title: Poetic sensibilities, humanities, and wonder: Toward an e/affective sociology of sport

authors: Rinehart, Robert E.

subjects: sport

abstract: In the academy that we often call the “sociology of sport,” rarely do we allow for the existence of poets or even of poetic sensibilities. This may seem to be a strange comment, given that NASSS particularly, and the sociology of sport more generally, are seen as stemming from a proud and mostly-honored tradition of the “social sciences.” In this case, the emphasis is on “sciences”—as opposed to more humanities-oriented discussions of the social.2 I plan, initially, to provide a contextualization of how I see we have come to where we are at, so please bear with me through my rehistoricizing, or story-making, of the sociology of sport—for, in my worldview, it is all story-making.

text: Poetic sensibilities, humanities, and wonder: Toward an e/affective sociology of sport In the academy that we often call the “sociology of sport,” rarely do we allow for the existence of poets or even of poetic sensibilities. This may seem to be a strange comment, given that NASSS particularly, and the sociology of sport more generally, are seen as stemming from a proud and mostly-honored tradition of the “social sciences.” In this case, the emphasis is on “sciences”—as opposed to more humanities-oriented discussions of the social.2 I plan, initially, to provide a contextualization of how I see we have come to where we are at, so please bear with me through my rehistoricizing, or story-making, of the sociology of sport—for, in my worldview, it is all story-making.

year: 2010

title: The bilingual researcher’s dilemmas: Reflexive approaches to translation issues

authors: Lee, Sherrie

subjects: Cross-cultural research; international students

abstract: Research conducted by English-speaking researchers about other language speaking subjects is essentially cross-cultural and often multilingual, particularly with qualitative research that involves participants communicating in languages other than English. In research using non-English data, scholars have noted that the translation process can be problematic, and is often glossed over. Thus, they call for greater transparency in accounting for translation decisions. This article is a reflexive account of the author’s doctoral research about international EAL (English as an Additional Language) students’ informal academic learning practices. Nine of the ten research participants were of Chinese ethnicity and, consequently, a substantial portion of the data collected was in Chinese.

I am a Chinese Singaporean who is bilingual in English and Chinese. I discuss the dilemmas faced when interpreting and translating data from the Chinese participants, each of whom had his or her own particular social and cultural backgrounds. The dilemmas I faced were related to i) immediate understanding of interview responses, ii) interview transcription for member checking, and iii) translation of data. I argue that these dilemmas can be resolved by member checking during data collection and analysis, and the use of professional translators. However, I also caution against an idealised notion of objective meaning in translation. I conclude that cross-cultural research should take into account the researcher’s cultural and language identity in understanding how data from research participants is represented.

text: The bilingual researcher’s dilemmas: Reflexive approaches to translation issues Research conducted by English-speaking researchers about other language speaking subjects is essentially cross-cultural and often multilingual, particularly with qualitative research that involves participants communicating in languages other than English. In research using non-English data, scholars have noted that the translation process can be problematic, and is often glossed over. Thus, they call for greater transparency in accounting for translation decisions. This article is a reflexive account of the author’s doctoral research about international EAL (English as an Additional Language) students’ informal academic learning practices. Nine of the ten research participants were of Chinese ethnicity and, consequently, a substantial portion of the data collected was in Chinese.

I am a Chinese Singaporean who is bilingual in English and Chinese. I discuss the dilemmas faced when interpreting and translating data from the Chinese participants, each of whom had his or her own particular social and cultural backgrounds. The dilemmas I faced were related to i) immediate understanding of interview responses, ii) interview transcription for member checking, and iii) translation of data. I argue that these dilemmas can be resolved by member checking during data collection and analysis, and the use of professional translators. However, I also caution against an idealised notion of objective meaning in translation. I conclude that cross-cultural research should take into account the researcher’s cultural and language identity in understanding how data from research participants is represented.

year: 2017

title: Homeless Māori Men: Re-connection, Re-joining, and Re-membering Ways of Being

authors: King, Pita Richard Wiremu

subjects: Māori psychology

abstract: There are a range of interventions and programmes to address the on-going issue of Māori homelessness. This thesis explores a gardening project hosted by a Ngāti Whātua marae (communal complex used for everyday Māori life) in Auckland for homeless Māori men. The garden project facilitates a sense of belonging, dignity, purpose, meaning and connectedness with other Māori people. It provides insights into how culturally-patterned relationships are centrally important to resolving the overrepresentation of indigenous peoples’ in homelessness populations. I employ the use of semi-structured interviews, reflective journaling, and photography as techniques to record and document the daily interactions in the marae gardens. Participants came from three distinct groups, which include: homeless Māori men, the Auckland City Mission, and Ngāti Whātua o Orakei. A total of eight participants were formally interviewed, along with another six who engaged in casual conversations, in this research, with ages ranged from 30 to 70 years of age. Key findings from this research relate to the construction and preservation of Māori identity while in a state of homelessness, the functioning of marae as spaces of care that foster the wellbeing of Māori, and the role of food in the reproduction of Māori cultural values in everyday life. The broader significance of my work is to use indigenous concepts to build an understanding of the activities, needs and relationships of homeless Māori men that they can recognise themselves from.

text: Homeless Māori Men: Re-connection, Re-joining, and Re-membering Ways of Being There are a range of interventions and programmes to address the on-going issue of Māori homelessness. This thesis explores a gardening project hosted by a Ngāti Whātua marae (communal complex used for everyday Māori life) in Auckland for homeless Māori men. The garden project facilitates a sense of belonging, dignity, purpose, meaning and connectedness with other Māori people. It provides insights into how culturally-patterned relationships are centrally important to resolving the overrepresentation of indigenous peoples’ in homelessness populations. I employ the use of semi-structured interviews, reflective journaling, and photography as techniques to record and document the daily interactions in the marae gardens. Participants came from three distinct groups, which include: homeless Māori men, the Auckland City Mission, and Ngāti Whātua o Orakei. A total of eight participants were formally interviewed, along with another six who engaged in casual conversations, in this research, with ages ranged from 30 to 70 years of age. Key findings from this research relate to the construction and preservation of Māori identity while in a state of homelessness, the functioning of marae as spaces of care that foster the wellbeing of Māori, and the role of food in the reproduction of Māori cultural values in everyday life. The broader significance of my work is to use indigenous concepts to build an understanding of the activities, needs and relationships of homeless Māori men that they can recognise themselves from.

year: 2014