Enacting reflective and deliberative practices in action research

ABSTRACT

We consider action research as a form of deliberative policy analysis. This analysis explores a “reconstruction clinic” in which stakeholders and public officials engaged memories, hopes and obligations as they sought to resolve controversies over details of policy implementation. We ask how institutional design shaped participants’ reflective and deliberative progress. Reflection in action can prompt not only changes in cognitive frames, but new behavioural capacities for action. Deliberative practices can shape new relationships between parties through the work of apology, recognition, appreciation, and emergent collaboration.     

‘Notorious Beyond Any Other European Woman of Her Generation’: The Case of Count(ess) Sarolta/Sándor Vay

The paper investigates the curious case of the Hungarian Count(ess) Sarolta/Sándor Vay, journalist and writer, but, above all, a notorious gender bender in late nineteenth-century Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. The article examines her case in the context of the history of European cross-dressing and of narrative transvestism. The author argues that nineteenth-century dandyism provided an effective cultural framework for Vay’s contemporaries to accept her unconventional presence in fin-de-siècle Hungarian society. Moreover, she claims that Vay’s narrative transvestism may also be construed within the cultural phenomenon of dandyism, as her writing practices prove to be further instruments for her self-fashioning. Finally, she concludes that Vay’s gender performance and narrative transvestism become illustrative examples of instances that both frame and confuse accepted cultural patterns, destabilize gender binarism, and participate in its maintenance.     

张爱玲与川端康成叙事艺术比较分析

张爱玲与川端康成分别对20世纪的中国和日本文坛产生了重要影响。二者都致力于以女性为中心铺陈故事,以诗意的语言建构起女性中心话语权,在其思想主题、表达技巧、审美追求等方面也具有高度的趋同性。     

论近代中国士人的首次西游书写

斌椿的日记《乘槎笔记》和诗集《海国胜游草》、《天外归帆草》突破了近代史书写的一贯"以西律中"的现代化话语模式。这一方面可以从满族/中国这一本土坐标看待近代中西交流史的这桩公案;另一方面也可以反思体用二元割裂的思考方式。     

Power To Our Journeys: Re‐membering Michael

The following personal reflections are in honour of Michael and all that he contributed to our lives. And, we honour Brigitte a key member of the group who died in 2006. Mem, Sue and Veronica, December 2008.     

Some Reflections on the Legacies of Michael White: An Australian Perspective

This article, which appears in a special 30‐year anniversary edition of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, reflects on the legacies of the work of Michael White. It begins by looking back on Michael's time as editor of the Australian Journal of Family Therapy. Of the many themes that were discussed in the Editorials and Letters to the Editor section of this journal in the early 1980s, this article focuses on three in particular to explore the legacies of the work of Michael White. The author describes how Michael has bequeathed not only a profound body of work, but also a distinctive spirit of originating, and ways of working that consider the effects of social issues and that examine the politics of experience. It is the author's hope that this approach to considering Michael White's legacies honours his work and also honours the contributions of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy in its 30th year.     

Spirituality and child welfare reunification: a narrative analysis of successful outcomes

When children are removed from their families because of maltreatment, the child welfare system seeks reunification whenever possible. Despite the importance of this goal, little is known about families who are able to achieve and maintain successful reunification. This qualitative study conducted in‐depth interviews with 15 families who completed their child welfare case plans, were reunited with their children and remained together for at least 1 year post‐reunification. Narrative analysis using a combination of thematic and structural coding was completed to examine the strengths and process families discussed related to their successful child welfare outcomes. This paper discusses one of those strengths, spirituality, in greater depth. Specifically, 12 participants situated the strength of spirituality within their stories as an important narrative element they perceived as critical, leading to important changes. Findings highlight the benefits some families receive from their spiritual beliefs, practices and faith communities when working towards reunification, suggesting child welfare practitioners be prepared to identify and honour this family strength.     

Brushed aside: African American women’s narratives of hair bias in school

ABSTRACT

For African American women, hair is a key site of identity formation and self-esteem that has been largely ignored by education researchers. Fifty-six African American women shared memories of negative hair experiences in school as a means to magnify the implicit injuries of racial and gender marginalization in educational environments. Memories consisted of hair shaming and suffering the consequences of hair damage, by way of classmate or teacher. Embarrassment and anxiety were the most frequently reported emotional reaction, resulting in participants’ discomfort in school and in their interpersonal relationships. Findings from this study suggest that hair bias represents a source of trauma and identity negotiation within school contexts. Critical Black feminist theories were used to frame the method and interpretation of participants’ reflective narratives. The insights provided through the narrative sample fuel recommendations regarding anti-bias teaching and school policy reform.     

论回族爱情叙事诗的悲剧美--以《马五哥与尕豆妹》为例

作为回族民间文学重要组成部分的爱情叙事诗,由于具有鲜明的民族特色和独特的艺术风格,在长期的传播中赢得了回族及周边各族人民的喜爱。同时,它又以粗犷、直率、沉郁的语言抒发了一种悲壮的感情,令人回味无穷。文章欲以在西北农村广泛传唱的“花儿”体叙事长诗《马五哥与尕豆妹》为例,试图利用社会人类学的功能理论来尝试性的分析回族爱情叙事诗的悲剧美。     

中国当代“动物叙事”神话原型母题及其模式研究

中华民族对待动物的古老原始神话思维对当下文学创作具有潜在影响,在与现代思维理念相交融、碰撞之后发生现代转型,并且这种转型以一种相对固定的母题模式呈现在“动物叙事”文本表达中。原始动物神话的派生形态：动物自然神话与动物图腾神话的溯源研究,导引出动物原型母题中动物作为自然象征、动物作为人的本质性象征两大核心叙事维度,进而深入到对其神话原型母题模式与类型衍生的探讨。