Creative Tension Research Articles

Digital technologies and the future of health: aspirations, care and data

As projects seeking to provide digitized tools in health care and medicine are gaining ground at an accelerating pace, imaginations and incipient formations of digital health have acquired a new political urgency. These projects promise to revolutionize health care and medicine. However, efforts to institutionalize digital technologies in health are often fraught with difficulties that cause them to stall during implementation. We explore digital health technologies with respect to how they are aspired to, designed, used, and resisted. Our central argument is that the spread of digital health technologies has set in motion complex processes around the production, extraction, circulation, and economic valorization of data. These processes reconfigure multiple sets of relationships between people, between human bodies, and machines, and between actors in health care and the diverse institutional landscapes they inhabit. We explore these processes in three interrelated and geographically dispersed fields: (a) imaginaries of health and well-being; (b) new geographies of care; and (c) the datafication and (dis-)embodiment of health. This special issue brings into creative tension case studies from across geographical locations and thematic areas. Taken together, they draw attention to the question of how digital health technologies are situated in making and shaping the future of health care. By foregrounding anthropological perspectives, this Special Issue pushes the epistemological boundaries of the emerging scholarship on digital health technologies and global health. At the same time, it argues for a closer engagement of medical anthropologists and sociologists with processes of digitization in health.

Bad governance in Australia and how to mitigate it

AbstractWe argue that new public management (NPM) and other processes have led to adverse selection and agency rent problems within the political elite in Australia. The politicisation of the public service and the rise of careerist politicians have led to the de‐separation of what was once two distinct career paths within the political elite. This has changed the decision premise of the advisory system for policy formation and implementation, leading to worse public policy, even policy disasters. We recommend that some of the principles of the Westminster form of government be updated and re‐instituted for political elites within the structures of the Australian government. We canvass four reforms: return to merit appointments and promotion for public servants; a return to tenure for senior public servants; an enhanced push for descriptive representation within the career public service; and a formal role for staffers with centralised appointments, inability to instruct public servants, and restrictions on political and policy roles once leaving public service. These are designed to end the distrust, perceived corruption, and poor governance in the Australian government.Points for practitioners Having separate career paths for non‐elected policy elites and elected elites is vital for information transmission and good governance. Each should operate with separate decision premises and work together in creative tension. NPM practices have weakened the separate career paths of public servants and politicians, leading to adverse selection and agency rent for both. The Westminster system has a logic that has been diluted or weakened within the Australian government, leading to poorer policy and policy disasters. The paper presents four areas for reform.

Between diaspora and region: Tony Gatlif and Mehdi Ben Attia

The article investigates the creative tensions between diaspora and region as they appear in queer Maghrebi francophone visual culture. By examining two important films from Maghrebi-French cinema – Tony Gatlif’s Exils (2004) and Mehdi Ben Attia’s Le fil (2009) – the article theorizes an affective understanding of diaspora and regionality wherein ephemeral aesthetic objects constitute regional archives of feeling and assemblages that reveal the messy complexities of identity, space, and belonging in a Maghrebi postcolonial setting. In so doing, the article also aims to ascertain how regional constellations of queer diasporic aesthetics may lead to new forms of kinship and community for minority ethnic and sexual subjects.

A Minority View: Reynell Parkins and Creative Tension in the Civil Rights Movement of Texas, 1965–1975

A Minority View: Reynell Parkins and Creative Tension in the Civil Rights Movement of Texas, 1965–1975

Deepening dialogue: White preservice teachers’ use of mode-switching to revise prior assumptions in an online synchronous class about linguistic racism

ABSTRACT How might teachers and students deepen dialogic space in online discussions centered on race? This paper explores challenges of creating shared spaces of collective inquiry online across audio/visual/written modes. We explore why participants switch modes — e.g. from oral/visual participation to written chat — while participating in a synchronous video call. We use examples from an online teacher-preparation course at a Southern US university to demonstrate how primarily White prospective/practicing teachers mode-switched during dialogue about Black language and linguistic justice. We identify common types of mode-switching whereby participants resist, revise, and renegotiate dialogic space in online coursework. Across examples, dialogic space emerged or deepened when writing “in the background”– before and/or during class — was foregrounded, bringing prior assumptions and present perspectives into creative tension with emerging understandings. Teachers might consider how relationships among modes like writing and talk, across activities and platforms, can support or inhibit dialogue in face-to-face or online spaces. (150)

Mapping the frontiers of sustainable development and human rights as a field of enquiry

The relationship between human rights, development, and sustainable development is not a straightforward one, yet these concepts can be traced to the notion of protecting and advancing human dignity. The rights-based dimensions of sustainable development can be studied in various ways, and this special issue seeks to delve into and challenge the complex nexus of human rights and sustainable development from theoretical and practical perspectives. The contributions in this special issue show that there currently are two main trends in thinking about the relationship between human rights and sustainable development. The first is a ‘harmonious’ understanding of human rights and sustainable development that seeks to find the interlinkages and commonalities which strengthen both. The second is a ‘creative tension’ understanding, that highlights how the concepts challenge each other's underlying assumptions. In addition to the ‘harmonious interpretation’-‘creative tension’ axis, studies in this field can also be organised along a ‘practice vs theory’ axis. Taken together, these axes provide a field of enquiry into human rights and sustainable development in both the so-called ‘developed’ and ‘developing world’ while setting the scene for further research into this rapidly developing field. 1

The Creative Tension between the Universal Church and the Local Church

The universal dimension of the Church does not always go hand in hand with the fact that it has to manifest itself in a local community, that is to say, a local Church presided by a bishop. History has witnessed that sometimes there were tensions between the two. The solutions offered are oftentimes one-sided. One may become either a staunch defender of universality or a radical proponent of the local Church. However, neither of these two positions are fruitful for the growth of the Church worldwide among the faithful: while holding one dimension, one can easily overlook the other. Ecclesiology might have to explore different approaches that can relate these positions, bearing in mind the needs of the local Church and the fatihful. What is needed in dealing with the tension is creativity. The tension may never be resolved without being creative in exploring new ways of constructing local theologies.

Group polyphony and sexuality

This article explores the intersection between group analysis, feminism, and queer understandings of sexuality, aiming to initiate a dialogue and generate new insights in these fields. I examine key concepts from group analysis, such as the ‘group matrix’ and the ‘social unconscious’, to explore how therapeutic groups can generate openness to others and differences. The article presents group analysis as a historically grounded psychosocial theory capable of bridging gaps between discourses to generate new ways of understanding social identities. The term ‘figuration’ borrowed from feminist and group analytic theory serves as a framework to synthesise conflicting perspectives, with the analytic group serving as a dynamic space of creative tension. By exploring this shared term, previously unconnected subjects can find potential common ground. Elizabeth Freeman’s exploration of queer temporalities and spaces is then considered, followed by an examination of symmetric and asymmetric logic by psychoanalyst Ignatio Matte Blanco. These concepts shed light on conscious and unconscious modes of thought. By juxtaposing the histories of figuration alongside symmetric and asymmetric logic, the article elucidates the consequences for group analysis in understanding sexuality and gender. The group analytic concept of the location of disturbance and the processes involving logic and counter-logic within the analytic group matrix are instrumental in delineating these consequences. By bridging the gaps between fields and encouraging creative engagement, the article contributes to expanding the understanding of sexuality and gender within the context of group analytic theory.

Steve Ellner, Ronaldo Munck and Kyla Sankey (eds.), Latin American Social Movements and Progressive Governments: Creative Tensions between Resistance and Convergence Rowman & Littlefield, 2022, pp. 336

Steve Ellner, Ronaldo Munck and Kyla Sankey (eds.), Latin American Social Movements and Progressive Governments: Creative Tensions between Resistance and Convergence Rowman & Littlefield, 2022, pp. 336

The Secret Discipline: Time for a Revival?

The ancient practice of the secret discipline is given fresh application by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. From his early statement that faith must not ‘be screamed loudly in a propagandistic manner’, he later argues for the urgent priority of identifying with ‘the sufferings of God at the hands of a godless world’. This costly discipleship is both visible and hidden, ‘in the world’ as well as in the places of worship and devotion; the overriding concern is to ‘preserve the mysteries of the Christian faith.’ This creative covenantal tension can too easily dissolve into idolatry of too fixed institutional routines and a new diaspora is needed where the body of ‘Christ existing as community’ is formed in response to the human need which we encounter ‘in our place’. Some contemporary examples are given of where churches have ‘come out’ to form Christ in serving the people of their places.

Yuval Sharon’s Twilight: Gods (2020-21)

Yuval Sharon’s Twilight: Gods is a drive-through opera that presents a contemporary vernacular reimagination of Richard Wagner's Götterdämmerung. Motivated by pandemic-related concerns, it was staged in the Detroit Opera House Parking Center in October 2020 and subsequently in Chicago’s Millennium Lakeside Parking Garage in April 2021. Rejecting immersion, my article puts forth re-enchantment as a phenomenological model, which captures the sense of play underlying site-specific opera. I build on Carolyn Abbate’s notion of “ludic distance” in positing that re-enchantment is derived not despite, but because of our hyperawareness of the creative tensions present in the hybrid media and technologies fleshed out before us. Moving on then to more specifically ideological—and ethical—considerations, I interrogate the racialized scripting underpinning the opera’s display culture. Employing Matthew Morrison’s Blacksound, I examine Scene 4 (“Siegfried’s Funeral March”) in demonstrating how it reveals an attempt to muster Detroit/Blacksound in the commodified packaging of Black signifiers for the edification of an elite, mostly white audience. A musical collaboration premised on “fitting” Black music into the dominant Western paradigm perpetuates musical essentialism. Similarly problematic questions ensue from examining the ethics and politics of collaboration with the two Black poets who contribute to the productions in uneven ways. It is an open question whether, in the end, the creative team has succeeded in fulfilling the redemptive terms it has set for itself. I conclude by stimulating further questions and reflections on how a socially progressive and anti-Racist opera would look and sound like in 21st-century America.

The role of effective leadership in reducing the creative tension of decision makers (Analytical research at Baquba General Hospital)

يهدف البحث الحالي الى دراسة سوسيو لوجية القيادة الفعالة ودورها في معالجة التوتر الابداعي في المستشفى العام في بعقوبة وامكانية نجاح تطبيق هذين البعديين في القطاع الحكومي لمدينة بعقوبة المتمثل بالمستشفى العام في بعقوبة جاءت اشكالية البحث في التساؤل الرئيسي وهي "هل لسوسيو لوجية القيادة الفعالة علاقة ارتباط واثر ذات دلالة إحصائية معنوية في معالجة التوتر الإبداعي في المستشفى العام في بعقوبة" , عكست مشكلة البحث فرضيات مهمة وهي "وجود علاقة ارتباط وتأثير بين سوسيو لوجية القيادة الفعالة ودورها في معالجة التوتر الابداعي في المستشفى العام في بعقوبة . وعلى اساس فروض البحث ومن اجل اغناء البحث بالبيانات والمعلومات التي تضع البحث بمستوى تحقيق اهدافة, تم الحصول على هذه البيانات والمعلومات من المراجع والمصادر والدوريات التي تخص مفاهيم البحث امافي الجانب التحليلي تم جمع على العديد من الاساليب الاحصائية متمثلة(الوسط الحسابي ,والانحراف المعياري ,ومعامل الارتباط بيرسون, معامل الانحدار المتعدد,والانحدار الخطي ) التي تحلل مفاهيم البحث واهم ابعادة ذات العلاقة بموضوع البحث بالشكل الذي يمكن من الاجابة عليها بصوره دقيقة ,. تم اختيار مجتمع البحث الذي يمثل العينة الامكانية وهي المستشفى العام في بعقوبة,وتم اختيار عينة البحث البالغة (88) مستجيباً والتي استهدفت أصحاب القرار في المستشفى العام في بعقوبة توصلت نتائج البحث الى مجموعة من الاستنتاجات كان أهمها ادراك القيادة العليا في المستشفى العام في بعقوبة لسوسيو لوجية القيادة الفعالة ودورها في معالجة التوتر الابداعي ,وكذلك أوضحت نتائج التحليل الميداني الى وجود علاقة تأثير معنوية لسوسيو لوجية القيادة الفعالة ودورها في معالجة التوتر الابداعي ,عكست نتائج البحث مجموعة من التوصيات تمثلت ضرورة الاستفادة القيادات في المستشفى العام في بعقوبة من سوسيو لوجية القيادة الفعالة ودورها في معالجة التوتر الابداعي وكذلك العمل على تقويم الخلل وماهي الاثار والدروس التي خرجت منها قيادات المستشفى في بعقوبة

Between Hallyu and the Qur’an: Everyday Life of Female Santri in Yogyakarta

The religious expressions of students at an Islamic boarding school, referred to as “santri,” encompassing worship, rituals, and the utilization of religious symbols or texts, unveil a captivating phenomenon showcasing the adeptness of youth in reconciling their Islamic identity with global popular culture. This paper delves into the daily lives of female santris at Pondok Pesantren Sunan Pandanaran in Sleman, Yogyakarta. It examines the creative tensions that confront these santris, who commit the Qur’an to memory while concurrently being avid enthusiasts of Korean popular culture, including K-Pop and K-Drama. For the santris who prioritize memorizing the Qur’an, they are compelled to steer clear of any elements that could impede their concentration. This holds especially true for santris who also indulge in Korean popular culture activities—actions that some deem incongruent with Islamic values. This study discerns that the santris are capable of engaging in both activities concurrently, without perceiving K-Pop as detrimental to their memorization endeavors. By assimilating practices from Korean popular culture and skillfully harmonizing them with their religious traditions, the santris occupy a distinctive position at the confluence of Islam, globalization, and youthfulness. Constituting a pivotal segment of the global populace, they strive to harmonize their religious principles with the influences of an ever-evolving world, all while preserving their youthful spirit.

Revisiting the Plantation Society: The New World Group and the Critique of Capitalism

Abstract This paper examines the critique of capitalism provided by the New World Group. Emerging from the West Indian Society for the Study of Social Issues at The University of The West Indies, Mona, the Group was formed in 1963 specifically to address the reconfiguration of social and political forces in the wake of Caribbean territories gaining formal independence from European colonial powers. This reconfiguration went beyond matters of political economy, and included psychological and ideological reworkings, all items necessary to evaluate the kinds of societies West Indians could strive for. Set within intra-Marxist debates on early capitalist development, this paper focuses on the collaboration and creative tensions between Norman Girvan, George Beckford, and Lloyd Best as they helped one another construct their respective political philosophy, social theory, and economic analysis of the logic of plantation societies, which while incomplete from our vantage point, did mostly capture the historical dynamics found in the Caribbean.

Hashtagged and Black? A South African Black Theological Engagement from Stellenbosch with Contemporary Student Movements

Hashtag movements, also amongst contemporary student movements, present a new charge towards decolonization. This also happens at the Faculty of Theology of Stellenbosch University. The group also identified as a Black collective. This contribution argues that this charge is therefore at a deeper level, directed at older generations of Black theologians, and this is assessed critically through a reading of some proponents of third-generation South African Black theologians. It is concluded that there needs to be a conscious nurture of creative tension and challenge, transformative encounters to decolonize theological education in Africa.

Time at Home: The October Revolution and Soviet Temporalities

AbstractThe October Revolution ushered in a radical, future‐orientated political agenda. Almost immediately, through the press, advice literature, activism and avant‐garde planning, a lively discourse on domestic life presented the home as a central site for building this ‘new epoch’. The home became the hub of a new and burgeoning Soviet temporality – a professed modern vision of time, which pitched the past against the future, embraced rational time discipline, pictured the world through a progress‐orientated teleology, and stressed mankind's ability to master time itself. While Marx famously refrained from outlining what communism would actually look like, the home and visions of the home provided a very immediate means of picturing the communist future – and how people would occupy it. As historians have started to note, the home became a temporal marker of difference between the self‐identified scourge of ‘Russian backwardness’ and the future‐orientated promise of Soviet communism. This was the difference between the fatalism and rigidity of old Russia and the intentionally disruptive mobilisation campaigns of the Soviet project. This article examines how visions of a ‘new way of life’ and modern utopian thinking on the home grounded a future‐orientated revolutionary ideology, making the promise of communism and new temporal understandings of the world tangible in the wake of 1917. But, crucially, drawing on the latest debates about time and temporalities, the article examines how different temporal modes can exist side by side in dynamic form – even in creative tension. Past and future temporalities, it posits, together formed radical Russia's vision of revolutionary time.

Synthetic biology enabling a shift from domination to partnership with natural space

Synthetic biology is a field of science that examines biological systems through the lens of engineering with the explicit objective of rationally designing live objects for either fundamental or biotechnological purposes. Yet, the same conceptual frame also embodies its exact counterpart: the biologization of engineering, i.e., looking at rationally designed systems through the lens – and with the tools – of biology and evolution. Such a creative tension between technology-driven design and biological processes has one of the most conspicuous battlegrounds in modern architecture. Such an edge occurs in a time dominated by the evidence of climate change, ramping environmental deterioration, and the ensuing instability and mass migrations. The most recent influences of biology in architecture have moved from the adoption of biologically inspired shapes and forms in many types of buildings to the incorporation of new biomaterials (often functionalized with qualities of interest) as assembly blocks, to the amalgamation of live materials with other construction items. Yet, the possibility opened by synthetic biology to redesign biological properties à la carte, including large-scale developmental programs, also unlocks the opportunity to rethink our interplay with space, not as one more step in the way of domination, but as a win-win conversation with the natural environment. While various contemporary architectural tendencies clearly move in that direction, we propose a radical approach–exemplified in the so-called Biosynthetic Towers Project–in which complex buildings are designed and erected entirely through biological programming rather than assembled through standard construction technology. To make this scenario a reality, we need not only tackle a dedicated research agenda in the synthetic biology side, but also develop a new attentive mindset toward the environment, not as a space to be conquered for our exclusive own sake, but as one scenario of sustainable co-existence with the rest of the natural world.

Balancing Creative Tensions: A Leader-Paradox Model of Creativity

Balancing Creative Tensions: A Leader-Paradox Model of Creativity

Domestic flights and foreign affairs: some thoughts on Here and Elsewhere

ABSTRACT Tom Pow (b. 1950) is a well-known Scottish poet and prose-writer, author of 12 poetry collections, 3 radio plays, several childrens’ books, and more. Geographical themes have recurred throughout Pow's work, and he acknowledges being energised by the creative tensions between Here and Elsewhere: between the supposed (but now increasingly doubted) certainties of Here, fixed and enclosed, and the excitements, challenges and threats of Elsewhere, mobile and open. Such matters are explored in different and nuanced ways, through different prompts and sources, in the course of the essay that follows. Pow thereby exemplifies a distinctive kind of ‘applied geography’ that is constantly giving shape to his creative endeavour.

Harnessing creative tensions: A micro-level study of value creation

This paper explores the emergence of micro-level creative tensions and their interplay within collaborative innovation projects. Our findings demonstrate how, at the microlevel, an evolving set of actors, activities and artifacts support collaborative innovation in science-based SMEs. Our analysis highlights how activities and artifacts are linked through creative tensions emerging from situations of close interaction between diverse actors. We demonstrate how a mutually constitutive duality captures the paradoxical nature of creative tensions. Furthermore, our findings show how actors employ ambidexterity in navigating and harnessing creative tensions and develop artifacts that create value. We propose a framework that captures micro-level value creation in collaborative innovation. We suggest three research propositions that explore interconnectedness between actors from diverse backgrounds, diversity of knowledge and skills in contributing to innovation activities, and ambidexterity in navigating creative tensions in developing artifacts in the form of innovative products, services and processes.