Introduction: looking beyond the walls

In its consideration of the remarkable extent and variety of non-university researchers, this book takes a broader view of ‘knowledge’ and ‘research’ than in the many hot debates about today’s knowledge society, ‘learning age’, or organisation of research. It goes beyond the commonly held image of ‘knowledge’ as something produced and owned by the full-time experts to take a look at those engaged in active knowledge building outside the university walls

The SLIM (Social learning for the integrated management and sustainable use of water at catchment scale) Final Report

Background: SLIM stands for 'Socuak Learning for the Integrated Management and Sustainable Use of Water at Catchment Scale'. It is a multi-country research project funded by the European Commission (DG RESEARCH - 5th Framework Programme for research and technological development, 1998-2002). Its main theme is the investigation of the socio-economic aspects of the sustainable use of water. Within this theme, its main focus of interest lies in understanding the application of social learning as a conceptual framework, an operational principle, a policy instrument and a process of systemic change

Developing successful intelligence : a curriculum for employability in changing markets for graduate labour

A key pedagogical challenge for undergraduate educators in integrating work and learning in the curriculum, is the identification of appropriate conceptual constructs to facilitate student learning and development. State and employer organisations have articulated a discourse of 'key skills' which has been adopted by universities, and yoked to innovations in pedagogy for employability. We propose the construct 'successful intelligence' to enhance pedagogy for employability. We show how it might be introduced to the undergraduate business curriculum, using a case study of the evolution of an undergraduate management development programme to ground our thinking in practice. We also use student perceptions of teaching, learning, and career planning to distinguish what students regard as real and relevant in their studies, contributing to employability

New frontiers in QLR: definition, design and display

Research that is attentive to temporal processes and durational phenomena is an important tradition within the social sciences internationally with distinct disciplinary trajectories. Qualitative longitudinal research emerged as a distinct methodological paradigm around the turn of the millennium, named within the UK through journal special issues, literature reviews and funding commitments. In 2012-3 the ESRC National Centre for Research Methods funded a network for methodological innovation to map ’New frontiers of QLR’, bringing together a group of scholars who have been actively involved in establishing QLR as a methodological field. The network provided an opportunity to consolidate the learning that has developed in QLR over a sustained period of investment and to engage critically with what QLR might mean in new times. This paper documents the series of discussions staged by the network involving the definition of QLR, the kinds of relationships and practices it involves and the consequences of these in a changing landscape for social research. The series was deliberately interdisciplinary ensuring that we engaged with the temporal perspectives and norms of different academic and practice traditions and this has both enriched and complicated the picture that has emerged from our deliberations. In this paper we argue that QLR is a methodological paradigm that by definition moves with the times, and is an ongoing site of innovation and experiment. Key issues identified for future development in QLR include: intervening in debates of ‘big data’ with visions of deep data that involve following and connecting cases over time; the potential of longitudinal approaches to reframe the ‘sample’ exploring new ways of connecting the particular and the general; new thinking about research ethics that move us beyond anonymity to better explore the meanings of confidentiality and the co-production of research knowledge; and finally the promotion of a QLR sensibility that involves a heightened awareness of the here and now in the making of knowledge, yet which also connects research biographically over a career, enriched by a reflexive understanding of time as a resource in the making of meaning

Transnational reflections on transnational research projects on men, boys and gender relations

This article reflects on the research project, ‘Engaging South African and Finnish youth towards new traditions of non-violence, equality and social well-being’, funded by the Finnish and South African national research councils, in the context of wider debates on research, projects and transnational processes. The project is located within a broader analysis of research projects and projectization (the reduction of research to separate projects), and the increasing tendencies for research to be framed within and as projects, with their own specific temporal and organizational characteristics. This approach is developed further in terms of different understandings of research across borders: international, comparative, multinational and transnational. Special attention is given to differences between research projects that are in the Europe and the EU, and projects that are between the global North and the global South. The theoretical, political and practical challenges of the North-South research project are discussed

Problems and Opportunities of Interdisciplinary Work involving Users in Speculative Research for Innovation of Novel ICT Applications

In this article we focus upon some challenges of multidisciplinary teams working interdisciplinary in research for innovation of novel ICT applications. We start by defining some general challenges of especially social scientists when working interdisciplinary. The formulated challenges are grounded in our personal experiences. In the next part of the article we focus upon research methods that are used when involving users in the research of novel ICT applications. We shortly describe the different methods and the value they have for social scientists, designers, marketing people and engineers. In the latest part of the article we argument why, from our opinion, using this speculative research methods involving users can help facilitating interdisciplinary work

Understanding quality in inclusive research: a process of dialogue

The case for research by and with (rather than on) people with learning disabilities has been successfully made. Calls for emancipatory research have drawn attention to the ways that research owned by disabled people can better tackle social oppression. For learning disabled people moves towards a productive rather than passive role in research have largely retained some involvement of non-disabled people. This paper reports on a study in England which brought together learning disabled researchers leading their own research, learning disabled and non-disabled researchers working in collaborative research partnerships, and academic researchers using participatory design or methods. We adopted Walmsely and Johnson’s (2003) concept of inclusive research to recognise the overlaps between emancipatory and participatory research and the need for research that matters to the people involved, represents their views, involves them in the research process, treats them with respect, and may improve their lives. The intention was to work together in a series of focus group discussions to take stock of what we had learned about doing inclusive research and to answer Walmsley and Johnson’s call to ‘grapple honestly’ with the challenges. This is necessary if quality in inclusive research is to be understood. In the paper I reflect on the research process and the resulting model of ways of researching together and guidance in the form of questions to ask ourselves: when judging the quality of inclusive research; when negotiating how to work together in inclusive research; and when using the case study materials the project generated

The case of veterinary interprofessional practice: From one health to a world of its own

BACKGROUND: Research regarding the veterinary professions' involvement in interprofessional practice and education (IPE), either with health care professionals as part of One Health, or specifically within the veterinary health care team, is sparse. PURPOSE: To investigate veterinary interprofessional working and learning in veterinary practices; then ultimately to make recommendations for IPE. METHOD: Two case studies in typical but contrasting practices were conducted. The study consisted of three sequential and complementary weeks: 1) observing the whole team, 2) shadowing selected focus individuals from each profession and 3) interviewing focus individuals regarding teamwork. Triangulation was achieved by synthesis of emergent themes from observational field notes and interview transcripts. DISCUSSION: Facilitators to interprofessional practices included hierarchy, trust and value, different perspectives, formal infrastructure and professionalization. Challenges included hierarchy, spatial and temporal work patterns, professional motivations, and error and blame. CONCLUSION: The veterinary and human health care fields face similar interprofessional challenges. Real life observations, as described here, can provide important insight relevant to the design of IPE initiatives

Exposing the ‘Olympic family’: a review of progress towards understanding risk factors for sexual victimisation in sport

Sport organisations, including the Olympic movement, frequently invoke the concept of ‘family’ to describe their allegedly close and supportive social systems. However, the family metaphor backfires when sexual exploitation in sport is uncovered. Media coverage of high profile cases of sexual abuse against athletes by their coaches has prompted recent policy responses in the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands and Australia but, relative to clinical and therapeutic settings, academic research into sexual exploitation in sport is only in its infancy. This paper reviews the empirical and theoretical advances in sport-based sexual abuse research, contrasting these with ‘mainstream’ data and theories. It examines whether elite sport, as a surrogate family setting for the talented young athlete, might be a distinctive location for sexual exploitation