Suchergebnisse

This is the third interview for the journal section we call ' influential ideas'. Here we introduce (and invite others to introduce) influential thinkers in a digestible format so that action researchers may be inspired to enrich their own research and practice. This interview is with Riane Eisler, who is known primarily as an author. Her best known book, The Chalice and the Blade, was published by Harper and Row in 1988 and became a bestseller which has since been translated into 20 foreign languages. Other books include Sacred Pleasure, Tomorrow's Children, and The Power of Partnership. Eisler places what would commonly be called feminist concerns at the center of her inquiry. In doing so she has explored the deep foundations of a dominator culture that permeate not just our gender relationships, but also our very modes of thinking and doing research. She offers suggestions for action research projects we might undertake, in programmatic fashion, to create more of a partnership orientation in many walks of life.

In designing the new Action Researchjournal Peter Reason and I agreed to introduce influential thinkers using an interview format. Our goal is to connect journal readers with people whose work is not often cited within the action research community, but which we believe can benefit reflection and practice among action researchers. My first interview is with Joanna Macy, an eco-philosopher and experiential educator. In particular I believe that Macy's work has much to teach us about accessing those parts that block action researchers and their research partners from embracing and realizing the changes we desire. By addressing deeper emotions that color all our so-called rational efforts, we may find ourselves more capable of doing better action research.

Sustainability issues are not just "out there" in the external environment. In approaching the issue of sustainability, students benefit from questioning what is it that sustains their own lives, the lives of those they care about, and the organizations in which they work. If encouraged to do this, students become better systems thinkers as they link their external and internal worlds. This article presents some clarification of the concept and practices associated with sustainable development and describes numerous class exercises to help management students move sustainable development into their own sphere of attention and practice.