Critical Story Sharing as Communicative Action in Organisational Change

My PhD journey started with my research question: “How can digital storytelling support organisational change?” My research perspective was grounded in radical humanism. This led me to engage with others who were interested in social change because radical humanism sees organisational change as a change in the social relationships of people who share a common purpose, rather than seeing change from a structural perspective. Social change from a Habermasian critical theory perspective is built on relationships and communication that value equality, justice and freedom to participate in re-designing our organisations to meet the needs of the people they serve and the people who work for them. The goal is to create organisations and decision-making systems that are more humane, compassionate and innovative in order to be part of the solution to the challenges we face in the twenty-first century and support the common good. My research journey included being a participant in a story circle, working with others to capture the essence of the story I felt compelled to tell and to understand. I was holding one image that captured the essence of my story; my relationship with my brother and my fear of speaking about difference. Philip was 18 months older than I am. When we were in our late 20s he was diagnosed with AIDS. Before he died he asked me if I was afraid of him. My experience of participating in a digital storytelling workshop, where I was given time to creatively reflect on and work with familiar images, music and important stories was personally transformational. Our life experience leads us to the organisations that we chose to work for. The stories of our life experience and our ability to listen deeply and bear witness to others, gives us the power to participate in the transformation of our organisations guided by our shared values for the common good. I was influenced by Laughlin’s (1991) application of Habermasian critical theory to models of organisational transitions and transformations. He captured the essence of first order change through models of rebuttal and reorientation; and second order change through models of colonisation and evolution. I was further influenced by Laughlin’s (1995) and Broadbent and Laughlin’s (2008) middle range thinking approach to research that supports partial general empirical patterns providing skeletal theory including: a structured role for the observer’s engagement; critical discursive analysis; qualitative data narrative and; the use of documents, interviews and observation in data collection methods. A skeletal theory is used to frame empirical observations before entering the field (Laughlin, 1995) and used to guide thinking, communication and change. I used a critical-emancipatory action research approach (Duberley & Johnson, 2009) to contextualise digital storytelling theory in practice. My life’s experience, both in my personal life and my business activities, led me to introduce digital storytelling into a local women’s wellness charitable company where I continued my research journey by facilitating others to share their stories. The women who worked for the organisation and volunteered to participate in the pilot were given the opportunity to listen deeply and share deeper. Their lived experience gave them their natural authority to contribute to the shared story of Women’s Wellness in New Zealand. This pilot helped me to identify and understand issues that arise when implementing digital storytelling in an organisational context and was a springboard to induct my Digital Storytelling Intervention (DSI) skeletal theory from the literature. My DSI skeletal theory had mediation, the ability to resolve difference, at the heart of digital storytelling, organisational storytelling and organisational change. This supported communicative action, the ability to communicate openly in plain language in order to reach a shared understanding, create new knowledge and agree on action, within a community of practice that leads to changes in individual practice, group practice and ultimately to organisational change. When I reviewed the literature, I uncovered a gap in the application of critical theory to organisational story and storytelling. The next step in my research journey was to interview organisational and digital storytelling practitioners to learn from their experiences. I interviewed a diverse range of twenty practitioners; from leaders in their field to new and emerging practitioners and researchers. This supported me to compare, contrast and critique existing methods of digital storytelling practice within the context of my skeletal theory. I used my DSI skeletal theory as a structure to present my findings as four case studies and make sense of other practitioners’ experience. The insights I gained helped me to develop and refine DSI into Critical Story Sharing (CSS) skeletal theory which focuses on the use of all forms and modes of critical story sharing in a larger conversation to support action and change. CSS is about having a personal connection and lived experience to share with others who face the same challenge; for example the state of the health care system. It is about listening and bearing witness to others who have contradictory experience and insights so that we can work together to resolve our differences and create new knowledge and agree on new action because we can change the system and change organisations to better meet our shared needs. CSS can be seen as a journey from personal transformation, to changes in shared practice to critically mediated organisational change. I then did a cross case comparison where the case studies were mapped to: sociological paradigms (Burrell & Morgan, 1979); communication approaches (Deetz & McClellan, 2009); change models (Laughlin, 1991); engagement typology (Kellerman, 2007) and my CSS skeletal theory. Finally I used my CSS skeletal theory as a structure to present alternative anecdotes from the field to amplify its meaning. CSS was developed through an iterative process of reflection on both theory and practice. My thesis contributes CSS skeletal theory as a guide to support a diverse group of people to participate in organisational change. The case studies flesh out all four of Laughlin’s (1991) organisational change models. My thesis also contributes to the third generation of critical theorists who focus on the role of lived experience in the process of transformation (Scherer, 2009). Critical story sharing captures the essence of lived experience which can be used as a catalyst in a dialectical conversation to transform thinking, improve communication and prompt action toward the common good. CSS skeletal theory is based on the values of equity of voice, freedom to participate and justice to support the common good. The transformational process of mediation develops partnerships based on trust, compassion and respect in order to humanise the work place and re-design systems to meet the needs of the people who use them. CSS skeletal theory can guide diverse decision-making, support social creativity and innovative practice to address twenty-first century business challenges. I ended my research journey back in a story circle mediating difference between practitioners’ experience in order to contribute to our shared discipline and start the next cycle in our dialectical discussion. My lived experience, my relationship with my brother and my research journey taught me to listen deeply and share deeper in order to resolve difference. It is my hope that CSS skeletal theory will allow others to use critical story sharing to help co-create a world that we want to live, learn and work in

Intra-individual reaction time variability in sustained attention

PhD ThesisBACKGROUND: Sustained attention, assessed using the Continuous Performance Test (CPT), is impaired in ‘normal’ ageing and, to a greater degree, in a number of clinical disorders. There are many variants of the CPT, each with different task parameters (e.g., target frequency), and theoretical cognitive demands (e.g., executive functioning). It is unclear how the associated cognitive load of CPTs contributes to measures of attentional impairment, such as intra-individual variability (IIV) in reaction time (RT). There is potential clinical utility in measures of IIV, due to its relationship with increasing age, and brain white matter. Variability can be modelled using the ex-Gaussian distribution, and consists of three parameters: mu (mean RT), and IIV, decomposed into variability across the entire RT distribution (sigma), and characterised by infrequent and long RTs (tau). This thesis aims to examine how the multiple cognitive demands of CPTs contributes to attentional RT/IIV, and how this relationship interacts with age, as well as pathology. The thesis aims are explored in healthy and clinical populations characterised by sustained attention impairment associated with increasing age (‘normal’ ageing and Parkinson’s disease (PD)), or in theoretical ‘accelerated ageing’ (Bipolar disorder (BD) while depressed and in remission). METHODS: Sustained attention was assessed in five cross-sectional studies, using variants of the CPT. Secondary neuropsychological measures of executive functioning, processing speed, and verbal memory were administered. Ex-Gaussian distributional parameters (mu, sigma, and tau) obtained from CPT RTs were analysed. A series of hierarchical regression analyses were examined. RESULTS: (1) In ‘normal’ ageing, better performance on the secondary neuropsychological measures was associated with faster RT (mu) and more consistent responding (sigma, tau), but this varied across CPT. Similar results were obtained for the effect of age on RT and IIV. (2) In PD, better executive functioning was associated with consistent responding (tau), whilst age was associated with slower (mu) and inconsistent (tau) responding. (3) In BD (while depressed), better executive functioning was associated with slower responding (mu), and better processing speed with consistent responding (tau), whilst age did not explain variance in RT or IIV. (4) In BD (in remission), the secondary neuropsychological measures examined did not explain variance in RT or IIV, nor did age. vi CONCLUSIONS: Attentional RT and IIV in ‘normal’ ageing and in clinical populations such as PD and BD, may be supported by secondary neuropsychological processes theorised to be involved in CPT variants. The neuropsychological profile underpinning attentional RT and IIV may reflect secondary cognitive scaffolding mechanisms, engaged depending on the age of participants, rather than the cognitive load of the task per se. The results have implications for our understanding of attentional RT and IIV in ‘normal’ ageing and pathology. Future research would further our understanding on the use of cognitive scaffolding in relation to the CPT, as well as the stability, reliability, and neurobiological origins of RT and IIV

O impacto adverso do isolamento racial no desempenho dos alunos: um estudo na Carolina do Norte.

This study examines the impact of racial isolation on high school student performance in North Carolina, a state in the southeast United States. Our research goal is to investigate if increased isolation negatively impacts Black students’ academic performance. Employing the North Carolina State Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) dataset, we test for this using Algebra I and English I scores on End-of-Course exams for ninth graders (N = 134,646) during the 2007-2008 school year. We control for student-level characteristics, such as race and ethnicity, economic disadvantage (eligibility for free and reduced-price lunch), and designation as gifted. We also analyze the effect of school-level characteristics, such as teacher experience, teacher training (advanced degree), teacher accreditation (fully licensed), and the percentage of students who were Black or Latino. Our results suggest racial isolation adversely impacts student performance on Algebra I by as much as three points. With our restricted hierarchical dataset and multi-level modeling, we (a) contribute to the growing body of literature, which finds a negative association between racial isolation/segregation and student performance, and (b) find teacher attributes can moderate some of the adverse student outcomes.Este estudio examina el impacto del aislamiento racial en el desempeño de estudiantes de escuelas secundarias en Carolina del Norte, un estado en el sureste de Estados Unidos. Nuestra objetivo de investigación fue investigar si el mayor aislamiento repercute negativamente en  el rendimiento académico de los estudiantes negros. Empleando datos del Departamento de Instrucción Pública del Estado de Carolina del Norte ( NCDPI ) de puntuaciones Álgebra I y Inglés I en exámenes de Fin de Curso para estudiantes de noveno grado (N = 134.646 ) durante el año escolar 2007-2008. Controlando las características a nivel estudiantil, como raza y origen étnico, desventaja económica (la elegibilidad para programas de almuerzo gratis o a precio reducido), y su designación como intelectualmente dotado. También se analizó el efecto de las características a nivel de la escuela, como experiencia docente, formación del profesorado (título avanzado), la acreditación del profesorado (con licencia), y el porcentaje de estudiantes Negros o Latinos. Nuestros resultados sugieren que el aislamiento racial afecta negativamente en hasta tres puntos el desempeño estudiantil en Algebra I. Con nuestra base de datos jerárquica y modelización multinivel, contribuimos al creciente cuerpo de literatura que ( a) encuentra una asociación negativa entre el aislamiento racial segregación y rendimiento de los estudiantes, y (b ) que ciertos atributos de los docentes pueden moderar algunos de los resultados adversos en los estudiantes.O presente estudo analisa o impacto do isolamento racial no desempenho de estudantes de ensino médio na Carolina do Norte, um estado no sudeste dos Estados Unidos. Nosso objetivo de pesquisa foi investigar se o aumento do isolamento afeta negativamente o desempenho acadêmico dos estudantes negros. Utilizamos dados do Departamento de Instrução Pública da Carolina do Norte ( NCDPI ) das avaliações de Álgebra I e Inglês I em exames de Fim de do curso para os calouros (N = 134.646 ) para o ano letivo de 2007-2008. Controlando pelas características de nível estudantil, tais como raça e etnia, desvantagem econômica (elegibilidade para os programas de almoço gratutitos ou de prezo reduzidos), e a designação como intelectualmente dotado. Também se controlo o efeito das características do nível da escola, tais como experiência de ensino , formação de professores ( nível avançado) , credenciamento de professor (licenciado ), e o percentual de estudantes negros ou latinos também foi analisada. Nossos resultados sugerem que o isolamento racial afeta negativamente até em três pontos o desempenho dos alunos em Álgebra I. Com o nosso banco de dados hierárquico e modelagem multinível, contribuímos para o crescente corpo de literatura indicando que (a) a uma associação negativa entre a segregação racial e isolamento no desempenho do aluno, e ( b) que certos atributos dos professores podem moderar alguns dos resultados adversos para os alunos

Montaigne et Shakespeare : rencontres au féminin

Je propose une lecture de nos auteurs axée sur les portraits de femmes mariées dont la vie (ou plutôt la mort) imite l’héroïsme stoïque de leurs maris ; sur les femmes adultères moulées sur le patron des grandes séductrices, Vénus et autres ; et sur le mariage vu comme symbole de la concordance entre parties opposées qui sera le grand thème des dernières œuvres des deux écrivains. Pour que ces comparaisons ne semblent qu’un catalogue de rencontres fortuites, je découvrirai le fonds de culture commun où nos deux auteurs ont puisé, la littérature gréco-romaine et les formes d’expression façonnées par l’enseignement rhétorique, pour montrer finalement comment une même mentalité se trouve à l’origine de quelques analogies entre les visions en apparence si personnelles qui seront les leurs au déclin de la vie.A survey of some aspects of the ‘feminine’, as it is constructed and explored in the work of our two authors. Topics to be broached: married woman imitating the heroic life-style (or death-style) of stoic husbands; adulterous women modelled on the Venus-type of the voluptuous female; marriage seen as a symbol of harmony between discordant parties (especially in the later works of the two writers). In order to make such comparisons seem other than merely accidental, the paper will consider them in the context of the classical culture and rhetorical theories of composition that our two writers had in common. At a deeper level of personal experience, it may be that both writers do discover a similar vision at the end of their writing careers, however different they are in important respects

Standards for Extending Extra-Territorial Jurisdiction: Written in Black and White?

The following article examines the public outcry surrounding one town’s attempt to establish an extra-territorial jurisdiction (ETJ). Most towns easily establish ETJs with little or no resistance. In contrast, when the predominantly minority Town of Green Level attempted to use this common planning tool, it faced inordinately strong and negative public resistance. The author addresses each of the arguments made by members of the public against Green Level’s proposed ETJ, and finds that each argument is unfounded. In the end, she finds, the only difference between the Town of Green Level and its neighbors, who were allowed to extend ETJs, is that of racial composition

Characterisation of the Auxin Signalling Pathway in Vitis vinifera L. cv. Shiraz

Auxin is a key regulator of plant growth, mechanistically controlled by a finely tuned transcriptional system. The auxin signalling pathway consists of the transcription factors, auxin response factors (ARFs), the transcriptional repressors, auxin/indole-3-acetic acid (Aux/IAAs), and the transport inhibitor response 1/auxin signalling F-box (TIR1/AFB) proteins that form a co-receptor complex with the Aux/IAA proteins. These proteins modulate the plant’s response to auxin, mediating a myriad of downstream responses. Auxin is involved in most, or all, developmental processes and in responses to environmental cues. It has been found to be a repressor of ripening in grapes, and a decrease in berry auxin concentration is required to allow the initiation of ripening. To investigate the role of the auxin signalling pathway in grape, 19 VviARF transcription factors, 23 VviIAA repressors and six VviAFB receptor family members were identified in Vitis vinifera sp. The conserved domains were analysed in each group of proteins and their presence or absence related to possible function. Phylogenetic trees demonstrated the relationship of the Vvi genes with apple, Arabidopsis, poplar, and tomato family members, some of which have proven function in fruit development. Expression analysis across a 16 week V. vinifera L. cv. Shiraz berry developmental series suggested that 39 of the 48 auxin signalling transcripts were highly expressed pre-veraison (before the onset of ripening) and were down-regulated from veraison and throughout berry ripening, correlating with the high concentration of auxin pre-veraison. The varied expression patterns of these genes suggest participation in a range of developmental processes at different stages during development. The change in expression of a large proportion (39 of 48) of auxin signalling genes at veraison indicates that it is a key change-point in berry development. Those genes expressed early in development may play roles in cell division and cell expansion. Two VviARF transcripts, VviARF27 and 2b, and five VviIAA transcripts, VviIAA15b, 19, 31, 38 and 40, were highly up-regulated post-veraison suggesting that they may play roles in fruit ripening. ARF proteins have also been found to play roles in fruit ripening through interactions with other proteins such as MYBs and bHLHs. The expression patterns of the 48 auxin signalling genes in a nine stage leaf developmental series could be clustered into 12 groups. Interestingly, very few auxin signalling pathway genes were expressed in leaves with a pattern that correlated to the pattern of IAA or IAA-Asp accumulation. Various transcripts had high transcript expression in flowers, roots and/or tendrils again suggesting a diversity in the roles these genes play. Yeast 2-hybrid and bimolecular fluorescence techniques showed that VviARF4-VviIAA19, VviARF27- VviIAA19 and VviARF27-VviIAA27 protein pairs interact and have nuclear localisation. The ARF activator, VviARF27, and VviIAA19 have overlapping expression patterns, in post-veraison berries and flowers, suggesting the interaction between these two proteins may occur in planta and play a role in flowering and berry ripening. From their expression patterns, VviARF4 and VviIAA19 may interact in tendrils, and VvARF27 and VviIAA27 may interact in flowers. Ex planta berry treatments suggested that auxin and ethylene/abscisic acid (ABA) have antagonistic effects on the auxin signalling pathway in grape berries. Auxin treatment up-regulated VviIAA transcripts pre- and post-veraison whilst the enhancers of ripening, ethylene, in the form of Ethrel, and ABA, down-regulated some auxin signalling transcripts, both pre- and post-veraison. ABA may play an important role in ripening by switching off the vegetative pathways pre-veraison, such as photosynthesis, while ethylene enhances ripening factors post-veraison. A model explaining the role of auxin signalling during berry development is proposed where the majority of VviARF and VviIAA proteins function during pre-veraison berry development, when the levels of IAA are high. These are switched off towards veraison, and allow the transition to ripening. During fruit ripening, a select number of VviARF and VviIAA proteins may interact to affect the ripening process – potentially through interactions with other protein families. ABA may down-regulate the auxin signalling pathway pre-veraison, and ethylene down-regulates some members of the pathway post-veraison. These findings support the existence of a fruit specific, complex hormonal network that works in concert to modulate and ensure grape berry growth and ripening. This research represents the most in-depth analysis of the auxin signalling pathway components in V. vinifera to date and highlights the pleiotropic roles the candidates play throughout plant development. These findings may aid in the development of strategies to manipulate berry ripening and identifies areas for future research.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, 201

Non-invasive evaluation of pulmonary glutathione in the exhaled breath condensate of otherwise healthy alcoholics

SummaryBackgroundChronic alcoholism is associated with an elevated risk for pulmonary infection and a 3-fold chance for incidence and mortality of acute respiratory distress syndrome with critical injury. Limited sampling of the alveolar lining fluid has restricted clinical studies of the role of glutathione (GSH) redox balance in pulmonary function and diseased states. Non-invasive sampling in the exhaled breath condensate (EBC) to monitor alveolar GSH would facilitate research in pulmonary oxidative stress.MethodsEBC was collected from otherwise healthy subjects with and without a history of alcohol abuse. Reduced and oxidized EBC glutathione (GSH and GSSG, respectively), pH, and hydrogen peroxide were measured.ResultsGSH was statistically decreased in alcohol abusers only when normalized to protein (4.7nmol/mg protein [0.75, 11.4] vs. 13.4 [7.8, 26.4], p=0.03). In contrast, GSSG was significantly elevated in the EBC from alcohol abusers when compared to controls, 5.62 [0.45, 8.94] vs. 0.50nM [0.38, 0.80], p=0.03. Thus, a greater percentage was in the oxidized GSSG form when subjects abused alcohol (35.3% [11.8, 58.1] vs. 5.2 [3.6, 6.1], p<0.001). These concentrations represented a 40mV shift in GSH redox state towards a more oxidized state.ConclusionsProper sample preparation was essential to prevent GSH loss and artificial oxidation. The shift in redox potential or %GSSG, which were not affected by dilution, may serve as better markers of pulmonary oxidative stress. Furthermore, these data suggested that the oxidant stress observed in the lavage fluid of otherwise healthy alcoholics could be measured non-invasively in the EBC

Family history of non-communicable diseases and associations with weight and movement behaviours in Australian school-aged children: A prospective study

Objective: To assess differences in weight status and movement behaviour guideline compliance among children aged 5&ndash;12 years with and without a family history of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Design: Prospective. Setting and participants: Women born between 1973 and 1978 were recruited to the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women&rsquo;s Health (ALSWH) via the database of the Health Insurance Commission (now Medicare; Australia&rsquo;s universal health insurance scheme). In 2016&ndash;2017, women in that cohort were invited to participate in the Mothers and their Children&rsquo;s Health Study and reported on their three youngest children (aged &lt;13 years). Data from children aged 5&ndash;12 years (n=4416) were analysed. Measures: Mothers reported their children&rsquo;s height and weight, used to calculate body mass index (kg/m2), physical activity, screen time and sleep. In the 2015 ALSWH Survey, women reported diagnoses and family history of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and hypertension. Logistic regression models determined differences between outcomes for children with and without a family history of NCDs. Results: Boys with a family history of type 2 diabetes had 30% (95% CI: 0.51%&ndash;0.97%) and 43% lower odds (95%&thinsp;CI: 0.37%&ndash;0.88%) of meeting the sleep and combined guidelines, respectively, and 40% higher odds (95%&thinsp;CI: 1.01%&ndash; 1.95%) of being overweight/obese. Girls with a family history of hypertension had 27% lower odds (95%&thinsp;CI: 0.57%&ndash;0.93%) of meeting the screen time guidelines. No associations were observed for family history of heart disease. Conclusions: Children who have a family history of type 2 diabetes and hypertension may be at risk of poorer health behaviours from a young age. Mothers with a diagnosis or a family history of these NCDs may need additional support to help their children develop healthy movement behaviours and maintain healthy weight.</jats:sec