Office Plant as a mediating technology of organization

Author(s):  
Stefan Rieger

This chapter is dedicated to the office plant. The office plant takes on different roles: as environmental medium, it transforms offices into natural habitats. As medium of organization, it shapes everyday work life and its social relations. Based on artistic documentations (of office plants) and a history of knowledge of indoor plants and their cultivation, the office plant’s career is retraced and reconstructed—from a seemingly inconsequential prop of office organization to an agential medium that retains its efficacy even (or especially) under conditions of digitalization and virtualization.

Somatechnics ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 288-303
Author(s):  
Michael Connors Jackman

This article investigates the ways in which the work of The Body Politic (TBP), the first major lesbian and gay newspaper in Canada, comes to be commemorated in queer publics and how it figures in the memories of those who were involved in producing the paper. In revisiting a critical point in the history of TBP from 1985 when controversy erupted over race and racism within the editorial collective, this discussion considers the role of memory in the reproduction of whiteness and in the rupture of standard narratives about the past. As the controversy continues to haunt contemporary queer activism in Canada, the productive work of memory must be considered an essential aspect of how, when and for what reasons the work of TBP comes to be commemorated. By revisiting the events of 1985 and by sifting through interviews with individuals who contributed to the work of TBP, this article complicates the narrative of TBP as a bluntly racist endeavour whilst questioning the white privilege and racially-charged demands that undergird its commemoration. The work of producing and preserving queer history is a vital means of challenging the intentional and strategic erasure of queer existence, but those who engage in such efforts must remain attentive to the unequal terrain of social relations within which remembering forms its objects.


2006 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 98-100
Author(s):  
Muhamad Ali

Studies of Islam in Southeast Asia have sought to better understand its multifacetedand complex dimensions, although one may make a generalizedcategorization of Muslim beliefs and practices based on a fundamental differencein ideologies and strategies, such as cultural and political Islam.Anna M. Gade’s Perfection Makes Practice stresses the cultural aspect ofIndonesian Muslim practices by analyzing the practices of reciting andmemorizing the Qur’an, as well as the annual competition.Muslim engagement with the Qur’an has tended to emphasize the cognitiveover the psychological dimension. Perfection Makes Practice analyzesthe role of emotion in these undertakings through a combination ofapproaches, particularly the history of religions, ethnography, psychology,and anthropology. By investigating Qur’anic practitioners in Makassar,South Sulawesi, during the 1990s, Gade argues that the perfection of theQur’an as a perceived, learned, and performed text has made and remade thepractitioners, as well as other members of the Muslim community, to renewor increase their engagement with the holy text. In this process, she suggests,moods and motivation are crucial to preserving the recited Qur’an and revitalizingthe Muslim community.In chapter 1, Gade begins with a theoretical consideration for her casestudy. Drawing from concepts that emphasize the importance of feeling andemotion in ritual and religious experience, she develops a conceptualizationof this engagement. In chapter 2, Gade explains memorization within thecontext of the self and social relations. She argues that Qur’anic memorizershave a special relationship with its style and structure, as well as with thesocial milieu. Although Qur’anic memorization is a normal practice for mostMuslims, its practitioners have learned how to memorize and recite beautifullysome or all of the Qur’an’s verses, a process that requires emotion ...


Author(s):  
Deepak Kochar

The present study attempts to establish the association between Quality of Work Life (QWL) and job satisfaction among the veterinary doctors of Punjab. Multiple linear regression analysis has been employed to examine how far the factors of QWL identified with the help of factor analysis affect the job satisfaction. Job satisfaction is a dependent variable and factors, Monetary Consideration, Social Relations at Work, Constitutionalism at Work, Pride in Job, Facilitation for Current Performance and Future Growth, Nature of Job, Security and Safety, Innovative and Challenging Job, Fair and Unbiased Attitude of Top Officials, Less Educated and Ignorant Clients, Space and Infrastructure, Insufficient Diagnostic Facilities and Staff, and Reporting are independent variables. The results of the present study reveal strong association of Monetary Consideration, Facilitation for Current Performance and Future Growth, Security and Safety, Nature of Job, and Space and Infrastructure with job satisfaction. The eight variables which were not found significant include, Social Relations at Work, Constitutionalism at Work , Pride in Job, Innovative and Challenging Job, Fair and Unbiased Attitude of Top Officials, Less Educated and Ignorant Clients, Insufficient Diagnostic Facilities and Staff, and Reporting. The present study conducted on veterinarians working under department of animal husbandry, Punjab can make a niche in this area. Commitment on the part of government and department itself to work on the activities and initiatives which promote QWL and job satisfaction of the respondents can create a sound and harmonious working environment to get the desired results.


2004 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rob Bryer

A major debate neglected by accounting historians is the importance of landlords in the English agricultural revolution. The paper uses accounting evidence from the historical literature to test Marx's theory that, from around 1750, England's landlords played a pivotal role by adopting and then spreading the capitalist mentality and social relations by enclosures and changes in the management of their estates and tenants. It gives an accounting interpretation of Marx's theory of rent and argues that the available evidence supports his view that the conversion of English landlords to capitalism underlay the later stages of the agricultural revolution. The conclusion explains the linkages in Marx's theory between the agricultural and industrial revolutions, and calls on accounting historians to conduct archival research into the agricultural roots of modern capitalism.


Author(s):  
Joseph O. Baker

While the varieties of humanist expression vary across cultural and historical contexts, all forms of humanism are necessarily related to politics by virtue of outlining ethical positions on matters of social relations. Tracing the history of humanism broadly, as well as secular humanism specifically, this chapter identifies recurring continua of conflict about the politics of humanism. There is a general, inherent tension between individualist and collectivist dimensions of humanism, which is manifest in specific disputes about orientations toward society (philosophical vs. applied humanism), religion (exclusivist vs. ecumenical humanism), ethics (scientistic vs. humanitarian humanism), and politics (libertarian vs. socialist humanism). There are also disputes within humanism that arise around the preferred strategy for managing the stigma of secularity between those who favor separatist subcultures and those who favor normalization through social reform. Ultimately a broad-based conception of humanism offers the greatest possibilities for political efficacy. In conclusion, the article outlines some of the important aspects of humanism and politics in need of further research.


Women ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-119
Author(s):  
Julie Breinholm Svarrer Jakobsen ◽  
Josefine Stæhr Brodersen ◽  
Zainab Afshan Sheikh ◽  
Karoline Kragelund Nielsen

(1) Background: Women with a history of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) have a high risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2DM). This risk can be reduced with lifestyle interventions, including physical activity. However, studies have shown that many women with prior GDM are not physically active. The aim of this study was to investigate the motivation for physical activity among women with prior GDM. (2) Methods: A qualitative study was carried out based on a phenomenological approach using semi-structured individual interviews with nine Danish women between 29 and 36 years of age with a minimum of one earlier GDM-affected pregnancy. (3) Results: Five themes were identified; perception of physical activity, risk perception, emotional distress, competing priorities and social support. The perception of physical activity varied among the women. The GDM diagnosis or the awareness of elevated risk for T2DM did not seem to be a decisive factor for the women’s motivation to be active. Competing priorities, including being in control of everyday life choices and support from social relations, were found to be important motivational factors. (4) Conclusion: Future interventions for women with prior GDM to increase motivation for physical activity should be compatible with and take into account the women’s perceptions, earlier lived experiences, possible competing priorities and support systems.


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