Suchergebnisse

The People's Republic of China's (PRC) potential response to US deployment of a national missile defense system is contemplated. Several factors that will influence the PRC's reaction are identified: the Chinese state's modernization of its strategic systems; the prevailing perception of the US as a hegemonic superpower; the Chinese government's desire for a more multipolar world; previous US military interventions in international crises; the failures of contemporary Chinese domestic & foreign policy; & US intervention in the PRC-Taiwan conflict. In addition, the PRC's potential responses to US attempts to initiate minor, moderate, or extreme revisions to the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty are considered; eg, it is asserted that US withdrawal from the agreement would encourage the PRC to stockpile ballistic missiles, seek cooperation from Russia, & reduce its collaboration with Western nations. The need for US policymakers to stipulate this country's nuclear relationship with the PRC is stressed. Also, the impact of the PRC's creation of additional ballistic missiles on its neighbor's nuclear policies is pondered. It is concluded that the US & the PRC should consider cooperative approaches to the production of ballistic missiles & national missile defense in order to avoid international political instability. J. W. Parker

Purpose
Phenomenology is widely recognised for its power to generate nuanced understanding of lived experience and human existence. However, phenomenology is often made inaccessible to prospective researchers due to its specialised nomenclature and dense philosophical underpinnings. This paper explores the value of the researcher's lived experience as a pathway into phenomenological inquiry. The purpose of this paper is to improve the accessibility of phenomenology as a method for qualitative analysis. It achieves this by aligning Husserl's concept of phenomenological epoche, or bracketing of preconceptions, and the author's lived experience as a practitioner of kendo, or Japanese fencing.


Design/methodology/approach
The paper employs the narrative vignette as a means of illuminating the intersections between kendo practice and the application of phenomenological epoche as it applies to the understanding of embodied sensemaking. Reflections on the narrative vignette identified a suite of techniques from kendo practice that were applied to a phenomenological approach for critical incident interviews. These techniques were then applied to 30 critical incident, semi-structured interviews as part of a PhD research project into embodied sensemaking.


Findings
The results from these interviews suggest that the kendo-derived techniques were effective in generating thick narratives from participants during semi-structured interviews. Examination of the results provided insights into the linkage between phenomenology as a continental philosophy and eastern perspectives such as those found within the Zen traditions and other aesthetic practices.


Originality/value
This research suggests that lived experience such as kendo practice can provide a ready-to-hand pathway to phenomenological inquiry.