%0 Journal Article %1 RefWorks:149 %A van der Harr, Dorieke %A Hosking, Dian Marie %D 2004 %J Human Relations %K (Psychology); CONSTRUCTIVISM CULTURE; EVALUATION; PHILOSOPHY; SOCIAL appreciative approaches; construction constructionism; evaluation; inquiry relational responsive social %N 8 %P 1017-1036 %T Evaluating appreciative inquiry: A relational constructionist perspective %U http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=14230048&site=ehost-live %V 57 %X Appreciative inquiry (AI) has become increasingly popular as a social constructionist approach to organization change and development. Many claims are made about its status and value but there are few published evaluation studies. Furthermore, some interesting and important issues arise as to how AI can be evaluated appropriately--given its social constructionist context. The heart of our argument is that AI could appropriately and usefully be evaluated using the approach of 'responsive evaluation'. We lay out our views by putting forward a particular relational narrative of social construction processes. We then draw upon this relational narrative to develop three themes. One theme is that both AI and social constructionism should be viewed as variable social constructions and not fixed 'things'. This means that AI manifests in many different ways in different local-cultural and local-historical contexts. A related theme is that, if theory and method co-define one another, then AI is much more than just a method. Finally viewing evaluation as a variable social construction suggests that some evaluation practices will be more consistent with the premises of relational constructionism and AI than others. These themes are developed in several parts. In the first, we briefly introduce AI, the links that have been made between it and social constructionism and potential implications of these links for evaluation. In the second, we outline the defining premises of relational constructionism. In the third, we examine AI, its multiple meanings, and its central premises. We then explore links between relational constructionism and AI. This brings us to the fifth part in which we introduce evaluation and its potential relations with AI. ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR Copyright of Human Relations is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.(Copyright applies to all Abstracts) %@ 00187267

@article{RefWorks:149, abstract = {Appreciative inquiry (AI) has become increasingly popular as a social constructionist approach to organization change and development. Many claims are made about its status and value but there are few published evaluation studies. Furthermore, some interesting and important issues arise as to how AI can be evaluated appropriately--given its social constructionist context. The heart of our argument is that AI could appropriately and usefully be evaluated using the approach of 'responsive evaluation'. We lay out our views by putting forward a particular relational narrative of social construction processes. We then draw upon this relational narrative to develop three themes. One theme is that both AI and social constructionism should be viewed as variable social constructions and not fixed 'things'. This means that AI manifests in many different ways in different local-cultural and local-historical contexts. A related theme is that, if theory and method co-define one another, then AI is much more than just a method. Finally viewing evaluation as a variable social construction suggests that some evaluation practices will be more consistent with the premises of relational constructionism and AI than others. These themes are developed in several parts. In the first, we briefly introduce AI, the links that have been made between it and social constructionism and potential implications of these links for evaluation. In the second, we outline the defining premises of relational constructionism. In the third, we examine AI, its multiple meanings, and its central premises. We then explore links between relational constructionism and AI. This brings us to the fifth part in which we introduce evaluation and its potential relations with AI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Human Relations is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.(Copyright applies to all Abstracts)}, added-at = {2008-12-27T17:34:46.000+0100}, author = {van der Harr, Dorieke and Hosking, Dian Marie}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/203a7b98869445ffa846bd7780fd9dab6/critzo}, description = {test export from refworks}, interhash = {cc088dd045a5f6671a4af7c47d7d1938}, intrahash = {03a7b98869445ffa846bd7780fd9dab6}, isbn = {00187267}, journal = {Human Relations}, keywords = {(Psychology); CONSTRUCTIVISM CULTURE; EVALUATION; PHILOSOPHY; SOCIAL appreciative approaches; construction constructionism; evaluation; inquiry relational responsive social}, month = {08}, note = {M3: Article; van der Harr, Dorieke Email Address: dorieke.van.der.haar@essent.nl; Hosking, Dian Marie 1 Email Address: d.hosking@usg.uu.nl; Affiliations: 1: Professor of Organizational Psychology, Utrechtse School voor Bestuurs-en Organisatiewetenschap, Utrecht, Netherlands, Professor of Organizational Psychology, Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Tilburg University Netherlands.; Source Info: Aug2004, Vol. 57 Issue 8, p1017; Thesaurus Term: SOCIAL constructionism; Thesaurus Term: PHILOSOPHY; Thesaurus Term: CONSTRUCTIVISM (Psychology); Thesaurus Term: CULTURE; Subject Term: EVALUATION; Author-Supplied Keyword: appreciative inquiry evaluation; Author-Supplied Keyword: relational approaches; Author-Supplied Keyword: responsive evaluation; Author-Supplied Keyword: social construction.; Number of Pages: 20p. Document Type: Article}, number = 8, pages = {1017-1036}, timestamp = {2008-12-27T17:35:02.000+0100}, title = {Evaluating appreciative inquiry: A relational constructionist perspective}, url = {http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=14230048&site=ehost-live}, volume = 57, year = 2004 }