Unsettling research versus activism: how might critical disability studies disrupt traditional research boundaries?

Abstract

This article responds to the call for producing activist-oriented scholarship by engaging with theoretical and methodological approaches that explore the inclusion of women and girls with disabilities in Vietnam. We consider possibilities for connecting different forms of knowledge and activism by reflecting on research practices designed to foster social change. Specifically, we ask: how can critical disability studies be more reflexive about knowledge which privileges particular ways of knowing from the Global North? What alternative possibilities can exist to foster more inclusive and transformative knowledge that tackles systemic forms of oppressions in colonial and postcolonial contexts? Reflecting on an ongoing collaborative project in Vietnam, we argue that critical disability studies which engages with different forms of activism through critical reflections on our privileges can tackle exclusion by opening a new platform for debating social justice transnationally.     

美国大学社会服务的“大学社区参与”模式评析

"大学社区参与"是20世纪90年代以来美国兴起的新型大学社会服务模式。这一模式在大学与社区的合作伙伴关系基础上,以社区需求和社会发展为动力,旨在推进大学教学、科研与服务功能的综合发展,具有学术性、综合性、互惠性、公共性等特征。大学领导层、组织机构、教师参与、组织文化以及大学与社区的权力关系等因素共同决定着"大学社区参与"模式的运行状况。"大学社区参与"模式对我国大学社会服务的现代发展具有借鉴意义。     

语篇对话视角的介入分析

评价理论是系统功能语言学在人际意义研究上的新突破,它关注用于协商社会关系的语言资源和态度表达。通过对语篇对话性的介入分析,考察介入系统的操作过程以及语言为之提供的资源潜势,可以看到,作者通过充分运用介入策略,可增强对读者的人际操控,实现交际双方的有效互动。     

Collaborative Data-Mining in an Adolescent Mental Health Service

Summary

As full participants in a collaborative clinical data-mining project intended to promote staff reflection and to improve services, clinicians discovered just how valuable their practice expertise was in maintaining project relevance. In this paper, they describe challenges they faced as non-experienced researchers and writers and how their practice skills enabled them to overcome these challenges. Benefits derived include: enhanced skills (in both practice and research), sensitization to previously overlooked areas of practice, and an increased sense of professionalism.     

南极资源利用与中国参与——基于自主治理理论的分析

南极资源是未来人类发展的重要资源宝库,在各国经济社会发展和国际政治博弈中都扮演着重要的角色。作为国际公共资源的南极资源其利益可以由全人类共享。各国在南极资源的开发和利用过程中贯彻自主治理理论的基本原则,建立起一系列多层次的南极资源利用的制度规范,规制各国的机会主义行为,是科学利用南极资源、避免“公有地悲剧”的有效途径。南极是中国重要的海外战略资源储备基地,作为南极利益的攸关方,当前中国应当从供给新制度、增强可信承诺以及强化监督3个方面积极维护国家南极资源权益。     

西利亚·撒克斯特作品中灾难书写的美学意蕴

西利亚·撒克斯特是19世纪美国女作家,其作品以其所居住的海岛为背景,记录了她在岛上的生活以及周围的自然景色。她在作品中表达了对自然之美的无尽热爱,这份热爱不仅局限于传统的田园牧歌式的自然景致,也延伸到了神秘而令人胆怯的荒野之中。本文结合当代环境美学家关于“非美自然”的论述,并参考康德对于纯粹审美判断的阐释,从“距离”与“道德”两个角度对西利亚作品中关于灾难性自然景观的言说进行审美意义上诠释。西利亚坚持以自然的名义欣赏自然,希望借助康德式的纯粹审美还原审美自然灾难的合理性。此外,她选择成为灾难的“旁观者”而非“参与者”,克服了“恐惧”对于审美自然灾难所产生的阻碍,证明了欣赏自然灾难的可行性。分析西利亚作品中所体现的自然审美思想,不仅是对自然文学研究领域的进一步延伸,也是对当代环境美学理论的一次反哺与验证。西利亚对自然灾难的审美言说是一次勇敢的尝试,不仅为人类积极地理解自然灾难提供了一种可能性,也扩宽了“非美自然”的审美疆域。     

The emergence of the emergence-based approach in community practice

Community practitioners are often challenged to work in complex environments and situations that naturally occur in communities. This article focuses on the theoretical and practical use of the Emergence-Based Approach that is relevant for work in complex community situations. Using this approach, the practitioner encourages the emergence of novel ideas and initiatives, and engages a decentralized network of activists, helping them develop their initiatives. Using a field study, we compare this approach to the traditional Outcomes-Based Approach. Although their mindsets are very different, and even contradict one another, we suggest practical ways to combine the two in an effective way.     

Participation in Everyday Life Before and After a Housing Adaptation

Housing adaptation aims to enable clients to live independently in their own homes. Studies focusing on participation in everyday life following a housing adaptation are lacking and needed. This study aimed to explore housing adaptation clients' experiences of participation in everyday life before and after a housing adaptation, through the lens of a housing adaptation, using a qualitative follow-up design, with 11 participants. It was found that when the housing adaptation met the participants' needs, performance of activities improved and the housing adaptation opened doors to engagement and participation in everyday life. Thus, focus on performance and engagement in everyday life at the onset of the housing adaptation process, combined with regular follow-ups, may enhance participation.     

Functional and emotional traits of corporate social media message strategies: Behavioral insights from S&P 500 Facebook data

Drawing from literature regarding public engagement, the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), computer-mediated communication research, and emotion psychology, this study examines the effects of companies’ social media communication strategies on public engagement behaviors as indexed by post likes, shares, and comments. Specifically, it investigates how corporate Facebook posts’ functional traits (functional interactivity and vividness) and emotional traits (emotion presence, valence, and strength) impact public engagement online. Through data mining and computer-assisted sentiment analysis of 33,379 posts from 106 Standard & Poor 500 companies’ Facebook accounts, this study finds a negative effect of functional interactivity but a positive effect of vividness on engagement. It also shows that emotional traits overall yield stronger public engagement outcomes. Two-way interactions between emotional and functional features are also detected. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

The importance of systems thinking,context, and inclusion when studying the feasibility of expanding the FoodShare (SNAP) outreach program to rural communities of Northern Wisconsin

Evaluators often neglect to question whether a program has been appropriately designed for a new context prior to a feasibility study’s commencement. In this paper, we document the results of a case study that closely examined context when determining the feasibility of implementing a FoodShare outreach program in rural northern Wisconsin. Using community-based participatory mixed methods, we examine how stakeholder engagement led to both study refinement and a more comprehensive understanding of community food security based on contextual factors and systems thinking. Lessons learned when conducting feasibility studies from this perspective are provided to improve evaluation practice.