Peter J Adams - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Peter J Adams
In grounded theory research it is commonly discouraged to conduct a literature review before data... more In grounded theory research it is commonly discouraged to conduct a literature review before data collection and analysis. Engaging with the literature about the researched area in that stage of the research is described as a constraining exercise rather than a guiding one. This can be a puzzling notion for the researcher engaging with grounded theory methodology (GTM), particularly when she/he is expected to produce a literature review in early stages of the research process, e.g., by ethics committees and/or funding bodies. The current article examines this controversial issue by exploring the different stances taken on the subject by the founders of the methodology, as well as the one introduced by constructivist GTM. The different approaches towards the potential impact of a literature review conducted before data collection and analysis are introduced not only as a methodological issue, but also, and more importantly, as an epistemological one. Reflexivity is described as a key...
Laws
In this paper, we use a constructed scenario to illustrate making a compulsory community treatmen... more In this paper, we use a constructed scenario to illustrate making a compulsory community treatment order in the New Zealand context. Drawing on publicly available documentation, we outline the existing mental health law framework that produces community treatment orders and emerging complex problems of their high, increasing and disproportionate use. We provide examples of human rights, indigenous and clinical effectiveness research that appear to be destabilising the existing mental health law framework. We argue assemblage theory (Deleuze & Guattari) is a useful theoretical tool to unpack the making and continued use of compulsory community treatment orders in the context of complex destabilising and stabilising influences. This is followed by an outline of the concept of assemblage with reference to the constructed scenario, focusing on processes, practices, places, types of knowledge, roles, documents and how they connect to produce certain effects that both enable and constrain...
Journal of Gambling Issues
Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs, 2017
The purpose of this article is to present a case study of the evolution of postgraduate-level tra... more The purpose of this article is to present a case study of the evolution of postgraduate-level training programs for alcohol and other drug (AOD) practitioners provided by two universities in New Zealand. The case study compiles details on relevant treatment contexts and systems in New Zealand and key milestones and significant developments in postgraduate AOD practitioner programs in two locations over a 30-year period. The details were compiled by the authors, all of whom were closely involved with the development of the training programs. The key ingredients for success that were identified included a focus on specialized learning overlaying generic undergraduate professional training; a core commitment to practice oriented teaching; investment in the training by government bodies; and the parallel emergence of professional bodies, registration systems, and collaborative relationships across agencies. In a small country, the two programs have enabled 345 students to obtain special...
Health & place, 2017
The widespread proliferation of electronic gambling machines and improvements to their design hav... more The widespread proliferation of electronic gambling machines and improvements to their design have contributed to rising levels of gambling-related harm including harms associated with addictive behaviour and other impacts on health and wellbeing. Research into their addictive potential has focused mainly on the interface between gamblers and the machines themselves. We shift the focus onto the spatial contexts, the rooms and the venues, in which gambling machines are positioned. By examining a series of common layouts we identify the division of venues into two main areas: one for the main social activities of the venue (the "main hall") and the other a partitioned area (the "annex") in which gambling machines are tightly clumped in ways that discourage social interaction. Other features of the annex that encourage uninterrupted and solitary play include the absence of tables to socialize around, dimmed lighting and entry pathways that minimize scrutiny. We argu...
Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs, 2016
Social Science Medicine, Jul 31, 2003
The published literature provides strong evidence for connections between mental health issues, s... more The published literature provides strong evidence for connections between mental health issues, such as depression, and suicidal behaviours. However, in spite of this, no investigations to date have explored young people's perceptions of the interconnections between depression, and suicidal behaviours. This article presents discussive analyses of discussions of the contributions of depression to their suicidal behaviours of young people in New Zealand. Two dominant discourses of depression emerged: a medicalised discourse, and a moral discourse. The medicalised discourse was accessible to the majority of participants, and constructed depression as a disease. This discourse prioritised the voices of health professionals and suggested that depression was difficult to resist. The moral discourse was an alternative to the medicalised discourse, and constructed young people who experienced depression and suicidal behaviours as failures. Both discourses were informed by a mechanistic cause-and-effect relationship between depression and suicidal behaviours: attempting suicide was seen as an inevitable outcome of experiencing depression, and suicidal behaviours were inevitably undertaken by young people who were depressed. Resistance to either of these dominant discourses was problematic, and was best articulated during discussions of the stigma associated with mental ill-health and depression.
Medical Hypotheses, Mar 1, 2010
Approaches to personal behaviour change include contractual and negotiation models. This paper el... more Approaches to personal behaviour change include contractual and negotiation models. This paper elaborates these partnership models by linking a religious act to desired behaviour change beyond narrow and specific domains, such as promotion of sexual abstinence. It discusses the hypothesis that oath-taking can facilitate positive, health-related behaviour change in human individuals. The change must be desired by these individuals when they nevertheless feel conflicted in their motives, and believe in a divine presence to which they can oath-take. In support of this meta-hypothesis of the effectiveness of oath-taking to a hypothetical divinity, we first describe the nature of oaths and oath-taking, including legitimacy and satisfaction conditions, and then postulate how ten interrelated sets of mechanisms can be expected to facilitate oath-keeping. We playfully and heuristically express these mechanisms as 'ten commandments'. Constituting a divine prescription for health-related change, the mechanisms require oath-takers to: believe in the oath, recognise oath-taking as an established and legitimate social behaviour, crystallise the content of the oath, declare the oath aloud, oath-take privately if they prefer, commit to relationships that support oath-taking, replace their relationship with the unwanted behaviour, sanctify the divine presence, honour obligations produced by the oath-taking, and fear oath-breaking. Limitations of oath-taking are then considered as are some of the implications of our arguments.
International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 2009
This paper examines the possibility that clinicians working in an alcohol and other drug (AOD) tr... more This paper examines the possibility that clinicians working in an alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment service may lack appreciation of problem improvement in clients who choose to dropout against clinical advice. Underlying this investigation is the belief that if clinicians are indeed unperceptive of problem improvement amongst this population then this may explain why retention based responses to client dropout continue to be promoted, despite evidence to suggest that they are ineffective and/or unnecessary. Outcome data obtained from a sample of 75 AOD treatment clients and their respective clinicians at baseline and 2-month follow-up are reported. Analysis of these data suggest a client/clinician discrepancy in perceived problem improvement was evident in the study setting: clinicians reported significantly less problem improvement in the first 2 months of service attendance as compared to their clients and this discrepancy was most pronounced if the client had dropped out of treatment.
The British Journal of Social Psychology the British Psychological Society, Mar 1, 2009
Violence against women by men who are their intimate partners is now recognized internationally a... more Violence against women by men who are their intimate partners is now recognized internationally as a significant problem and one that impacts on social and community development and on the health of women and children. Women commonly report little of this violence. In this paper, we discuss the various socially constructed dilemmas for women that may silence them from talking of such violence. Billig et al.'s (1988) concept of ideological dilemmas emerged as a useful analytic device from which to analyse the discourses of 20 women who had experienced violence from their male partners. In particular, the influence of ideologies of patriarchy and of equity, and ideologies of individualism and collectivism were found to impact on some women's talk of such violence. This research contributes to the current debate on the psychosocial by describing the ways in which ideological dilemmas interweave across the social and the psychological.
Addiction (Abingdon, England), 2016
Revista De Psicoterapia, 2003
Aims: Assess the acceptance and feasibility of using a computer assisted, self administered lifes... more Aims: Assess the acceptance and feasibility of using a computer assisted, self administered lifestyle assessment questionnaire in New Zealand general practice reception areas. Methods: Computers were installed for two weeks periods in nine Auckland general practices reception areas. Data was collected by means of computer retrieval, administration of written questionnaires to patients and staff, and by follow-up phone interviews with a sample of participants. Results: Results indicate a general low rate of computer use by patients, with uptake being higher in small-group practices. There was a consistently higher proportion of women and older age bracket users. There was a high rate of acceptance amongst those who used the computer, with participants responding positively with favourable comments. The positive responses and enthusiasm for the programme was reinforced in the follow-up phone interviews. Over half of the staff surveyed, indicated that the computer's presence disrupted practice routine, doctors and nurses being most concerned about `hold-ups' in appointment times, while reception staff were concerned with time taken in assisting patients with using the computer. Conclusion: Need to integrate into larger functioning of practice. There is no doubt that uptake and acceptance are directly influenced by having someone on hand to recruit and assist with computer use. Indications are that independent (unassisted) use might not be feasible in the general practice setting.
In grounded theory research it is commonly discouraged to conduct a literature review before data... more In grounded theory research it is commonly discouraged to conduct a literature review before data collection and analysis. Engaging with the literature about the researched area in that stage of the research is described as a constraining exercise rather than a guiding one. This can be a puzzling notion for the researcher engaging with grounded theory methodology (GTM), particularly when she/he is expected to produce a literature review in early stages of the research process, e.g., by ethics committees and/or funding bodies. The current article examines this controversial issue by exploring the different stances taken on the subject by the founders of the methodology, as well as the one introduced by constructivist GTM. The different approaches towards the potential impact of a literature review conducted before data collection and analysis are introduced not only as a methodological issue, but also, and more importantly, as an epistemological one. Reflexivity is described as a key...
Laws
In this paper, we use a constructed scenario to illustrate making a compulsory community treatmen... more In this paper, we use a constructed scenario to illustrate making a compulsory community treatment order in the New Zealand context. Drawing on publicly available documentation, we outline the existing mental health law framework that produces community treatment orders and emerging complex problems of their high, increasing and disproportionate use. We provide examples of human rights, indigenous and clinical effectiveness research that appear to be destabilising the existing mental health law framework. We argue assemblage theory (Deleuze & Guattari) is a useful theoretical tool to unpack the making and continued use of compulsory community treatment orders in the context of complex destabilising and stabilising influences. This is followed by an outline of the concept of assemblage with reference to the constructed scenario, focusing on processes, practices, places, types of knowledge, roles, documents and how they connect to produce certain effects that both enable and constrain...
Journal of Gambling Issues
Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs, 2017
The purpose of this article is to present a case study of the evolution of postgraduate-level tra... more The purpose of this article is to present a case study of the evolution of postgraduate-level training programs for alcohol and other drug (AOD) practitioners provided by two universities in New Zealand. The case study compiles details on relevant treatment contexts and systems in New Zealand and key milestones and significant developments in postgraduate AOD practitioner programs in two locations over a 30-year period. The details were compiled by the authors, all of whom were closely involved with the development of the training programs. The key ingredients for success that were identified included a focus on specialized learning overlaying generic undergraduate professional training; a core commitment to practice oriented teaching; investment in the training by government bodies; and the parallel emergence of professional bodies, registration systems, and collaborative relationships across agencies. In a small country, the two programs have enabled 345 students to obtain special...
Health & place, 2017
The widespread proliferation of electronic gambling machines and improvements to their design hav... more The widespread proliferation of electronic gambling machines and improvements to their design have contributed to rising levels of gambling-related harm including harms associated with addictive behaviour and other impacts on health and wellbeing. Research into their addictive potential has focused mainly on the interface between gamblers and the machines themselves. We shift the focus onto the spatial contexts, the rooms and the venues, in which gambling machines are positioned. By examining a series of common layouts we identify the division of venues into two main areas: one for the main social activities of the venue (the "main hall") and the other a partitioned area (the "annex") in which gambling machines are tightly clumped in ways that discourage social interaction. Other features of the annex that encourage uninterrupted and solitary play include the absence of tables to socialize around, dimmed lighting and entry pathways that minimize scrutiny. We argu...
Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs, 2016
Social Science Medicine, Jul 31, 2003
The published literature provides strong evidence for connections between mental health issues, s... more The published literature provides strong evidence for connections between mental health issues, such as depression, and suicidal behaviours. However, in spite of this, no investigations to date have explored young people's perceptions of the interconnections between depression, and suicidal behaviours. This article presents discussive analyses of discussions of the contributions of depression to their suicidal behaviours of young people in New Zealand. Two dominant discourses of depression emerged: a medicalised discourse, and a moral discourse. The medicalised discourse was accessible to the majority of participants, and constructed depression as a disease. This discourse prioritised the voices of health professionals and suggested that depression was difficult to resist. The moral discourse was an alternative to the medicalised discourse, and constructed young people who experienced depression and suicidal behaviours as failures. Both discourses were informed by a mechanistic cause-and-effect relationship between depression and suicidal behaviours: attempting suicide was seen as an inevitable outcome of experiencing depression, and suicidal behaviours were inevitably undertaken by young people who were depressed. Resistance to either of these dominant discourses was problematic, and was best articulated during discussions of the stigma associated with mental ill-health and depression.
Medical Hypotheses, Mar 1, 2010
Approaches to personal behaviour change include contractual and negotiation models. This paper el... more Approaches to personal behaviour change include contractual and negotiation models. This paper elaborates these partnership models by linking a religious act to desired behaviour change beyond narrow and specific domains, such as promotion of sexual abstinence. It discusses the hypothesis that oath-taking can facilitate positive, health-related behaviour change in human individuals. The change must be desired by these individuals when they nevertheless feel conflicted in their motives, and believe in a divine presence to which they can oath-take. In support of this meta-hypothesis of the effectiveness of oath-taking to a hypothetical divinity, we first describe the nature of oaths and oath-taking, including legitimacy and satisfaction conditions, and then postulate how ten interrelated sets of mechanisms can be expected to facilitate oath-keeping. We playfully and heuristically express these mechanisms as 'ten commandments'. Constituting a divine prescription for health-related change, the mechanisms require oath-takers to: believe in the oath, recognise oath-taking as an established and legitimate social behaviour, crystallise the content of the oath, declare the oath aloud, oath-take privately if they prefer, commit to relationships that support oath-taking, replace their relationship with the unwanted behaviour, sanctify the divine presence, honour obligations produced by the oath-taking, and fear oath-breaking. Limitations of oath-taking are then considered as are some of the implications of our arguments.
International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 2009
This paper examines the possibility that clinicians working in an alcohol and other drug (AOD) tr... more This paper examines the possibility that clinicians working in an alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment service may lack appreciation of problem improvement in clients who choose to dropout against clinical advice. Underlying this investigation is the belief that if clinicians are indeed unperceptive of problem improvement amongst this population then this may explain why retention based responses to client dropout continue to be promoted, despite evidence to suggest that they are ineffective and/or unnecessary. Outcome data obtained from a sample of 75 AOD treatment clients and their respective clinicians at baseline and 2-month follow-up are reported. Analysis of these data suggest a client/clinician discrepancy in perceived problem improvement was evident in the study setting: clinicians reported significantly less problem improvement in the first 2 months of service attendance as compared to their clients and this discrepancy was most pronounced if the client had dropped out of treatment.
The British Journal of Social Psychology the British Psychological Society, Mar 1, 2009
Violence against women by men who are their intimate partners is now recognized internationally a... more Violence against women by men who are their intimate partners is now recognized internationally as a significant problem and one that impacts on social and community development and on the health of women and children. Women commonly report little of this violence. In this paper, we discuss the various socially constructed dilemmas for women that may silence them from talking of such violence. Billig et al.'s (1988) concept of ideological dilemmas emerged as a useful analytic device from which to analyse the discourses of 20 women who had experienced violence from their male partners. In particular, the influence of ideologies of patriarchy and of equity, and ideologies of individualism and collectivism were found to impact on some women's talk of such violence. This research contributes to the current debate on the psychosocial by describing the ways in which ideological dilemmas interweave across the social and the psychological.
Addiction (Abingdon, England), 2016
Revista De Psicoterapia, 2003
Aims: Assess the acceptance and feasibility of using a computer assisted, self administered lifes... more Aims: Assess the acceptance and feasibility of using a computer assisted, self administered lifestyle assessment questionnaire in New Zealand general practice reception areas. Methods: Computers were installed for two weeks periods in nine Auckland general practices reception areas. Data was collected by means of computer retrieval, administration of written questionnaires to patients and staff, and by follow-up phone interviews with a sample of participants. Results: Results indicate a general low rate of computer use by patients, with uptake being higher in small-group practices. There was a consistently higher proportion of women and older age bracket users. There was a high rate of acceptance amongst those who used the computer, with participants responding positively with favourable comments. The positive responses and enthusiasm for the programme was reinforced in the follow-up phone interviews. Over half of the staff surveyed, indicated that the computer's presence disrupted practice routine, doctors and nurses being most concerned about `hold-ups' in appointment times, while reception staff were concerned with time taken in assisting patients with using the computer. Conclusion: Need to integrate into larger functioning of practice. There is no doubt that uptake and acceptance are directly influenced by having someone on hand to recruit and assist with computer use. Indications are that independent (unassisted) use might not be feasible in the general practice setting.