Reflexivity and Normative Change

Normative change programs - that is, programs that attempt to effect organisational change through altering employees’ beliefs, values, emotions and self-perceptions - have been heralded by some as the royal road to corporate ‘excellence’. Academic literature on the phenomenon, however, is pervaded by a sense of unease. Critics claim that these programs invade employees’ subjectivity, and erode their autonomy and capacity for critical thought. In this paper, I employ concepts from the work of George Herbert Mead and Rom Harré to explore the reflexive processes of managers subjected to a normative change program that was carried out in an Australian steel plant during the 1990s. Taking two supporters of change as my prime examples, I show how reflexive processes are manifested in the way managers talk about themselves - their private ‘real’ selves, their public personae and the relationship between these aspects of self. I conclude by examining how reflexivity is linked to autonomy and critical thinking, and argue that our academic unease about normative change may be explained by our own evaluations of the degree to which employees engage in the sorts of reflexive processes that we, as academics, value

Electronic Documentation in Residential Aged Care Facilities – A Review of the Literature on Organisational Issues and Early Findings on Initial Conditions from a Case Study

This paper discusses the theoretical rationale for an empirical study of organisational change arising from introduction of electronic nursing documentation in residential aged care facilities. The study draws on a processual view of organisational change, which is related to the theory of complex adaptive systems. First we review existing literature on electronic nursing documentation with an organisational focus to provide a context to help outline the research aims of the present study. Then we describe a method to explore the hierarchical nature of the work environment based on the sociological theory of Institutional Ethnography. Finally we use this approach to describe the differences in initial conditions between two different sites implementing the same software over the same timeframe. Results suggest that our method is sensitive enough to detect subtle but substantial differences in initial conditions between the two study sites

Doing Infrastructural Work: The Role of Boundary Objects in Health Information Infrastructure Projects

By their nature information infrastructures require the co-operation of a broad range of diverse stakeholders and interests in order emerge and evolve over-time. Boundary objects provide a means through which those from different social worlds can collaborate without having to reach a consensus in order to do so. In this article we explore the role of such objects, whose infrastructural properties have often been overlooked. We respond to calls to examine the different types of objects used to elicit feedback from potential users and other stakeholders in complex information system projects. Our focus is specifically on health information systems and in particular those involving the implementation of electronic record systems at a national or regional scale. Such projects are notoriously complex and are frequently marked by a diversity of intentions and lack of agreement. When attempted at a national scale at least, they typically fail to meet intended objectives and projects are often abandoned altogether. We suggest that understanding how different types of boundary object—repositories or ideal types—inhibit infrastructural development can assist in understanding these difficulties and point to ways of better supporting the generativity required for the infrastructuralisaton of complex information system

Family, Partner and Carer Intervention Manual for Personality Disorders

Families, partners and carers of persons with personality disorder experience significant distress and burden within this role (Bailey & Grenyer, 2013, 2014; Day, Bourke, Townsend, & Grenyer, 2018). Treatment guidelines now recommend supporting families and carers, including involving them in the treatment process to improve wellbeing and thereby assist them in effectively caregiving for the person with personality disorder. This manual has been designed to help services engage and work with families and carers of persons with personality disorder in a brief four session intervention that aims to provide information, support and strategies. This manual has been developed in accordance with the relational model advocated by the Project Air Strategy for Personality Disorders (see The Relational Model of Treatment in the Project Air Strategy Treatment Guidelines). The relational model involves an integrative and collaborative approach to personality disorders treatment, focussing not only on the person with personality disorder but also carers, health services and clinicians. In the relational treatment model, the person’s problems are seen as stemming from problematic and dysfunctional relationship patterns that have developed over time (Grenyer, 2012). These relationship patterns are considered both intrapersonal (how the person relates to themselves, including their feelings and thoughts) and interpersonal (how they relate to others). The relational model recognises that responsibility for effective relationships also rests with others involved in the person’s life. It is now recognised that a service system that works together in an integrated manner better supports people with personality disorders, rather than any sector working in isolation (Grenyer, 2014; Grenyer, Lewis, Fanaian, & Kotze, 2018). Therefore, clinicians, case managers, carers, youth workers, teachers, school counsellors and the broader community share a joint responsibility to respond effectively to the person in a way that is helpful and encouraging (Townsend, Gray, Lancaster, & Grenyer, 2018). Indeed, longitudinal research indicates that clinicians attitudes towards working with individuals with a personality disorder has improved, reflecting the hope and optimism of treatment providers and the wider community informed by over 27 years of evidence and treatment (Day, Hunt, Cortis-Jones, & Grenyer, 2018). Caring for and helping people with personality disorders is everyone\u27s business (Grenyer, Ng, Townsend, & Rao, 2017) and everyone can choose to adopt the key principles from the Project Air Strategy model. This manual was utilized in a randomized controlled trial that sought to provide education and support to carers of individuals with a personality disorder (Grenyer et al., 2018). Compared to waitlist control groups, participants reported improvements in their relationship with their relative with a personality disorder and improvements in family empowerment (reflecting carers ability to take an active role in supporting their relatives treatment). At a 12 month follow-up these improvements were maintained and carers also reported an improvement in their mental health and decreased levels of burden.https://ro.uow.edu.au/uowbooks/1025/thumbnail.jp

Using Virtual Reality Tools in Design and Technical Graphics Curricula: An Experience in Learning

This paper presents findings from a project for introducing virtual reality (VR) technology into design and technical graphics curricula.  In particular, findings are presented that show how the implementation of VR technology affected and changed pedagogical practices between instructors and students in classrooms at three educational institutions.  Classroom observations were obtained from a team of curriculum and instruction professors and graduate students, who provided feedback concerning use of VR technology in the classrooms.  Student surveys, both before and after using VR tools, and focus group interviews, were also conducted.  Quantitative and qualitative evaluation data was analyzed and used to plan for future use of VR technology.  Implementation findings provide insights into how to use VR technology in design and technical graphics education, which can help instructors to effectively introduce the new VR tools in their classrooms

The Social Licence for Research:Why care.data Ran Into Trouble

In this article we draw on the concept of a social licence to explain public concern at the introduction of care.data, a recent English initiative designed to extract data from primary care medical records for commissioning and other purposes, including research. The concept of a social licence describes how the expectations of society regarding some activities may go beyond compliance with the requirements of formal regulation; those who do not fulfil the conditions for the social licence (even if formally compliant) may experience ongoing challenge and contestation. Previous work suggests that people's cooperation with specific research studies depends on their perceptions that their participation is voluntary and is governed by values of reciprocity, non-exploitation and service of the public good. When these conditions are not seen to obtain, threats to the social licence for research may emerge. We propose that care.data failed to adequately secure a social licence because of: (i) defects in the warrants of trust provided for care.data, (ii) the implied rupture in the traditional role, expectations and duties of general practitioners, and (iii) uncertainty about the status of care.data as a public good. The concept of a social licence may be useful in explaining the specifics of care.data, and also in reinforcing the more general lesson for policy-makers that legal authority does not necessarily command social legitimacy

Using Virtual Reality Tools in Design and Technical Graphics Curricula: An Experience in Learning

This paper presents findings from a project for introducing virtual reality (VR) technology into design and technical graphics curricula.  In particular, findings are presented that show how the implementation of VR technology affected and changed pedagogical practices between instructors and students in classrooms at three educational institutions.  Classroom observations were obtained from a team of curriculum and instruction professors and graduate students, who provided feedback concerning use of VR technology in the classrooms.  Student surveys, both before and after using VR tools, and focus group interviews, were also conducted.  Quantitative and qualitative evaluation data was analyzed and used to plan for future use of VR technology.  Implementation findings provide insights into how to use VR technology in design and technical graphics education, which can help instructors to effectively introduce the new VR tools in their classrooms

Management by boundaries : Insights into the role of boundary objects in a community-based tourism development project

Community-based tourism development typically assumes co-operation between different stakeholder groups at the local level, and thus combines different types of knowledge. However, this does not imply that a consensus exists between the stakeholders in the first place. In this article, we present a potential conceptual tool, namely boundary objects that could support stakeholders from different knowledge communities in working jointly towards a common goal and generate commitment towards it. The literature concerning knowledge communities and boundary objects is used as a theoretical framework. A three-year community-based tourism development project comprises the data of the article, and is used as a case study to illustrate the role of different knowledge communities, and to analyse the selected boundary objects. The results illustrate the importance of proper design of boundary objects in community-based tourism development processes, and highlight the features of a successful boundary object in generating ownership feelings towards development activities. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe