The Healing Power of Storytelling: An Exploration into the Autoethnographic Process

I came to an epiphany as a writer and a person through autoethnography, a research and writing process that analyzes personal experience in the interest of understanding cultural experience. Drawn to a course by pure chance, I was given the opportunity to explore the genre of autoethnography by writing and researching through my experience with major depression.To write the full twenty-eight page manuscript of my autoethnography titled “Depressed—Proceed With Caution: An Autoethnography of Depression” I dove into my elephant-like memory for stories and read literature written by others who have lived with major depressive disorder. In the process, I learned more about depression, in myself and in others, than I ever expected to. I also saw the benefits of reading stories of another’s experience. Writing through my experience of depression was healing in a way that other writers cite. In myself, I have experienced a much-needed change in perspective through my research and self-reflection. In others, I have seen raw emotion in response to the pain found in my narrative accounts. My hope is to bring my story to a larger audience, to bring peace of mind to those who desperately need its light

Translational research as an integral part of work–based learning

Shelagh Keogh, Northumbria University, UK This paper explores the concept of translational research as an appropriate strategy for work based learning. Translational research as the name suggests it is about the translation of research findings into practice. Practice and practice development are integral to the learning in the work place and translational research is therefore an excellent mechanism for work based learning. Medicine is its main exponent but it is becoming increasingly commoner in other areas. Traditionally translational research refers to the translating of laboratory based findings to clinical practice as such is a highly prescriptive and regulated approach. More recently, Public Health has explored ways of translating findings of epidemiological studies into clinical practice and education has also explored strategies which can be used in the translation of research into both curriculum design and classroom practice. Although clearly it is applicable to a range of practices and disciplines There are two main issues which need to be considered in translational research, the nature of knowledge and the roles involved in the translation of research findings into practice: The knowledge valued in different disciplinary areas can differ for example in medicine and the health professions application of research is highly regulated and controlled, novel and innovative ideas go through a rigorous testing process. Whereas in many business settings and in the creative industries novel and innovative ideas are the starting point. Having determined the knowledge which is valued the tensions which are inherent in the work place need to be explored. Traditional ways of doing things can be challenged and this can draw on skills The roles played are important and central to the translation. In work based learning much will depend on the programme and the stage involved, for instance in doctoral programme the students may take the lead whereas in undergraduate programmes the student will be part of a highly supervised and supported team It is an approach which if planned and correctly executed develops practice and it can be a very powerful tool for learning to demonstrate this the paper will conclude with a case study of a translational research project. Involved the translation of research study into practice in a care environment. The stages involved will be discussed and outlined in some detail. The benefits and drawbacks of the approach, as a learning tool will also be outlined and considere

How Did I Get to Princess Margaret? (And How Did I Get Her to the World Wide Web?)

The paper explores the growing use of tools from the arts and humanities for investigation and dissemination of social science research. Emerging spaces for knowledge transfer, such as the World Wide Web, are explored as outlets for "performative social science". Questions of ethnics and questions of evaluation which emerge from performative social science and the use of new technologies are discussed. Contemporary thinking in aesthetics is explored to answer questions of evaluation. The use of the Internet for productions is proposed as supporting the collective elaboration of meaning supported by Relational Aesthetics. One solution to the ethical problem of performing the narrations of others is the use of the writer's own story as autoethnography. The author queries autoethnography's tendency to tell "sad" stories and proposes an amusing story, exemplified by "The One about Princess Margaret" (see Appendix). The conclusion is reached that the free and open environment of the Internet sidelines the usual tediousness of academic publishing and begins to explore new answers to questions posed about the evaluation and ethics of performative social science

Dying to research: An autoethnographic exploration of researching Māori and whānau experiences of end-of-life care

The authors critically reflect on the autoethnographic process involved in navigating a smooth pathway towards investigating dying, death and bereavement for Māori whānau (families) in a way that supports and gives voice to their experience. This study, based in the Māori & Psychology Research Unit at The University of Waikato, is supported by a Health Research Council Erihapeti Rehu-Murchie Career Development Award. It explores the “end-of-life” journeys of Māori and their whānau in South Auckland and Waikato, through the dying process and subsequent challenges of bereavement. The researcher’s journey from novice to someone fully enmeshed in the struggles and triumphs of conducting research with Māori is examined. There is reflection on the challenges and issues that have emerged since settling on this research topic. These include ethical concerns, and the processes and outcomes associated with negotiating tensions between a shifting academic objectivity and the development of a methodology requiring subjective reflexivity

Reflections on Doing Research Grounded in My Experience of Perinatal Loss: From Auto/biography to Autoethnography

This article, derived from my doctoral dissertation (Davidson 2007) examining the emergence of hospital protocols for perinatal bereavement during the last half of the twentieth century in Canada, focuses on the methodological complexities – the draw, the drain, and the delight of doing qualitative research grounded in my own experience of perinatal loss. With my dissertation now a fait a complete, reflecting back on my research, my use of autoethnography at this point allows a return to a story that has already happened and involves \'\'the construction and reconstruction\' of my personal 2 experiences as narratives\' (Autrey 2003: 10). Taking this narrative turn, my enquiry here shifts auto/biography to autoethnography as a mode of enquiry.Qualitative Research; Feminist Research; Perinatal Loss and Grief; Bereavement; Experience; Auto/biography; Autoethnography

Journeying to visibility:an autoethnography of self-harm scars in the therapy room

This autoethnography explores the experience of a therapist negotiating the visibility of their self‐harm scars in the therapy room. Its form takes the shape of the author's personal meaning‐making journey, beginning by exploring the construction of the therapist identity before going on to consider the wounded healer paradigm and the navigation of self‐disclosure. A thread throughout is finding ways to resist fear and shame as both a researcher and counsellor. The author concludes by recounting fragments of sessions from the first client she worked with while having her scars visible. While not every therapist will have self‐harm scars, all therapists have a body which plays “a significant part of his or her unique contribution to therapy” (Burka, 2013, p. 257). This paper is, therefore, potentially valuable to any therapist, at any stage of development, who seeks to reflect on the role of the body and use of the self

A Sage on Two Stages: What a Black Academic Taught a White Scholar About Cross-Cultural Mentoring

Cross-cultural mentoring can be loosely defined as a reciprocal mentoring relationship where the mentor and mentee do not share any one of many personal identities. In this study, personal narratives convey what a White scholar learned about cross-cultural mentoring from a Black academic, focusing on two events. Critical findings and reflections include the necessity for White allies in cross-cultural mentoring relationships to anticipate difference rather than discomfort, to commit to paying analytic and holistic attention to their mentor, and to seek opportunities to mitigate any cultural taxation that people of color may pay inside and outside of the relationship.Educatio

Rape Talk: Student Awareness and Perceptions of Campus Sexual Assault and Resources

This project evaluates student perceptions of campus sexual assault and related resources at Marquette University of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As campus sexual assault and an unsafe rape culture are still persistent, research is needed to bring about awareness and spark an open discourse of this issue. The original data of this project consists of the researcher’s autoethnography, observations of Marquette’s online sexual violence resources, student interviews, and an online student survey. After analyzing this data, the most important finding was that students do not share the same perceptions and knowledge of this issue, despite receiving the same resources. Also, the relationship between Marquette students and staff and other non-student people is distant and in need of development. Lastly, students want to see more change on campus concerning this issue. However, the overarching theme of their desires for change is a wish for more transparency on campus.https://epublications.marquette.edu/english_3210ur/1028/thumbnail.jp

Writing the unreadable untext: a collaborative autoethnography of #rhizo14

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