Changing vistas in public relations theory

Contemporary theorists are opening new ways to think about public relations. Public relations textbook authors have hitherto borrowed theories from the adjacent disciplines of communication, psychology, sociology, and organisation studies. At the end of the twentieth century, J. Grunig’s four-model concept of public relations was the only modern theoretical approach that could be said to have originated from within public relations scholarship. And as we will see, even J. Grunig’s perspective is rooted in political theory. But the 21st century’s burgeoning critical and professional interest in ethical public relations has produced a flurry of discipline-specific, theoretical initiatives.

Research subjects/research subjections : exploring the ethics and politics of critical research

I use this paper to reflect upon the ethics and politics of Critical Management Studies (CMS) research. I highlight a potential for problematic power relations in CMS and, drawing upon Foucault’s (1976) ‘five methodological precautions’ for analysing power, I explore these power relations as an effect of the micro-constitution of ‘subordinate’ and ‘superior’ subject positions within the research process. Through detailed analysis of a research interview transcript I illustrate how the researched’s ‘subordinate’ and researcher’s ‘superior’ subject positions may be constructed as an outcome of normal and well-intentioned CMS research.

Disability studies: educating for inclusion

Education systems worldwide will only successfully serve the needs of people with disability when we inclusively examine and address disabling issues that currently exist at school level education as well as further and higher education and beyond. The chapters contributing to this edited volume are presented to assist readers with a critical examination of contemporary practice and offer a concerted response to improving inclusive education. The chapters address a range of important topics related to the field of critical disability studies in education and include sections dedicated to Schools, Higher Education, Family and Community and Theorising. The contributors entered into discussions during the 2014 AERA Special Interest Group annual meeting hosted by Victoria University in Australia. The perspectives offered here include academic, practitioner, student and parent with contributions from Australia, New Zealand, Nigeria, the UK and the US, providing transnational interest. This book will appeal to readers who are interested in innovative theoretical approaches, practical applications and personal narratives. The book is accessible for scholars and students in disciplines including education, sociology, psychology, social work, youth studies, as well as public and allied health. The Introduction by Professor Roger Slee (The Victoria Institute, Victoria University, Australia) and Afterword by Professor David Connor (City University of New York) provide insightful and important commentary. Cover photograph by Paul Dunn and design by Hendrik Jacobs.

Articulating discursive and materialist conceptions of practice in the logics approach to critical policy analysis

In this article it is argued that while Glynos and Howarth’s logics of critical explanation (LCE) offers an important and promising contribution to critical policy analysis, it, along with other approaches that focus on the meaning of social action, faces a growing challenge in the form of a so-called new materialist turn in social and political theory. The article argues that there is much to be gained for the logics approach in paying closer attention to the materiality of practices in terms not only of lending greater clarity to the conception and role of social practices in the logics approach but also in enabling it fully to deliver on its critical ambition. The article explores an alternative materialist approach to the study of social practices, which hails from the post-actor–networktheory tradition and which has ontological affinities with post-structuralism. The article begins with a brief analysis of the new materialist turn in its various guises. It then critically examines the logics approach, and, in particular its conception of practice. It then explores an alternative materialist and ethnographic reading of practice, focusing on medical and care practices. It concludes with an examination of the implications for a more materialist conception of practices for the LCE’s broad deconstructive, psychoanalytic and onto-political ambitions.

Implication of two new paradigms for futures studies

The paper considers the emergence of two recent perspectives in futures work. One is evolutionary futures studies. The other is critical futures studies. After describing aspects of each, the paper considers them as alternative rival paradigms in relation to criteria that include: the role of the human being as a subject, the role of interpretation and differences in methodological premises. It concludes that both have contributed to the development of futures methods but that a number of theoretical and methodological problems still remain unsolved.

Critical Reflection in the Marketing Curriculum

This article examines how we can encourage students to engage critically with marketing ideas and activities. Critical marketing studies are currently on the margins of the discipline, and the ideas and challenges to conventional marketing studies posed by critical scholars are rarely tested or implemented in the marketing classroom. Often these are perceived as too academic and elitist to be relevant to the modern business environment. Drawing largely from debates in the management education literature, this article discusses the problems and possibilities of introducing critical reflection into the marketing curriculum and describes some strategies for encouraging critique in the marketing classroom.

Critical Marketing in the Classroom: Possibilities and Challenges

Critical marketing studies are currently on the margins of the discipline, and the ideas and challenges to conventional marketing thought posed by these critiques are rarely examined in the marketing classroom. Drawing largely from debates in the management literature, discusses the problems and considers the possibilities of integrating critical reflection into the marketing curriculum.

The new heritage studies : origins and evolution, problems and prospects

Over the last three decades, community and professional views of what constitutes significant cultural heritage have broadened in many countries around the world. Heritage practice has moved from a narrowly technical or fabric focus to a values-based approach engaging all stakeholders, including indigenous communities. While much Western heritage knowledge and practice remains indispensable, gaps can be filled in by drawing on other knowledge areas and ethical considerations, including links between heritage practice and human rights. These new directions require new approaches in the preparation of practitioners as well as others engaged in heritage processes. In addition to education and training, a third concept – capacity-building – is overarching and potentially powerful in reaching new heritage actors. The aim of giving heritage a valued role in the life of the community, which applies at global, national, and local levels, represents the greatest challenge for educators, trainers, and capacity-builders in the contemporary world.

The new heritage studies and education, training, and capacity-building

Over the last three decades, community and professional views of what constitutes significant cultural heritage have broadened in many countries around the world. Heritage practice has moved from a narrowly technical or fabric focus to a values-based approach engaging all stakeholders, including indigenous communities. While much Western heritage knowledge and practice remains indispensable, gaps can be filled in by drawing on other knowledge areas and ethical considerations, including links between heritage practice and human rights. These new directions require new approaches in the preparation of practitioners as well as others engaged in heritage processes. In addition to education and training, a third concept – capacity-building – is overarching and potentially powerful in reaching new heritage actors. The aim of giving heritage a valued role in the life of the community, which applies at global, national, and local levels, represents the greatest challenge for educators, trainers, and capacity-builders in the contemporary world.

Introducing theoretical perspectives on family business

As the field of family business has grown immensely over the last couple of decades, a multitude of theories from different fields has been introduced. However, there are surprisingly few attempts to provide an overview of theories that may be of particular interest for the family business scholar. Thus, this introduction chapter gives a critical overview of theoretical perspectives, before taking a closer look at the use of theories in family business studies. Regarding the current state of the family business field, the authors argue for putting more effort in building theory from family business research as well as a stronger emphasis on ‘giving back’ to theories borrowed from other fields. Lastly, the chapter describes the development of the book and introduces the 13 chapters and their contributions.

The need for dialogue between the vocational psychological and organisational perspectives on career

As editors of the recently published Vocational psychological and organisational perspectives on career: Towards a multidisciplinary dialogue (Collin & Patton, 2009), we have considerable interest in this particular issue of the Australian Journal of Career Development. This short piece will first present the purpose and thesis of that book and, in the light of them, will then comment on the four papers. The book suggests that to understand the multidimensional and multilayered nature of career, “it has to be studied in a similarly multilayered and multi-perspectival way, and, indeed, it has been” (p. 3). Scholars have pointed out that there is a wide array of disciplines including economics, sociology, anthropology, geography, political science, various branches of psychology (e.g. industrial/organisational (I/O), vocational, counselling), psychiatry, education, organisation studies, organisational behaviour, personnel/human resource management, industrial relations, and more, all of which have something to say about career. Of these, the most influential, according to Peiperl and Arthur (2000), have been psychology, sociology, education and management. These many disciplinary perspectives on career constitute the rich field of career studies.