Power dynamics

The relationship between performer and spectator is predicated on physical, temporal, and psychological boundaries—a dynamic of mutual tension, dependency, and consent rooted in the continual flow of power from one to the other. It is this interaction between the spectator’s positioning and the performer’s taking action from which an artwork is born...

The paper draws upon Wole Soyinka's play 'The Trials of Brother Jero' to explore the power dynamics within a discourse of power which has its foundations in suppression, poverty, deprivation and a formidable colonial past and where power is not restricted to any homogenous group but is rather conditioned by culture, feminism and sexuality and is thus perpetually changing in form and structure. The play is a harsh depiction of how the Yoruban ecclesiasts manipulate the gullible working class to exercise power and gain control over a small fishing community with the effect of creating power relations that are hinged on oppression and resistance and where power is constantly changing hands between the state and the subjects. The paper suggests a Foucauldian analysis of the play by exploring the concepts of 'bio power' and 'pastoral power' within a 'regime of truth' which accepts physical and psychological coercion by the religious authorities as an essential pre requisite to salvation and where religion is manipulated to dehumanize individuals into slavish followers who are in turn, menacing breeders of revolt and resistance and possess the power to dislodge and overpower any type of institutional authority.

The aim of this paper is to study the power dynamics that unfold as part of communicative processes in place marketing collaboration, as exemplified in the EU's developed but peripheral regional settings. The paper applies positioning theory to analyse how power dynamics are constructed through the distribution of rights and duties between participating stakeholders in two regional-level place marketing projects carried out in Eastern Finland between 2011 and 2014. The analysis of 24 interviews reveals story lines that unfold as part of a collaborative process between steering group representatives. Focus is given to the attribution of rights and duties to the stakeholders within these story lines, and the power dynamics that manifest as a result. Two central story lines are identified. In the formal story line positioning is related to the distribution of funding, regional scope of the projects, and the formal roles of stakeholders. In the spatial story line positioning concerned the dominance of regional centres and the spatial proximity between stakeholders. While the paper underlines the potential of positioning theory for understanding power dynamics in place marketing contexts, the findings are limited to specific geographical and institutional contexts. However, the paper presents a novel approach to the analysis of power dynamics in place marketing and branding by bringing attention to the normative aspects of power in communicative processes. This helps to identify and address the tension caused by power dynamics in place marketing and branding collaborations, which has been identified as a central challenge in recent literature.

Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) emerged as a popular concept in the water sector in the 20th century. From a highly techno-centric approach in the past, it has taken a new turn embracing Habermasian communicative rationality as a place-based nexus for multiple actors to consensually and communicatively integrate decisions in a hydrological unit. The ‘how to integrate’ approach had remarkable appeal worldwide in promoting authentic participation of all stakeholders. However, critics argue that the domain of water resource management is a political process of contestation and negotiation; the emphasis is on complexities, contextuality, power dynamics and the importance of analysing real world situations. They demonstrate ‘how integration cannot be achieved’ given the power dynamics in social interactions. These apparently contradictory discourses draw on different theoretical paradigms and polarise the discourse on IWRM, without offering constructive alternatives. To this end, this paper offers an option to complement this polarised discourse by examining ‘how integration actually does take place’ in a strategic context thereby facilitating consensual decisions to integrate water management for a sustainable future.

In the unfolding Maltese education scenario of gradual decentralization and school networking, I explore the reception of policy-mandated collegiality among the Principal and the Heads of School within one Maltese college, and its subsequent effects on the unfolding network leadership dynamics. This is explored through the leaders’ understanding of the collegiality concept; their reaction to the ‘forced’ implementation of policy-mandated networks through ‘For All Children to Succeed’ [FACT] (2005); and the resulting ‘effects’ of this implementation. My study is framed within a postmodern paradigm and adopts a Foucauldian theoretical framework. Data are collected through semi-structured, in-depth interviews; observation of a Council of Heads meeting; and a documentary analysis of FACT. Narrative is both the phenomenon under exploration and the method of analysis. The Heads experience the college as simultaneous individualization and totalization, acknowledging its benefits but criticizing their lack of autonomy, loss of individual school identity, and its imposition in the form of geographical clustering. The findings address a gap in educational leadership literature in terms of the effects of ‘contrived collegiality’ as they unfold within the top leadership hierarchies in the network. This research can serve as an inspiration for practising leaders; as well as aid policy makers in reviewing the way policies are initiated and enacted.

The ways in which three doctoral scholars engaged in ethnographic research in differing social worlds are explored here. Accounting for the ethical–political dilemmas engendered by “fieldwork” and the ways in which we grappled with them, this paper reflects upon methodology and questions of power pertaining to disciplinary boundaries, social identities, and researcher–practitioner binaries that have marked key debates within scholarship on the Indian social. This reflection draws from our vantage point as doctoral students, particularly addressing our preparedness for the messiness of field participation and converting field notes into authorial accounts. The arguments in the paper feed into larger conversations around representation in the social sciences. By foregrounding our ethical–moral positions and the institutional spaces (or the lack thereof) to act upon such imperatives, the paper raises important questions about the dilemmas of authoring social worlds.

This article describes my experience working as an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher/trainer and a contract technical translator/interpreter in the 1990s China. Although in high demand, technical translation was looked down upon as drudgery work, because the work was hard, the process was messy, and the collaboration with team members and clients was non-existent. Technical translators had little power to speak of, not even able to secure payment for their hard work. As for technical interpreters, they had to face the challenges caused by office politics and complex power dynamics in the business world. But given opportunity, technical interpreters, because of their outsider status and unique skill sets, could also assume tremendous power and influence office politics. If the work of technical communicators is about enabling and facilitating communication (often about professional and technical information) between different parties who often have unequal status (such as the technical experts and the users), then in the intercultural context, technical translators and interpreters also belong to the technical communicator community.

Ce mémoire est le fruit d’une recherche-action dans le contexte des organismes à but non lucratif (OBNL) aconfessionnels œuvrant auprès des populations réfugiées et/ou vulnérables au Liban. À l’heure où les organisations humanitaires, internationales et locales privilégient ce statut aconfessionnel, il présente les résultats d’une étude sur la manière dont ils entrent en dialogue avec des populations en difficultés dont les identités culturelles et religieuses sont parfois plus marquées du fait de leurs déplacements souvent traumatiques. Nous appuyant sur une méthode ethnographique, nous avons suivi quatre OBNL aconfessionnels – deux libanais (Amel et Arcenciel) et deux internationaux (Jusoor et l’IECD Liban) – durant près d’un an, dans leurs actions auprès de ces populations. Adoptant une posture d’observateur participant pour être au cœur de leurs relations et interactions, nous avons surtout observé les formes de dialogues interreligieux et interculturels à la fois entre les memb...