Continuity and change: the voices of Scottish librarians

This article reflects on the evolution of public libraries in Scotland and, in particular, the impact and consequences of austerity measures on Andrew Carnegie's foundational belief that public libraries are for the ‘good of the people’. It does this first by situating Scottish libraries in their historical context and examining MacDougall's (2017) rich accounts of those working in the sector from the 1930s to late 1990s. This was demonstrably a period of profound social change, and one which offered the sector multiple opportunities. Library services were able to evolve and expand, both as a profession, and in their position as a core public service in local communities. The second part of the article turns to data collected as part of ongoing research funded by the Leverhulme Trust on the value of the modern public library. The accounts presented are from those currently working with, and for, public libraries. Continuity is observed in the fundamental principles that library staff aspire to uphold. The critical change is in their ability to deliver these principles in the face of ever-increasing austerity cuts, experienced as a continual ‘chipping’ away of services. This, combined with growing demands for welfare services from communities increasingly burdened by poverty, means the library service is more important than ever before – yet in a greater position of precariousness.

Revisiting the non-ideal victim

In comparison to Christie’s focus on characterising the ‘ideal victim’ and the sociology of the phenomena, this chapter instead focuses on the non-ideal victim and how this sub-group of victims is linked to individual reactions to victimisation. Christie’s discussion of the non-ideal victim goes only so far as ‘witches and workers’ – those victims who are made so due to either their ill health or ignorance of their victimisation, who do not have sufficient strength/power to claim legitimate victim status. Christie does not however consider the individual who does not want to be associated with the victim label, and will in fact go to great lengths to avoid victim status, including not reporting crimes to the police or further engaging with criminal justice. Avoiding victimisation, or at least avoiding the victim identity and label, is thereby potentially an effective means of protecting one’s foundational belief systems and maintaining personal wellbeing.

Mupasi as cosmic s(S)pirit: The universe as a community of life

Mupasi recalls the belief that humans form part of the community of life within the realm of the cosmic spirit. The assertion seems like a truism that requires no further enunciation. However, belief in the Creator-Spirit, a pneuma-theological understanding of creation, is relatively young in the Christian tradition. In Colossians 1:15-20, Christ is presented as instrumental to creation. Christian tradition therefore tends to present creation in Christological terms. The foundational belief in Spirit-Creator-God has not historically undergirded Christian belief about creation. The Christian faith could therefore benefit from ‘companion’ views of creation in terms of the cosmic spirit. Mupasi is understood as cosmic spirit, the axis of the universe apprehended as an organic whole. The web of life was brought into being, is sustained by, and inhabited by Mupasi. This retrieval has continuities and discontinuities with Christian belief as Spirit-Creator-God. It is presented here as a notion that calls the Christian faith back to its originating intuitions about creation. Mupasi is appropriated within a pneuma-theological framework that addressed a pressing issue of our time, the global ecological crisis. Mupasi presents an ecological critique that is meaningful for a renewed appreciation of community beyond an anthropocentric focus. The cosmic relatedness brings a renewed vision of the universe as a cosmic community of the s(S)pirit. The cultural and intellectual milieu of Mupasi is undergirded by a relational conception of reality. It provides a critical lens with implications for ecclesiology that challenges the church’s self-understanding and ways of being.

This Book Is an Action

The Women's Liberation Movement held a foundational belief in the written word's power to incite social change. This book investigates the dynamic print culture that emerged as the feminist movement reawakened in the late 1960s. Works created by women shined a light on taboo topics and offered inspiring accounts of personal transformation. Yet, as the chapters reveal, the texts coalesced into something far greater: a distinct and influential American literary renaissance. On the one hand, feminists took control of the process by building a network of publishers and distributors owned and operated by women. On the other, women writers threw off convention to venture into radical and experimental forms, poetry, and genre storytelling, and in so doing created works that raised the consciousness of a generation. Examining feminist print culture from its structures and systems to defining texts by Margaret Atwood and Alice Walker, this book suggests untapped possibilities for analyzing the diverse range of literary production during feminism's second wave.

Revisiting student's learning experiences appreciatively

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focuses on the use of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) to acquire and analyse student's life-centric experiences in an undergraduate early childhood course entitled, “Philosophy in Action”. The course has as a foundational belief that a teacher's sense of identity is central to effective teaching. As such, this research sought to capture the essence of the connection between students’ beliefs about early childhood teaching and the real world of practice. Design/methodology/approach – Using an AI approach peak performances were analysed for causes of success and emergent themes, after which provocative propositions and an action plan were co-constructed. Findings – The findings of this research evoke discourse around the influence of the student-teacher relationship as a means of enhancing life centric learning experiences in educational programmes. Originality/value – The authors wondered whether an AI approach to a course evaluation might open themes that show a taken-for-granted depth of the learning experiences. The authors were not disappointed.

Health Equity, Aboriginal Peoples and Occupational Therapy

Background. In Canada, Aboriginal peoples are affected by colonial relations of power that result in poor health outcomes. Despite occupational therapists' efforts to work in a safe and competent manner with people experiencing challenges to participating in daily life, Western healthcare models reflect values that often undermine Aboriginal peoples' health and well-being. Purpose. Meaningful, effective, and culturally appropriate healthcare practices cannot be fully implemented by occupational therapists without an ongoing and critical examination of occupational therapy's foundational belief systems. Only a critical examination of these foundational belief systems will enable occupational therapists to take action towards addressing these inequities, which is an important step in moving towards culturally safe care. Key Issues. Canadian health professions, including occupational therapy, have the potential to create positive change at a systems level through the critical exploration of underlying professional assumptions. Implications. To advance dialogue about Aboriginal peoples' health, occupational therapists must engage in exploration of their profession's underlying theoretical concepts or risk participating in the perpetuation of health inequities for already at-risk populations.

Jung's cultural writing and Modern man in search of a soul (1933): spiral essays and performing symbols

C. G. Jung published in English, in 1933, Modern man in search of a soul. This book, I argue, is a response to related problems of psychologists writing cultural analysis, and to the difficulty of writing down the psyche itself. Given that Jung's most foundational belief is of the importance of the unconscious as source of creativity and of mystery, writing itself has to make room for ‘other’ voices and ‘other’ ways of arguing, in addition to rational abstract concepts, in order to fulfil Jung's vision. Symbol, myth, narrative and, crucially, spiral form embody and enact the psyche in culture.