Becoming a Being of Pure Consciousness

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-59
Author(s):  
Susannah Crockford
Keyword(s):  
Social Organization ◽  
Small Town ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
New Age ◽  
Pure Consciousness ◽  
The Social ◽  
Unexplored Area ◽  
Ethnographic Data ◽  
New Age Spirituality

Fasting is an unexplored area of New Age spirituality. Using material that is primarily ethnographic, based on long-term participant observation fieldwork in Sedona, Arizona, a small town renowned for its New Age associations, this article examines some forms of fasting that are commonly recommended and attempted in New Age spirituality. The ethnographic data are supplemented with material drawn from two New Age spiritual leaders who are connected to Sedona, both of whom recommend fasting. Fasting is analyzed as a form of managing and organizing interspecies relationality, following the work of Graham Harvey. The consequences are framed in terms of the effects fasting has on the social organization of relatedness, or kinship, and on accusations of being dangerous or exhibiting “cult-like” behavior.

scholarly journals Lining up for charity

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 218-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Sofia Salonen
Keyword(s):  
Social Organization ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
Ethnographic Data ◽  
Food Charity

Purpose Recent decades have witnessed a rise in food charity provided by faith-based and other charitable agencies. Previous research has noted that besides material assistance, these occasions provide a social and communal event for many participants. The purpose of this paper is to examine this notion by exploring how the social organization of breadlines contributes to the social relationships between the food recipients and their experiences of these places as communities, and what qualities these communities eventually develop. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on ethnographic data from four breadlines in one Finnish city. The study approaches the breadlines as queues, that is, social systems that govern waiting, mutual order and access. Findings The social organization of queue practices mirrors the users’ experiences of the breadlines as communities with many concurrent faces: as communities of mutual surveillance and as demanding communities that call for skills and resources from the participants, as well as socially significant communities. The findings show how the practices of organizing charitable assistance influence the complex social relationships between charitable giver and recipient, and how the food recipients accommodate themselves to the situations and social roles available on a given occasion. Originality/value Analysing breadlines as queues and using qualitative data from the everyday assistance events gives voice to the experiences of food charity recipients and allows a more nuanced picture to be painted of the breadline communities than studies based merely on surveys or interviews.

scholarly journals “A Moment of Science, Please”: Activism, Community, and Humor at the March for Science

2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 46-57
Author(s):  
Hauke Riesch ◽  
Photini Vrikki ◽  
Neil Stephens ◽  
Jamie Lewis ◽  
Olwenn Martin
Keyword(s):  
Collective Identity ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Negative Stereotypes ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Social ◽  
Alternative Facts

In April 2017, scientists and science sympathizers held marches in the United Kingdom as part of a coordinated international March for Science movement that was held in over 600 cities worldwide. This article reports from participant-observation studies of the marches that took place in London and Cardiff. Supplemented with data from 37 interviews from marchers at the London event, the article reports on an analysis of the placards, focusing on marchers’ concerns and the language and images through which they expressed those concerns. How did the protesters articulate their concerns and objectives, and how were these articulations used to build a community? The placards did not represent a clear, focused, and unifying message; they instead illustrated disparate concerns ranging from human-induced climate change, Trump and “alternative facts,” and local UK specific political issues concerning the country’s exit from the European Union. Our analysis shows that placards gave a playful and whimsical character to the march, with slogans displaying significant amounts (and moments) of humor, often formulated through insider jokes, scientific puns, or self-deprecating appropriation of negative stereotypes about scientists. We analyze the march through the social movement literature and as a collective identity-building exercise for an (emergent) community of scientists and sympathizers with long-term aims of establishing a louder voice for scientists, and experts, in public discourse.

scholarly journals Social niche construction in captive Gouldian Finch (Erythrura gouldiae) Flocks

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory M Kohn ◽  
M. Ryan Nugent ◽  
Xzavier Dail ◽  
Taylor R Orlandi
Keyword(s):  
Social Organization ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Niche Construction ◽  
Sibling Interactions ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
The Social ◽  
Unexplored Area ◽  
Gouldian Finch ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Social Niche

The organization of animal groups is both a cause of, and consequence of, patterns of interactions among individuals. The stability of animal social organization reflects how individuals construct and maintain resilient patterns of interactions across changes in group size and membership. In this study we describe patterns of social interactions in captive flocks of Gouldian Finches (Erythrura gouldiae) that were exposed to changing social conditions. A flock of adult Gouldian Finches was exposed to two changing conditions, an introduction condition where juveniles were introduced to the flock, and a fission-fusion condition where the flock was split into two smaller flocks and a new group of juveniles introduced to each. We show that the social organization of captive Gouldian finch flocks is characterized by stable homophilic communities of adult females and juveniles. Females showed higher rates of approaches to other adult females, while juveniles maintined higher rates of approaches towards other juveniles. These findings highlight how the stable interactive decisions made by individuals contribute to higher-order patterns of organization in bird flocks. Furthermore, this study is one of the few to demonstrate self-assortment of juveniles in passerine flocks and suggests that peer and sibling interactions are an unexplored area in avian social development.

Conducting Comparative Participant Observation

2020 ◽  
pp. 57-87
Author(s):  
Corey M. Abramson ◽  
Martín Sánchez-Jankowski
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Research Design ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Causal Processes ◽  
The Social ◽  
Ethnographic Data ◽  
Methodological Approaches

Following the argument for the importance of comparative participant observation for approaches descendent from the conventional scientific tradition (CST), this chapter outlines how the behavioralist foundations summarized in chapter 1 translate to procedures and techniques for charting causal mechanisms in comparative ethnographic research. The chapter begins by examining the practices and techniques of the behavioralist approach in detail and describes the mode of research design, sampling, data collection, analysis, and explanation associated with this approach, giving examples from prior empirical works. The chapter then turns to longstanding concerns about ethnographic reliability and replication and explains how this approach addresses them. In doing so, it shows how behavioralist criteria align with, and diverge from, other methodological approaches to the collection, analysis, and extension of ethnographic data. The chapter concludes by explaining the contributions that can be made by repositioning participant observation within the spectrum of approaches to understanding causal processes in the social sciences.

Negotiating violence in family law mediation

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elaina Behounek ◽  
Michelle Hughes Miller
Keyword(s):  
Partner Violence ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mediation Training ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
The Social ◽  
Ethnographic Data ◽  
And Training ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this study is to understand mediation in divorce cases where intimate partner violence (IPV) is a concern. These cases may involve managing power imbalances, coercive control or risk for continued violence. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the authors use feminist and sociological theoretical approaches and grounded theory to analyze triangulated ethnographic data to explore how mediators construct and manage the issue of IPV in mediation. Findings The results indicate that mediators often share a common discourse about IPV that asserts that mediators are professionals with the skills to both identify IPV and to appropriately conduct mediations where IPV is present. However, to achieve successful mediations mediators sometimes choose to discount the seriousness of IPV in assessments. They also use a set of fluid strategies to handle potential power imbalances that allow them to represent themselves as unbiased, even while those strategies risk the equity of the mediation. Practical implications The authors share several strategies that could enhance the social justice of the process for all parties, including uniformity in assessing whether IPV is a concern and oversight of mediators’ practices and training. Social implications The results indicate mediators often share a common discourse about IPV that asserts mediators are professionals with the skills to identify IPV and to appropriately conduct mediations where IPV is present. To reach settlement mediators use a set of fluid mediation and accommodation strategies to handle potential power imbalances due to IPV that allow them to represent themselves as impartial, even while those strategies may risk equity in the mediation. Originality/value The unique data provide a behind-the-scenes look at mediation generated from participant observation of mediation training and actual mediations, along with interviews with 30 practicing mediators.

Alternative Archaeology and New Age Traditionalism in Contemporary Russia

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-73
Author(s):  
Andrei Tiukhtiaev
Keyword(s):  
New Age ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Sacred Sites ◽  
The Public ◽  
Academic Knowledge ◽  
Southern Russia ◽  
Ethnographic Data ◽  
Krasnodar Region ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
New Age Spirituality

Abstract This article examines how esoteric traditionalism in contemporary Russia searches for legitimisation using alternative archaeology. Although New Age spirituality is often considered a private religion, some of its manifestations have a significant impact on the public sphere. The author demonstrates that the New Age in Russia contributes to redefining of categories of religion, science, and cultural heritage through the construction of sacred sites and discursive opposition to academic knowledge. The research is based on analysis of media products that present esoteric interpretations of archaeological sites in southern Russia and ethnographic data collected in a pilgrimage to the dolmens of the Krasnodar region.

The social organization of a sedentary life for residents in long-term care

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 128-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Benjamin ◽  
Janet Rankin ◽  
Nancy Edwards ◽  
Jenny Ploeg ◽  
Frances Legault
Keyword(s):  
Social Organization ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Term Care ◽  
The Social ◽  
Sedentary Life

The Concepts and Ideas of ‘Spirituality’ Within Worldviews of Alternative Religiosities in the Post-Communist Region: Vissarionites and Anastasians

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 241-264
Author(s):  
Rasa Pranskevičiūtė-Amoson
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Cultural Influences ◽  
New Age ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
New Age Spirituality

Abstract The article presents research on contemporary religiosities related to individuality and subcultural features, influenced by the processes of social change and religious diversification in the post-communist region. Its aim is to discuss individual and communal thinking (orientated to esotericism, magic, and ecology) typical for representatives of two nature-based spirituality movements—Vissarionites and Anastasians, which is expressed through concepts of New Age spirituality of Oriental origin. The concepts of energy, non-violence, vegetarianism, karma, and reincarnation are used in both movements and appear as an example of how such concepts arrived through Western cultural influences, transformed, and took root in the post-communist cultural context of New Age spirituality. The findings are based on data obtained from fieldwork in 2004–2015, including participant observation and interviews with respondents in the Baltic states and Russia.

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