A feminist revisiting of the insider/outsider debate: The “outsider phenomenon” in rural Iowa

This article draws upon findings from an ethnographic study of two towns in rural Iowa to examine the adequacy of the insider/outsider distinction as a guideline for evaluating and conducting ethnographic research. Utilizing feminist standpoint and materialist feminist theories, I start with the assumption that, rather than one “insider” or “outsider” position, we all begin our work with different relationships to shifting aspects of social life and to particular knowers in the community and this contributes to numerous dimensions through which we can relate to residents in various communities. “Outsiderness” and “insiderness” are not fixed or static positions, rather they are ever-shifting and permeable social locations illustrated in this case study by the “outsider phenomenon.” Community processes that reorganize and resituate race-ethnicity, gender and class relations form some of the most salient aspects of the “outsider phenomenon.” These dynamic processes shaped our relationships with residents as ethnographic identities were repositioned by shifts in constructions of “community” that accompanied ongoing social, demographic, and political changes.     

A New Era in Governmental Reform: Realizing Community

The good government models of the 1990s realized a focus that included reinventing, reengineer-ing, rethinking, quality, empowerment, and devolution of the organization. These organizational reform ideologies sought to increase involvement, improve productivity, manage performance, and drive results. One essential key that has been disregarded in these government models is the involvement of community in the decision-making process. This paper points to the importance of involving and empowering citizens in the decision-making process, particularly in regard to community justice based on the notion of restorative justice system. Community justice, a modern day reform movement with international proportions, is based on the principles of empowering community, repairing harm caused by a crime or disturbance, and reducing risk to the community.     

都市风景的两种色调——方方与池莉小说的诗学审视

以"新写实"著称的方方与池莉,是两位擅长以中篇体裁进行都市写作的女作家.虽说她们都对批评家总是将她们俩相提并论不以为然,但事实上,都立足于中南重镇武汉进行写作的这两位作家,她们的小说里都表现出一种对都市民众的生存关怀,在各自的文本里勾勒出一幅城市风景.尽管如此,两位作者各自的审美取向却大相径庭,而且在艺术成就上的确也不能相提并论.     

Representing knowledge: instances of management information

Against the backdrop of discussions about the 'Information Society', the 'Informational Economy' and the role of IT in realizing organizational change we examine how representations of 'organizational knowledge' are constructed and used in work settings. We do this through the explication of ethnographic materials that detail the realization and use of Management Information (MI) in a major UK retail bank undergoing massive organizational change. We focus in particular on explicating how existing metric information was drawn upon to construct a representation of the work of the bank for those involved in managing that work. Systems designers have been increasingly interested in offering ways of conceptualizing the problem of 'knowledge' with a view to embedding these properties in systems. In the quest to develop representations of procedural knowledge to support work we argue that it is first necessary to understand how representations are actually created and used in work to support existing work practices.     

基于元学习的企业核心能力形成机理

动态环境下,企业需要建立元学习系统才能不断开发核心能力。"信息转移与恢复"、"实验"、"动态惯例"、"环境审视"、"标杆瞄准"等五个学习子系统在企业核心能力形成中发挥着各自的作用,而由五个子系统整合而成的元学习系统,产生了企业的动态核心能力。     

Physical exercise,employee fitness and the management of health at work

Abstract

This paper presents some recent data on why organizations invest in exercise and physical fitness programmes for their stiff. These data suggest that, owing to a lack of evaluation studies, organizations act mainly on the basis of assumption and belief. However, from a subsequent review of the available literature on the personal and organizational effects of such programmes, it appears that these assumptions and beliefs are not altogether unfounded. The paper concludes by discussing the ways in which exercise and employee fitness programmes might help die individual and their organization in terms of the management of health at work.     

Studying Postmodern Families: A Feminist Analysis of Ethical Tensions in Work and Family Research

Through dialogue and reflexivity, feminist researchers aim to create knowledge that is emergent from people in relationship with one another. Reflexivity is a process whereby researchers place themselves and their practices under scrutiny, acknowledging the ethical dilemmas that permeate the research process and impinge on the creation of knowledge. Guided by these tenets, we analyzed the relations among our research practices, our participants, and ourselves to understand and reduce the ethical tensions we encountered in a multimethod research project designed to investigate work and family processes. Our reflective efforts underscore both the active nature of research participants and the importance of the sociopolitical contexts within and around the research process. We make suggestions for more ethical research.     

Schulentwicklung — ein kritischer Blick auf ein aktuelles Phänomen

School developmement, a critical perspective Today, everything dealing with school becomes subsumed under the keyword school development. The demand for school development is raised by two sides: on the one hand by political and social groups, on the other by schools themselves. In this way, very different ideas and demands on school development arise. School as institution and schools as highly complex organizations can’t be reformed with programs derived from economy and management methods. The legal and social context as well as school theories, organizational culture, internal structures and the self concept of teachers constitute the frame, in wich school development takes place as a continual process and whose neglect causes frustration and failure.     

The feminizing of neglect

This paper is concerned with understandings of neglect in child care social work. It is a theoretical discussion in which the social construction of neglect is examined through an analysis of the relationship between 'care' and neglect. In particular, I explore the gendered nature of 'care' and the possible feminizing of its correlate, neglect. I consider the links between gender, race and caring, and how these interact in 'achieving' femininity, and go on to look at the relationship between ideas of care and the 'natural' mother. This, in turn, is linked to a discussion of social work responses to neglect. I argue the need for feminist analyses of neglect as a significant area of abuse – analyses that can parallel the important insights that have been offered in relation to other areas of child abuse, and can contribute to the development of effective social work intervention strategies.     

Organizational climate and burnout in a New Zealand social service agency

Abstract

A two-phase study was conducted on the relationship between organizational climate variables and burnout among personnel in a multifunction community service agency. Initial interviews with a small pilot sample identified major sources of stress, which were then incorporated into a second-phase questionnaire to all staff. Multiple regression analyses illustrated that perceived interactions between head office administrators and sections of the agency contributed significantly to emotional exhaustion, whereas perceptions of within-section interactions and involvement in decision-making had a positive impact on personal accomplishment. Perceived communication levels, however, were negatively related to personal accomplishment. The findings suggest the importance of organizational variables and highlight strategies for burnout reduction and effective stress management in human service organizations.