scholarly journals ‘Messy Democracy’: Democratic pedagogy and its discontents

2019 ◽  
Vol 104 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-76
Author(s):  
Richard Hudson-Miles ◽  
Andy Broadey

This paper reflects on a recent participatory installation by the artists’ collective @.ac, entitled Messy Democracy, as a case study to raise questions concerning the ‘distribution of the sensible’ within the neoliberal art school. The project set up a quasi-autonomous artists’ space within Hanover Project gallery 9 April–3 May, 2018 at University of Central Lancashire, Preston. This exhibition functioned as a space of collective pedagogy, co-labour and ‘dissensus’ situated in relation to the wider operation of the department of Fine Art. It also sought to operate as a critical alternative to contemporary models of the art school, rooted in notions of usefulness and romantic self-realisation, but re-structured in the service of ‘commodification’ and ‘financialisation’ in wake of the Browne Report (2010). Most importantly, Messy Democracy represented a ‘theatocractic’ ‘undercommons’ for alternate and counter-hegemonic subjectivities to emerge. However, hierarchical logics, resulting from the hegemonic ‘distribution of the sensible’ stubbornly persisted even within this nascent pedagogic democracy.

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (17) ◽  
pp. 4679
Author(s):  
Carina Anderson ◽  
Robert Passey ◽  
Jeremy De Valck ◽  
Rakibuzzaman Shah

This paper reports on a case study of the community group Zero Emissions Noosa, whose goal is for 100% renewable electricity in the Noosa Shire (Queensland, Australia) by 2026. Described within this paper are the processes used by Zero Emissions Noosa to set up their zero emissions plan, involving community engagement and the use of an external consultant. The external consultant was employed to produce a detailed report outlining how to successfully achieve zero emissions from electricity in the Noosa Shire by 2026. This paper explains how and why the community engagement process used to produce the report was just as important as the outcomes of the report itself. Modeling was undertaken, and both detailed and contextual information was provided. Inclusion of the community in developing the scenario parameters for the modeling had a number of benefits including establishing the context within which their actions would occur and focusing their efforts on options that were technically feasible, financially viable and within their capabilities to implement. This provided a focal point for the community in calling meetings and contacting stakeholders. Rather than prescribing a particular course of action, it also resulted in a toolbox of options, a range of possible solutions that is flexible enough to fit into whatever actions are preferred by the community. The approach and outcomes discussed in this paper should, therefore, be useful to other communities with similar carbon emission reduction goals.


2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 407-413
Author(s):  
Allan Effa

In 2015 the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada concluded a six-year process of listening to the stories of Canada’s First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. More than 6000 witnesses came forth to share their personal experiences in listening sessions set up all across the country. These stories primarily revolved around their experience of abuse and cultural genocide through more than 100 years of Residential Schools, which were operated in a cooperative effort between churches and the government of Canada. The Commission’s Final Report includes 94 calls to action with paragraph #60 directed specifically to seminaries. This paper is a case study of how Taylor Seminary, in Edmonton, is seeking to engage with this directive. It explores the changes made in the curriculum, particularly in the teaching of missiology, and highlights some of the ways the seminary community is learning about aboriginal spirituality and the history and legacy of the missionary methods that have created conflict and pain in Canadian society.


2021 ◽  
pp. 153465012110382
Author(s):  
Sampurna Chakraborty ◽  
Prasanta K. Roy

Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) is an evidence-based therapy, originally developed to treat major depression. IPT conceptualizes depression from a bio-psychosocial perspective where signs of depression are understood in the context of an individual’s current social and interpersonal stressors, defined in terms of role transitions, disputes, bereavements, and sensitivities. In this single case study, IPT was used to treat a woman undergoing primary infertility with multiple failed pregnancies and unsuccessful adoption procedures along with specific grief reactions and depressive symptoms for 2 years. The therapy was formulated over 12 weekly sessions in the outpatient set-up in a general hospital in Kolkata in 2017. Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) was used to assess the efficacy of the therapy and its outcomes. The therapy was found to be effective in the patient and justifies the rationale of choosing the said therapy for the specific case from an interpersonal viewpoint. The case study may help suggest how and why to use interpersonal psychotherapy in infertility conditions with psychological ramifications.


The selection of hospital sites is one of the most important choice a decision maker has to take so as to resist the pandemic. The decision may considerably affect the outbreak transmission in terms of efficiency , budget, etc. The main targeted objective of this study is to find the ideal location where to set up a hospital in the willaya of Oran Alg. For this reason, we have used a geographic information system coupled to the multi-criteria analysis method AHP in order to evaluate diverse criteria of physiological positioning , environmental and economical. Another objective of this study is to evaluate the advanced techniques of the automatic learning . the method of the random forest (RF) for the patterning of the hospital site selection in the willaya of Oran. The result of our study may be useful to decision makers to know the suitability of the sites as it provides a high level of confidence and consequently accelerate the power to control the COVID19 pandemic.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 287-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynne Bowker

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the potential benefits and limitations associated with aligning accreditation and academic program reviews in post-secondary institutions, using a descriptive case study approach. Design/methodology/approach The paper describes two Canadian graduate programs that are subject to both external professional accreditation and institutional cyclical reviews, as they underwent an aligned review. The process was developed as a collaborative effort between the academic units, the professional associations and the university’s graduate-level quality assurance office. For each program, a single self-study was developed, a single review panel was constituted, and a single site visit was conducted. The merits and challenges posed by the alignment process are discussed. Findings Initial feedback from the academic units suggests that the alignment of accreditation and program reviews is perceived as reducing the burden on programs with regard to the time and effort invested by faculty, staff and other stakeholders, as well as in terms of financial expenses. Based on this feedback, along with input from reviewers and program evaluation committee members, 14 recommendations emerged for ways in which an aligned review process can be set up for success. Practical implications The results suggest that aligned reviews are not only resource-efficient but also allow reviewers to provide more holistic feedback that faculty may be more willing to engage with for program enhancement. Originality/value The present study contributes to the existing body of knowledge about conducting aligned reviews in response to external accreditation requirements or institutional needs. It summarizes the potential benefits and limitations and offers recommendations for potential best practices for carrying out aligned reviews for policymakers and practitioners.


2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernat López ◽  
Helle Kettner-Høeberg

The Vuelta a España is one of the three cycling Grand Tours, a long-established (first staged in 1935) and global sports mega event. Nonetheless, in the mid-noughties, it went through a financial and identity crisis, which culminated with the French company, Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), the organizer of the Tour de France, taking over the Spanish race in 2008. This research, an in-depth case study based on semistructured interviews and analysis of all the relevant corporate documentation and online activity, aims at shedding light on how the new ASO management has refloated the race through a reinforcement of its globalization and mediatization, on the lines of the managerial policies already in place for the Tour de France since the early 80s. This article also proposes a small theoretical refinement of the “mega sporting event” concept, moving from a binary, yes–not typology, to a four-level scale including micro (local), meso (provincial/subnational), macro (national or regional), and mega (global) sporting events. In this sense, this article concludes that the communication strategies set up by the new ASO management have pushed the Vuelta beyond the macro and towards the mega level.


2017 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Mowles

Group analytic scholars have a long history of thinking about organizations and taking up group analytic concepts in organizational contexts. Many still aspire to being more of a resource to organizations given widespread organizational change processes which provoke great upheaval and feelings of anxiety. This article takes as a case study the experience of running a professional management research doctorate originally set up with group analytic input to consider some of the adaptations to thinking and methods which are required outside the clinical context. The article explores what group analysis can bring to management, but also what critical management scholarship can bring to group analysis. It considers some of the organizational difficulties which the students on the doctoral programme have written about, and discusses the differences and limitations of taking up group analytic thinking and practice in an organizational research setting.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madison Milne-Ives ◽  
John Leyden ◽  
Inocencio Maramba ◽  
Ray Jones ◽  
Arunangsu Chatterjee ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND The NHS cannot keep up with the demand for operations and procedures. Preoperative assessments, which can last 30 minutes to 2 hours, could be conducted online to save patient and clinician time, reducing wait times for operations. MyPreOp is a cloud-based platform where patients can set up an account and complete their preoperative questionnaires. This data is reviewed by a nurse, who determines if they need a subsequent face-to-face appointment. OBJECTIVE The primary objective was to describe the potential impact of MyPreOp® (Ultramed Ltd, Penryn, UK) the number of face-to-face appointments. Secondary objectives were to examine the time spent on preoperative assessments completed using MyPreOp in everyday use in NHS Trusts and user ratings of usability and acceptability. METHODS A case study service evaluation of data collected by the MyPreOp system from two NHS Trusts (Guy’s and St Thomas’ and Royal United Hospitals Bath) and the private BMI Bath Clinic during the four-month period of September to December 2020. MyPreOp is delivered by the hospital conducting the preoperative assessment but is typically completed at home at the patients’ convenience. Participants were adults of any age and health status at the participating hospitals who used MyPreOp to complete a preoperative assessment before a scheduled surgery. The primary outcome was the number of face-to-face appointments avoided by patients who used MyPreOp. Secondary outcomes were the length of time spent by nurses completing preoperative assessments, associated travel-related CO2 emissions, and quantitative user feedback. RESULTS Data from 2,500 participants was included. Half of the patients assessed did not need a further face-to-face appointment and required a median of only 5.3 minutes of nurses’ time. The reduction in appointments was associated with a small saving of CO2e emissions (9.05 tonnes). Patient feedback was generally positive: 80% of respondents rated MyPreOp as easy or very easy to use and 85% thought the overall experience was good or very good. CONCLUSIONS This evaluation demonstrated potential benefits of MyPreOp. However, further research using rigorous scientific methodology and a larger sample of NHS Trusts and users is needed to provide strong evidence of MyPreOp’s efficacy, usability, and cost-effectiveness.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janette Bessembinder ◽  
Judith Klostermann ◽  
Rutger Dankers ◽  
Vladimir Djurdjevic ◽  
Tomas Halenka

<p>The provision of climate services to users is a fast developing field. In support of this development, the IS-ENES3 project, funded within the EC Horizon2020 program, organized three schools on “Climate data for impact assessments” in 2020 and 2021. In an Autumn school, a Spring school and a Summer school, climate scientists and impact scientists were brought together. An important aim of the schools was to enhance interaction between Vulnerability-Impact-Adaptation (VIA) researchers, climate services providers and climate researchers. Another aim was to provide an overview of information on climate modeling, climate data, impact modelling and climate services based on the work of the IS-ENE3 project.</p><p>In the first three weeks a series of lectures was given, covering topics such as climate data and modelling, impact models, portals for accessing and processing climate data, setting-up impact assessments, and communication of results to stakeholders. In the last three weeks the participants worked in small groups of one climate scientist with one impact scientist on a case study under the guidance of the course lecturers. Impact and climate researchers were combined on purpose to let them experience how they could help each other.</p><p>Originally the schools were planned to take place on-site (e.g. in Prague) during one week; however, due to COVID-19 the schools had to be transformed to virtual schools with two weekly sessions during six weeks. Although the virtual set-up had some disadvantages (e.g. less possibilities for networking), there were also some advantages (e.g. the possibility to record the lectures and make them available to a broader audience; more time to explore and work with climate data in between the sessions, no CO<sub>2</sub> emissions for travelling). During this presentation we will present the set-up of the schools and the conversion to a virtual school. We will focus on the lessons learnt and the evaluation of the virtual schools by the participants and give some recommendations for similar schools and how to link the climate and VIA research communities .</p>


2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 275-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrés Sanchez

This article presents a case study into the massive online demonstrations that occurred on Facebook (an online networking platform much like MySpace or Bebo) during Autumn/Winter of 2006 as a vibrant and contemporary example of resistance in action in the online domain. The demonstrations were carried out in response to the introduction of Facebook’s ‘News Feed’ and ‘Mini-Feed’ pages which greeted users upon signing in and presented a wealth of information about their friends and their online activities, seemingly without any form of privacy control. The pages even listed details of personal relationships and sexual orientations; both highly contentious issues. The response to this perceived intrusion on users’ privacy was staggering. Groups were set up overnight to pillory the Facebook News Feed, massive petitions that numbered hundreds of thousands were set up across international boundaries, online blogs and message boards became filled with incandescent comments.Eventually, Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook’s founder and himself a former Harvard student) was forced to issue a public apology and then amend the News Feed to allow users the opportunity to edit their privacy settings. No longer would such information be so publicly accessible. No longer would privacy be taken so lightly. The student body used the very means by which they were being surveilled (that is, the cyber-synoptic infrastructure of the Facebook network) to organize an internationally resistant movement to support their right to privacy. This confrontation provides an engrossing example of the World Wide Web being used as a powerful tool to mobilize many bodies against a perceived force of oppression and subjugation. This was a clear demonstration that the politics of surveillance (Haggerty 2006) and the politics of the self matter greatly in present climes; where issues of privacy and the sanctity of the virtual realm are never far from the headlines. As such, it provides an excellent empirical backdrop to a conceptual analysis of resistance-through-distance and resistance-through-persistence (Collinson 1994) in the virtual realm.


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