#dissertation quotes

[nyshadidntbreakit]

There is actually internal evidence of differences of position and focus between Field and Blair (Field takes a more ethical stance towards welfare reform, Blair sees it more in terms of a contract)

Norman Fairclough (2000) ‘Discourse, social theory and social research: the discourse of welfare reform’ 4 Journal of Sociolinguistics, p. 163. Excellent use of homonyms, A++++.

[nyshadidntbreakit]

In 1985, Richard Posner had this to say about the criminal justice system: The major function of criminal law in a capitalist society is to prevent people from bypassing the system of voluntary, compensated exchange – the ‘market’. (Posner 1985, 1195) In recent years, one could be forgiven for thinking that this had  become the ambition, not merely of the legal system, but of all the public services as they are reconfigured to ready incapacitated citizens for involvement in ‘voluntary compensated exchange’. In conjunction with this, the notion of responsibility is used by some practitioners and commentators to restrict the availability both of services and compassion, and to construct the client as someone whose egregious behaviour emerges on purpose, thus meriting punitive sanctions.

B.J. Brown and Sally Baker (2012) Individuals, Health and Policy under Neoliberalism. London: Anthem Press.

[nyshadidntbreakit]

Being on welfare is just like being a child. Have to ask for everything, get permission before you can shit. No difference.

Anonymous research participant, Austin Sarat (1990) ‘“The Law Is All Over:” Power, Resistance and the Legal Consciousness of the Welfare Poor” Yale Journal of Law & the Humanities 2(2), pp.343-379 (open access).

How can there be any doubt that a system which leaves people so powerless and lacking in autonomy violates their human rights?

[nyshadidntbreakit]

Even in the middle of the nineteenth century, at the time of Meiji restoration, Japan already had  a higher level of literacy than Europe, even though Japan had not yet had any industrialization or modern economic development, which Europe had experienced, by then, for a century. The emphasis on developing productive human capability was intensified in the early period of Japanese development, in the Meiji era (1868-1911). For example, between 1906 and 1911, education consumed as much as 43 percent of the budgets of the towns and villages, for Japan as a whole. Already by 1906 there is evidence—based on army recruitment information—to suggest that there was hardly any potential recruit even from rural Japan who was not literate. In fact, by 1913, though Japan was economically still quite underdeveloped, it had become one of the largest producers of books in the world— publishing many more books than did Britain (then the leading capitalist economy on the globe) and indeed more than twice as many as the United States.

Amartya Sen (2000), ‘Social Exclusion: Concept, Application and Scrutiny‘. Asian Development Bank: Social Development Papers No. 1, p. 34.

[nyshadidntbreakit]

Has the Work Programme delivered? In the first year of its operation, Work Programme providers failed to meet [employment] targets for each of the three participant groups, with performance being the worst for people on disability benefits. Only 0.6% of ESA [disability benefit] claimants achieved a job outcome [got a job and stayed in it for at least 3 months] compared to the [target] of 5.5% for this category. Not a single job outcome was achieved for [former Incapacity Benefit claimants who had been transferred to ESA] in the first nine months of delivery.

OECD 2014, Mental Health and Work: United Kingdom.

When even the OECD thinks your neoliberal policies are bullshit, you know you’re doing badly.

[nyshadidntbreakit]

Truth is partial in that the individual perspectives that yield and judge truth are necessarily incomplete. No individual can understand except from some limited perspective. Thus, for example, a man experiences pornography as a man with a particular upbringing, set of  relationships, race, social class, and sexual preference, and so on, which affect what "truths" he perceives about pornography. A woman experiences pregnancy as a woman with a particular upbringing, race, social class, set of relationships, sexual preference, and so on, which affect what "truths" she perceives about pregnancy. As a result, there will always be "knowers" who have access to knowledge that other individuals do not have, and no one's truth can be deemed total or final. Because knowledge arises within social contexts and in multiple forms, the key to increasing knowledge lies in the effort to extend one's limited perspective. Self-discipline is crucial. My perspective gives me a source of special knowledge, but a limited knowledge that I can improve by the effort to step beyond it, to understand other perspectives, and to expand my sources of identity. To be sure, I cannot transcend my perspective; by definition, whatever perspective I currently have limits my view. But I can improve my perspective by stretching my imagination to identify and understand the perspectives of others. Positionality's requirement that other perspectives be sought out and examined checks the characteristic tendency of all individuals - including feminists - to want to stamp their own point of view upon the world. This requirement does not allow certain feminist positions to be set aside as immune from critical examination. When feminists oppose restrictive abortion laws, for example, positionality compels the effort to understand those whose views about the sanctity of potential human life are offended by assertion of women's unlimited right to choose abortion. When feminists debate the legal alternative of joint custody at divorce, positionality compels appreciation of the desire by some fathers to be responsible, co-equal parents. And (can it get worse?) when feminists urge drastic reform of rape laws, positionality compels consideration of the position of men whose social conditioning leads them to interpret the actions of some women as "inviting" rather than discouraging sexual encounter.

Katherine T Bartlett (1990) 'Feminist Legal Methods', 103 Harvard Law Review 4, p. 829.

[lalaithl]

It is important to learn to trust that with time and consistent effort you will be able to make revisions, figure out how to write something that you could not express previously, and improve the quality of your work. Creating a well-crafted product does not usually happen in one or even several work sessions. You may end many work sessions feeling confused and uncertain. But if you can maintain tolerance for the ambiguity of the research process while being consistent in your efforts to read, analyze, clarify, revise, and improve your work, you will eventually have a product you can feel good about.

Alison Miller, Finish Your Dissertation Once and For All, p. 118.

Progress, not perfection!  But while this statement feels true, I'm not sure what the difference is between this state of affairs, and being stuck.  Maybe she's saying that it's OK to be stuck as long as you keep swimming.

[lalaithl]

Inspiration and motivation rarely come from inaction. Every day that you intend to work but do nothing puts you at risk of becoming disengaged from your dissertation and makes it that much harder to get started in your next work session. It is often the act of writing, making discoveries, articulating and connecting ideas, or analyzing data or sources that will inspire and motivate you.

Alison Miller, Finish Your Dissertation Once and For All, p. 116.