Meaning Making

The Social Psychology of the Ergenekon Case: The Collapse of the Official Narrative in Turkey

by Serdar Kaya

Kaya, Serdar. 2012. Middle East Critique 21(2)

This paper examines the developments before and after the Ergenekon case in regard to the alternative retrospective... more This paper examines the developments before and after the Ergenekon case in regard to the alternative retrospective that the emerging counter-narrative has introduced to the recent Turkish history. This retrospective is diametrically opposed to the perspective of the official narrative, especially in terms of the way it interprets the landmark historical events and primary actors. This paper thus argues that recent developments in Turkey since 2002, and then the Ergenekon case, have constituted a "meaning threat" for those who subscribe to the official narrative. As some of the recent works in the social psychology literature demonstrate, meaning threats occur when people apprehend new experiences that are at odds with the frameworks through which they give meaning to and view their outer worlds. According to that argument, people feel more comfortable when they experience an event that supports their cultural worldviews, because such an experience either helps them feel less uncertain about themselves or makes it easier to tolerate uncertainty. For the same reason, experiences that conflict with people's worldviews cause negative reactions. Applying to the Turkish case the insights offered by these works, this paper argues that, in the Turkish case, those who experience meaning threats take resort in political conservatism, which, in the political context of the country, corresponds to paternalist authoritarianism and assertive ethnic nationalism.

'Sense of presence' experiences in bereavement and their relationship to mental health: A critical examination of a continuing controversy

by Edith Steffen

A book chapter co-authored with Adrian Coyle. Published in 2012 in C. Murray (Ed.). Mental Health and Anomalous Experience. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers, pp. 33-56.

ABSTRACT

The experience of sensing the presence of the deceased is a common occurrence following... more ABSTRACT

The experience of sensing the presence of the deceased is a common occurrence following bereavement. Although this experience tends to be reported as positive and meaningful by perceivers, for most of the twentieth century it has been described in pathologising terms in the bereavement literature. Recent decades have seen the publication of numerous studies that point to the normality of this experience and its potential benefits for the bereaved perceivers’ wellbeing. However, there is an ongoing debate within bereavement scholarship regarding the nature and healthiness of this experience. This chapter critically examines the extant literature concerning ‘sense of presence’ experiences and draws attention to the diversity of definitions and conceptualisations within which this experience can be interpreted. Research from a variety of perspectives, including attachment theory and the continuing bonds perspective, is discussed and emerging evidence is reported which suggests that those who can make sense of their experience within culturally-sanctioned (spiritual) conceptual frameworks enjoy greater benefits as a result. The discussion then focuses on meaning-making concerns with regard to this phenomenon and concludes with relevant practice recommendations.

BOYS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN: VIDEOGAMES E CONSTRUÇÃO DE SENTIDOS EM UM CONTEXTO TRANSCULTURAL

by Luiz Henrique Magnani

Divertir-se, além de um dos principais motivos alegados para se jogar um videogame é, por vezes, razão dada para se... more Divertir-se, além de um dos principais motivos alegados para se jogar um videogame é, por vezes, razão dada para se criar jogos. Esse trabalho pretende dar um passo além dessa relação direta entre videogame e diversão para colocar o foco na fricção e no lado conflituoso de se interagir com um dispositivo cultural produzido em uma comunidade e disseminado em outras. Para fazer  isso, presente trabalho tem por base a observação, documentação e análise de episódios de um evento de
letramento que envolveu diversos produtores de jogos digitais em Winnipeg, Canadá. A observação proposta coloca em cheque a própria localidade do investigador e o modo como isso cria diferenças interpretativas em relação ao outro lado do grupo, composto basicamente por jovens canadenses criadores de jogos.

Entre a liberdade e a coerção: videogame e construção de sentido

by Luiz Henrique Magnani

Revista Ponto.Urbe Ano 2, Versão 2.0, fevereiro de 2008

Shifting values and meanings of heritage: From cultural appropriation to tourism interpretation and back

by Noel B. Salazar

Salazar, Noel B. 2012. Shifting values and meanings of heritage: From cultural appropriation to tourism interpretation and back. In S. M. Lyon & C. E. Wells (Eds.), Global tourism: Cultural heritage and economic encounters (pp. 21-41). Lanham: Altamira.

This chapter explores how translocal processes of heritage policymaking and management influence its values and... more This chapter explores how translocal processes of heritage policymaking and management influence its values and meanings—both in times of stability and of turmoil—but also how “foreign” elements are incorporated and strategically (mis)used by local service providers in the heritage products told and sold to tourists. The case study from Central Java, Indonesia, provides unique insights because the current socioeconomic conditions have intensified existing conflicts over heritage appropriation and interpretation on local, national, regional, and global levels (cf. Salazar 2010b). An in-depth analysis of the empirical findings leads to a broader reflection on the dynamic interplay between the externally imaged (represented) and locally imagined value and meaning of world heritage in Indonesia and beyond. The ethnographic data illustrate that the significance of heritage—be it natural or cultural, tangible or intangible—is characterized by ever-changing pluriversality. However, before delving into the crux of the matter, it is essential to sketch the wider context.

Spiritual beliefs and the search for meaning among older adults following partner loss

by Adrian Coyle

Co-authored with Richard Golsworthy. Published in 1999 in Mortality, 4(1), 21-40. Please contact me if you would like a copy of the complete paper but experience difficulties in locating it.

Critical responses to Faith Development Theory: A useful agenda for change?

by Adrian Coyle

Sole-authored paper published in 2011 in the Archive for the Psychology of Religion, 33(3), 281-298. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157361211X608162
A manuscript version of this article can be downloaded from http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/25591/2/Faith%20Development%20Theory%20complete%20article.pdf

Since it was first presented, James Fowler's faith development theory has proven influential in pastoral care and... more Since it was first presented, James Fowler's faith development theory has proven influential in pastoral care and counselling, pastoral and practical theology, spiritual direction, and Christian education. However, it has also been subject to substantial critical evaluation. This article reviews the major themes within psychological critiques and considers the agenda provided by these critiques for the theory's future development. Critical themes concern Fowler's understanding of “faith“; the theory's structural “logic of development“; its overemphasis on cognition and lack of attention to (emotional/psychodynamic dimensions as) processes of transition and transformation; its gender bias and cultural specificity; and its purported difficulty in accommodating postmodern trends in psychology. To address these critiques in a meaningful way, there is a need to embrace alternative existing theories of faith development and spiritual/religious change, to construct a radically revised, process-focused version of faith development theory, and to continue to develop new localized process models of faith development.

Information as Ontologization

by David J. Saab

Co-authored with Uwe V. Riss. This is a preprint of an article published in the Journal of the American Society of Information Science and Technology (JASIST).

The traditional view of data, information and knowledge as a hierarchy fosters an understanding of information as an... more The traditional view of data, information and knowledge as a hierarchy fosters an understanding of information as an independent entity with objective meaning—that while information is tied to data and knowledge, its existence is not dependent upon them. While traditional conceptions assume a static nature of information, expressed by the equation information = data + meaning, we have argued that this understanding is based on an ontologization of an entwined process of sense-making and meaning-making. This process starts from the recognition of a pattern that is interpreted in a way that influences our behavior. At the same time, the process character of meaning-making makes us aware of the fact that this ontologized hierarchy is in fact an interwoven process. We conclude that the phenomenological analysis of this ontologization that makes into being data, information, and knowledge has to go back to this process to reveal the essential underlying dependencies.

Amor Fati: Consciousness in Nietzsche’s Gay Science

by Mark Sentesy

in Pensées: The Canadian Undergraduate Journal of Philosophy. Montreal: McGill University, 2002:3.

In The Gay Science, Friedrich Nietzsche tries to sketch a way of living in the face of nihilism.  By outlining... more In The Gay Science, Friedrich Nietzsche tries to sketch a way of living in the face of nihilism.  By outlining the conditions of his society’s nihilism, he mounts a radical attack on epistemology and metaphysics, but also prepares a solution. He argues that there is no “reality” in the traditional sense: there are no “things.” For us, reality is made up of appearances, of surfaces that we constitute. Language and communication on the one hand, and consciousness on the other, are key tools in Nietzsche’s critique of epistemology and of the solution that he offers. The insight that relates these tools to one another, is that consciousness is not individual, but developed under the pressure of the need to communicate. This will serve as a lens through which we will try to glimpse a cluster of ideas at or near the centre of his thought. Nietzsche’s critique is so radical that it challenges the possibility of both knowledge and consciousness. On the other hand, Nietzsche wants to refine a higher form of consciousness: amor fati (love of fate), a “Yes” to reality as such. I argue that this problem can be resolved by distinguishing two kinds of consciousness. Nietzsche says that consciousness penetrates and merges with its object, but this cannot yield self-consciousness, and so does not make consciousness possible. But a prior shape of the mind allows us to grasp what is impenetrable and unique, to remain outside the object. I argue that this is the meaning of Nietzsche’s metaphor of distance, in which his project of incorporating consciousness into the human creature, of “life as a means to knowledge”  intertwines with the idea of writing one’s life.

Mew Zick Ann Dwerds

by Paul Alan Barker

Presented at the Song, Stage & Screen conference, Portsmouth UK, 28-30 APRIL 2006

Abstract:
The paper aims to:
• briefly explore and contextualize through historical and sociological... more Abstract:
The paper aims to:
• briefly explore and contextualize through historical and sociological evidence, the residence of meaning in performance.
• demonstrate that opera and musical theatre may be seen to be out of step with developments in theatre and music in this respect, but some examples are illustrated in music theatre.
• elucidate and example a historical performative practice whereby creative roles such as author and composer are merged alongside those of performer.
• summarise that the non-rational relationship between music and text may be codified as a non-rational equation, in reference to the alchemy of the title.

Keywords: words, music, sound, meaning, alchemy, heresy.

Beyond Imprisonment of Meaning: Technology Facilitating Redefining

by Sanne Akkerman

Defining is a natural and necessary response to an ambiguous world, but causes fixation of categories
and... more Defining is a natural and necessary response to an ambiguous world, but causes fixation of categories
and perspectives. On the basis of two earlier studies of project groups, we came to argue that redefining, and hence constructing various ways in which one perceives and understands something, enables groups to overcome imprisonment in meaning, establishing continuous development and flexibility. In this article, we first build a rationale for facilitating a process of redefining, to be taken
into account when designing technology. Departing from this rationale, we discuss features of groupware technology that permit change by being flexible, and evoke redefining by engaging the user more actively. In so doing, we argue to think along new lines in the design of communication and
collaboration technology. This paper proposes a specific perspective on technology, facilitating groups to engage in a productive, creative fashion of exploiting meaning potential.

Information and Meaning

by Christophe Menant

Publication of 2002 presentations:
- Foundation of Information Science Forum (http://crmenant.free.fr/FIScience/Index.htm)
- 5th European System Science Congress (http://www.afscet.asso.fr/resSystemica/Crete02/Menant.pdf)

We propose here to clarify some of the relations existing between information and meaning by showing how meaningful... more We propose here to clarify some of the relations existing between information and meaning by showing how meaningful information can be generated by a system submitted to a constraint. We build up definitions and properties for meaningful information, a meaning generator system and the domain of efficiency of a meaning (to cover cases of meaningful information transmission). Basic notions of information processing are used.

Introduction to a Systemic Theory of Meaning -

by Christophe Menant

Working paper. Jan 2010 update