from traditional theory, which focuses only on understanding or explaining society. Critical theories aim to dig beneath the surface of social life and uncover the assumptions that keep human beings from a full and true understanding of how the world works.
Critical theory emerged out of the Marxist tradition and was developed by a group of sociologists at the University of Frankfurt in Germany who referred to themselves as The Frankfurt School.
Postcolonial Theory
Postcolonial theory is a body of thought primarily concerned with accounting for the political, aesthetic, economic, historical, and social impact of European colonial rule around the world in the 18th through the 20th century. Postcolonial theory takes many different shapes and interventions, but all share a fundamental claim: that the world we inhabit is impossible to understand except in relationship to the history of imperialism and colonial rule. This means that it is impossible to conceive of “European philosophy,” “European literature,” or “European history” as existing in the absence of Europe’s colonial encounters and oppression around the world. It also suggests that colonized world stands at the forgotten center of global modernity.
Post-Structuralism
Post-structuralism denotes a way of theorizing that emerged around the 1950s, predominantly in France, among otherwise extremely diverse intellectuals (although many question this label). Most thinkers termed post-structuralist, as well as the legitimating struggles and heated debates, were prominent until about the 1980s. Beyond this date, the debates died down and many once radical post-structuralist ideas were subsequently absorbed into mainstream disciplines. As the name suggests, a post-structuralist way of thinking is rooted in structuralism, but it also represents a retrospective critique of certain structuralist commitments. Like structuralism, post-structuralism identifies a way of theorizing that belongs equally to literary theory (the systematic study of literary texts), philosophy (especially the study of how thought works, insofar as thinking is carried out in language), and critical theory (emancipatory social science via discourse analysis and ideology critique). The starting points for a post-structural theoretical vision within this enormous terrain of interdisciplinary scholarship are language, signification, and semiotics.
Theory and Reasoning in Everyday Life
Abstract vs Concrete Concepts
Theory & research are perceived to be abstract concepts
Become more concrete when you examine their roles in everyday activities and events
Concept
A mental formulating of objects or events, representing the basic way in which ideas are organized and communicated
Conceptualization
the process of formulating concepts
Operational definitions
A description of concepts, articulated in such a way that they can be applied to decision making in practice. It links concepts with other concepts and with theories, and it often includes the essential properties and distinguishing features of a concept.
Theory
A purposeful set of assumptions or propositions about concepts, shows relationships between concepts and thereby provides a systematic view of phenomena so that they may be explained, predicted, or prescribed.
Assumption
A description of concepts or connection of two concepts that are accepted as factual or true; includes “taken for granted” ideas about the nature and purpose of concepts as well as the structure of theory.
Proposition
A declarative assertion
Phenomenon
An aspect of reality that can be consciously sensed or experienced; nursing concepts and theories represent the theoretical approach to making sense of aspects of reality of concern to nursing.
Theoretical model
Mental representation of how things work.
Conceptual framework
The theoretical structures that links concepts together for a specific purpose. When its purpose is to show how something works, it can also be described as a theoretical model. Nursing conceptual frameworks link major concepts and phenomena to direct nursing decisions (e.g., what to assess, how to make sense of data, what to plan, how to enact a plan, and how to evaluate whether the plan has had the intended outcome). Conceptual frameworks are also often referred to as. nursing models or nursing theories.
NURSING KNOWLEDGE
Concepts
-ideas
Conceptual Frameworks
-describes an idea
Theories
-describes a set of ideas
Models
-A drawing of a framework or idea – help us to better understand them
What are concepts?
Abstract ideas or mental images of phenomena or reality
Often called the “building blocks” of theories
Concepts can be: 1) concrete; 2) inferential or 3) abstract
Reflect: What are some concepts that apply to nursing?
What are concepts?
Abstract ideas or mental images of phenomena or reality
Often called the “building blocks” of theories
Concepts can be: 1) concrete; 2) inferential or 3) abstract
Reflect: What are some concepts that apply to nursing?
What are conceptual frameworks?
Goal is to understand how effective nurses systematically organize knowledge about nursing to understand an individual patient’s situation.
Frameworks and models sought to depict theoretical structures that would enable a nurse to grasp a clinical situation within the larger context of available options.
Often referred to as nursing theories
