Habitual Practices Research Articles

“We Will Forget the Old Traditions...”: Holidays, Recreation, Everyday Practices and Upbringing of a New Student in the 1920s.

Introduction. In the early Soviet period, the “proletarization” of students became one of the most important components of the Soviet government’s policy toward higher education. To achieve this goal, a whole set of measures was applied, among which a certain role was given to building a qualitative and effective cultural and educational work (kultprosvet). Within the framework of this study, an attempt has been made to identify its main forms aimed at combating traditions, habitual practices of spending free time, and educating a “new” Soviet student. Methods and materials. The achievements of new social history and historical anthropology were applied, which made it possible to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the phenomenon of attempts to Sovietize students through the transformation of their everyday lives. The most informative sources for studying the problem were materials from the archival collections of Soviet universities and their party committees, where, in particular, minutes of meetings of propaganda commissions, boards of educational institutions, and reports on cultural work carried out among students are stored. Analysis. It was found that the authorities sought to quickly replace the customs, rituals, and practices familiar to the student environment. To do this, a whole range of alternative traditions was imposed on young people in parallel with the discrediting of those that were associated with “bourgeois remnants.” We are talking about new holidays, the approval of such forms of leisure as political education, the celebration of the days of the “red” calendar, sports, etc. In general, they were identical to those promoted in the work environment. These efforts did not always achieve their goal, and even the proletarian students sometimes willingly adopted pre-revolutionary values and behaviors. Results. According to the author, one of the main objectives of the state policy in the field of students was the desire to level its special position, which was fixed in the previous era. From an independent and free citizen, the student had to turn into a “staple of the proletarian regime,” which dealt a strong blow to the uniqueness of this social stratum of the population and led to the devaluation of its status.

The moderating role of food involvement: An application of the theory of planned behaviour model in reducing red meat consumption

Reducing red meat intake is crucial for both planetary sustainability and human health. However, various psychosocial barriers impede this dietary shift, necessitating the application of psychological models such as the Theory of Planned behaviours (TPB) to predict individuals’ inclination to reduce red meat consumption. Despite TPB’s widespread use, there is a need for a more refined model addressing emotional variables. This study aims to assess TPB’s effectiveness in understanding intentions and behaviours regarding red meat reduction, while investigating food involvement’s role as a moderator between intention and behaviours. Data were collected through two questionnaires (n = 963, Time 1; n = 541, Time 2) filled out by a representative sample of the Italian population. Using descriptive statistics and structural equation models, findings reveal that attitudes and subjective norms explain 22.2 % of the variance in intentions to reduce red meat consumption. Additionally, perceived behavioural control and intention account for 39.7 % of the variance in self-reported meat consumption behaviours six months later. Moreover, high levels of food involvement hinder the translation of intention into behaviour, highlighting its moderating effect. These results emphasize the necessity of reshaping red meat reduction strategies and promoting alternative consumption choices, fostering habitual practices linked to positive emotions. It is crucial for reducing red meat consumption that this behaviour becomes a cultural symbol of change, identifying individuals as “new consumers” within a society adapting to environmental and health challenges. By integrating emotional factors into behavioural models, interventions can better address barriers and promote sustainable dietary habits.

‘Finding the play’ – exploring with occupational therapists practice possibilities in the context of Irish schoolyards

Background Research has identified diverse constraints to the adoption of school-based occupational therapy approaches and a lack of attention to addressing the barriers to children’s play opportunities. Critical contextualised research is advocated to inform practice possibilities. Aims/Objectives This inquiry aimed to explore with occupational therapists their existing practices in Irish schoolyards to generate practice possibilities concerned with play, as an issue of occupational justice. Materials and Methods Using the theory of practice architectures, six occupational therapists from diverse sites of practice participated in the first phase of a critical action research process using dialogical focus group and occupational mapping methods. Results Three themes were generated (1) Existing practices as situated (2) (Re)mattering play and practices as occupations and (3) Practice possibilities – ‘Finding the play’ between responsiveness and responsibilities. A further interrelated dimension was how the research methods provided mechanisms of raising consciousness. Conclusions, and Significance Alongside constructing knowledges on existing practices in an Irish context, this inquiry contributes to understandings of practices as socially embedded generative processes of ‘finding the play’, highlighting ethical responsibilities to make visible inequities reproduced in habitual practices and engage in relationships of solidarity to (re)construct alternative shared practices.

Knowledge-ing as a response-able practice in the Anthropocene: Re-turning (to) the research events like an earthworm

This paper began with the assumption that the habitual practices of knowledge-creation, which have shaped the day-to-day contexts of teachers and researchers, are not greatly different from the practices that have led to human-made catastrophes in the Anthropocene. I pondered over my experiences as a researcher in an attempt to gain insights for thinking about and engaging in knowledge-creation differently to become more response-able in the Anthropocene. Inspired by post-qualitative research practice, I re-turned, like an earthworm, (to) two research events. A theoretical framework informed by critical posthumanism and feminist new materialism guided the process. Through these re-turns, I came to understand that creating knowledge is a complex and indeterminate process that always accompanies the ‘more-than’. Attending to the notion of knowledge-ing, I discussed the ways in which knowledge emerged as a flow that was neither fully graspable nor static through more-than-human intra-actions. What I propose in this paper is not a methodological technique, but rather, a mode of practice that might disrupt our sense of Cartesian self. I offered some suggestions for teachers and researchers to reimagine the practices of knowledge-creation as a way of reinventing their subjectivity and responding to the damaged earth more responsibly.

Problem solving in mathematics education: tracing its foundations and current research-practice trends

In tracing recent research trends and directions in mathematical problem-solving, it is argued that advances in mathematics practices occur and take place around two intertwined activities, mathematics problem formulation and ways to approach and solve those problems. In this context, a problematizing principle emerges as central activity to organize mathematics curriculum proposals and ways to structure problem-solving learning environments. Subjects’ use of concrete, abstract, symbolic, or digital tools not only influences the ways to pose and pursue mathematical problems; but also shapes the type of representation, exploration, and reasoning they engage to work and solve problems. Problem-solving foundations that privilege learners’ development of habits of mathematical practices that involve an inquiry method to formulate conjectures, to look for different ways to represent and approach problems, and to support and communicate results shed light on directions of current research trends and the relevance of rethinking curriculum proposals and extending problem-solving environments in terms of teachers/students’ consistent use of digital tools and online developments.

Making sense of COVID-19: manifestations of health capital during the pandemic.

Grounded in Bourdieu's theory of human practice, this study aims to examine how individuals as social agents made sense of and acted upon their COVID-19 experiences. A recent conceptualization of health capital is utilized to explain the practices of patients in the pandemic, in relation to their biographical background. This is a qualitative research in which the data were collected by biographical narrative interviews through a theoretical sampling approach. Eighteen interviews with COVID-19 patients were conducted and 8 of them were analyzed by the Documentary Method. The informants made sense of their illness experiences through their health capital, which is manifested in their self-perception of health, their attitudes towards the healthcare system, their conception of terms such as luck, their work status, and the gendered division of labour at home in the COVID-19 pandemic. All the manifestations are mediated by the social, cultural, and economic capital of the informants, and their habitual practices are based on their symbolic capital. The study depicts how social agents' health capital manifested in the pandemic, relying on their symbolic capital, and shaping their practices. Further research across diverse contexts is needed to fully understand extra dimensions of health capital as a descriptor of the social determinants of health.

Examining clothing repair practices, core competences, techniques, tools and community structures involved in extending the life of garments

The rise of fast fashion as a feature of post-industrial societies has distanced people from many of the habitual practices associated with caring for and valuing clothes. This includes both acquiring and applying the skills to make and mend clothes and understanding fibres and fabrics to develop deeper connections to materials. The principles advocated by a circular economy (CE) require societies to recover these once held values and restore our relationship with materials and practices to keep clothing in use for as long as possible and to reduce consumption. Such CE practices will require our societies to align with current socio-technical developments, where people are increasingly adopting technologies (through e.g. applications, tutorials), to support making and mending practices, and to play and express themselves creatively whilst keeping apparel in use. The study aims to examine self-repair practices and repair services from practitioners’ viewpoints, evaluating available support, and identifying challenges and opportunities to integrate repair practices more widely in society. The results suggest it is critical to develop the skills to mend and customize the garments people own and provide additional support for people to become custodians of clothes. This study is part of a larger project to identify opportunities where technology could intervene in a repair process and facilitate opportunities for people to reconnect with materials and acquire repair skills. To develop this idea, we designed an interview study to investigate practices of clothing repair to determine if and where such support might be welcomed. Researchers conducted interviews with three groups of people – brands, repair practitioners and community initiatives to gather insights into repair practices, core competences, techniques, tools and community structures involved in extending the life of garments. Insights from the findings address some of the underexplored areas of a clothes repair practice across the three settings. We identify the important relationship of material knowledge to repair and the limited attention given to different types of repair tools and their application. As material skills and knowledge diminish across society it can undermine the drive to scale-up the practice of repair. Knowledge from the findings will inform further research to map the repair process and break it down into stages to identify opportunities where digital tools could intervene to help facilitate aspects of the process for people across different settings.

Strategi Kepala Sekolah Dalam Membentuk Kecerdasan Spiritual Melalui Habitual Curriculum Pembelajaran Al Quran

In the modern world, technology is rapidly advancing. To protect themselves from the negative effects of technological advancements and social media, students are required to have spiritual intelligence. Spiritual intelligence cannot be achieved instantly. It requires support from the surrounding environment and habitual practices in daily activities. This research aims to determine the strategies of school principals in shaping students' spiritual intelligence through Quranic learning. The research method used is qualitative research with a descriptive approach. The research subjects include the School Principal, Islamic Education (PAI) Teachers, six students, and three parents of students from MI Pembangunan UIN Jakarta. Data collection techniques include field observations, interviews, and documentation. The results of the research show that the strategies of school principals in shaping students' spiritual intelligence through Quranic learning involve implementing programs such as the Habitual Curriculum, which includes Quran recitation (tadarus), Quran memorization (tahfidz), Quranic education center (TPA), and completion of the Quran (Khotmul Qur'an). From the interviews and observations, it was found that these programs empirically enhance spiritual intelligence, with students consistently demonstrating qualities such as honesty, flexibility, gratitude, trustworthiness, patience, and concern for the environment.

Ultrasound scans as risk rituals in obstetric prenatal care in South Africa

In this article I examine collective maternity risk understandings and practices from the dual-perspective of obstetricians and pregnant persons, focusing in particular on the role of ultrasound scans. Contributing to socio-cultural theories on collective risks, I draw upon data from a two and a half year, multisite ethnography that traced fourteen women and seven obstetricians’ corresponding experiences of private-sector childbirth in Cape Town. My findings show that ultrasounds, as habitual practices, are well-established as safe, yet generate medico-legal risks for obstetricians and delivery risks for pregnant women, while managing risks to the unborn. The unborn, culturally sanctioned as precious, emerges as central to the purposes of the ultrasound risk ritual that warrants both self-protective precaution and collective duty on behalf of both social groups. Directed by the same injunctions but for markedly different ends, this dual-perspective suggests an important addition to the risk rituals literature, while adding further important insights into the literature on ultrasounds. By examining the ultrasound scan as risk ritual with a dual-function, the unborn as the object of the risk ritual is both at-risk and poses risks to the groups taking part. Legal processes, risk aversion, and technocratic obstetric care delineate the unborn as a risk that 1) places obstetricians in danger of litigation for negligence 2) places women in danger of delivery by c-section within high-risk birthing cultures, and 3) reconfigures birthing intervention as normal and necessary.

Reading with love: the potential of critical posthuman reading practices in preservice English education

PurposePreservice English teachers are expected to use literary theories and criticism to read and respond to literary texts. Over the past century, two of the most common approaches to literary encounters in secondary schools have been New Criticism – particularly the practice of close reading – and Rosenblatt's transactional theory, both of which have been expanded through critical theorizing along the way. Elucidated by data produced in iterative experiments with Frost's “The Road Not Taken,” the authors reconceptualize the reader, the text, and close reading through the critical posthuman theory of reading with love as a generative way of thinking outside of the habitual practices of European humanisms.Design/methodology/approachIn “thinking with” (Jackson and Mazzei, 2023) desiring-machines, affect, Man and critical posthuman theory, this post qualitative inquiry maps how the “The Road Not Taken” worked when students plugged into it iteratively in processes of reading with love, an affirmative and creative series of experiments with literature.FindingsThis study mapped how respect for authority, the battle of good v evil, individualism and meritocracy operated as desiring-machines that channeled most participants’ initial readings of “The Road Not Taken.” In subsequent experiments with the poem, the authors demonstrate that reading with love as a critical posthuman process of reading invites participants to exceed the logics of recognition and representation, add or invent additional ways of being and relating to the world and thereby produce the possibility to transform a world toward greater inclusivity and equity.Originality/valueThe authors reconceptualize the categories of “the reader” and “the text” from Rosenblatt’s transactional theory within practices of reading with love, which they situate within a critical posthuman theory. They eschew separating efferent and aesthetic reading stances while also recuperating practices of “close reading,” historically associated with the New Critics, by demonstrating the generativity of critically valenced “close reading” within a Deleuzian process of reading with love.

PERANAN PEMBIASAAN IBADAH DALAM PENGEMBANGAN KARAKTER RELIGIUS SISWA DI SD MUHAMMADIYAH 1 KUDUS

The influence of the era and technology on children's character formation, along with the significance of character education in cultivating responsibility, honesty, and empathy, is paramount. Ritual habits, such as the Duha and congregational Zuhr prayers, hold substantial spiritual and health benefits in shaping the religious character of students at SD Muhammadiyah 1 Kudus. The research employs a qualitative narrative approach with observation and interviews as data collection techniques. Results reveal the positive impact of habitual religious practices on students' understanding, discipline, and empathy, supported by the school environment and guidance from educators. Nonetheless, hindering factors encompass academic pressure and external environmental influences. Recommendations encompass reinforcing the school's role, collaborating with parents, and integrating ritual habits with innovative teaching methods. This research is anticipated to contribute to religious character education within school settings.

History teachers thinking about race and whiteness: possibilities and challenges

PurposeGuided by an interest in how K-12 history teachers think about teaching race and related concepts in their courses, this paper explores the impact of a workshop put on by a history and civics professional learning organization that explicitly focused on historicizing race, racism and whiteness as a method for furthering teachers' understandings and commitments to antiracist teaching.Design/methodology/approachThis paper draws on Critical Race Theory and Critical Whiteness Studies to make sense of the idea of history teaching as a racial project. Using surveys and a focus group discussion as data.FindingsThe authors found that, after the workshop, teachers reported increased comfort and interest in teaching more about race and racism, while fewer stated explicit commitments and plans to teach about whiteness. The authors also found that teachers' definitions of whiteness were largely framed as habits of mind and individual practices and situated within an educational sphere. Additionally teachers initially grappled with systemic interpretations of whiteness, yet ended up landing on identity as the starting point for critical history instruction.Originality/valueThese findings prompt the authors to discuss the continued challenges of linking whiteness with antiracist history teaching and also grapple with the affordances and pitfalls of identity as a starting point for race work.

Making and Breaking ‘Bad’ Habits in Drugs, Law and Human Rights Scrutiny

Certain Australian parliaments have a process of human rights scrutiny, whereby a committee examines whether proposed laws are compatible with human rights. These processes are often driven by rituals or habitual ways of performing scrutiny that privilege reliance on legal advice over community input. Scholars have called for comparative work that helps us better understand whether habit plays a significant role in human rights scrutiny processes in other contexts. Answering this call, this piece offers a case study of the decriminalization of public intoxication in the Australian state of Victoria and the reforms to drinking in public places in the Yarra City Council, a municipal body in that state. Both cases applied the state’s human rights charter, which requires consideration of human rights in making decisions and developing laws. We argue that both cases performed habits of human rights scrutiny and reproduced habitual associations between alcohol and safety. Embracing the conception of law as performance and informed by performance studies research into rituals and habits, our argument is threefold: that the performance of human rights scrutiny in both cases is a ritual inflected by habitual practices or ways of doing things; that the approach to drugs (specifically, alcohol) in both cases is formed though habits of thought and practice; and that these habits of thought constitute the habitual drinker as abject and irrational. This in turn raises questions of agency and voluntarity: have performances of human rights scrutiny become so habituated that they are seen as compulsory and therefore stubborn to change? Building on this, we conclude that there are ways in which scrutiny processes can move from performing ‘bad’ habits to performing repair in ways that are more sensitive and sensitized to people who use alcohol and other drugs.

Habit as Restored Behaviour in Purulia Chhau

According to Richard Schechner, the overall time-space sequence of performance is divided into three parts: proto-performance, performance and aftermath. Schechner’s concept of restored behaviour falls under the time-space sequence of proto-performance, which comprises of training, workshop and rehearsal processes. As such, restored behaviour marks previously enacted embodiment and emphasizes the processes of repetition and revision. These behaviours can be aligned with habits as ‘a settled disposition or tendency to act in a particular way, acquired through repetition of the action in question’ (Felix Ravaisson (2008) Of Habit, trans. Clare Carlisle and Mark Sinclair, London: Continuum, p5). This article aims to open a window on the concepts of restored behaviour and habit and explores in the context of a particular aesthetic performance practice via an emphasis on repetition, enactment and embodied assimilation. Accordingly, this vignette focuses on Purulia Chhau of West Bengal, a tribal, martial, folk, masked dance-drama form of Eastern India, whose various habits of performance are considered in terms of restored behaviours. Within this context, we use Schechner’s theory and employ a qualitative approach as the primary methodological tool to analyse the threefold habits of proto-performance practices in Purulia Chhau, close read the recurring patterns as habits in practices of repetition and their improvisation, and examine how restored behaviour works both in symbolic and reflexive ways during the performances offered to the public.

Karakteristik dan Praktik Kepemimpinan Kepala Sekolah Perempuan: Suatu Studi Kualitatif

Leadership is a vital element in both formal and non-formal education. Both men and women have equal opportunities and space to become leaders. The success of a school principal is determined by their ability to manage their school effectively. This study employs a descriptive-qualitative approach. To gather data, the researcher conducted interviews with School Principals, Vice Principals for Student Affairs, Vice Principals for Curriculum, and Students. The findings of the study reveal that: (1) Female School Principals exhibit openness in receiving criticism and suggestions from subordinates, demonstrate care for their staff, and display firmness and responsibility in decision-making. (2) In enhancing students' morals and religious values, the School Principal implements notable programs such as Madrasah Al-Qur'an, pre-class recitation, congregational Duha and Dhuhr prayers, school extracurricular activities, and other habitual practices integrated into school activities. (3) The effectiveness of school leadership is examined through two phases: initiating structure (prioritizing goal achievement) and consideration (concern for subordinates). Three interrelated elements, namely leader behavior, subordinate, and situation, synergistically contribute to the realization of effective leadership.

When a Habit Meets a Habit at the City Dump: Persistence and Adaptability of Habit in Única mirando al mar (2010)

Abstract Fernando Contreras Castro’s novel Única mirando al mar (1993 and 2010) is a bitter, scathing social critique of Costa Rica’s government, a government which only occasionally remembers its duty to its taxpayers and its environment. Rewritten in 2010 after the closure of Río Azul, a landfill near San José, the novel explores the way this action affected the population of the landfill, locally known as the buzos. Analyses of the novel address primarily the buzos’ resilience and the complexity of the relationship between the buzos’ society and the rest of the country. This study will consider the buzos’ society as a social order based on habit, and trace its adaptability and persistence in the face of multiple changes to the buzos’ life. To this end, I will use the theory of posthegemony with a particular focus on Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts of habit and habitus to explore the adaptability and persistence of the buzos’ habitus as reflected in habitual practices, rituals and ritual language. I will analyse the 2010 version of the novel, published after the closure of the landfill.

The Investigating the Oppression of Toba Batak Women: Call for Empowerment and Woman Leadership

This research has been developed around the two contrasting views/themes of the Toba Batak women's oppression and call for women's empowerment and leadership. It initially explored the philosophy of the Toba Batak society while identifying the forces of Toba Batak women's suppression. It has examined and critically analyzed the Toba Batak society and its patriarchal culture. It has been discovered that the Toba Batak women are subordinated because of an attitude or disposition dictated and perpetuated by the cultural belief systems, especially the social system of the clan (marga), which places women under the authority of men. Consequently, women are considered mere objects to men, particularly in childbearing, because they must be available to produce male children; otherwise, they suffer exclusion from the clan system, including being a leader. In order to gather data and explore the problem more deeply, this research uses a case study and a qualitative method through a literature study. Rethinking Toba Batak Philosophy and family practices involves rethinking the Toba Batak kinship arrangement and embodying it through substitute liberating, non-discriminating practices. In order to construct space to promote equality between men and women in Toba Batak society, the rethinking and counter-acting of patriarchal Toba Batak philosophy and family practices is essential and fundamental. This way, a cultural analysis will create a more appropriate proposal for addressing women's subjection. A culturalist approach (like promoting newer beliefs through habitual alternative practices) may be similarly called forth to foster women empowerment.

Afterword

Afterword

Making sustainability transitions in collaborative spaces of making: Exploring opportunities and limitations in Turin

In recent years, makerspaces and FabLabs have proliferated in urban settings. Such venues provide shared workspace, (digital fabrication) tools, and knowledge, lowering the barriers for citizens to engage in DIY (Do It Yourself), and the design and building of artefacts. In recent years, scholars have hailed the return of small-scale manufacturing, independent craft production and making practices to cities. This shift is by some seen as pre-figuring a more progressive and inclusive discourse on urban development, one that is attentive to local communities’ productive needs and opportunities, and that moves us away from the hitherto dominant consumption-centred paradigm of the creative city (Carr & Gibson, 2016; Grodach, 2017; Grodach et al., 2017). Drawing on empirical data collected in Turin in 2021, the paper investigates how and under what conditions community-led spaces centred on making may hold potential as sites of urban vitalism, reconfiguring production and consumption in more democratic, inclusive and sustainable ways. The findings consider a number of emerging tensions, relating to questions of regulating open access, managing community participation, and negotiating project-based versus changing habitual practices.

Addressing the Societal Challenges in Organizations: The Conceptualization of Mindfulness Capability for Social Justice

Social inequalities are partly caused by habitual organizational practices. In this vein, to overcome those, organizations now need to develop new organizational capabilities aimed at enhancing their attention towards societal issues. In our study, we apply the theory of mindfulness to explain how it may help organizations overcome habitual organizing that fuels social inequalities. Guided by the microfoundational perspective of organizational capability, we conceptualize individual characteristics, processes, and structures that collectively form mindfulness capability for social justice. We perceive it as an organizational capability that reflects the extent to which an organization possesses a collective social justice awareness, i.e., awareness of the impact on social justice in society through its organizational practices. We argue that, when adopted by organizations, mindfulness, by increasing the awareness of the organizational impact on society, helps notice, examine, and question the correctness of taken-for-granted organizational practices. From our perspective, this new capability will lead to changes in organizational practices that fuel social inequalities. Our study contributes to the literature on sustainable organizational development and mindfulness research in organizations. Managerial implications and future research directions are also discussed.