Examines the agro‐ecological and socio‐political systems of the Bengal basin of the Ganges floodplain (now mostly in Bangladesh region) from the precolonial period (before 1757)…
Abstract
Examines the agro‐ecological and socio‐political systems of the Bengal basin of the Ganges floodplain (now mostly in Bangladesh region) from the precolonial period (before 1757), through the colonial period (1757 to 1947), the development projects of the 1960s (the Green Revolution), up to the present day. Concludes by looking at the possibility of future economic growth employing sustainable development and environmental economics.
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How can researchers develop methods that are both child-centered and grounded in the “epistemology of racial emancipation” given the unique challenges associated with conducting…
Abstract
How can researchers develop methods that are both child-centered and grounded in the “epistemology of racial emancipation” given the unique challenges associated with conducting research with young people and white people? The purpose of this chapter is to examine the use of an innovative child-centered visual research method within the context of a larger ethnography focused on how white children come to form ideas about race in America. As part of a broader ethnographic study, white children between the ages of 10 and 13 were presented with photographs of celebrities. Children were asked questions about how to racially classify these popular culture icons, an activity that led to further discussion about race and racism in America. Drawing upon photographs of popular cultural icons and celebrities is one strategy for approaching uncomfortable topics with children in way that is less intimidating and that also brings new data to the study. Children made this aspect of the interview their own, bringing their unique perspectives to bear. This chapter discusses at length unique methodological issues, strategies, and innovations involved in research with white children about race. This chapter makes original contributions to the field of developing innovative, child-centered methods for conducting research with children and youth as well as existing scholarship on whiteness, privilege, and the social reproduction of racial ideology/racism.
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Melita Ptashnick and Daniyal Zuberi
Living wage campaigns are popular responses to counter increasing inequality in advanced industrial countries. The purpose of this paper is to examine how voluntary living wage…
Abstract
Purpose
Living wage campaigns are popular responses to counter increasing inequality in advanced industrial countries. The purpose of this paper is to examine how voluntary living wage employer certification engages business in multi-sectoral coalitions to reduce poverty.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors utilize qualitative interviews with 30 members of a living wage employer certification program in Vancouver, Canada as a case study to explore campaign participation by the business community and business case outcomes.
Findings
Certifying voluntary living wage employers engaged business community members as partners and advocates in a living wage campaign. Certified living wage employers fulfilled business case projections for worker compensation fairness, human resource improvements and corporate branding advantages.
Research limitations/implications
The study focussed on the early stages of a living wage employer certification program. As the number of living wage certification programs and ordinances grows, future research would benefit from examining how different social policy contexts in other Canadian and international regions affects whether these two avenues support one another or one avenue becomes favoured.
Originality/value
Most studies of living wage campaigns have not dealt with how voluntary employer certification programs affect campaign participation and outcomes. The approach the authors adopt in the case takes into account the role of voluntary employer certification programs on campaign participation by the business community and business case outcomes. The study findings are of value to businesses, activists and policy analysts, who engage in or study corporate social responsibility initiatives to facilitate the creation of “good jobs” that provide family sustaining wages and benefits, particularly to lower-tier workers.
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Social Movements can play an important role in societal change, and Social Movement Organizations (SMOs) are often carriers of those efforts. SMOs differ from traditional…
Abstract
Social Movements can play an important role in societal change, and Social Movement Organizations (SMOs) are often carriers of those efforts. SMOs differ from traditional organizations in the goals they seek to accomplish and how they operate. Typically, within Social Movement literature, the unique internal organization forms have been understudied and usually do not attend to the socio-structural aspects of those processes. Using a Critical Race Theory/Intersectionality (CRT/I) lens and organizational theories, this study analyzes an ideologically driven SMO case dedicated to transformative change and the leadership of structurally marginalized people and communities, particularly women and people of color. Analysis of this case reveals unique organizational dynamics and particular ways that socio-structural patterns influenced every level of social movement-building and organizational practices.
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To reflect upon access, rapport and representation in ethnographic research through the lens of ‘place’, especially how place intersects with gender.
Abstract
Purpose
To reflect upon access, rapport and representation in ethnographic research through the lens of ‘place’, especially how place intersects with gender.
Methodology/approach
This chapter uses a critical, reflexive analysis of my own ethnographic research.
Findings
I argue that place – defined as the set of meanings surrounding a geographical location – is an important, but less understood factor that shapes the research process. Place interacts with more commonly identified categories such as race, class and gender, but cannot be reduced to them.
Originality/value
While place is a burgeoning topic of scholarship, little work has considered how it influences qualitative data collection and analysis. This chapter fills this gap and in the process illuminates how more recognised categories such as gender are situated in place.
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Tauseef Hussain, Syeda Hina Batool, Amara Malik, Syed Waqas Hussain and Khalid Mahmood
This study presents a situated and context-bound model of electronic media reports by exploring their detailed information practices within the workplace actions. It further…
Abstract
Purpose
This study presents a situated and context-bound model of electronic media reports by exploring their detailed information practices within the workplace actions. It further investigates the information sources they usually consult for news or story-making process and barriers that hinder them to acquire required information.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected through semistructured, face-to-face interviews of electronic media reporters from the top news channels of Pakistan. These reporters had international exposure while having 7–20 years of work experience with different news channels.
Findings
In relation to information practices, the model also highlights the seven steps involved in news-making process of electronic media. Initially inspired from Mckenzie's (2003) model of information practice, which was developed within the everyday life context, this model attempts to see the information practices of electronic media reporters situated at their workplaces and might be seen as an extension of previous works.
Originality/value
This study is a unique attempt to find patterns of information practices situated in their workplace actions. The results of this study would be helpful for librarians and information specialists, who are working in media house libraries for the planning and designing of library services.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-07-2020-0308
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A piece of frequently given informal advice to those starting in the world of research is to ‘pick a topic you'll be able to stick with for three or four years’ – and often that's…
Abstract
A piece of frequently given informal advice to those starting in the world of research is to ‘pick a topic you'll be able to stick with for three or four years’ – and often that's the end of it. This chapter suggests that we should understand the importance of confronting the ‘affective gap’ in how research is currently conceived. It does so by considering how usually we do not engage with the issues underlying this ‘sticking with’ and what allows us to sustain our attention and effort across the years of a research project. Through a case study of my own confrontation with the question of how I chose and changed my own PhD research topic, this chapter introduces the idea of affective research through an exploration of the concept of affect and its relevance to research. The first part of this chapter explores affect through a brief overview of four different scholarly literatures, to provide an initial framework and some clarity for what is often an opaque subject. This is then grounded through an affective engagement with the issue of choosing a research topic and how this affects our research. It concludes with a brief overview of the other chapters in the volume.
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Tatiana E. Bustos and Yamanda Wright
This book chapter briefly discusses the historical and cultural context of ethnography and evaluation as positioned in the United States and the opportunities made possible by…
Abstract
This book chapter briefly discusses the historical and cultural context of ethnography and evaluation as positioned in the United States and the opportunities made possible by merging techniques and methodology. By merging, methodological pluralism and increased responsiveness to cultural contexts are leveraged, and the critical relevance of engaging communities in evaluation processes is underlined. However, engaging with communities with marginalized backgrounds can present complicated power dynamics in practice that require the evaluator to rethink their role. Equity-centered research practices from the Equity-Centered Research Framework are linked to expound on the need for transforming the evaluator's role to shift and share power with communities throughout engagement. We expand on how transformative work also requires ongoing examinations of positionality in the evaluator role through the lens of relationships. Borrowing from ethnographic concepts, relational dimensions of positionality are conceptualized as alignment, temporality, and place. Each component is illustrated with details on how power dynamics may occur throughout community engagement as well as ways to manage and mitigate power differentials between the roles of the evaluator and community partners. We then offer three broad evaluator practices to support transformation: (a) identify positionality, (b) embed into everyday practice, and (c) negotiate in collaborations with communities. With these practices, we reflect on critical questions and position communities as critical learning partners to promote actions to mitigate and manage ongoing power dynamics. We close this chapter with our experiences interrogating positionality to illustrate distinct burdens and insights as evaluators of color.