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Chapter 3 Nothing as practical as an analytical strategy in realist evaluation
No full textRealist Evaluation: Principles and Practice offers a comprehensive exploration of contemporary realist evaluation, showcasing how skilled practitioners navigate diverse fieldwork contexts. Authored by experts spanning academia and evaluation backgrounds across five continents in fields including climate change, criminology, health, and international development, the book provides a rich tapestry of perspectives. Covering participatory approaches, digital and visual data collection, interpreter-mediated interviews, and innovative methods like refuse data analysis, the authors delve into contemporary social research methodologies while addressing issues such as power, insider/outsider research, the nature of evidence, critical and scientific realism philosophies of science, and confirmation bias in qualitative research. Practical advice is provided in areas such as developing a topic guide, combining a realist review with an evaluation, and managing large, multi-site cross-national projects. This collection underscores the creative nature of the realist imagination, highlighting ongoing innovations by scholars and evaluators. With contributions from an outstanding group of internationally renowned experts in realist evaluation including Nick Tilley, a key figure in the development of realist evaluation alongside Ray Pawson, this is the ideal text for students, researchers and professionals including policy makers, professional evaluators, and those at organisations such as thinktanks and NGOs, who require an accessible guide on how to use realist evaluation methods
Product Lifecycle Management
No full textProduct Lifecycle Management (PLM) is a comprehensive strategy that organizations use to manage every stage of a product’s life, from initial design through to its eventual end-of-life phase. It encompasses the organization and coordination of data, workflows, and collaborations among various departments and stakeholders engaged in the product’s development and manufacturing. The goal of PLM is to streamline processes, shorten the time required to bring products to market, enhance product quality, and ultimately boost profitability. This book is intended for professionals in the fields of production, energy, engineering, information science, mathematics, and economics, and researchers who wish to develop new skills in outsourcing or who employ the outsourcing discipline as part of their work. The authors of this volume describe their original work in the area or provide material for cases and studies successfully applying the outsourcing discipline in real-life cases and theoretical approaches
Westkunst, 1981
No full textIn 1981, the Cologne Trade-Fair centre hosted a large exhibition titled Westkunst: Zeitgenössische Kunst seit 1939 [Western Art: Contemporary Art since 1939]. Organised by art critic Laszlo Glozer and curator Kasper König, the Western-centric survey highlighted avant-garde art and politically charged themes of freedom and individual expression. By examining Westkunst’s historiographical stakes in light of the Iron Curtain division of Europe, the show is revealed in this collective volume as paradigmatic of the ways in which hegemonic concepts of ‘Western art’ and the accompanying processes of othering were fashioned in the art world. Westkunst’s universalising claims are scrutinised here by focusing on the artistic tendencies exhibited; on exhibitionary discourses and practices of decontextualisation, comparison, and appropriation; on the alleged realisation of the values of progress, freedom, and autonomy; on the enacted conceptions of temporality and the architectural devices of narrativisation; and on the exhibition’s blind spots and exclusions and the critical reactions it elicited. This analytic output makes fresh use of the archival materials, which are neither centralised nor systematised, with significant excerpts republished throughout the book. Seen through the lens of exhibition history, this revisiting of Westkunst sheds light on a broader trend of cultural conservatism that was gaining strength in the 1980s, just before the end of the Cold War, and on the start of new forms of globalisation
The Hoarding Vikings
No full textThis book investigates whether Viking hoards leave behind traces of the people who deposited them and the reasons for doing so. The focus is on the Viking-Age hoards of the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea, a unique find group in both quantity and quality. The large number of excavated Bornholm hoards enable the inclusion of the archaeological context on an unpreceded scale. This book explores how hoards fulfilled many different purposes and Bourdieu’s theory on capital and field forms the theoretical frame for a multi-contextual analysis of the hoards’ relation to the economic, social, cultural, and ritual fields. A fundamental principle of the methodical approach is that all parts of the hoards are equally important for interpretation. It is in the interaction between archaeological and numismatic data, between the objects’ production and circulation data, and between the accumulation and deposition data, that the functions of the hoards appear. This holistic analytic model illuminates how and by whom the hoards were accumulated and deposited, theorising that the motivations for purpose of depositing different hoard types vary and that these motivations are reflected in the deposition contexts. Besides describing the acts and actors that influenced the accumulation and deposition of silver, the book also examines how hoards influenced Viking-Age people and society. Demonstrating that the motivation behind the accumulation and deposition of hoards was multifaceted, The Hoarding Vikings is for researchers and students of Viking archaeology
Decarbonizing Value Chains
No full textThis is an open access book. It gathers the proceedings of the 20th Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing, held on October 9–11, 2024, in Binh Duong and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. With a focus on sustainable manufacturing strategies for decarbonizing supply chains, the chapters selected for this book report on models applied to, and results achieved in the mobility, energy, and construction sector, covering both aspects of digitalization and the combined application of circular economy and artificial intelligence. Moreover, they discuss energy-efficient process, reassembly and reuse, and CO2 neutral production, giving a special emphasis to developing sustainable manufacturing in South-East Asia. This book offers extensive and timely information for both researchers and professionals in the field of manufacturing and business development
Chapter 4 Birth Rites Collection
No full textFocusing on art practices that advocate, raise consciousness, and educate about the human right to reproductive health, this book analyses and compares forms of feminist artivism to interrogate bodily rights while closely examining the lived experiences of women and their right of free choice. The transnational framing engages with resurgent imperialist and colonial ambitions across global politics and with the attempts at disrupting these positionings by prioritising feminist care as instrumental for democracy and social justice. Key foci of this book include the ways in which arts activism operates, and its strategies and methods related to, for example, the types of artistic practice employed, approaches to dissemination and reach, and engaging the public. The analysis of these topics interrogates the potential of arts activism to work while other forms of activism may stumble, leading social change in thinking, practice and, finally, legislation. Countries covered include Finland, Poland, Portugal, Latvia, the United Kingdom, Chile, Brazil, the United States, and Australia. The book will be of interest to students and scholars studying art history, art theory and practice, gender studies, and women’s studies. Chapters 2 and 3 of this book are freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license. Chapter 4 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license
The 21st Century Ladz
No full textThe ebook edition of this title is Open Access and freely available to read online.
School-to-work transition studies have a rich sociological history that has traditionally focused on marginalised young men, until recently. Returning the focus to the most marginalised working-class young within a contemporary context, The 21st Century Ladz explores changing ideas of manhood, masculinities and social class identity.
Drawing on a qualitative study, Gater studies the school-to-work transition and formation of masculinity of a group of marginalised working-class young men from the South Wales Valleys. Filling a gap in the literature by challenging the notion that marginalised working-class young men are synonymous with protest masculinity and historically associated behaviours and views including anti-learning, manual employment aspirations, homophobia, sexism, suppression of emotion and avoidance of physical tactility, this work identifies key continuity and changes in young men's views and behavior. The author offers a new concept to masculinities studies in the form of amalgamated masculinities, which is understood as a fusion of locally constructed protest masculine characteristics and softer masculine attributes adopted through external cultural influence. Chronicling a “rupturing process” or the destabilisation of masculine beliefs associated with protest masculinity, Gater highlights softer displays of masculinity in this sub-group.
Delving into the intersections of marginalised working-class young men, social class, education, employment and masculinities, this era-defining text offers a fresh perspective on the study of working-class young men
Profili dell’aristotelismo medievale. In onore di Valeria Sorge
No full textThe volume brings together essays in honor of Valeria Sorge. The contributions share a common focus on Latin Aristotelianism, whose many dimensions are explored through the distinctive and fruitful interweaving of epistemological, ethical, and metaphysical themes. Spanning the period from the Middle Ages to the early modern era, the Aristotelian tradition emerges as a privileged vantage point for understanding the transformations that have shaped the history of philosophical thought. The essays also aim to critically examine certain hermeneutical issues raised by recent scholarship, highlighting the importance, for the historian of philosophy, of engaging in a dialogue between methodological frameworks and descriptive needs.PublishedIl volume raccoglie saggi in onore di Valeria Sorge. I contributi si stagliano sull’orizzonte comune dell’aristotelismo latino, di cui tracciano i numerosi profili segnati dal peculiare e fecondo intreccio di tematiche epistemologiche, etiche e metafisiche. Nell’arco temporale intercorso tra il Medioevo e la prima Modernità, la tradizione aristotelica si presenta, infatti, come punto di osservazione privilegiato per comprendere le trasformazioni che hanno segnato la storia del pensiero filosofico. I contributi mirano inoltre a esaminare criticamente alcune questioni ermeneutiche emerse dagli studi più recenti, evidenziando l’importanza, per lo storico della filosofia, di avvalersi del dialogo tra istanze metodologiche ed esigenze descrittive
Bridging the Digital Divide in the US
No full textThe US faces a deep digital divide which cuts across both urban and rural lines, but is most marked in rural, low income, and minority communities. This book presents a multi-level governance framework which explores how local leaders use policy opportunity and community resilience to address inequity in broadband infrastructure. Cases from communities across the US are profiled to show how local and regional initiatives address the digital divide – how they harness local resources, state and federal funding, and how they navigate regulatory restrictions and financial constraints. Special attention is given to rural and Indigenous communities, where the technological, organizational, and funding challenges are greatest. The federal policy landscape for broadband is changing, and this book provides clear insights on how policy can support the people and places left behind. This book is essential for planners and those studying or working in rural development, rural studies, and community development. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial (CC-BY-NC) 4.0 license
Humans, Dogs and Other Beings
No full textStep into the windswept steppes of Mongolia and explore a world where humans and animals have coexisted for centuries in a delicate, profound dance. This groundbreaking book examines the complex relationships between the Mongols and four animals—dogs, marmots, cats, and camels—shedding light on a nomadic culture that is deeply intertwined with its natural environment. Drawing from rich ethnographic accounts, historical records, and personal memoir, the author, of Mongol origin, offers a vivid narrative that intertwines cultural insights with intimate reflections. Each chapter delves into the dual nature of these animals: as both beings of Mongol cosmology and as tangible, living creatures that shape and are shaped by human lives. From the fierce loyalty and sharp temper of dogs to the culinary and medicinal significance of marmots, the mortal symbolism of cats, and the nurturing bond embodied by camels, these animals reveal unique facets of Mongol life and values. Through these stories, the book invites readers to consider universal questions about humanity’s relationship with animals, our evolving cultures, and the shared fears, loves, and beliefs that define us. Insightful and evocative, this work is a must-read for anyone intrigued by human-animal connections, nomadic traditions, and the anthropology of coexistence