MICHAEL O JONES - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by MICHAEL O JONES

Asian Folklore Studies, 1999

Introduction Chapter 1: Folklore and Its Study Folkore As Historical Artifact Chapter 2: Folklori... more Introduction Chapter 1: Folklore and Its Study Folkore As Historical Artifact Chapter 2: Folkloristics as an Historical Science Chapter 3: Survival, Continuity, Revival, and Historical Source Folklore As Describable and Transmissible Entity Chapter 4: Folklore as Genre and Type Chapter 5: The Dissemination of Folklore Folklore As Culture Chapter 6: Folklore in Cultural Contexts Chapter 7: Folklore in the Culture of Groups in Contact Folklore As Behavior Chapter 8: Folklore and Human Psychology Chapter 9: Folklore as Personal Resource Conclusion Chapter 10: In Retrospect Index

InterActions: UCLA Journal of Education and Information Studies

primary assistant, the study involved observations, interviews, and audiovisual recording in rega... more primary assistant, the study involved observations, interviews, and audiovisual recording in regard to botánicas, healers, ceremonies, herbal remedies, and medicinal plants in peoples' yards. In the present essay we provide an overview of the project. This includes not only initial findings but also matters of how we went about documenting, managing, and presenting data, along with several challenges we confronted in doing so. Some of our experiences might assist others seeking to establish repositories of local knowledge on which education programs and community outreach may be developed. Ethnographic Methods and Techniques The study began in June of 2000 with our documenting products and services available at botánicas in Los Angeles as well as the medicinal plants grown and utilized by individuals esteemed in their families and neighborhoods for their knowledge of herbs. Botánicas sell religious items, herbs, and herbal products in addition to providing divination-diagnosis, counseling, and herbal and ritual treatments (see Table 1). We employed ethnographic methods of observation, participant observation, and interviewing. Most of the interviews were carried out by the two of us, assisted in the beginning by Dr. Patrick A. Polk, folklorist and staff member in the Department of World Arts and Cultures at the University of California, Los Angeles. Whenever possible we acquired voucher specimens of plants for identification by a botanist and observed people and products inside botánicas. We also attended festivals and parties on the feast days of saints, religious ceremonies at which spirits possessed supplicants, and ritual healing ceremonies in which we sometimes took part. Whenever possible we audio-or videotaped interviews and events. We always requested permission of the healer and host to film and take pictures, and often provided them with a copy of the video and photos. Bilingual students transcribed and translated interviews. Data entry personnel, led by folklore graduate students Wennifer (Wei-Ni) Lin and Jaynie Aydin entered information on ailments and treatments in a database management program.

The Journal of American Folklore, 1996

I would like to express my appreciation as well to the many students in my classes who not only t... more I would like to express my appreciation as well to the many students in my classes who not only tolerated my attempts to express some of the ideas in this volume, but also helped me articulate them. To mention only a few of the graduate students over the years with whom I have had important exchanges of ideas about folk art, there are

The Journal of American Folklore, 1966

The Journal of American Folklore, 1995

The volume is loosely structured. A chapter in the section on promoting learning, for example, is... more The volume is loosely structured. A chapter in the section on promoting learning, for example, is just as likely to have implications for improving the quality of life and enhancing identity and community. It seemed, however, that one or another of the three themes into which the book is divided dominated each article. Moreover, it made sense to move from promoting learning and conserving examples of folklore to questions of how this can improve the quality of life, essential aspects of which are self-esteem and closeness to others. Common principles throughout the chapters are methods of folkloristics as well as skills and abilities of folklorists that may be applied to another field, how one applies them, and some issues in application. Overall, there is a deep-seated concern for appreciating and understanding folklore and, through it, people, and for utilizing this respect for tradition and understanding of symbolic behavior to help solve social issues and improve the world in which we live. One purpose of this book is to provide guidance and direction to folklorists who are considering applying their training, skills, and knowledge to the problems of human welfare, such as aiding the homeless, caring for the elderly, or improving workplace conditions. Another is to inform practitioners in professional fields about using folklore studies to augment their own specializations, thereby enhancing the quality of education, health care, urban planning, and other services extended to the public. Regardless of the type of social application, an underlying assumption is that knowledge of folklore is vital. People tell stories. They celebrate, ritualize, play, and use figurative language. These traditional, symbolic forms and processes are universal in the species. Particular examples may express values, transmit precepts, teach and reinforce norms, or occupy leisure. Or they may project anxieties, express joy and satisfaction, provide meaning, and in other ways help people make sense of their world, cope, and act. Whatever their functions and consequences, the very existence of these forms and processes defines homo sapiens. To be effective, therefore, efforts to alter conditions, attitudes, or behavior must take into account the presence and impact of traditions and symbolic interaction. As the field of folklore studies continues to gain ground in academe, and the number of practitioners outside the academy increases, the applications are likely to multiply and diversify. We hope this book contributes to these developments by showing how folklore research is being applied in a dozen ways in our society today.

The Journal of American Folklore, 1990

Includes bibliographical references and index.Jones explores the human impulse to create, the nec... more Includes bibliographical references and index.Jones explores the human impulse to create, the necessity for having aesthetically satisfying experiences, and the craving for tradition. He also considers topics such as making chairs, remodeling houses, using and preserving soda-fountain slang, preparing and eating food, and sculpting lifelike figures out of cement.Part 1: Making Things. Violations of Standards of Excellence and Preference in Utilitarian Art -- A Strange Rocking Chair .. The Need to Express, the Urge to Create -- Part 2: Sensory Experiences. L.A. Re-dos and Add-ons: Private Space vs. Public Policy -- Modern Arts and Arcane Concepts: Expanding Folk Art Study -- The Proof Is in the Pudding: The Role of Sensation in Food Choice as Revealed by Sensory Deprivation -- Part 3: Art at Work. Creating and Using Argot at the Jayhawk Cafe: Communication, Ambience, and Identity -- A Feeling for Form, as Illustrated by People at Work -- Aesthetics at Work: Art and Ambience in an Organization -- Part 4: Methods and Concepts. Aesthetic Attitude, Judgment, and Response: Definitions and Distinctions -- The Material Culture of Corporate Life -- Preaching What We Practice: Pedagogical Techniques Regarding the Analysis of Objects in Organizations -- Epilogue

Administrative Science Quarterly, 1989

Foreword - Ian Mitroff PART ONE: DOING ETHNOGRAPHY In Search of Meaning - Michael Owen Jones Usin... more Foreword - Ian Mitroff PART ONE: DOING ETHNOGRAPHY In Search of Meaning - Michael Owen Jones Using Qualitative Methods in Research and Application Mirror, Mission, and Management - Don Christensen Reflections on Folklore and Culture in a Health Care Organization Complaints in Paradise - Rob Hanford Using Ethnography in Customer Relations Measuring Organizational Culture - Caren Siehl and Joanne Martin Mixing Qualitative and Quantitative Methods PART TWO: FUNCTIONS OF THE "DYSFUNCTIONAL" The Paradox of Functional Dysfunction in a Girl Scout Camp - Patricia Atkinson Wells Implications of Cultural Diversity for Achieving Organizational Goals Letting Off Steam? Redefining a Restaurant's Work Environment - Gart Alan Fine 'Deviant Behavior' - John F Runcie Achieving Autonomy in a Machine-Paced Environment The Communication of Power Relations in Organizations Through Cultural Rites - Janice M Beyer and Harrison M Trice PART THREE: THE ARTS OF ORGANIZING The Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee - Peggy McDonald Developing Organizational Culture in the Short Run 'No Tickee, No Shirtee' - Shirley L Arora Proverbial Speech and Leadership in Academe New Frames for Old - Richard C Snyder Changing the Managerial Culture of an Aircraft Factory Symbolic Responses to Layoffs in a Software Manufacturing Firm - Jodi Martin Managing the Meaning of an Event Creating, Preserving, and Communicating Traditions - Roberta J Evanchuk A Role for Retirees of a Dance Company PART FOUR: CREATIVITY, COMMITMENT, AND COMMUNITY Art at Work - C Kurt Dewhurst The Pursuit of Aesthetic Solutions Work Ceremonies - Thomas C Dandridge Why Integrate Work and Play? Resolving Conflict and Establishing Community - Michael Dane Moore The Annual Festival 'Old People's Day' Dealing with Organizational Stress - William A Wilson Lessons from the Folklore of Mormon Missionaries Symbolic Representation of Organizatonal Identity - Stephen Stern The Role of 'Emblem' at Garrett Corporation PART FIVE: PARADIGMS AND PARADOXES Organizational Festivals and the Uses of Ambiguity - Jay Mechling and David Scofield Wilson The Case of Picnic Day at Davis From Trickster to Father Figure - Peter Tommerup Learning from the Mythologization of Top Management Corporate Rhetoric Versus Social Action - Brian Rusted Identifying Contradictions in a Service Organization The 'Command Bunker' in a Military Hospital - Terance J Wolfe Changing Power Perceptions Through a Modified Fishbowl Technique