Mediating a Claims to Rights: The Role of Activism in the Successes of India\u27s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

This anthropological study aims to understand the role of activists in the day to day operation of the rights based policy, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), in India. MNREGA promises 100 days of employment to each household that makes a demand for such employment, providing an employment safety net for the large population of the Indian rural poor. Historically, government and local corruption in official and unofficial policy implementation structures have interfered with the efficiency of social relief and reform initiatives in India. Such systems of operation also impact the functioning of MNREGA. However, unlike previous initiatives to provide relief and support to the poor, MNREGA of the state of Andhra Pradesh has been able to achieve a level of success not witnessed before in the country. Such success has complexity in its origin, derived from cultural phenomena, historical events, and changing economic and political environments. All such factors contribute to the integral role of activists in the operation of the program within patronage bound village society. Thus, my research explores the role of activists in Andhra Pradesh, and their intermediary role in the claim to rights and citizenship by the rural poor

Wearables at work:preferences from an employee’s perspective

This exploratory study aims to obtain a first impression of the wishes and needs of employees on the use of wearables at work for health promotion. 76 employ-ees with a mean age of 40 years old (SD ±11.7) filled in a survey after trying out a wearable. Most employees see the potential of using wearable devices for workplace health promotion. However, according to employees, some negative aspects should be overcome before wearables can effectively contribute to health promotion. The most mentioned negative aspects were poor visualization and un-pleasantness of wearing. Specifically for the workplace, employees were con-cerned about the privacy of data collection

ADR through a Cultural Lens: How Cultural Values Shape Our Disputing Processes

I arrived for my second Nepali language class on time, but the teacher kept chatting about inconsequential things. I was paying by the hour, and we had already spent 25 minutes talking about nothing! A week later, I received an invitation to an art exhibit. The location was Royal Museum, so that is where I went, only to find an empty building and no people. What had I missed? In my first meeting with the Dean of the Law Campus, we talked about trekking, the upcoming religious holidays, his visit to Seattle two years ago, relatives in the United States, but never directly addressed the reason for my visit that day. I thought I was there to learn what and when I would be teaching. What was going on here? What was I supposed to read between the lines in each of these encounters

‘For older folks like me, these things are over us...’: the challenge of embedding iPadsin everyday life within a long-term care facility

As smartphones, tablets, and myriad computing devices increasingly permeate the public sphere, the adoption, navigation, and utilization of modern technologies continues to be an interesting field of research for scholars of technology and society. Much research has focused on the introduction of ICTs in older people, but it has generally understood them as external factors who act as a sort of independentvariable thatimpactsthe seniors’ lives. There remains a dearth of empirical research into how aging and technology areco-constructed (Neven and Peine, 2018). We therefore contribute to this field by analyzing the development and establishment of a sociotechnical network in a long-term care facility that housesseniorsin Montevideo, Uruguay. Deploying qualitative ethnographic research comprised of semi-structured interviews, jottings, and field notes, we explore the adoption of new ICTs, and the corresponding actor-network, by seniors who have typically resisted such technology. Our findings suggest that not only was the establishment of the sociotechnical network rife with complexities, disruptions, and fissures, but that the user was heavily influenced by her self-perception of the potentialities of modern ICTs

The effect of interactive technology on informal learning and performance in a social setting

This study is based on a qualitative multiple case study research design using a mixed methods approach to provide insight into the effect of interactive technology on informal learning and performance in a social business setting inhabited by knowledge workers. The central phenomenon examined is the variance in behavioral intention towards interactive Web 2.0 technologies in learning and performance-related activities, depending on social and cultural setting, observable in individual and group usage patterns. The theoretical foundation for this study is drawn primarily from the activity theory model developed by Engeström (1987) and related research enabled by an ongoing review of the literature. Two new research frameworks have been developed and presented in the analysis and discussion chapters, respectively, of this study: 1.) A three-stage framework for data analysis in qualitative research; and 2.) A matrix of mutually exclusive categorical themes affecting behavioral intention, aligned with primary and secondary mediators of activity identified in the activity theory model. Current research covering activity theory and workplace learning, and implications for social learning related to performance has been synthesized with the findings from this study, and included in the discussion chapter. The results of this study demonstrate that there are six identifiable mediators of activity tied to informal learning and performance in an organizational setting. The mediators identified are: tools, rules, division of labor, collaboration, cultural/social setting, and personal perception of role. These mediators were derived from the activity theory model and subsequently addressed by the research questions using an in-depth interview protocol. Existing research models for behavioral intention in technology acceptance were also applied, producing a validated survey instrument that yielded a set of mutually exclusive categorical themes for analysis of categories associated with each research question during the analysis phase of the study. The categorical themes shown to have an affect on behavioral intention are: performance expectancy, effort expectancy, explicit social influence, facilitating conditions, and implicit social influence. The net result is a framework for analyzing human performance that aligns each of the categorical themes shown to affect behavioral intention within each of the mediators for activity, based on an activity systems view of informal learning and performance. Further research is needed to validate these constructs by studying activity systems within other organizational and institutional settings

'It all hinges around background doesn't it?' The experiences of pupils in grammar schools who are considered to be from disadvantaged backgrounds- a mixed methods study.

The present government suggests that grammar schools are a means of achieving upward social mobility (USM) for young people identified as both disadvantaged and high academic achievers (Gorard & Siddiqui, 2018). It appears keen on extending the current grammar school provision based upon this rationale, as evidenced by the creation of the Selective Schools Expansion Fund (DfE, 2018). Existing literature that examines adults who have experienced USM concludes that whilst conferring some benefits it can also result in psychological stress (Friedman, 2014, 2016, Manstead, 2018, Reay, Crozier & Clayton, 2009, 2010). Research thus far around grammar schools has focussed primarily upon whether those identified as disadvantaged have as much chance of attending as ‘non- disadvantaged’ peers, or upon the academic outcomes of attendance. Less has been explored concerning the first-person experiences of disadvantaged students who access grammar schools, and potentially experience USM. Using eligibility for free school meals (eFSM) as a proxy indicator for disadvantage, this research examined the experiences of 6 participants who were either past or present grammar school students who were eFSM. There were two phases of data collection, the first being the completion of a repertory grid (Kelly, 1956), and the second being an individualised semi- structured interview, informed by a Slater (1977) analysis of each participant’s grid. A thematic analysis was then conducted across the interview data of all participants. Five themes and their relationship to each other suggest that grammar schools may offer some benefits upon disadvantaged pupils who attend, such as increasing aspirations via exposure to other, more affluent peers. However, this may come at the price of accepting a stigmatising narrative concerning one’s own more modest background and result in behaviours that seek to conceal and hide this background, as students explore their identity at the boundary of two social fields. The findings raise ethical considerations regarding the potential cost of social mobility for some. Factors which may contribute to pupil resiliency as they navigate life between their home and school environments are also explored, and implications for EP practice at both the school level and at a policy level are considered

Communication

Machine communication - to interact not just via but also with machines - has transformed contemporary communication. It puts us not just in conversation with one another but also with our current machinery. By analyzing the alienness of this computational communication, through a close reading of interfaces and a field study of software development, this volume uncovers what it means to "communicate" today