This article examines the dynamics of friction and tension in contemporary dance, focusing on the precarious working conditions within the Flemish dance sector. Recent studies have highlighted how such conditions often foster unspoken tensions and perpetuate a culture of silencing. In particular, high-profile cases in the Flemish arts have…

Purpose: Grounded in the occupational socialization theory, this study explored how gender interacted with and influenced socialization experiences in the careers of South Korean female physical educators. Specific attention was directed toward the gendered experiences that female teachers experienced and the coping strategies to navigate them.…

This paper offers a historiographic and ethnographic analysis of how reflexivity, as a communicative practice and valued personality trait, has been understood, regulated, legitimised and used to control Chinese workers from the planned-economy era to the present. Using a Shanghai-based multinational company as a case study, I document how and…

This article applies identity construction concepts to a professional and technical communication student intern's use of agency as she negotiates a unique identity for herself within a state legislature. Following a literature review, the author highlights several of the intern's key efforts to become part of this new governmental and legal…

South African higher education has been experiencing profound and vigorous transformations in the post-apartheid era. At the same time, global trends toward competition and employment equity contribute to the complexities of the country's higher education environment. These global and local developments combine to impact the working environment of…

This paper discusses how discursive power and creativity are found to be inter-related in a context not traditionally associated with creative work; the operating theatre of a hospital. Here, it is proposed that creativity relies on socio-cultural factors emphasizing the practical nature of creativity, and highlighting the fact that a large part…

The purpose of this study is to examine how a school-based leadership team identifies and alters school conditions to foster the development of TLCs. Many educators, school leaders, and politicians have embraced teacher learning communities (TLCs) as a vehicle for school reform. Despite the considerable documentation of the capability for TLCs to…

This article aims to clarify where and how Christian privilege occurs, what its effects are, and how to overturn it. The study of Christian privilege and how it impacts public education on an institutional and pedagogical level is important work and an essential building block in dismantling religious oppression (both of and by religious groups).…

This article draws upon, but also critiques, activity theory by combining analysis of how an activity theory derived research intervention attempted to address both everyday work practices and organisational power relationships among children's services professionals. It offers two case studies of developmental work research (DWR) interventions in…

Immigrants' multiple identities are sources of contention as they strive in the English-speaking workplace, where they need to meet job demands and demands from employers who expect them to conform to the culture of the management (Harper, Peirce, & Burnaby, 1996; Jacobson, 2003; Katz, 2000). With California having a significant immigrant…

This article describes the results of a six-month ethnographic case study of a French immigrant of Senegalese descent and how he recreates the culture of an American company's speech community. Data were collected through interviews, field notes, and shadowing the participant at his place of employment. The transcribed interviews and field notes…

In a previous ethnographic study (Sebrant, 2000) a social constructionist view of how social identity is produced among professional groups in Swedish healthcare was developed. Looking at the workplace as an important environment for identity construction suggested that these processes were conditions for learning. The purpose of this paper is to…

The subject into which this study inquired was the relationship between learning and power in Korean context. This study presents two case studies in two different organizations in Korea. Data were collected through individual in-depth interviews, observation and document analysis. Power semantics, rhetorical visions and informal learning model…

In the academic world, there is an assumption of reasonable administrative conduct. In fact, to ensure such conduct, universities, like other public institutions, may have collective agreements to reinforce this assumption. However, in some cases, the university as employer can very quick off the mark should any faculty member wander into what it…

Work redesign to facilitate teacher empowerment was studied in a year-long comparative case study in two junior-high schools implementing a career-ladder program. Journals of 6 teacher leaders (TLs), 23 teachers, and 3 teacher-specialists; TLs' and novice teachers' midyear surveys; and 61 classroom observations by TLs and principals were analyzed.…