Transnational households and ritual: an overview

In this article we introduce five papers, all by social anthropologists, all concerned with transnational households and ritual. Despite wide–ranging research on transnational migration and diasporas, many aspects have been accorded less consideration than they deserve. The transnational practices of migrant families, other than remittances and other economic activity, remain under–investigated. Some thought has been given to the transnational dimension of religious belief systems, notably Islam, but the micro–politics of religion has been largely ignored, and there has been little discussion of transnational religious practices (rituals) at the level of households and families, especially those performed by migrants back in their countries of origin. Household–level analyses of the performances of and meanings attributed to life–crisis rituals and consideration of what Salih has called the ‘transnational division of ritual space’ offer a valuable route to understanding relations between place, culture, ethnicity and gender among migrants in a transnational world, and illuminate contemporary processes of globalization.     

Participants’ productive disruption of a community photo-elicitation project: improvised methodologies in practice

Abstract

This article reports on an attempt to use photo-elicitation to explore contested intergenerational perceptions and experiences of ‘place’ in one English village. Participants actively disrupted the photo-elicitation project and ended up co-creating an enriched research design that allowed them to represent how they experienced ‘place’. The spontaneous, mixed media-elicitation that resulted overturns some of the more straightforward notions that are aligned with photo-elicitation techniques. This article builds on a growing body of critical literature on photo-elicitation and shows how participants’ disruption of a project’s research methods can be both challenging and fruitful in practice. The researcher’s flexibility and willingness to work with participants’ alternative approaches proved extremely effective in allowing participants to communicate their ‘imagined geographies’ and to identify experiences of social inequality. This article explores how the initially problematic in participant involvement can be turned into the productive through the use of ‘improvised methodologies’.     

Understanding localism

These two special issues of Policy Studies investigate various aspects of localism and draw insights from a broad range of different academic disciplines; which illustrates how ubiquitous the issue has become, both in the academy and in political discourse, particularly in the UK and increasingly in Australia. In this introduction, we begin by outlining three different types of localism – managerial, representative and community – which have underpinned both debates in the area and policy developments, before outlining our definition of the term. Subsequently, we introduce the theoretical and empirical contributions that this issue makes to understanding localism in Westminster-style democracies.     

Peace Corps' Information Collection and Exchange

Abstract

President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps in 1961, and a library has served staffers and volunteers since its beginning. In this issue, Serials Review visits the Information Collection and Exchange (ICE) at Peace Corps Headquarters in Washington, DC, and learns about some of the unique things this library does to support its users all over the world.     

Better together? Learning lessons for group decision‐making practice from a study of secure accommodation in Scotland

This paper draws on the findings of a research study that examined the factors that influence local decision‐making in cases where a child or young person is being considered by residential workers, social workers and senior managers for placement in a secure unit. After outlining the research problem and case study approach taken, the paper focuses on explicating the findings of the study that relate to the impact of group membership, goals, roles and norms on group performance in such cases. The paper illustrates how attending to these four areas, and the way in which power relations impact on them, may help those developing and managing groups to improve decision‐making practice.     

SR visits: bringing electronic access to the census bureau library

The United States Census Bureau Library, acting on a study commissioned in 2002, has undertaken to improve electronic access for their patrons. The library provides e-journal and database access. The staff relies on usage statistics from these resources to sharpen the focus of the collection. Through an aggressive outreach program Census Bureau employees learn about these new products and services. Future plans include adding more e-journals, an open OPAC, and a new library building.