Search Results

Places of Redemption: Theology for a Worldly Church

Mary McClintock Fulkerson

The primary aim of this book is to explore the contradiction between the widely shared beliefs in the USA about racial inclusiveness and equal opportunity for all, and the fact that most churches are ... More

The primary aim of this book is to explore the contradiction between the widely shared beliefs in the USA about racial inclusiveness and equal opportunity for all, and the fact that most churches are racially homogeneous and do not include people with disabilities. To address the problem, the book explores the practices of an interracial church (United Methodist) that includes people with disabilities. The analysis focuses on those activities that create opportunities for people to experience those who are ‘different’ as equal in ways that diminish both obliviousness to the other and fear of the other. In contrast with theology's typical focus on the beliefs of Christians, this book offers a theory of practices and place that foregrounds the instinctual reactions and communications that shape all groups. The effect is to broaden the academic field of theology through the benefits of ethnographic research and postmodern place theory.Less

Leading public sector innovation: Co-creating for a better society

Christian Bason

In a time of unprecedented turbulence, how can public sector organisations increase their ability to find innovative solutions to society's problems? This book shows how government agencies can use ... More

In a time of unprecedented turbulence, how can public sector organisations increase their ability to find innovative solutions to society's problems? This book shows how government agencies can use co-creation to overcome barriers and deliver more value, at lower cost, to citizens and business. The book is prescriptive. It shapes around the framework of an innovation ecosystem, encompassing the four Cs of consciousness, capacity, co-creation and courage. Through global case studies and practical examples, the book addresses the key triggers of public sector innovation. It shares new tools for citizen involvement through design thinking and ethnographic research, and pinpoints the leadership roles needed to drive innovation at all levels of government.Less

Foundations of Human Sociality: Economic Experiments and Ethnographic Evidence from Fifteen Small-Scale Societies

Joseph Henrich, Robert Boyd, Samuel Bowles, Colin Camerer, Ernst Fehr, and Herbert Gintis (eds)

This book is the result of a collaborative effort by eleven anthropologists and six economists, and questions the motives that underlie the ways that humans interact socially, and whether these are ... More

This book is the result of a collaborative effort by eleven anthropologists and six economists, and questions the motives that underlie the ways that humans interact socially, and whether these are the same for all societies, and are part of our nature, or are influenced by our environments. Over the past decade, research in experimental economics has emphatically falsified the textbook representation of Homo economicus, with hundreds of experiments that have suggested that people care not only about their own material payoffs but also about such things as fairness, equity, and reciprocity. However, this research has left fundamental questions unanswered: are such social preferences stable components of human nature; or, are they modulated by economic, social, and cultural environments? Until now, experimental research could not address this question because virtually all subjects had been university students, and while there are cultural differences among student populations throughout the world, these differences are small compared with the full range of human social and cultural environments. A vast amount of ethnographic and historical research suggests that people's motives are influenced by economic, social, and cultural environments, yet such methods can only yield circumstantial evidence about human motives. In combining ethnographic and experimental approaches to fill this gap, this book breaks new ground in reporting the results of a large cross‐cultural study aimed at determining the sources of social (non‐selfish) preferences that underlie the diversity of human sociality. The same experiments that provided evidence for social preferences among university students were performed in fifteen small‐scale societies exhibiting a wide variety of social, economic, and cultural conditions by experienced field researchers who had also done long‐term ethnographic field work in these societies. The results, which are given in chs. 4 to 14, demonstrated no society in which experimental behaviour is consistent with the canonical model of self‐interest, and showed that variation in behaviour is far greater than previously thought, and that the differences between societies in market integration and the importance of cooperation explain a substantial portion of the variation found (which individual‐level economic and demographic variables could not). The results also trace the extent to which experimental play mirrors the patterns of interaction found in everyday life. The book has three introductory chapters that include a succinct but substantive introduction to the use of game theory as an analytical tool, and to its use in the social sciences for the rigorous testing of hypotheses about fundamental aspects of social behaviour outside artificially constructed laboratories, and an overview and summary of the results of the fifteen case studies.Less

Culturally Competent Research: Using Ethnography as a Meta-Framework

Mo Yee Lee and Amy Zaharlick

This book provides a practical, step-by-step, hands-on guide for social work researchers, doctoral students, and professionals who are interested in conducting culturally competent research with ... More

This book provides a practical, step-by-step, hands-on guide for social work researchers, doctoral students, and professionals who are interested in conducting culturally competent research with diverse populations and groups. This book adopts ethnography as a meta-framework for conducting culturally competent research. Since its inception as an academic discipline, anthropology has developed theories, concepts, methods, and a significant body of substantive studies for the purposes of guiding cultural research, describing cultural groups and processes, and providing data needed for cross-cultural research and theory-building. Ethnography as a meta-framework for research suggests the following components of culturally competent research: (1) A collaborative social relationship with the study group and community; (2) Use of firsthand, long-term participant observation; (3) Use of self as research instrument; (4) Researcher as learner; (5) A contextual view of phenomena; (6) A holistic perspective; (7) An interactive-reactive research process; (8) A cross-cultural frame of reference; and (9) A spirit of discovery. This pocket guide describes each phase of research incorporating these components from framing and designing the study; to data collection, management, and analysis; to final analysis and report writing; and to dissemination to a variety of audiences. Inclusion of these elements ensures that the research is conducted with and close to the lived experience of the study groups. Culturally Competent Research provides a methodological framework for developing a rigorous social work knowledge base for research in an increasingly diverse and global society. Culturally competent research will help the social work profession understand the lived experiences of diverse populations, which will in turn help to shape social work practice and policy to the benefit of all.Less

The Sex Education Debates

Nancy Kendall

Educating children and adolescents in public schools about sex is a deeply inflammatory act in the United States. Since the 1980s, intense political and cultural battles have been waged between ... More

Educating children and adolescents in public schools about sex is a deeply inflammatory act in the United States. Since the 1980s, intense political and cultural battles have been waged between believers in abstinence until marriage and advocates for comprehensive sex education. This book upends conventional thinking about these battles by bringing the school and community realities of sex education to life through the diverse voices of students, teachers, administrators, and activists. Drawing on ethnographic research in five states, the author reveals important differences and surprising commonalities shared by purported antagonists in the sex education wars, and illuminates the unintended consequences these protracted battles have, especially on teachers and students. Showing that the lessons which most students, teachers, and parents take away from these battles are antithetical to the long-term health of American democracy, she argues for shifting the measure of sex education success away from pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection rates. Instead, the author argues, the debates should focus on a broader set of social and democratic consequences, such as what students learn about themselves as sexual beings and civic actors, and how sex education programming affects school–community relations.Less

Research and policy in ethnic relations: Compromised dynamics in a neoliberal era

Charles Husband (ed.)

This book provides a critical discussion of the fault lines in the contemporary relationship between university based researchers, research funders, and the policy sector in the production and ... More

This book provides a critical discussion of the fault lines in the contemporary relationship between university based researchers, research funders, and the policy sector in the production and utilisation of research to inform policy and practice in ethnic relations. Drawing upon an international range of expert contributions from academics, those working in NGOs and the public sector the detailed case studies, and theoretical analysis, provide challenges to both academics and policy makers to think differently about how to develop better policy agendas in this complex field. The book explores the dynamics of the use and abuse of minority ethnic researchers in the urgent political pursuit of answers to urgent questions about current ethnic relations in diverse societies. The challenges faced by research funders and NGOs seeking to initiate, fund and exploit policy relevant research are explored through the experience of a national and an international case study; and though an examination of state intervention in the research and policy environment informing ethnic relations policy. The book critically explores the impact of the commodification of knowledge on contemporary ethnic relations research and policy.Less

Troubling Violence: A Performance Project

M. Heather Carver and Elaine J. Lawless

This book, which follows the collaboration between the author, a performance studies professor, and ethnographic folklorist Elaine J. Lawless, traces the creative development of a performance troupe ... More

This book, which follows the collaboration between the author, a performance studies professor, and ethnographic folklorist Elaine J. Lawless, traces the creative development of a performance troupe in which women take the stage to narrate true, harrowing experiences of domestic violence and then invite audience members to discuss the tales. Similar to the performances, it presents real-life narratives as a means of heightening social awareness and dialogue about intimate partner violence. “Troubling violence” refers not only to the cultures in our society that are “troubling,” but also to the authors’ intent to “trouble” perceptions that enforce social, cultural, legal, and religious attitudes that perpetuate abuse against women. Performance, the book argues, enhances ethnographic research and writing by allowing ethnographers to approach both their field studies and their ethnographic writing as performance. The book also demonstrates how ethnography enhances the study of performance. The authors discuss the development of the Troubling Violence Performance Project in conjunction with their own “performances” within the academy.Less

Somalis Abroad: Clan and Everyday Life in Finland

Stephanie R. Bjork

This ethnography is the first work to consider the role of clan in the Somali diaspora and the only book that considers women’s perspectives in addition to the traditionally recognized men’s ... More

This ethnography is the first work to consider the role of clan in the Somali diaspora and the only book that considers women’s perspectives in addition to the traditionally recognized men’s perspectives on the topic of clan. The book is based on extensive fieldwork between 2000 and 2004 in the Helsinki metropolitan area. The comments of three research participants gathered in 2015 add a collaborative dimension and bring readers up to date on changes since the fieldwork period. It marks a departure from earlier kinship studies in Somalia, informed by structural-functionalism, by employing a practice theory approach to clan. Many Somalis are embarrassed by the notion that clan in any way affects their life abroad. They routinely blame cultural insiders and outsiders for its persistence as a source of both division and association. Cultural intimacy helps explain the cultural intricacies that shape Somalis’ contestation of clan. Daily life reveals the habitual, though understated efforts to construct clan and use clan networks to access and exchange capital and exposes networks as flexible and reveals innovative configurations and uses. Somalis consider clan alongside ideas of autonomy and gender equality and affinities toward clan relatives and nonrelatives. The book was written as a pedagogical tool, incorporating anthropological concepts and immersing readers in ethnographic research methods.Less

Cantonese Society in Hong Kong and Singapore: Gender, Religion, Medicine and Money

Marjorie Topley

Jean DeBernardi (ed.)

This volume contains published articles by the author, who was a pioneer in the field of social anthropology in the post-war period and also the first president of the revived Hong Kong Branch of the ... More

This volume contains published articles by the author, who was a pioneer in the field of social anthropology in the post-war period and also the first president of the revived Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. Her ethnographic research in Singapore and Hong Kong set a high standard for urban anthropology, and helped create the fields of migration studies, gender studies, and medical anthropology.Less