Why Does Hungary's Independent Union Movement Fare So Badly?: a Participant-Observer Study of a Project To Provide Union Services and Representation for the Unemployed

This article describes the initiation, planning and implementation of a job exchange between a practitioner and an educator in a psychiatric setting. The experience provided an opportunity for a participant-observer study which helped to identify common personal and professional themes. The job exchange also acted as a catalyst for change, facilitating greater collaboration between local practitioners and educators. The value of reflective practice is also discussed, in reference to exploring sociocultural processes.

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When the Bombs Drop

Sociological Perspectives ◽

10.2307/1389088 ◽

1983 ◽

Vol 26 (2) ◽

pp. 137-158 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Robert W. Balch ◽

Gwen Farnsworth ◽

Sue Wilkins

Keyword(s):

Psychological Factors ◽

Ethnographic Study ◽

Social Psychological ◽

Nuclear War ◽

Observer Study ◽

The World ◽

The Difference ◽

New Believers ◽

Participant Observer

This article reports the results of an ethnographic study of a millennial Baha'i sect whose leader predicted that the world would be devastated by nuclear war on April 29, 1980. Shortly before that date we began a participant-observer study of the sect, and during the following eight months we supplemented our observations by interviewing members and defectors in the four states where the group's leader had a substantial following. The purpose of the investigation was to replicate the classic study of disconfirmed prophecy reported in When Prophecy Fails by Festinger, Riecken, and Schachter. They found that prophetic disconfirmation was followed by an increase in conviction and heightened efforts to recruit new believers. We report contrary findings and explore social psychological factors that might account for the difference between our findings and the results of the Festinger et al. study. We argue that reactions to prophetic failure are shaped less by psychological forces than by social circumstances existing at the time of disconfirmation.

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Lessons of Burography

The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science ◽

10.1177/002188638902500409 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 25 (4) ◽

pp. 439-450

Author(s):

John M. Johnson

Keyword(s):

Critical Reflection ◽

Public Welfare ◽

Abused Children ◽

Observer Study ◽

Organizational Experience ◽

Participant Observer ◽

Welfare Agencies ◽

Official Information ◽

The U.S ◽

Organizational Competence

A burography is a description and analysis of the intersections of biography and bureaucracy that articulates the organizational experience and meaning from the actor's perspective. In this burography, the author discusses his experiences with and/or participant-observer study of bureaucracies in the U.S. Navy, public welfare agencies, evangelical organizations, movements on behalf of abused children and battered wives, and academia. Within the context of an organization, using biased or false reports in constructing official information is often considered a feature of organizational competence, based on one's understanding of the context. The process of critical reflection on the author's career has revealed to him that the motives for and results of his actions are more complex—and less completely altruistic—than previously imagined, both practically and morally.

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Living Poor: A Participant Observer Study of Choices and Priorities. Camille Jeffers

Social Service Review ◽

10.1086/642196 ◽

1967 ◽

Vol 41 (4) ◽

pp. 465-465

Author(s):

Friedericka Mayers

Keyword(s):

Observer Study ◽

Participant Observer

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Elohim City: A Participant-Observer Study of a Christian Identity Community

Nova Religio The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions ◽

10.1525/nr.1999.2.2.245 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 245-265 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Somer Shook ◽

Wesley Delano ◽

Robert W. Balch

Keyword(s):

Social Organization ◽

Everyday Life ◽

Christian Identity ◽

Right Wing ◽

Observer Study ◽

Participant Observer

ABSTRACT: This paper describes a participant-observer study of Elohim City, a notorious Christian Identity community in eastern Oklahoma that has been linked to right-wing terrorist activities. Our study focuses on the community's beliefs, values, and social organization as these were revealed in our observations of everyday life. The paper includes an assessment of the danger posed by Elohim City and concludes with our personal reactions to the community.

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