The telling of stories lies at the heart of human communication. In this important new book Peter Brophy introduces and explains the concept of story-telling or narrative-based practice in teaching, research, professional practice and organizations. He illustrates the deficiencies in evidence-based practice models, which focus on quantitative rather than qualitative evidence, and highlights the importance of narrative by drawing on insights from fields as disparate as pedagogy, anthropology, knowledge management and management practice. This book is essential reading for professionals, scholars and students in the many disciplines currently using evidence-based practice, such as information management, health, social policy, librarianship and general management.

As narrow, nationalist views of patriotic allegiance have become widespread and are routinely invoked to justify everything from flag-waving triumphalism to xenophobic bigotry, the concept of a nonnationalist patriotism has vanished from public conversation. Taking Liberties is a study of what may be called patriotism without borders: a nonnational form of loyalty compatible with the universal principles and practices of democracy and human rights, respectful of ethnic and cultural diversity, and, overall, open-minded and inclusive. Moving beyond a traditional study of Polish dramatic literature, Halina Filipowicz turns to the plays themselves and to archival materials, ranging from parliamentary speeches to polemical pamphlets and verse broadsides, to explore the cultural phenomenon of transgressive patriotism and its implications for society in the twenty-first century. In addition to recovering lost or forgotten materials, the author builds an innovative conceptual and methodological framework to make sense of those materials. The result is not only a significant contribution to the debate over the meaning and practice of patriotism, but a masterful intellectual history.