Ghostwriting + Shadowwriting: constructing research texts that speak to women's lived experience

This paper discusses the methodological strategies of ghostwriting and shadowwriting in the context of a feminist research project about women design academics. Central to these strategies is the idea that the practice of research writing is a form of enquiry and thus researchers are textual practitioners. I will argue that as textual practices of research, ghostwriting and shadowwriting provide ways for researchers to acknowledge that research texts: are jointly constructed by researcher and participant; seek not truth, but to (re)present people's lived experiences; and through the act of writing, produce meaning, rather than discover reality. In these terms, as each research text produces one of many possible interpretations of participants' experiences, researchers are ethically responsible for their textual choices and practices. Ghostwriting and shadowwriting are proposed as two such possible strategies

Gender and discipline: design publication practices

Design writing began to appear in scholarly journals over thirty years ago, coinciding in Australia with the transition of design into universities. Concurrently, a significant increase of women in the field actuated feminist-informed 'women and design' writing, raising important questions about gendered practices. Yet these ideas are not taken up in broader literatures, while publication and citation rates demonstrate the dominance of men in discipline-building 'practices' (Green 2009). This paper argues that the problematically gendered interactions between women, design and scholarly writing are reproduced through the operation of certain scholarly practices. The argument is supported through an empirical audit and analysis of the publication histories of two key journals, conducted in conjunction with a feminist reading of the Australian ERA Indicator Descriptors (ARC, 2008) of research output. I suggest this reading has the potential to productively disrupt and reconceptualise the gendered relations between women, men and design scholarship

Gender and discipline: publication practices in design

Design research and writing began to appear in scholarly journals over 30 years ago, coinciding in Australia with the transition of Design education into universities. Concurrently, a significant increase in the number of women in what could be considered a male-dominated profession and emergent discipline actuated feminist-informed âwomen and Designâ writing. While this writing raised important questions about gender and Design, it is generally not cited in Design literatures that do not have a specifically feminist focus, and as this article will attest, publication and citation rates demonstrate the dominance of men in positions of influence in scholarly Design journals. This is particularly problematic for female Design academics and for the field in the current audit climate in universities, whereby state-funded research output is measured by citation analysis systems. Drawing on feminist and Foucauldian theorizations of power and knowledge, and supported by an empirical audit and analysis of gender distribution in publication in two scholarly Design journals, I argue first that scholarship as a form of social practice in new professional fields such as Design is complexly disciplined and problematically gendered. Second, I argue that further empirical research, and new and different kinds of feminist-informed writing that attend closely to issues of gender, is required to productively disrupt and reconceptualize Design scholarship as it is currently practiced

Doing Ethnography in Teams: A Case Study of Asymmetries in Collaborative Research

This uniquely in-depth book offers a blow-by-blow account of the sometimes problematic dynamics of conducting collaborative fieldwork in ethnography. Tracing the interplay between co-researchers at various points of contact in both professional and personal relations, the analysis draws out the asymmetries which can develop among team members nominally working towards the same ends. It details the often complex dialogues that evolve in an attempt to navigate conflicting interests, such as team members resistances to particular methodological `recipes or research protocols. The authors show that such debates can create an open forum to negotiate new practices. A key element of this publication is that it goes beyond an analysis of more traditional power relations in research teams comprising members at different academic pay grades. As well as drawing attention to gender-related dynamics in research collaborations, the authors use themselves as an exemplar to demonstrate how differences in age, experience, knowledge, professional skills and background can be exploited to generate positive outcomes constituting much more than the apparent sum of their parts. In doing so, the authors reveal the delightful, surprising and yet challenging aspects of research collaboration that are often absent from the qualitative literature

Professional pedagogies of parenting that build resilience through partnership with families at-risk: a cultural-historical approach

© 2016 Pedagogy, Culture & Society. The importance of pedagogic practices in addressing major social problems is increasingly acknowledged. This is especially so in areas of work not traditionally understood in pedagogic terms, such as services for vulnerable families with young children. Policy mandates for change in relationships between professionals and clients have challenged conventional notions of professional expertise, intensifying and expanding the pedagogic dimension of such work. This paper examines professional–parent interactions, adopting a cultural-historical approach focused on mediation, everyday and scientific concepts, and the space of reasons. Analysis reveals four distinct activities: locating and orienting change, creating new meaning for change, change through joint live action, and planning for change. Each involves different objects and ways in which professional expertise is brought to bear in pedagogic work. It is argued resilience-building works by helping parents learn to interpret and act in their worlds differently, using cultural tools from professional expertise made available through pedagogic work. The paper provides new insights into the importance of professional expertise in these practices at a time when this is in question

A pedagogical framework for facilitating parents’ learning in nurse–parent partnership

© 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Nursing work increasingly demands forms of expertise that complement specialist knowledge. In child and family nursing, this need arises when nurses work in partnership with parents of young children at risk. Partnership means working with parents in respectful, negotiated and empowering ways. Existing partnership literature emphasises communicative and relational skills, but this paper focuses on nurses’ capacities to facilitate parents’ learning. Referring to data from home visiting, day-stay and specialist toddler clinic services in Sydney, a pedagogical framework is presented. Analysis shows how nurses notice aspects of children, parents and parent–child interactions as a catalyst for building on parents’ strengths, enhancing guided chance or challenging unhelpful constructs. Prior research shows the latter can be a sticking point in partnership, but this paper reveals diverse ways in which challenges are folded into learning process that position parents as agents of positive change. Noticing is dependent on embodied and communicative expertise, conceptualised in terms of sensory and reported channels. The framework offers a new view of partnership as mind-expanding for the parent and specifies the nurse's role in facilitating this process

TOWARDS UNDERSTANDING THE DEVELOPMENT OF 21ST CENTURY CAPABILITIES: A SCOPING REVIEW OF CRITICAL THINKING

Abstract The learning and teaching of so-called general capabilities – including critical and creative thinking, problem solving, and ethical reasoning – is widely considered as problematic because of their detachment from a particular context of application. At the same time, an increasing employer demand across industries for such 21st century capabilities, specifically critical thinking, seemingly belies the lack of clarity around what is critical thinking and its relevance to a wide range of contexts, while articulating how it might develop and be assessed in distinct contexts. This begs the question: how might educators recognise, in generative ways, the learning and development of 21st century capabilities in their practice? This paper reports on a scoping review exploring the nature, application and influences of critical thinking in diverse professional and disciplinary practices. Key characteristics of critical thinking in action were distilled and are discussed here in relation to how they shape the design of resources and research probes that both support teachers and students in developing critical thinking in a range of contexts, and enable them to investigate how that development might be recognised, understood and tracked over time. Here, we explore the implications for developing critical thinking capabilities as applied in complex problem-solving situations. To do that, we contextualise our discussion within an innovative school-university research partnership designing transdisciplinary challenge projects to pilot how these 21st century capabilities can be developed and actioned for future practical contexts

Endangered Practices: Writing Feminist Research

Thisbrief sketch serves as a framing for the focus of this chapter, which is concerned with the conditions under which feminist research can be done in current times. This chapter is a co-production between a senior academic and two doctoral students, engaged in supervision and joint writing about feminist- scholarship. We aim to contribute to a discussion about the terms and conditions in which feminist research can be done in the university today, with a particular focus on the "practice disciplines"

Piloting a shared decision-making clinician training intervention in maternity care in Australia: A mixed methods study

Problem: Implementation of woman-centred care in evidence-based maternity practice requires clinicians to be skilled in shared decision-making, yet there is limited training or research into such interventions. Background: Shared decision-making enables women to make informed decisions in partnership with clinicians where there are varied clinical options in relation to indications for and timing of planned birth. Aim: We aimed to develop a shared decision-making training intervention and evaluate its feasibility and acceptability to midwives and obstetricians. Methods: The intervention was co-designed by midwifery and medical clinician-researchers, and a consumer representative. Online training and demonstration videos were distributed to midwives and obstetricians in three Sydney hospitals, followed by two online workshops in 2021 and 2022 where participants practised shared decision-making in roleplaying scenarios tailored to timing of birth. Training was evaluated using post-workshop and post-training surveys and semi-structured qualitative interviews. Findings: The training workshop format, duration and content were well received. Barriers to the uptake of shared decision-making were time, paternalistic practices and fear of repercussions of centring women in the decision-making process. Discussion: The intervention enabled midwifery and medical colleagues to learn communication repertoires from each other in woman-centred discussions around timing of birth. Roleplay scenarios enabled participants to observe and provide feedback on their colleagues’ shared decision-making practices, while providing a space for collective reflection on ways to promote, and mitigate barriers to, its implementation in practice. Conclusion: Shared decision-making training supports maternity clinicians in developing skills that implement woman-centred care in the timing of planned birth

The influence of Galactic aberration on precession parameters determined from VLBI observations

The influence of proper motions of sources due to Galactic aberration on precession models based on VLBI data is determined. Comparisons of the linear trends in the coordinates of the celestial pole obtained with and without taking into account Galactic aberration indicate that this effect can reach 20 $\mu$as per century, which is important for modern precession models. It is also shown that correcting for Galactic aberration influences the derived parameters of low-frequency nutation terms. It is therefore necessary to correct for Galactic aberration in the reduction of modern astrometric observations