scholarly journals Metaphors of change

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 116-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Christensen
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Organizational Studies ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Psychiatric Units ◽  
One Year ◽  
Object Of Study ◽  
Place Descriptions

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how a study of a practice can lay the foundation to describe this very practice whilst transformations of it were taken place. Descriptions of changes to the practice of social work which was observed empirically serve as a starting point for experimenting with how social scientists, though often exploring transformative study objects, can remain focused on describing the object, under study. Design/methodology/approach The study was done through circa one year of fieldwork conducted with participant observation in two Danish municipal units offering services to socially marginalized people and interviews with social workers and employees in drug/alcohol treatment and psychiatric units. Findings The object of study within social sciences, though changing, is able to be described. Through the theories of “Social Navigation” (Vigh) and “Strategy and Tactics” (de Certeau), the practice of social work can be described as one concrete bounded practice but one which is performed within a transformative/changeable environment that are capable of influencing it. In this case, the experience of a changeable seascape might serve as a metaphor for how study objects change within an environment of change; how they can be viewed as “motion within motion” (Vigh). Originality/value Even though fields such as anthropology and organizational studies seem to rid themselves from their objects of study (culture and organization, respectively) and dissociate themselves from descriptions thereof these objects might still be of value to us. Even though the objects of study in postmodern anthropology and organizational studies are defined as unbounded, anti-essential, ephemeral, ever-changing non-objects, this might not be the entire picture. Despite their ever-changing shape, we might still be able to study and describe them if we take their changeable form and environment into account.

scholarly journals CryptoKitties and the New Ludic Economy: How Blockchain Introduces Value, Ownership, and Scarcity in Digital Gaming

2020 ◽  
pp. 155541201989830 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alesja Serada ◽  
Tanja Sihvonen ◽  
J. Tuomas Harviainen
Keyword(s):  
Game Design ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Open Data ◽  
Digital Gaming ◽  
Virtual Ethnography ◽  
Research Material ◽  
Financial Interest ◽  
One Year ◽  
Object Of Study ◽  
Observation Period

This article analyzes specific characteristics of value created through digital scarcity and blockchain-proven ownership in cryptogames. Our object of study is CryptoKitties, the first instance of a blockchain-based game that has garnered media recognition and financial interest. The objective of this article is to demonstrate the limits of scarcity in value construction for owners of CryptoKitties tokens, manifested as breedable virtual cats. Our work extends the trends set out by earlier cryptocurrency studies from the perspective of cultural studies. For the purpose of this article, we rely on open blockchain analytics such as DappRadar and Etherscan, as well as player-created analytics, backed by a one-year-long participant observation period in the said game for research material. Combining theoretical cryptocurrency and Bitcoin studies, open data analysis, and virtual ethnography enables a grounded discussion on blockchain-based game design and play.

scholarly journals Social workers’ power of entry in adult safeguarding concerns: debates over autonomy, privacy and protection

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 312-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Stevens ◽  
Stephen Martineau ◽  
Jill Manthorpe ◽  
Caroline Norrie
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Starting Point

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore debates about the powers social workers may need to undertake safeguarding enquiries where access to the adult is denied. Design/methodology/approach The paper takes as a starting point a scoping review of the literature undertaken as part of a study exploring social work responses to situations where they are prevented from speaking to an adult at risk by a third party. Findings A power of entry might be one solution to situations where social workers are prevented from accessing an adult at risk. The paper focuses on the Scottish approach to legal powers in adult safeguarding, established by the Adult Support and Protection Act (Scotland) 2007 and draws out messages for adult safeguarding in England and elsewhere. The literature review identified that debates over the Scottish approach are underpinned by differing conceptualisations of vulnerability, autonomy and privacy, and the paper relates these conceptualisations to different theoretical stances. Social implications The paper concludes that the literature suggests that a more socially mediated rather than an essentialist understanding of the concepts of vulnerability, autonomy and privacy allows for more nuanced approaches to social work practice in respect of using powers of entry and intervention with adults at risk who have capacity to make decisions. Originality/value This paper provides a novel perspective on debates over how to overcome challenges to accessing adults at risk in adult safeguarding through an exploration of understandings of vulnerability, privacy and autonomy.

What’s Epistemology Got to Do With It?

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 503-507
Author(s):  
Richard K. Caputo
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
Intervention Research ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Feminist Standpoint ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Work Intervention ◽  
Standpoint Epistemology ◽  
Structural Aspects

Feminist standpoint epistemology is neither a necessary nor a sufficient starting point for social work intervention research. Contemporary social scientists readily grapple with cultural, political, and/or structural aspects of social problems either in the absence of or in conjunction with an explicitly formulated feminist standpoint epistemology. The article also argues against privileging any group’s voice for purposes of social work intervention research, including the voices of marginalized and oppressed groups whose judgments, perceptions, and statement of facts are as prone to error or likely to be as mistaken as anyone else’s.

scholarly journals Deadly dialogues: The Magherini case and police brutalities in Italy

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincenzo Scalia
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Case Analysis ◽  
Police Force ◽  
Police Culture ◽  
Critical Threshold ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Ethnographic Analysis ◽  
Over Time

PurposeThis paper looks at police brutalities in Italy. In particular, the discussion focusses on the case of the death of Riccardo Magherini, who was stopped by the Corpo dei Carabinieri (CC), a branch of the Italian Army operating as a police force, on the 3rd of March 2014. The paper focusses on the way the police agents involved in the Magherini trial, both witnesses and defendants, made sense of the case. Their answers to the questions put to them by case lawyers or judges during the first trial in February 2016 will be closely examined.Design/methodology/approachDiscussion of the case will rely on material drawn from court files. The Carabinieris internal reports on the incident and the court transcription of the agents questioning will form the basis for an ethnographic analysis of the case. The author will then use the case analysis as the starting point for a broader discussion on police culture. While ethnography generally consists of direct on-the-ground participant observation Geertz 1992, the author’s methodology of using legal transcripts and reports can nevertheless be considered ethnographical. .FindingsDiscussion will consider the importance of an ethical element to the internal culture of the Italian police forces which influences their street practice. Italian police have an ethical approach in that they believe their role is to be able separate good from bad and protect society from the bad. Moreover they have operated within a context of impunity which has produced over time a critical threshold according to which specific individuals and groups deemed as dangerous classes are considered outside the realm of normal civilised society and as such can be treated differently in contemporary Italy.Originality/valueThe originality of this paper relates to two distinct elements. The first one concerns the context analysed, as the peculiarities of the Italian police are hardly known to the larger international public. The second aspect relates to the specificity of a case. Magherini was not a marginal person, he was an Italian citizen, but he suffered from a brutality that caused his death. The dynamics of this outcome will be closely analysed.

scholarly journals Bayesian factor analysis for mixed data on management studies

2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 430-445
Author(s):  
Pedro Albuquerque ◽  
Gisela Demo ◽  
Solange Alfinito ◽  
Kesia Rozzett
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Mixed Data ◽  
Organizational Studies ◽  
Factor Analysis Model ◽  
Prior Distributions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Bayesian Factor ◽  
Bayesian Factor Analysis

Purpose Factor analysis is the most used tool in organizational research and its widespread use in scale validations contribute to decision-making in management. However, standard factor analysis is not always applied correctly mainly due to the misuse of ordinal data as interval data and the inadequacy of the former for classical factor analysis. The purpose of this paper is to present and apply the Bayesian factor analysis for mixed data (BFAMD) in the context of empirical using the Bayesian paradigm for the construction of scales. Design/methodology/approach Ignoring the categorical nature of some variables often used in management studies, as the popular Likert scale, may result in a model with false accuracy and possibly biased estimates. To address this issue, Quinn (2004) proposed a Bayesian factor analysis model for mixed data, which is capable of modeling ordinal (qualitative measure) and continuous data (quantitative measure) jointly and allows the inclusion of qualitative information through prior distributions for the parameters’ model. This model, adopted here, presents considering advantages and allows the estimation of the posterior distribution for the latent variables estimated, making the process of inference easier. Findings The results show that BFAMD is an effective approach for scale validation in management studies making both exploratory and confirmatory analyses possible for the estimated factors and also allowing the analysts to insert a priori information regardless of the sample size, either by using the credible intervals for Factor Loadings or by conducting specific hypotheses tests. The flexibility of the Bayesian approach presented is counterbalanced by the fact that the main estimates used in factor analysis as uniqueness and communalities commonly lose their usual interpretation due to the choice of using prior distributions. Originality/value Considering that the development of scales through factor analysis aims to contribute to appropriate decision-making in management and the increasing misuse of ordinal scales as interval in organizational studies, this proposal seems to be effective for mixed data analyses. The findings found here are not intended to be conclusive or limiting but offer a useful starting point from which further theoretical and empirical research of Bayesian factor analysis can be built.

scholarly journals Introducing ficto-feminism: a non-fiction, fictitious conversation with Hallie Flanagan, director of the Federal Theatre Project (1935–1939)

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin S. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Public Works ◽  
Organizational Studies ◽  
Federal Theatre Project ◽  
Historical Inquiry ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Non Fiction ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Federal Theatre

PurposeFicto-feminism is offered here as a creative method for feminist historical inquiry in management and organizational studies (MOSs).Design/methodology/approachThis paper introduces a new method called ficto-feminism. Using feminist polemics as a starting point, ficto-feminism fuses aspects of collective biography with the emic potential of autoethnography and rhizomatic capacity of fictocriticism to advance not only a new account of history in subject but also in style of writing.FindingsThe aim of ficto-feminism is to create a plausible, powerful and persuasive account of an overlooked female figure which not only challenges convention but also surfaces her lost lessons and accomplishments to benefit today's development of theory and practice.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper reviews the methodological components of ficto-feminism and speaks to the merit of writing differently and incorporating fictional techniques.Originality/valueTo illustrate the method in action, the paper features a non-fiction, fictitious conversation with Hallie Flanagan (1890–1969) and investigates her role as national director of the Federal Theatre Project (FTP) (1935–1939). The FTP was part of the most elaborate relief programs ever conceived as part of the New Deal (a series of public works projects and financial reforms enacted in the 1930s in the USA).

Talking, looking, flying, searching: information seeking behaviour in Second Life

2008 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 512-524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Ostrander
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Information Seeking Behavior ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Seeking Behavior ◽  
One Year

PurposeThis research seeks to answer, “How do everyday Second Life users go about finding needed information?” as the primary research question.Design/methodology/approachA virtual ethnographic approach couched in grounded theory was utilized to conduct semi‐structured interviews with everyday users of Second Life, accompanied by participant observation.FindingsInformation seeking behaviors within the virtual world of Second Life were found to be rich, complex interaction with multiple facets. Five themes emerged to illuminate how users seek information.Research limitations/implicationsThis research took place over a six‐week period, although most enthographies last at least one year. Conclusions were drawn solely from interviews because participant observation did not penetrate a given community with enough depth to adequately address the research question.Practical implicationsVirtual worlds offer the promise of becoming an integrated part of the information seeking landscape for an increasing number of users. Understanding the factors influencing information seeking behavior that are outlined in this article will equip librarians and information professionals to best utilize virtual worlds and continue to create innovative, user‐focused services there.Originality/valueThis article extends current scholarship by offering a practical, five‐factor approach to understand how people seek information in virtual worlds. The literature is robust in description about library services and the nature of information in virtual worlds. Yet, investigation into information seeking behavior in this environment is in its nascent stages.

scholarly journals Unqualified social work: “a positive caring approach” for the Scottish private rented sector

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-29
Author(s):  
Benjamin Bridgman
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
Property Management ◽  
Related Services ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Economic Relations ◽  
The Public ◽  
Rented Sector

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the emic theme of “unqualified social work” as part of the process of property management in a self-described “letting agency with a difference” in Edinburgh, set in the context of the rapid expansion of the private rented sector. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based upon ethnographic data from participant observation in a letting agency and unstructured interviews with their employees. Findings The paper suggests that the shift in Scotland in terms of the provision of housing and housing-related services from the public sector to the private rented sector in recent decades has engendered new social and economic relations in which property managers become “unqualified social workers”. Practical implications The paper aims to exemplify how anthropology and ethnographic research may contribute to the understanding of the private rented sector and of property management. Originality/value The paper aims to contribute to the wider literature on the private rented sector by foregrounding the role of the property manager. The paper also brings an analysis derived from the anthropology of ethics to an ethnographic understanding of property management and the private rented sector.

Libraries and Tumblr: a quantitative analysis

2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 156-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie Elson Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Digital Libraries ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Start Date ◽  
Special Collections ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Usa ◽  
One Year

Purpose – This study aims to determine how Tumblr is being used by libraries and special collections/archives in the USA through quantitative analysis. Design/methodology/approach – Data on library Tumblr blogs were collected at three points during a one-year period and included library type, start date, number of posts, average posts per day, type of post and other descriptive information. Findings – There is a growing library presence on the social media site Tumblr. The results shows adoption of the social media platform by multiple library types: academic, public, special collections/digital libraries, library organizations and other library/archives. Research limitations/implications – A major challenge is in the identification and discovery of all libraries on Tumblr, especially as the number of Tumblr blogs created by libraries of all types continues to grow. Practical implications – Results of this analysis should prove useful for both libraries and special collections already using Tumblr as well as those interested in starting a presence on Tumblr. The results will assist librarians in determining if this is a social media tool that is useful and valuable, as well as providing observations on best practices. Originality/value – Literature specific to Tumblr is limited. This research paper provides a starting point for more research and analysis on the presence of libraries on Tumblr.

L’absence chez Michel Butor. L’Emploi du temps et Degrés

2012 ◽  
pp. 66-80
Author(s):  
Michał Mrozowicki
Keyword(s):  
Human Memory ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Narrative Discourse ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Michel Butor ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
One Year ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Narrative Mode ◽  
The City

Michel Butor, born in 1926, one of the leaders of the French New Novel movement, has written only four novels between 1954 and 1960. The most famous of them is La Modification (Second thoughts), published in 1957. The author of the paper analyzes two other Butor’s novels: L’Emploi du temps (Passing time) – 1956, and Degrés (Degrees) – 1960. The theme of absence is crucial in both of them. In the former, the novel, presented as the diary of Jacques Revel, a young Frenchman spending a year in Bleston (a fictitious English city vaguely similar to Manchester), describes the narrator’s struggle to survive in a double – spatial and temporal – labyrinth. The first of them, formed by Bleston’s streets, squares and parks, is symbolized by the City plan. During his one year sojourn in the city, using its plan, Revel learns patiently how to move in its different districts, and in its strange labyrinth – strange because devoid any centre – that at the end stops annoying him. The other, the temporal one, symbolized by the diary itself, the labyrinth of the human memory, discovered by the narrator rather lately, somewhere in the middle of the year passed in Bleston, becomes, by contrast, more and more dense and complex, which is reflected by an increasinly complex narration used to describe the past. However, at the moment Revel is leaving the city, he is still unable to recall and to describe the events of the 29th of February 1952. This gap, this absence, symbolizes his defeat as the narrator, and, in the same time, the human memory’s limits. In Degrees temporal and spatial structures are also very important. This time round, however, the problems of the narration itself, become predominant. Considered from this point of view, the novel announces Gerard Genette’s work Narrative Discourse and his theoretical discussion of two narratological categories: narrative voice and narrative mode. Having transgressed his narrative competences, Pierre Vernier, the narrator of the first and the second parts of the novel, who, taking as a starting point, a complete account of one hour at school, tries to describe the whole world and various aspects of the human civilization for the benefit of his nephew, Pierre Eller, must fail and disappear, as the narrator, from the third part, which is narrated by another narrator, less audacious and more credible.

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