Search results

While Cooperrider (2001, p. 32) suggests that appreciative inquiry is about “the artful creation of positive imagery,” most of the literature that describes the process of artful creation explains it as one in which the organizational members simply talk about these new images, vs. actually engaging in the creation of artistic representations of the desired future. This chapter moves the appreciative inquiry literature beyond the metaphorical understanding of the “art of” appreciative inquiry in order to reveal and explain how practitioners are actually engaging organizations in the artful creation of positive anticipatory imagery. In this chapter, the literature that labels and describes the process of artful creation in organizations is reviewed, described, and synthesized into five propositions – ultimately creating a framework for understanding artful creation as a unique organizational discourse: an aesthetic discourse. These five propositions reveal the common characteristics of artful creation: (1) presentational knowledge/language; (2) mediated dialogue; (3) symbolic constructions that act as metaphorical representation; (4) collaborative inquiry/co-creation; and (5) window to the unconscious. The chapter concludes by addressing the implications, seeking to answer the question “What is the value of an organization engaging with the process of artful creation?” Finally, the chapter suggests that the five propositions may guide future research in two areas: (a) the practice of the artful creation of positive anticipatory imagery in appreciative inquiry; and (b) the further development of a theoretical framework for understanding the “art of” appreciative inquiry as aesthetic discourse.

This research explores the ways in which a pre-service teacher (Deidre) reflects on experiences to develop transformation into a professional educator. This study investigates how pre-service teachers engage in dialogue and art to elaborate and reflect on learning experiences, which provide evidence of mindshift and emergent knowledge and teacher identity.

Often difficult to measure and trace, this work presents the emerging transformation of a pre-service teacher through ethnographic methodology, stories and artful practice.

As part of a larger study, the design reveals transformative mindshift from pre-service teacher reflective stories. Data from interviews and artful practice reveal evidence of moments of pedagogical impact, which contribute to identity and professional practice (Clandinin et al., 2006; Loughran, 2006).

Focusing on “what”, “when” and “how” transitions occur is explored to further understand the professional development in initial teacher education.

Building on research undertaken by Cochran-Smith and Lytle (1999), this investigation draws on artful reflections and stories to evidence elements of powerful pedagogical learning in order to teach in the world of professional practice.

The purpose of this paper is to illuminate the way in which pre-service teachers adopt ways of thinking critically about learning and practice. It highlights the unfolding of critical dialogue, knowledge and artful action as a way of “reading the scene” (Pahl and McKenna, 2015). The focus concerns mindshifts that occur while learning to be a teacher. The study sets out to seek factors that contribute towards development as professional practitioner.

As part of a much larger study involving ten pre-service teachers, this paper focusses on just one participant named Meredith, a pre-service teacher in her fourth year of her teacher education course. The design constructed draws on the data from Meredith’s interview and conversation, art making and gestural activity while painting and communicating her stories. These narratives from interviews exist in this paper as vignettes and privilege of the interplay of art making, interview and gestural responses. Implementing a framework by Denzin (2001) enables a way of reading to note learning and epiphanic moments that exist for Meredith.

Moment of learning and themes are indicated and suggest that from the original interview there are 11 important moments of epiphanic mindshifts for Meredith.

The method as practice intends to make cogent links to new levels of consciousness by presenting innovative ways in which qualitative research data can be gathered and analysed. Meredith engages in mindshifts that occur as learner and also embraces experiences of praxis as a means of understanding self and teacher identity.

In this chapter I present a pedagogic encounter with an intense affective scene that occurred at a critical time in my PhD research. The encounter, which I call ‘what happened to data and me’, acts as an illustrative example of what may come from seeking out ways to account for contingency, complexity and contiguity by focussing on affect as a researchable phenomenon and affect as a productive force in a (post)qualitative inquiry. At the heart of ‘what happened to data and me’ is an unravelling of self, prompted by the realization of an onto-epistemological conflict between what my research was trying to do and how I, the researcher, was trying to go about the research. I invite the reader to return with me to ‘the snap’ and together witness how a snap experienced as a pedagogic encounter can create the conditions for transformative learning to occur – a learning that transforms an individual's relations with the world rendering them more capable. In conveying how ‘what happened to data and me’ rendered us (data, me, my supervisors, and more) more capable, I discuss how entering into artful relations with data can reconfigure the researcher–researched–research in affirming ways. I propose artful inquiry to do data in a way that accentuates the art of data, creating the conditions for data to transgress into da(r)ta. I conclude with six insights that researchers interested in ‘the post’ may like to consider. The intention is that hindsight will become foresight, not only highlighting what transgressive data can do but also drawing attention to the potential of critically and creatively engaging with the (post)qualitative inquiry.

Historically business education has put greater emphasis on rational analysis and the acquisition of instrumental and technical knowledge, while paying relatively scant attention to developing business students’ soft skills such as self- and social awareness and emotional intelligence through contemplative learning. In light of the growing need for more open and diverse ways of knowing that are more holistic, emotional, and aesthetic in management education, the authors present a 2 × 2 framework of arts-based pedagogy which helps organize various arts-based practices currently used in management education. The authors also share their personal reflections on using artful practices, specifically focussing on two individual-level experiential learning activities (i.e. museum visits and e-portfolio projects) and one group-based participatory art project. The authors further discuss why creative thinking and innovative arts-based practices can open up a new possibility for filling the gaps in current management education, especially in regard to developing students’ self- and social awareness and environmental consciousness in a more creative manner.

The purpose of this paper is to consider how the drama space is a way of inquiry in its own right and as a complex “way of knowing” has a capacity to be a profitable location from which to artfully thread and critically interrogate the performances of lives-as-lived.

The autoethnographic discussion has an overlay of histography as it brings the “real-life” word to the drama space and builds on naturalistic and experimental research moving the reader through transformational inquiry to what they name as drama as a post-foundational research method.

In using drama as artful practices, intra-reflexivity – interior focused – felt as artistic “process” leads “psyche” to an empathic space for acceptance of the fugitive selves and demonstrates “queerness” through the narratives as monologues.

The vignettes presented as monologue attest to the authors’ life histories and their “fugitive” ways of being as gay men.

The authors consider how drama as methodological practice can re work the notion of text-to-life or life-to-text, as an expression of a will to knowledge, of the authors working dramatically with their participants and students to find a way to articulate experience and place at the centre of research an agentic voice in relation to psychological, socio-cultural and historical interpretations.

Drama, as a methodological approach, has, the authors suggest, the potential to move beyond disembodied and abstract mental processes and to draw out of the closets the interpersonal relationships that have historically been seen as dangerous or disturbing.

Humour and, in particular, jokes have received little serious academic scrutiny in the entrepreneurship literature to date. To address this, the purpose of this paper is to examine publicly available jokes about entrepreneurs to establish what such jokes tell us about how humour, particularly entrepreneur jokes shapes public perceptions of entrepreneurial identity. This is important because humour may be an integral part of an individual's entrepreneurial identity. The authors thus contribute to understandings of the complex nature of entrepreneurial identity and how public perceptions of humour influence such by encapsulating negative public perception of entrepreneurs which may act as a de-legitimisation mechanism.

From a representative sample of entrepreneur jokes located on the web using netnographic techniques, the authors apply a multi-disciplinary framework to analyse the material and its messages to establish how such jokes shape public perceptions.

The findings suggest that jokes convey a pejorative message about how entrepreneurs are perceived by the public with the content and message of the jokes being negative and derogatory. Common themes contained in the punchlines include – criminality, greed, dishonesty, hubris, stupidity, misfortune, ridicule and deviousness – all of which may de-legitimise generic entrepreneurial identity. In the process, the authors uncovered liminal aspects of joke telling and consumption in that the perception of jokes about entrepreneurs relate to the time and context in which the joke is told given that situational cleverness is a key facet of such jokes. In addition, the authors discuss variations across jokes.

The authors discuss learning outcomes for future research and potential future studies into humour in an entrepreneurial context.

This study places humour and joking on the research stage, making an incremental contribution. The authors add to the literature on the use of entrepreneurial humour and in particular in relation to how jokes influence public perception of entrepreneurs. From the data collected, the authors develop some fresh insights into the variation and range of entrepreneurship related jokes accessible online.

The purpose of this paper is to follow the general question, how technical rebreather divers ensure their survival during performing of highly demanding dives – and what organisations could learn from these practices. As one form of complex adaptive system, technical divers perform different routines before and during the dive. These practices are formally trained and also informally mediated and developed. After investigating theoretical concepts like high reliability organising, Safety-I and -II as well as organisational resilience management, the authors scope on the existing risk and resilience practices in technical rebreather diving. Finally, the insights of the empirical research are used to make the transfer to the field of management studies – and ask relevant questions regarding their applied resilience intelligence.

The empirical research is analysed by applying Hollnagel’s Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM) which leads to the reconstruction of an extended resilience management model for technical rebreather diving. The model development bases on a field study which comprised 300 hours of observations.

The findings are depicted in an FRAM model that exactly shows how technical divers perform high reliability operations and thus manages and increase the resilience of their socio-technical system.

Research results show the depicted model and the potential learnings for organisations and organisational resilience. However, the research remains inductive and is qualitative. Deductive and quantitative research would enrich and complete the picture.

The research is informative and offers an interdisciplinary but comprehensive bridge between the specific high reliability organisations/resilience practice of technical divers and the potential learnings for organisations. Companies can take the identified categories and mechanisms to match them to their own resilience activities.

Increasing organisational resilience means to increase societal resilience and thus sustainability. The research aims to support this interdisciplinary learning process.

The originality lies in the research object itself (technical diving practices), that never has been researched with an FRAM before. It is an interesting, comprehensive and interdisciplinary show case that is used to derive practical considerations for companies to strengthen their organisational resilience.

The aim of this study was to explore the nature of frontline nurses' experiences of living with rapid and continuous organizational change.

A critical hermeneutic approach was utilized. This was a qualitative inquiry theoretically guided by critical management studies.

Participants recognized that many change initiatives reflected an ideological shift in healthcare that supported a culture of service, whilst sacrificing a culture of care. A culture of service prioritized cost-savings and efficiency, which saw nurses lose the time and resources required to provide quality, safe care.

Nurses felt morally responsible to uphold a culture of care, which proved challenging and at times unobtainable. The inability to provide quality, safe care in light of organizational changes resulted in a multitude of negative emotional repercussions, which fostered moral distress.

The findings from this study bring to light ideological tensions that negatively impact nurses. This study supports the conclusion that the planning, implementation and evaluation of organizational change initiatives must reflect a culture of care in order to alleviate the many negative experiences of organizational change noted in this study.