The Conceptual Practices of Power

The Conceptual Practices of Power
Author: Dorothy E. Smith
Publisher: Northeastern Series in Feminis
Total Pages: 256
Release: 1990
Genre: Social Science
ISBN:

Beginning with women's experience, the author examines the field's actual practices of reasoning and conceptualization. She argues that standard sociological methods of inquiry make use of ideological practices, transforming the actualities of people's lives into a formalized picture lacking subjects and subjectivity. The method of Smith recommends anchors a Marxist materialism, based in people's activities, to a woman's stand-point based in experience. She uses this method in a radically original way to explore ideology and objectified knowledge as the conceptual practices of ruling. Smith is equally concerned with the application of sociological ideology to the human service bureacracy and the way institutions of mental health reconstruct women's lives. She provides meticulous accounts of the ways in which police reports, government statistics, hospital records, and pschiatric files are ideologically interpreted, transforming a person's life history in the process. In a revelatory chapter on the biographer Quentin Bell's account of Virginia Woolf's suicide, the author demonstrates how the text implicates the reader in the objectification of Woolf's "psychiatric problems." Highly critical of current sociological practices, The Conceptual Practices of Power both recommends and exemplifies the alternative approach that Smith presented in her earlier work, That Everyday World as Problematic, also published by Northeastern University Press.

To Govern China

To Govern China
Author: Vivienne Shue
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2017-10-26
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1108153585

How, practically speaking, is the Chinese polity - as immense and fissured as it has now become - actually being governed today? Some analysts highlight signs of 'progress' in the direction of more liberal, open, and responsive rule. Others dwell instead on the many remaining 'obstacles' to a hoped-for democratic transition. Drawing together cutting-edge research from an international panel of experts, this volume argues that both those approaches rest upon too starkly drawn distinctions between democratic and non-democratic 'regime types', and concentrate too narrowly on institutions as opposed to practices. The prevailing analytical focus on adaptive and resilient authoritarianism - a neo-institutionalist concept - fails to capture what are often cross-cutting currents in ongoing processes of political change. Illuminating a vibrant repertoire of power practices employed in governing China today, these authors advance instead a more fluid, open-ended conceptual approach that privileges nimbleness, mutability, and receptivity to institutional and procedural invention and evolution.

Practices of Power

Practices of Power
Author: Robert Ewusie Moses
Publisher: Fortress Press
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2014-04-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 145147993X

The conception of “powers” and “principalities” in Paul’s thought has been amply explored—but how did the powers “work” in the Pauline community? Robert Ewusie Moses argues that Paul's conception of the powers is best understood through examining the practices he advocates for the early believers. In this detailed study, Moses shows that Paul believed certain practices guarded believers from the dominion of the powers while others exposed humans to the work of powers of darkness. Moses traces the distinct function of “power-practices” in each of Paul’s letters and draws illuminating comparisons with traditional African religious practices.

Being of Power

Being of Power
Author: Baron Baptiste
Publisher: Hay House, Inc
Total Pages: 193
Release: 2014-04-15
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 1401919049

We live in a world where we’re all about updating. We update our computers, phones, cars, careers—even our partners. Now it’s time to update your personal philosophy and view. In essence, it’s time to update you. Being of Power is about transforming relationships. Not just with others, but with yourself, your experiences, your work, your purpose—how you relate to everything in your life. Here you will find the tools to enable you to break through the limiting views that have been keeping you stuck, frustrated, and unfulfilled; expand your viewpoint to see new possibilities; and come into your authentic self. The nine practices in this book are the stepping-stones on the path back to your essential authenticity, which is where your greatest power lies. These are practices to put into action minute by minute, day by day. We don’t master them all at once; instead, we work them in each present moment, again and again, until eventually we come to embody them as a natural way of being. This is how we transform. The aim of this book is not to tell you "the truth," but rather to help you rediscover your own truth. Your deepest power comes from what you already know inside. You have the intelligence. You have the answers. The nine practices of transformation will simply allow you to dissolve the blocks standing in your way and access the wisdom that’s already within you. They will show you how to put your essentially powerful way of being into action so you can create new, expanded results in your life. At its core, this book is about connecting to your authentic self and rediscovering who you are and what’s possible.

Power and Everyday Practices, Second Edition

Power and Everyday Practices, Second Edition
Author: Deborah Brock
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Total Pages: 434
Release: 2019-08-19
Genre: History
ISBN: 1487588224

Rather than view social inequality as a problem for marginalized populations, Power and Everyday Practices turns the spotlight on the ways power and privilege are produced and reproduced in our everyday worlds

The Power of Practice Management

The Power of Practice Management
Author: Matt Matrisian
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 213
Release: 2013-01-17
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1118238206

How do you build a financial advisory business in today’s competitive and often-saturated markets? How can you break through the clutter, and develop strong and lasting client relationships? We believe it can be done by harnessing the power of practice management! The Power of Practice Management shows you the “how,” “why” and “what” of taking your business to the next level, introducing you to best practices and the thinking behind actions of some of the industry’s top-quartile firms. Author Matt Matrisian leads you on a journey filled with intriguing ideas and bottom-line lessons that teach you how to work on your business, not just in it. Whether you’re the head of a large advisory firm, part of a small practice or just starting out, you will discover a roadmap for turning your good business into a better one. The author also addresses: Making business strategy and planning part of your defined game plan; Transforming your firm’s vision and goals to build your business Capitalizing on referral sources and centers of influence Your personal brand as a product of intuitive thinking And much more. The Power of Practice Management teaches you how to channel the strength of your business and connect it to your clients’ experiences. The results unlock the secrets to driving customer loyalty, referral revenue, and business prosperity. In the process, you’ll also enhance your personal brand – allowing you the opportunity for business prosperity.

Cultures of Energy

Cultures of Energy
Author: Sarah Strauss
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 348
Release: 2016-06-16
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1315430835

This path-breaking volume explores cultures of energy, the underlying but under-appreciated dimensions of both crisis and innovation in resource use around the globe. Theoretical chapters situate pressing energy issues in larger conceptual frames, and ethnographic case studies reveal energy as it is imagined, used, and contested in a variety of cultural contexts. Contributors address issues including the connection between resource flows and social relationships in energy systems; cultural transformation and notions of progress and collapse; the blurring of technology and magic; social tensions that accompany energy contraction; and sociocultural changes required in affluent societies to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Each of five thematic sections concludes with an integrative and provocative conversation among the authors. The volume is an ideal tool for teaching unique, contemporary, and comparative perspectives on social theories of science and technology in undergraduate and graduate courses.

The Power of Legality

The Power of Legality
Author: Nikolas Rajkovic
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 407
Release: 2016-07-28
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1107145058

Legality today commands substantial currency in world affairs, and this volume examines the struggle over its meaning in diverse practices.

Sociology of Culture and Cultural Practices

Sociology of Culture and Cultural Practices
Author: Laurent Fleury
Publisher: Lexington Books
Total Pages: 179
Release: 2014-04-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0739174827

In Sociology of Culture and of Cultural Practices, Laurent Fleury presents a synthesis of research and debate from France and the United States. He traces the development of the sociology of culture from its origins (Weber and Simmel) and examines the major trends that have emerged in this branch of sociology. Fleury also raises issues of cultural hierarchy, distinction, and legitimate culture and mass culture and focuses on new areas of research, including the role of institutions, the reception of works of art, aesthetic experience, and emancipation through art.

The Power of Breathwork

The Power of Breathwork
Author: Jennifer Patterson
Publisher: Fair Winds Press
Total Pages: 129
Release: 2020-03-03
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1592339379

Drawing on a multitude of breathing practices from different healing and spiritual traditions, The Power of Breathwork includes 25 simple exercises that can be practiced alone or with a partner to facilitate proper immune function and enhance connection, creativity, joy, intuition, or to reduce depression, anxiety, trauma, tension, physical pain, and more. Knowing how to breathe and how to use your breath purposefully has been proven to reduce negative mental and physical issues and actually heal the body and mind. A regular home breathwork practice is an affordable and easy way for you to engage in self-healing practices that can have a profound impact on your overall health. Author, practitioner, and grief worker Jennifer Patterson begins by explaining what breathwork is, why you should try it, and how it can be used to heal the bodymind. Then, you'll learn what happens in your physical body, energetic body, and emotional body as you practice it. Before you start the exercises, find useful tips on building an altar, using scent, visualizations and grounding, and somatic writing prompts to help support your practice. After achieving collaboration and deeper trust with your body through practices such as a nurturing body scan and learning to catch and shift out of breath-holding patterns, return to yourself with these solo breath patterns: 4-7-8 Breath, Energizing Breath, Box Breath, Pursed Lip Breath, Lion's Breath, Diaphragm Breath, Alternate Nostril Breath, Skull Shining Breath, Ocean Breath, and Multi-Part Fast-Paced Breath. With a partner, use breath to work with witnessing and being witnessed, giving and receiving touch, and navigating conflict. Through these practices, you can breathe into a deeper relationship with another. For more focused breathwork practice, you will also find exercises that work with themes such as creativity, easing perfection narratives, inviting laughter and joy, cutting energetic ties to harmful dynamics, plus dedicated practices for welcoming the new day and then, when it is done, releasing the day and inviting sleep. The Power of Breathwork provides you with simple and approachable ways to intentionally and effectively breathe to bring healing and joy.