Revisiting Spivak’s “Can the Subaltern Speak” through the lens of affect theory

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michalinos Zembylas
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Affect Theory ◽  
The Other ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Liberal Culture ◽  
Lauren Berlant ◽  
Theoretical Developments

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to revisit Spivak’s seminal essay “Can the Subaltern Speak” and the perennial challenges of researchers to collect information about the Other, focusing on the recent developments in affect theory.Design/methodology/approachThe paper brings into the conversation the recent work on affect and sentimentality by Lauren Berlant with Spivak’s claims in the essay concerning the representation of the subaltern by scholars and researchers. The paper draws on Berlant’s work to trouble the liberal culture of “true feeling” as well as the liberal subject implied in Spivak’s essay as a subject who is “actively speaking.”FindingsRecent theoretical developments on the affect theory make an important intervention to the perennial methodological tensions about representation, ontology and epistemology – as raised by Spivak and others over the years – and inspire new ways of thinking with the tools of doing qualitative research.Originality/valueBringing into the conversation, the affect theory and Spivak’s iconic essay have important methodological implications for qualitative research.

scholarly journals “Snitches get stitches”: researching both sides of illegal markets

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Potter ◽  
Gary R. Potter
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
The Other ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Illegal Markets ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Illegal Activity ◽  
Market Participants ◽  
Share Information

PurposeThe question of “taking sides” has received a lot of attention within qualitative criminology. Much of this has focused on the moral-philosophical or value-laden aspects of taking sides, following Becker's 1967 essay “whose side are we on”. However, the question of taking sides also has methodological implications, especially for qualitative researchers who wish to study multiple sides of a criminological problem, such as the perspectives of offenders and law enforcement around a particular illegal activity.Design/methodology/approachThis paper considers some of the practical, ethical and analytical challenges of studying illegal markets from opposing sides – the market participants' perspective on one side and law enforcement on the other. It outlines the advantages of researching both sides: the improved validity and reliability that comes with exploring and trying to reconcile different perspectives and the potential this has for developing theory and policy. It then explores the challenges researchers may face when trying to engage with opposing sides in qualitative fieldwork.FindingsThe paper pays particular attention to some practical and ethical questions researchers may face in this situation: who to research first, whether to be open about researching both sides and whether researchers should ever share information they have received from one side with their participants from the other side.Originality/valueThe authors do not offer absolute answers to these questions. Rather, the authors aim to outline some of the factors researchers may need to consider when juggling qualitative research involving participants on both sides of the law.

Against the scandal: itinerant curriculum theory as subaltern momentum

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 128-143
Author(s):  
João M. Paraskeva
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Political Economy ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Curriculum Theory ◽  
Qualitative Studies ◽  
The Other ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Qualitative Approaches ◽  
Education And Society ◽  
Ways Of Being

Purpose Keeping Spivak’s essay “Can the Subaltern Speak?” in mind, the purpose of this paper is to examine the itinerant curriculum theory (ICT) as a subaltern momentum unveiling how ICT informs subaltern ways of being and thus, potentially, the research lens for qualitative approaches. In this context, the paper examines how curriculum as an ideological devise produces an epistemicide – the killing of knowledge – an epistemological havoc cooked up daily in the process of qualitative studies promoting and legitimizing a specific modern western Eurocentric episteme. Design/methodology/approach The paper dissects modernity as a colonial zone, creating “abyssal thinking,” a eugenic system of visible and invisible distinctions that legitimizes the visible, i.e. “this side of the line” and produces “the other side of the line” as “non-existent.” Findings The paper urges the need to decolonize leading modern western Eurocentric counter-hegemonic traditions such as Marxism. Originality/value The paper analyzes ICT’s contribution to subaltern struggles, asserts ICT’s commitment against any form of canon, grabs the educational matrix of qualitative research as an eugenic beast from its very own ideological horns, alerting the need to examine any study of education and society within the ideological eugenic political economy and modes of production of systems pillared by poverty, exploitation, segregation, and intellectual rape.

scholarly journals Exploring careers through a qualitative lens: an investigation and invitation

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Richardson ◽  
Deborah Anne O'Neil ◽  
Kaye Thorn
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Visual Analysis ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Past ◽  
Research Designs ◽  
Looking Back ◽  
Theoretical Developments

PurposeIn this paper, the authors investigate and celebrate the contributions that qualitative research has made to Career Development International (CDI) and careers scholarship over the past 25 years. The authors highlight the positive impact of understanding the “lived/emic experiences” of individual career actors using qualitative research designs and identify areas for future research.Design/methodology/approachThe authors employ multiple approaches in their investigation. The authors’ enquiry is part conceptual, part critical analysis and part bibliometric visualisation of qualitative papers published in CDI.FindingsThe authors identify the underlying ontological and epistemological assumptions of qualitative research, and the key tenets and contributions of qualitative research published in CDI. Their bibliometric analysis shows the interrelatedness and frequency of topics addressed by qualitative research and published in CDI, revealing areas for further research. While identifying some of the key criteria for rigor in qualitative research, the authors also engage with emerging calls to avoid rigid templates in how qualitative research is designed and implemented. In this regard, authors echo calls for “methodological bricolage” as an approach to qualitative research in the study of careers.Originality/valueThis is the first bibliographic and visual analysis of qualitative research published in a single journal. The authors offer this investigation as a way of looking back and as an invitation looking forward, encouraging further qualitative research in anticipation of future theoretical developments in career scholarship.

scholarly journals Teaching innovations in Asian higher education: perspectives of educators

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.M. Wong
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
The Other ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Advanced Technologies ◽  
The Many

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the teaching innovations that have been implemented in higher education institutions in Asia and the perspectives of educators on them. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 educators who were affiliated with 23 higher education institutions in ten Asian countries/regions. The interviews covered information about the teaching innovations of the participants’ institutions, the characteristics of the innovative practices and the participants’ views on them. The relationships between the characteristics of institutions and their teaching innovations were also examined. Findings The results showed that the teaching innovations included two main categories, namely, those which involved the use of advanced technologies and those which did not. The innovations that involved the use of advanced technologies were mainly from larger institutions, while the other category was mainly from smaller ones and had been practised for less than 1.5 years. Differences were also identified between the two categories in terms of the aims and importance of innovations, innovative features, the evaluation of innovations and improvements needed for them. Originality/value The results highlighted that technology is only one of the many aspects of teaching innovations, which is different from the view prevailing in the literature. They also suggested that differences in the scale of institutions (in terms of number of students) possibly influences the kind of teaching innovations adopted.

Formation of contracts for the international sale of goods under Korean law and the CISG

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 208-223
Author(s):  
Byung Mun Lee
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Case Law ◽  
The Other ◽  
Basic Question ◽  
Content Type ◽  
International Sale Of Goods ◽  
The Comparative Study ◽  
International Sales ◽  
Insight Into

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze the rules on the formation of contracts under Korean law and the Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) in a comparative way and introduce the relevant proposed rules under the Amendment Draft of the Korean Civil Code (KCC). In addition, it attempts to compare and evaluate them in light of the discipline of comparative law. Design/methodology/approach In order to achieve the purposes of the study, it executes a comparative study of the rules as to the formation of contracts of the CISG, Korean law and the Amendment Draft of the KCC. The basic question for this comparative study is placed on whether a solution from one jurisdiction is more logical than the others and to what extent each jurisdiction has responded to protect the reasonable expectations of the parties in the rules as to the formation of contracts. Findings The comparative study finds that most of the rules under the CISG are quite plausible and logical and they are more or less well reflected in the proposals advanced by the KCC amendment committee. On the other hand, the other rules under the CISG which have brought criticisms in terms of their complexity and inconsistent case law invite us their revision or consistent interpretation. The drawbacks of the CISG have also been well responded in the Amendment Draft of the KCC. Nevertheless, it is quite unfortunate that the Amendment Draft of the KCC still has a rule that regards any purported performance with non-material alteration of the terms of an offer as an acceptance. Originality/value This study may provide legal and practical advice to both the seller and the buyer when they enter into a contract for international sales of goods. In addition, it may render us an insight into newly developed or developing rules in this area and show us how they interact with each other. Furthermore, it may be particularly useful in Korea where there is an ongoing discussion for revision of the KCC.

Document supply and resource sharing in Portuguese libraries: the role of the National Library

2010 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisa Maria Gaudêncio Soares
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Resource Sharing ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Supply System ◽  
National Library ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Long Period ◽  
Recent Developments

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to describe the development of the Portuguese document supply system with particular emphasis on the role of the National Library but also in its academic and public library sectors.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is descriptive in nature.FindingsPortugal emerged from a long period of monarchy and dictatorship, profited from being a EU member, and libraries are now exploiting the advantages of information technology particularly for the benefit of remote users.Originality/valueThis is probably the first overview of historical and recent developments in document supply in Portugal.

Measuring the service gaps in the roles of quantity surveyors in the emerging market

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 1111-1131 ◽  
Author(s):  
AbdulLateef Olanrewaju
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Markets ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
The Other ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Survey Questionnaires

Purpose – The opportunities that the emerging markets present to the players in the construction industry means that the players need to expand on the scope and size of their responsibilities and duties to the stakeholders. Each of the professionals now demands more specialised and sophisticated services from one another. The other players in the construction industry now require more emerging responsibilities and duties from the quantity surveyors. The purpose of this paper is to examine the roles that “modern” quantity surveyors play by measuring the gaps that exist in the services that the quantity surveyors provide. Design/methodology/approach – Primary data are collected through survey questionnaires. In total, 23 roles played by modern quantity surveyors are identified and addressed to the respondents to rank the rate at which quantity surveyors provide these “emerging” services. The collected data were analysed statistically. Findings – The results of the findings led to the conclusion that the quantity surveyors were not meeting the expectations of other players. Therefore, for competitiveness, quantity surveyors need to better meet demand expectations. Research limitations/implications – This findings of this research are constrained to the services or functions that the quantity provide in the construction industry. Practical implications – This knowledge is valuable to academic institutions that offer quantity surveying programmes, to practicing quantity surveyors, governments, and other players in the construction industry. It will allow quantity surveyors to reconcile supply and demand expectations. Originality/value – There is no known conclusive empirical study on services offered by quantity surveyors in any emerging markets. Therefore, the findings offer a fresh understanding on the services of quantity surveyors not only in Nigeria but elsewhere. While some of the services are common, others are peculiar to emerging markets.

Tolstoy in a recipe

2014 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 310-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Tominc
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
The Other ◽  
Food Culture ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
New Middle Class ◽  
Cooking Shows ◽  
Local Construction ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the impact of global celebrity chefs and their discourse about food on the genre of cookbooks in Slovenia. Design/methodology/approach – Focusing this discourse study on cookbook topics only, the analysis demonstrates the relationship between the aspirations of local celebrity chefs for the food culture represented globally by global celebrity chefs, such as Oliver, and the necessity for a local construction of specific tastes. While the central genre of TV celebrity chefs remains TV cooking shows, their businesses include a number of side products, such as cookbooks, which can be seen as recontexualisations of TV food discourse. Findings – Hence, despite this study being limited to analysis of cookbooks only, it can be claimed that the findings extend to other genres. The analysis shows that local chefs aspire to follow current trends, such as an emphasis on the local and sustainable production of food as well as enjoyment and pleasure in the form of a postmodern hybrid genre, while, on the other hand, they strive to include topics that will resonate locally, as they aim to represent themselves as the “new middle class”. Originality/value – Such an analysis brings new insights into the relationship between discourse and globalisation as well as discourse and food.

Reading the past to imagine the future

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 363-366
Author(s):  
Silvia Gherardi
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Qualitative Methods ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Personal Reflection ◽  
Research Topics ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Distinctive Features ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Future

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the ten years of the journal through a personal reflection. Design/methodology/approach – A review of the articles published in the last ten years. Findings – I argue that what has distinguished QROM in these ten years are two distinctive features: reflexivity on practices of qualitative research, and openness to the application of qualitative methods to unusual research topics. Originality/value – The main limit of the paper resides in the subjectivity of the person who has read the articles. Other readers may have different opinions and may have chosen different criteria.

Enabling formal MCS design and use: a meta-synthesis of qualitative research

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Janka
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Employee Behavior ◽  
Goal Congruence ◽  
Management Control System ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Daily Work ◽  
Management Literature ◽  
Design Characteristics

Purpose This study aims to synthesize qualitative research in the accounting and management literature that builds on the concept of enabling formalization. The framework for the meta-synthesis integrates formal management control system (MCS) design applying the package typology and two modes of MCS use, namely, diagnostic and interactive. Design/methodology/approach The meta-synthesis is based on 34 case studies gathered by a systematic literature search. Qualitative research mining software (Leximancer) was used to facilitate an initial analysis, upon which an in-depth manual analysis was conducted. Findings The findings indicate that the generic features of enabling formalization – specifically, flexibility and repair – help employees better deal with inevitable contingencies in their daily work through continuous self-improvement. In many circumstances, there is a need to change common organizational practices, which sometimes requires realignment to direct employee behavior toward goal congruence. The (temporary) coercion of employees does not seem to cause dysfunctional behavior or resistance as long as the broader MCS package follows the design features of enabling formalization – specifically, transparency. The interactive use of personnel/cultural controls appears to play a crucial role within the whole MCS package in balancing tensions between coercion and enabling formalization. Originality/value This study adds to the understanding of formal MCS design characteristics perceived by managers and employees as enabling. Furthermore, it shows how managers of these organizations use formal MCS under enabling formalization.

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