Power Relations Research Articles

The pain, the pedagogy, and the politics of IELTS: a critical autobiographical inquiry

ABSTRACT Language tests, including international high-stakes English proficiency tests widely used around the world, are to be viewed as ideological constructs connected with power relations and center–periphery demarcations at different social levels. In this paper, we examine the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) as an instance of such tests to uncover some of its underlying sociocultural functions. Adopting a critical autobiographical approach that revisits three personal trajectories in relation to each other and in connection with wider contextual dynamics, we reflect on our own lived experiences of engagements with IELTS in various social and institutional settings and in different roles. Each one of us first shared narrative accounts of turning points in our learning, taking, teaching, and using IELTS within the past two decades. Then, we explored these narratives through multiple rounds of reflections and discussions of their common underlying ideas related to the sociocultural functioning of IELTS. Although the narratives presented unique trajectories, three common themes of Pain, Pedagogy, and Politics emerged from our collective analytic reflections. We discuss these themes and how they can problematize different aspects of IELTS from a critical point of view.

Learning from Experts by Experience as Part of Social Work Education: Undergraduate Students’ Perspectives

ABSTRACT In the last decade, various experiences have been organized aimed at helping future social work education professionals reflect on the power relationships that define institutions and social policies. These experiences, based on the participation of users of social services (now known as experts by experience (EBE) and as part of service user involvement (SUI), aim to create opportunities for shared learning based on mutual knowledge and understanding of the worlds of others. The research described in this article focuses on the impact that SUI experiences had on future social educators who participated in three (so far) 14-week courses in which fifteen students and a group of EBEs learnt together. Undergraduate students were asked to evaluate the course methodology, the skills they acquired and what they learnt, via two focus groups and 45 individual narrative reports. The results showed that students appreciated learning together in a safe environment, collaborating on activities. They felt that participation helped them improve their socio-personal skills and advance their professional development. They valued the importance of learning together as an instrument of social transformation. Our research suggests that SUI or EBE involvement experiences, based on learning together in initial training as an instrument for transforming socio-educational professional practices, are valuable.

Dynamical Embedding of Single-Channel Electroencephalogram for Artifact Subspace Reconstruction.

This study introduces a novel framework to apply the artifact subspace reconstruction (ASR) algorithm on single-channel electroencephalogram (EEG) data. ASR is known for its ability to remove artifacts like eye-blinks and movement but traditionally relies on multiple channels. Embedded ASR (E-ASR) addresses this by incorporating a dynamical embedding approach. In this method, an embedded matrix is created from single-channel EEG data using delay vectors, followed by ASR application and reconstruction of the cleaned signal. Data from four subjects with eyes open were collected using Fp1 and Fp2 electrodes via the CameraEEG android app. The E-ASR algorithm was evaluated using metrics like relative root mean square error (RRMSE), correlation coefficient (CC), and average power ratio. The number of eye-blinks with and without the E-ASR approach was also estimated. E-ASR achieved an RRMSE of 43.87% and had a CC of 0.91 on semi-simulated data and effectively reduced artifacts in real EEG data, with eye-blink counts validated against ground truth video data. This framework shows potential for smartphone-based EEG applications in natural environments with minimal electrodes.

Suspicion and surveillance

In this article we focus on contemporary processes of social differentiation and exclusion at the intersection of migration policy and welfare governance. The keyword pair looks at bureaucratic practices, their justifications, and their consequences for non-citizen subjects’ paths and moves on to theorise about the permeation of these practices into society. We discuss the effects of the suspicion-surveillance nexus on the observed body and mind and how they operate in support of increasingly intrusive practices. Rather than debating the legality of such practices and the inequalities and power relations they imply, we focus on the possibilities of control as discourses become technologised.

Becoming displaceable, feeling displacing, un/doing displacement – Conceptualizing urban residential displacements as dissimilar experiences amidst the global housing affordability crisis

ABSTRACT Urban residential displacement (URD) displays its expansive character globally in the current housing affordability crisis, reinforcing both violent and more subtle, everyday-life-related dynamics. Yet, a comprehensive theorization of variegated forms of crisis-generated URD as witnessed in the Global North remains underdeveloped. To address URD more broadly, I propose a distinct reading around the concepts of “becoming displaceable”, “feeling displacing”, and “un/doing displacement”. These three conceptual entry points constitute the political-economic, cognitive-affective, and socio-spatial dimensions of URD. The triad allows us to study the relational spatio-temporal dynamics that displacees perceive and experience enforced by power relations related to housing economies. This nuanced, praxeologically, and Deleuze-inspired perspective further contributes to an advanced understanding of the emergence of classed, racialised/ethnicised, and gendered URD processes. The interaction of the three pillars opens up different rooms for manoeuver dealing with and navigating through URDs, ultimately diversifying them. Furthermore, it allows us to understand the processual and non-linear unfolding of URD and relate dissimilar forms to each other.

Balancing early-career paths as pracademics: a collaborative autoethnography study in China

ABSTRACT Pracademics are professionals who combine two roles as scholars and practitioners. Despite pracademics’ unique contributions in connecting knowledge and practice for improved academic understanding and development outcomes, how they form their identities and balance their roles, particularly in early careers, remains underexplored. This study investigates how early-career pracademics balance career paths and form a pracademic identity within the Chinese nonprofit sector. Using collaborative autoethnography, this study analyses the two authors’ experiences of building a nonprofit while pursuing PhD degrees. Our findings reveal three sub-processes of pracademic identity formation: exposure, dissatisfaction and opportunities, and integration. We also identify strategies employed by pracademics at micro, meso, and macro levels to balance academic and practical roles. This study concludes that pracademics in developing contexts like China can effectively navigate their dual roles by aligning with policy orientations, identifying power relations, and leveraging research strengths.

Unveiling the Stylistic Features of Tayeb Salih's "Season of Migration to the North: A Postcolonial Analysis"

The book represents the fullest example of stylistic analysis within an important novel in the postcolonial canon-Tayeb Salih's Season of Migration to the North. The research provides a deep linguistic, structural, and thematic insight into how Salih's stylistic options build a peculiar picture of postcolonial themes, cultural identity, and the difficulties and contrasts of cultural exchange. While situating the bilingual narrative, symbolic imagery, and satirical moments of intertextual dialogue and celebration of oral traditions in their historical and cultural context, it proves how such features set the tone and atmosphere of the novel and give further depth to its themes. By doing so, Salih's style refutes and rebukes colonialist discourses, while engaging readers in a critical consideration of postcolonial identity, power relationships, and cultural exchange. These findings underline the continuous popularity of the novel and its status as a strong work of postcolonial literature, with much to offer about the postcolonial condition and its representation in literature.

Cross-cultural learning as a foundation for reimagining ocean governance

ABSTRACT Research is a key tool that can contribute to the transformation of governance systems and help uncover solutions to our planetary crises. In recognition of the need for research itself to be transformed, researchers and research institutions are increasingly being challenged to move away from unidirectional approaches to partnership building, to decolonise science, and to be aware of individual and institutional positionality and established power relations. Yet the ways and means of doing so are poorly articulated and often extremely challenging. This paper seeks to explore the practical realities of engaging with a reflexive approach to research, through three distinct case studies which examine the critical role that cross-cultural interactions can play in triggering social learning and transformative change. Across all three case studies, we found that engaging across diverse, cross-cultural and knowledge interfaces has profoundly influenced the projects and partnerships in which we are involved, by shifting perceptions, challenging established norms and triggering reorientation and redirection in institutional rules and behaviours. Yet we also highlight the many challenges and mistakes we made along the way. As such, we offer suggestions on how the reflexivity might be better supported and nurtured within institutional research structures.

Shared Jobs, Shared Trajectories? Employer Groups and the Regulation of Part-time Work in Germany and the Netherlands

ABSTRACT To explain cross-national variation in the regulation of atypical forms of employment, including measures aimed at protecting the employment conditions of nonstandard workers, existing studies have typically emphasised the importance of labour's relative power resources and insider-outsider dynamics. This article shows that differences in employer stances can also be of key importance in explaining this type of variation. Moreover, it shows that employer support for regulatory efforts to improve quality of atypical employment neither have to result from a perceived need to seek strategic accommodation nor from a positive assessment of the costs and benefits of regulation. It does so by comparing the very different responses of Dutch and German employer groups to regulatory attempts to improve the quality of part-time employment. It illustrates their importance and attributes them to strategic choices that were a logical outcome of the different institutional environments in which Dutch and German employer groups operated.

Navigating Ethical Tensions Through Critical Reflexivity: A Participatory Filmmaking Research Project With Children With Disabilities

This paper illustrates the importance of critical reflexivity in guiding socially and ethically responsible participatory research through an analysis of reflexive notes pertaining to the process of a participatory filmmaking research project with children with disabilities. Within this process, numerous ethical tensions emerged in the field regarding the participation of children with disabilities, authenticity of stories shared, navigating facilitator’s voice, issues of representation of child co-researchers, safety and risks associated with sharing everyday realities within the film, and limits to immediate action. The practice of individual and shared critical reflexivity among researchers, and inclusivity of child co-researchers, was central in navigating ethical tensions. This paper makes transparent the process of critical reflexivity within a participatory action research project by highlighting the ethical tensions faced, contextualizing them within cultural practices and power relations, and sharing strategies used to address ‘ethics in practice.’ We end by proposing practical strategies to enhance reflexive research practices in participatory work.

Rethinking economic socialization: the intersection of culture, gender and economic life in a religious enclave

Abstract This article explores how economic socialization serves as a bridge between individual economic behaviors and the broader social and cultural contexts that shape them. Drawing on a post-functionalist approach to socialization, the study examines the ultra-Orthodox Jewish (Haredi) community in Israel, where distinct gender roles, cultural norms and patterns of economic participation create a unique context for investigating divergent economic socialization pathways. Comparing four groups within the Haredi community—average/below-average and high-income women, men with work experience, and men who study at religious seminaries (Yeshiva/Kollel)—analysis of an original survey study reveals how differential exposure to economic life leads to significant variations in financial risk-taking, loss-aversion, financial literacy and competitiveness. The findings problematize explanations attributing economic gender gaps to innate differences, instead highlighting the profound impact of the cultural framing of gender roles vis-à-vis economic integration. By foregrounding economic socialization as a sociological phenomenon, the study contributes to discourses on culture’s role in economic behavior and opens new avenues for examining how individuals acquire economic dispositions through socialization pathways shaped by structural constraints and power relations.

THE CONSTRUCTIONS OF POWER: A DISCOURSE ANALYSIS ON BLACK AMERICAN WOMENAS PORTRAYED IN MAUD MARTHA AND THE HATE U GIVE

This study is an attempt to present a latent racial and gendered issue repeatedly taking place in American society as depicted by two novels produced within 70 years interval of time. Maud Martha was published in 1953 and The Hate U Give in 2017. Using critical discourse analysis and qualitative research methods, this article aims to explicate the causes of the unjust construction of Black women's power relations and how Black women cope with such unfavorable situations in such very different eras. Critical discourse analysis observes people's interactions through language because language is the basic element of life and the way truth and power are produced. In power contestation, discourse plays two opposing roles i.e., maintaining or preserving the system of dominion on one side and in another side fighting against the system of dominion. Seizing discourse means seizing power. The ongoing unjust construction of racial power relations is the major discourse that Maud Martha and Starr Carter have to live in. They exercise power producing discourses of their own as their resistance against the ongoing unfavorable major discourse. The contestation of power leads to hard mass demonstrations in The Hate U Give and a solemn understanding of living a peaceful life in Maud Martha.

Change in sprint cycling torque is not associated with change in isometric force following six weeks of sprint cycling and resistance training in strength-trained novice cyclists.

Strong relationships exist between sprint cycling torque and isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP) force production at one timepoint; however, the relationships between the changes in these measures following a training period are not well understood. Accordingly, this study examined the relationships in the changes of sprint cycling torque and IMTP force following six-weeks of sprint cycling and resistance training performed by strength-trained novice cyclists (n=14). Cycling power, cadence, torque and IMTP force (Peak force [PF]/torque, average and peak rate of force/torque development [RFD/RTD], and RFD/RTD from 0 to 100ms and 0-200ms) were assessed before and after training. Training consisted of three resistance and three sprint cycling sessions per week. Training resulted in improvements in IMTP PF (13.1%) andRFD measures (23.7%-32.5%), cycling absolute (10.7%) and relative (10.5%) peak power, peak torque (11.7%) and RTD measures (27.9%-56.7%). Strong-to-very strong relationships were observed between cycling torque and IMTP force measures pre- (r=0.57-0.84; p<0.05) and post-training (r=0.63-0.87; p<0.05), but no relationship (p>0.05) existed between training-induced changes in cycling torque and IMTP force. Divergent training-induced changes in sprint cycling torque and IMTP force indicate that these measures assess distinct neuromuscular attributes. Training-induced changes in IMTP force are not indicative of training-induced changes in sprint cycling torque.

From a ‘Peaceful and Prosperous China’ to ‘the China Virus’: Examining the Framing of China Through American Political Rhetoric

Abstract The period comprising the past thirty-two years since the collapse of the Soviet Union has seen a range of approaches taken by the United States in handling its relationship with China. Launched in November 2011, the ‘Pivot to Asia’ policy approach entailed new levels of engagement with ‘a peaceful and prosperous China’, but on the most challenging issues this approach also brought increasing confrontation. The West (in this case the United States) has a history of utilising Orientalist-style, ‘us vs them’ dichotomies to manipulate unequal relations of power with the East (known as the ‘Orient’) throughout history (originally with middle-eastern nations). By using tenets from Edward Said’s Orientalism and critical discourse analysis adapted from Normal Fairclough’s 3-dimensional model, this article seeks to establish whether the foreign policy rhetoric of the United States has shifted to frame China through an Orientalist worldview since the Obama Administration’s “Pivot to Asia” strategy in late 2011. The article analyses 52 speeches from the Obama and Trump Administrations, finding evidence of pro-orientalist themes and language being adopted for both. Whilst utilised to a lower degree, these ‘us vs them’ dichotomies do exist under President Obama’s more accommodating and calmer linguistic-style, being intertwined with language designed to project an image of welcoming cooperation (albeit in a condescending, back-handed way). The use of orientalist themes is more prominently provable under President Trump, with almost all major speeches pertaining to China containing high usage of orientalist tropes in a more openly xenophobic, racist fashion.

Child sex trafficking: A model of survivor inclusion and survivor-informed practice

Survivor inclusion is a fundamental component to the success of efforts to combat child sex trafficking. Recognizing, honoring, and leveraging the wisdom that comes from lived experience with adversity, and centering the voices of survivors of sex trafficking, can help to balance power relations and inform more effective interventions. This critical discussion article responds to appeals for meaningful and ethical engagement of survivor leaders in program development, implementation, and evaluation. We propose a trauma-informed, anti-oppressive, empowerment-based model of survivor inclusion and survivor-informed practice grounded in guiding principles and practice strategies derived from lived experience. This work emerged from a unique collaboration between a diverse group of survivor advisors and pediatric health care program specializing in child sex trafficking. It serves as a survivor-led resource for anti-trafficking and child maltreatment organizations across sectors as they move toward building survivor-centered approaches to care for children exposed to sex trafficking.

Gender-responsive monitoring and evaluation for health systems.

Gender-responsive monitoring and evaluation (M&E) for health and health systems interventions and programs is vital to improve health, health systems, and gender equality outcomes. It can be used to identify and address gender disparities in program participation, outcomes and benefits, as well as ensure that programs are designed and implemented in a way that is inclusive and accessible for all. While gender-responsive M&E is most effective when interventions and programs intentionally integrate a gender lens, it is relevant for all health systems programs and interventions. Within the literature, gender-responsive M&E is defined in different and diverse ways, making it difficult to operationalize. This is compounded by the complexity and multi-faceted nature of gender. Within this methodological musing, we present our evolving approach to gender-responsive M&E which we are operationalizing within the Monitoring for Gender and Equity project. We define gender-responsive M&E as intentionally integrating the needs, rights, preferences of, and power relations among, women and girls, men and boys, and gender minority individuals, as well as across social, political, economic, and health systems in M&E processes. This is done through the integration of different types of gender data and indicators, including: sex- or gender-specific, sex- or gender-disaggregated, sex- or gender-specific/disaggregated which incorporate needs, rights and preferences, and gender power relations and systems indicators. Examples of each of these are included within the paper. Active approaches can also enhance the gender-responsiveness of any M&E activities, including incorporating an intersectional lens and tailoring the types of data and indicators included and processes used to the specific context. Incorporating gender into the programmatic cycle, including M&E, can lead to more fit-for-purpose, effective and equitable programs and interventions. The framework presented in this paper provides an outline of how to do this, enabling the uptake of gender-responsive M&E.

Modulation of Cerebellar Oscillations with Subthalamic Stimulation in Patients with Parkinson's Disease.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) targeting the subthalamic nucleus (STN) has emerged as a potent treatment for alleviating motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD). Despite its effectiveness, the impact of high frequency STN-DBS on cerebellar oscillations remains unclear, posing an intriguing challenge for neural modulation. Given the direct and indirect connections between the STN and cerebellum, we investigated whether STN-DBS affects cerebellar oscillations. To observe the effects of STN-DBS on cerebellar oscillations in patients with PD. We recruited 15 PD patients receiving STN-DBS. Electroencephalographic (EEG) signals were recorded from cerebellar regions during resting-state conditions in both the OFF-DBS and STN-DBS conditions. Our analyses centered on spectral features, particularly theta and beta oscillations, guided by prior research and correlation tests to investigate the relationship between oscillatory changes and motor symptom severity. In the mid-cerebellar (Cbz) region, we observed a significant increase in the relative power in all frequency bands, including theta and beta oscillations during STN-DBS, showing the global effect of DBS. Importantly, the correlation results indicated significant associations between mid-cerebellar (Cbz) beta power during the OFF condition and motor severity, which were not evident during STN-DBS. Interestingly, correlations between beta power and motor severity were not observed at the mid-occipital (Oz) and mid-frontal (Cz) regions. Notably, signal similarity analyses demonstrated no evidence of volume conduction effects between the mid-cerebellar (Cbz) and nearby mid-occipital (Oz) regions. While these findings provide valuable insights into the complex interplay between STN-DBS and neural oscillations, further research is essential to decipher their precise functional significance and clinical implications. Understanding these intricacies may contribute to the optimization of DBS therapies for PD.

Governance of labour relations in the platform economy. The cooperation between YouTubers Union and IG Metall

AbstractThe article focuses on the factors that explain the emergence and accomplishments of the ‘FairTube’ campaign, which was initiated in 2019 by the YouTubers Union and the German metalworkers' union IG Metall, and was later established as a formalised German association (“Verein”). While the initial focus of the campaign was on changing the monetisation rules, which YouTube had altered very abruptly in 2017, the initiative subsequently focused on improving the working conditions of content creators. Methodologically, we deploy a mixed‐methods design that flanks media discourse network analysis through qualitative content analysis of expert interviews, which helps to identify the interaction between these established and new actors in the governance and interest representation in the digital platform economy. Our findings reveal a ‘hybrid form of governance’ that, by aligning ideologies and combining sources of power, was able to accomplish most of the goals set out by the campaign (avoiding arbitrary platform decisions, increasing transparency and communication, securing creators' income). We conclude that new forms of collective action, i.e. the coalition between “old” and “new” organizations, may mitigate particular negative consequences of the platform economy. The study seeks to contribute to a better understanding of platform work and to the concepts of power, ideas, and interests in industrial relations.

Scoping review of marine fisheries governance in the Philippines: Goals, instruments, actions, opportunities and challenges

Effective fisheries governance has long been a challenge to achieve across the globe with critical implications for food security and livelihoods in coastal zones. This is especially true for the Philippines, an archipelagic country with abundant coastal biodiversity. While scholars have investigated specific elements of fisheries governance in the Philippines, none has sought to make holistic sense in terms of the coherence of its goals, instruments, actions, opportunities, and challenges. To address this gap, a scoping review was conducted based upon 160 published articles. Results of the study reveal that marine fisheries governance in the Philippines is primarily dominated by participatory governance, specifically co-management, which encourages public-private partnerships. This collaborative arrangement is legally empowered by legislation that provides the mandate for the decentralization of fisheries governance – the Local Government Code of 1991 and the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998. Marine fisheries governance is primarily oriented towards biodiversity conservation, an overarching goal necessary to achieve other social, economic, and cultural goals. In order to achieve these goals, a combination of hard and soft instruments is typically employed in governance operations in tandem with, predominantly, surveillance and enforcement actions. Opportunities in fisheries governance are principally institutional factors (i.e. institutional linkages), whereas challenges are mostly resource-oriented factors (i.e. illegal fishing). More broadly, marine fisheries governance in the Philippines has evolved in response to historical political processes and especially the dynamics of power relations among key actors – the state, market and civil society - and the struggle for decolonization.

Cross-Task Differences in Frontocentral Cortical Activations for Dynamic Balance in Neurotypical Adults.

Although significant progress has been made in understanding the cortical correlates underlying balance control, these studies focused on a single task, limiting the ability to generalize the findings. Different balance tasks may elicit cortical activations in the same regions but show different levels of activation because of distinct underlying mechanisms. In this study, twenty young, neurotypical adults were instructed to maintain standing balance while the standing support surface was either translated or rotated. The differences in cortical activations in the frontocentral region between these two widely used tasks were examined using electroencephalography (EEG). Additionally, the study investigated whether transcranial magnetic stimulation could modulate these cortical activations during the platform translation task. Higher delta and lower alpha relative power were found over the frontocentral region during the platform translation task when compared to the platform rotation task, suggesting greater engagement of attentional and sensory integration resources for the former. Continuous theta burst stimulation over the supplementary motor area significantly reduced delta activity in the frontocentral region but did not alter alpha activity during the platform translation task. The results provide a direct comparison of neural activations between two commonly used balance tasks and are expected to lay a strong foundation for designing neurointerventions for balance improvements with effects generalizable across multiple balance scenarios.