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This paper presents the reflections of two researchers employed at a cancer research unit. We reflect often together about the difficult emotional issues involved in working with cancer patients. To formalize these conversations we audiotaped and transcribed four dialogue sessions during which we asked ourselves the following questions: What are we learning about ourselves as we become immersed in this work? How do we negotiate our positions as both social scientists and as individuals who empathize with research participants about emotional/existential issues? This paper will explore our responses and reflections about some of our emotional connections to the women with whom we work, as well as our limitations and points of disconnect. We conclude that researchers are not dispassionate observers of others’ experiences and could benefit from working in an atmosphere where reflecting and processing painful emotions with colleagues or through writing is fostered and valued. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over ninety years ago Lev Vygotsky warned of a growing crisis in psychology and social science research. Vygotsky’s warning has been echoed on many occasions but his solution to the problem has not been widely acknowledged. He advocated for a form of meta-science which he called “general science”, an integrative science that could connect and guide the development of specialised disciplines and schools of research. In this paper I explore the parallels between Vygotsky’s general science and contemporary forms of meta-level research and discuss their relevance and implications for addressing global challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper reflects upon emotional moments in research with children and young people. In particular, we seek to contribute to the now-extensive literature on emotions in social scientific research practice by: (i) attempting to acknowledge the often-overlooked emotions experienced by children and young people whilst participating in research; (ii) highlighting the complex, multiperspectival nature of emotions in research. We suggest that these complexities can, simultaneously be problematic and an opportunity to celebrate the achievement of doing research together. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores Natsume Soseki's 1912 novel, Until the Spring Equinox and Beyond, as a continuation of Soseki's experimental project to produce a scientific theory of literature. It looks in particular at Soseki's encounter with Western sociology and the role that private property systems played in it. It argues that Soseki's theory and practice of literature can be understand as attempts to formulate a critique of sociological knowledge from the stance of literature, including a critique of the ideologies of possessive individualism. In particular, it examines parallels between Soseki's novel and Mauss's theory of the gift, as well as Derrida's critique of Mauss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Goodley & Lawthom discussed the role of a community psychology approach in conducting emancipatory disability research. While their aims are entirely laudable, they portrayed mainstream psychology as 'pathologising, voyeuristic, individualising, [and] impairment-obsessed'. This paper presents a reply to Goodley and Lawthom's somewhat outdated arguments for the dismissal of mainstream psychology and argues that the focus on a single 'best' method of researching disability does not serve the best interests of disabled people within society. It is argued that to create a 'new' psychology distinct from the 'mainstream' is unnecessary, undesirable and counter-productive. Mainstream psychology has much to offer disabled people and to dismiss it is to throw the baby out with the bathwater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Until recently, attempts to understand and explain criminal offending have been grounded in theories from sociological, legal, and psychological perspectives. In the preceding twenty years, or so, however, some research in the field has endeavored to look at offending from a psychobiological viewpoint. This research concerns the potential consequences of the effects of neurobiological influences on brain behavior and, consequently, human behavior. This paper discusses briefly some of the specific areas of neural research currently underway, including looking at the potential consequences for behavior, as it correlates with the age-crime curve, of the effects of neurotransmission. It also considers where the field of criminological research may be heading as a result of the insights into neurobiologically induced behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]