‘…Threat and Opportunity to Be Found in the Disintegrating World.’ (O’Hara 2003, 71) – The Potential for Transformative Museum Experiences in the Post-Covid Era

Fast and slow health crises of Homo urbanicus: loss of resilience in communicable diseases, like COVID-19, and non-communicable diseases

In approaching the topic of the role of social relations in the linked processes of individual and societal change, we take it as axiomatic that these relations are constituted in the medium of culture. Greatly influenced by the work of scholars in the cultural-historical tradition, particularly Vygotsky (1978) and Luria (1979), as well as a number of American and Western European scholars (for a relevant summary, see Cole, 1996), we believe culture, the accumulated social inheritance of the social group and humanity as a whole, is central to understanding how social relations enter into the process of both individual and societal change. Social interactions, in this view, are conceived of as “joint mediated activity”, people acting together in a cultural medium.

Adult educators talk frequently about learning which occurs during daily living; however, relatively few explore the breadth and depth of such learning. I contend that shopping, as it is commonly understood and practiced in Western societies, is a site of everyday learning. Among people concerned about globalisation, this learning connects shopping to the politics of consumption, identity and resistance. Central to this inquiry are Antonio Gramsci's (1971) concepts of hegemony, ideology, common sense and dialectic. These are useful in understanding the irresolvable tensions between the political, economic and cultural arenas of social life. Informed by critical, feminist and critical race scholarship, I proceed to conceptualize adult learning as “incidental” (Foley, 1999, 2001) and holistic. I then conceptualize “consumer-citizenship.” Social relations of gender, race and class are central in the construction of identity which influences experiences and understandings of consumption and citizenship in the context of Canadian society and global development. My over-arching methodology, which I call “case study bricolage,” incorporates qualitative case study methods of interviews, focus groups and participant observation with 32 self-identified “radical shoppers” in Vancouver, British Columbia. As well, I employ cultural studies' intertextuality, and include an analysis of popular fiction to further expose discourses of shopping, consumption and consumerism. Drawing on Laurel Richardson's (2000) “crystallization,” I use various analytical “facets” to respond to three questions about shopping-as-learning: What do participants learn to do? Who do participants learn to be? How do participants learn to make change? Critical media literacy theory illuminates the function of popular culture in constructing a discursive web which shoppers navigate. Through shopping, participants learn how to learn and to conduct research, and how to develop a shopping-related values system, literacy and geography. Benedict Anderson's (1991) concept of “imagined community” helps explicate how participants' affiliations with shopping-related movements provide a sense of purpose and belonging. Finally, Jo Littler's (2005) notions of “narcissistic” and “relational” reflexivity clarify that different processes of reflexivity lead to different perspectives on societal change. This inquiry has implications for research and theorizing in adult learning, and the practice of critical adult education.

Executive Summary The adaptive capacity of higher education is not only rooted in the ability for institutions to change one by one, but in a systems level capability which depends upon a specific form of leadership. This leadership process is constructed at the boundary between higher education at large and its interface with society. In this article, we examine the ways that this capacity is represented in the current issue of the Journal, and discuss how it might be intentionally cultivated as an asset critical to higher education's future. ********** Higher Education Leadership: A Changing Systems-Society Perspective The history of higher education reveals a remarkably adaptive nature. The academy, thought of in its collective sense, seems to have an inherent ability to respond to the changing needs of societies. This capacity to change, demonstrated over hundreds of years in a wide variety of different cultural and national contexts, is a reflection of continuous adaptation among individuals and institutions, but it is also rooted in an important special property enjoyed and evident at the level of the enterprise, a particular form of leadership. Not only has higher education adapted to societal changes, it has also changed the societies in which it exists. This ability to be changed and at the same time to influence change in society, also requires a form of leadership, one rooted in higher education's deeply held traditions, values and sense of purpose. This article probes the idea of leadership as a capacity that is inherent in those systems which have the capacity to renew themselves in response to changes in their environments while influencing change in the environment at the same time. This leadership can be thought to take place at a boundary of the system where it interfaces with the society in which it resides. Understanding Higher Education as a Leadership System Robert Birnbaum (1988) suggests that systems share come common characteristics. They have interacting components, elements that, in effect, compose the system by their independent and interdependent activities. In the case of the system of higher education in the United States, these interacting components would be colleges and universities that operate as independent (and occasionally interdependent) entities, and all of the associations, agencies and direct constituents and influencers that comprise the higher education effort in the United States. Systems have boundaries which, in another way, define and limit them. In the case of the system of higher education in the United States, these boundaries are established by the licenses, charters and accreditation processes that separate colleges and universities from other institutions and activities within our society. Systems have inputs and outputs that characterize them as well. Within the system of US colleges and universities, inputs include (for example) students, employees, financial resources, buildings and curriculum. Outputs include graduates, research findings and services to society. Birnbaum goes on to observe that systems can be described as being either generally closed or generally open in their characteristics; and that among systems we can find those that are tightly coupled, (that is having internal structures that relate directly and predictably in response to a change anywhere in the system), or loosely coupled. When we speak of the of higher education in the United States, we are speaking of individual colleges and universities, but also of all colleges and universities together. We are speaking of individual licenses, charters and missions and of the collective license, charter and mission. We are speaking for individual faculty, students, programs and investments and we are speaking of the whole investment and the whole benefit of higher education in the United States. …

The last two years of the Covid 19 pandemic has certainly brought on and inculcated a variety of changes, new practices, innovative approaches and altered mindsets. Some of these were intended, planned and incorporated into pathways and practices. There were many lessons and new experiences. Without our complete realization, there were also many less obvious lessons: the hidden curriculum. This refers to the unwritten, unspoken, unplanned and less obvious values, behaviour and norms practised or experienced during the pandemic. The hidden curriculum is conveyed and communicated without our direct awareness and intent. The hidden curriculum will certainly contribute towards healthcare staff resilience, handling of stressors, decisions on utilization of resources and patient care. Not to be forgotten, it will also impact how they develop friendships, partnerships, collaborations, negotiate their self-development and strengthen their sense of purpose and challenge assumptions. In this paper, the author, who worked at the frontline during the pandemic shares some of her views on the new healthcare landscape, mindset changes, technology adoption, psychological safety and the meaning of ‘staying home’. They represent her views, coloured by her experiences as an emergency physician, a medical educator, academic medicine practitioner and researcher.

This study investigates gender-specific roles in agroforestry across 700 randomly selected households in 14 blocks of Sultanpur district, Uttar Pradesh, from February 2024 to March 2025. Cultural and traditional biases often marginalize gender considerations in the agroforestry management. This study revealed that men favour Tectona grandis and Eucalyptus spp., while women prefer Mangifera indica and Eucalyptus spp. Males play a dominant role in agroforestry system. They enjoy the highest access to resources and have decision-making rights. Males view ten hindrances in adoption of agroforestry, the highest being limited availability of products and suggest five recommendations, the highest being training on production of value-added products to increase the adoption of agroforestry systems. The interventions suggested by the farmers have the potential to boost tree productivity and farmer’s income, emphasizing the need for inclusive strategies to reinforce agroforestry systems in the region. This study revealed that male dominance in society still overshadows the needs and role of women in agroforestry. A societal change in mindset and strong policy intervention is the only hope for women empowerment.

This study aims to determine: (1) whether there is a change in individuals' mindset associated with the existence of garbage bank and (2) the accounting practices in Garbage Bank of Badegan (GBB). Garbage bank is the manifestation of public awareness to actively address the issue of garbage management. Thus, garbage bank is a medium for communal education and entrepreneurship. Its concept basically adopts the banking concept. It is not the money which is saved but garbage. This research was conducted at the Gemah Ripah GBB in Bantul, Indonesia by distributing questionnaires to customers. Change of mindset is viewed from environmental and the economic standpoint. Data processing employed the pair sample t-test. The results showed that there was a change in the public mindset before and after joining GBB. Garbage is no longer burned or thrown into the river, but it is managed into value added products.

More than A1C: Types of success among adults with type-2 diabetes participating in a technology-enabled nurse coaching intervention

Policies around the world increasingly call for teachers to become ‘agents of change’, often linked to social justice agendas. However, there is little clarity about the kind of competencies such agency involves or how it can be developed in teacher education. This paper draws on theories of teacher agency and inclusive pedagogy to clarify the meaning of teachers as agents of change in the context of inclusion and social justice. Inclusive practice requires the collaboration of teachers and others such as families and other professionals. Agents of change work purposefully with others to challenge the status quo and develop social justice and inclusion. We discuss the possibilities of combining theories of inclusive pedagogy and teacher agency for developing teachers as agents of inclusion and social justice in teacher education. These possibilities include: 1) nurturing commitment to social justice as part of teachers’ sense of purpose; 2) developing competencies in inclusive pedagogical approaches, including working with others; 3) developing relational agency for transforming the conditions of teachers’ workplaces; and 4) a capacity to reflect on their own practices and environments when seeking to support the learning of all students.

In much educational literature it is recognised that the broader social conditions in which teachers live and work, and the personal and professional elements of teachers' lives, experiences, beliefs and practices are integral to one another, and that there are often tensions between these which impact to a greater or lesser extent upon teachers' sense of self or identity. If identity is a key influencing factor on teachers' sense of purpose, self‐efficacy, motivation, commitment, job satisfaction and effectiveness, then investigation of those factors which influence positively and negatively, the contexts in which these occur and the consequences for practice, is essential. Surprisingly, although notions of ‘self’ and personal identity are much used in educational research and theory, critical engagement with individual teachers' cognitive and emotional ‘selves’ has been relatively rare. Yet such engagement is important to all with an interest in raising and sustaining standards of teaching, particularly in centralist reform contexts which threaten to destabilise long‐held beliefs and practices. This article addresses the issue of teacher identities by drawing together research which examines the nature of the relationships between social structures and individual agency; between notions of a socially constructed, and therefore contingent and ever‐remade, ‘self’, and a ‘self’ with dispositions, attitudes and behavioural responses which are durable and relatively stable; and between cognitive and emotional identities. Drawing upon existing research literature and findings from a four‐year Department for Education and Skills funded project with 300 teachers in 100 schools which investigated variations in teachers' work and lives and their effects on pupils (VITAE), it finds that identities are neither intrinsically stable nor intrinsically fragmented, as earlier literature suggests. Rather, teacher identities may be more, or less, stable and more or less fragmented at different times and in different ways according to a number of life, career and situational factors.

he challenging work environment of the 21st century has resulted in a great deal of global, societal and organizational change (Fry, 2003). We are experiencing a global crisis of confidence that has spread among many people and organizations (Parameshwar, 2005). Corporate fraud (Schroth & Elliot, 2002), negativity stemming from the downsizing of companies, anxieties resulting from emerging technologies (Giacalone & Jurkiewicz, 2003), and the financial crisis have affected the way employers see their organizations and leaders. Congruent with that reality, organizations have started to give more importance to positivity and developing strong characteristics of employees, rather than focusing on negativity and weaknesses (Avey, Luthans, & Jensen, 2009). Similarly, academics and organizational behaviour experts started to focus on positivity and positive sides of organizational life. This change in mentality brought about the need for a more holistic leadership style that can integrate minds and souls of people: namely, spiritual leadership.

Humans depend on services provided by ecosystems, and how services are affected by climate change is increasingly\nstudied. Few studies, however, address changes likely to affect services from seminatural ecosystems. We analyzed ecosystem goods and\nservices in natural and seminatural systems, specifically how they are expected to change as a result of projected climate change during\nthe 21st century. We selected terrestrial and freshwater systems in northernmost Europe, where climate is anticipated to change more\nthan the global average, and identified likely changes in ecosystem services and their societal consequences. We did this by assembling\nexperts from ecology, social science, and cultural geography in workshops, and we also performed a literature review. Results show that\nmost ecosystem services are affected by multiple factors, often acting in opposite directions. Out of 14 services considered, 8 are expected\nto increase or remain relatively unchanged in supply, and 6 are expected to decrease. Although we do not predict collapse or disappearance\nof any of the investigated services, the effects of climate change in conjunction with potential economical and societal changes may\nexceed the adaptive capacity of societies. This may result in societal reorganization and changes in ways that ecosystems are used.\nSignificant uncertainties and knowledge gaps in the forecast make specific conclusions about societal responses to safeguard human\nwell-being questionable. Adapting to changes in ecosystem services will therefore require consideration of uncertainties and complexities\nin both social and ecological responses. The scenarios presented here provide a framework for future studies exploring such issues.

Production, family, and free-time projects: a time-geographic perspective on the individual and societal change in nineteenth-century U.S. cities

Both the slow transition to new technologies and the lack of behavioural changes need explaining. This will only succeed if the many disciplines contributing to behavioural science (sociology, psychology, sociobiology, economics, ethnology, religious studies, history, etc.) are looked at together to form an overarching theory of individual and collective change. On the road to this transformation research, some fundamental methodological problems must be taken into account (see above). The success or failure of the transformation towards more sustainability, which has essentially failed so far, can be explained, like any social condition, in looking at the complex interaction of individuals. Most important for analysing social change are complex interactions of various actors that culminate in vicious circles e.g. of politicians and voters as well as businesses and consumers. The sole emphasis on factors such as political and economic power or the role of consumers leads to abridging analyses. The complex interaction and vicious circles do not arise primarily from a lack of knowledge about sustainability. The relevance of knowledge to behaviour is widely overestimated and it is overlooked that factual knowledge does not prove normative objectives right or wrong.

Review: <i>Butinage: The Art of Religious Mobility</i>, by Yonatan N. Gez, Yvan Droz, Jeanne Rey, and Edio Soares