I am a peacemaker:writing as a space for recontextualising children's identity in a Catholic First Communion preparation course

This article reports on research addressing the role of writing as a space for producing representations of children’s identity as Catholics in a First Communion preparation course. It draws on data from ethnographic participant-observation over one year in a Catholic parish in England, focusing on writing in the preparation sessions, taking a social practice approach to identity and literacy. The article argues that in this course, written texts are drawn on to provide spaces within which children produce written representations of aspects of their lives which reify their identities as Catholics. Analysis of the dataset demonstrates four ways in which particular kinds of identities were constructed through writing processes. Writing provided space for reframing aspects of children’s unique histories and identities within a faith-based perspective; representing children as active agents in the world; producing reifications of internal emotional states in linguistic form; and making relational connections between the children and their church, home and friendship communities. The article argues that the production of these reframings of children's identities requires multiple kinds of recontextualisations, and that writing provides a key means by which these are brought together

Using Ethnography and 'Real Lteracies' to Develop a Curriculum for English Literacy Teaching for Young Deaf Adults in India

RLOsThis paper reports on an international collaborative project working with deaf learners of English literacy (19–28 years old) in five locations in India: Indore; Vadadora; Comibatore; Pattambi; and Thrissur. Indian Sign Language (ISL) was the language of instruction. The project drew on a social practices view of literacy. Deaf peer tutors were trained in creating lessons using authentic materials: texts collected from students’ everyday lives. Tutors and students shared content via an online teaching resource. In the paper, the authors draw on notes from the training, tutor and student data, to clarify the strengths and challenges of this approach. Real literacies were used fruitfully, but authentic texts could be complex and grammar lessons were often unrelated to these texts. This challenged our assumptions about the applicability of the real literacies concept to pedagogy. Nevertheless, the study confirms the value of an approach that privileges ISL, peer tuition and online materials

The role of networked learning in academics’ writing

This article explores academics’ writing practices, focusing on the ways in which they use digital platforms in their processes of collaborative learning. It draws on interview data from a research project that has involved working closely with academics across different disciplines and institutions to explore their writing practices, understanding academic literacies as situated social practices. The article outlines the characteristics of academics’ ongoing professional learning, demonstrating the importance of collaborations on specific projects in generating learning in relation to using digital platforms and for sharing and collaborating on scholarly writing. A very wide range of digital platforms have been identified by these academics, enabling new kinds of collaboration across time and space on writing and research; but challenges around online learning are also identified, particularly the dangers of engaging in learning in public, the pressures of ‘always-on’-ness and the different values systems around publishing in different forums

Building malaria out: improving health in the home.

Malaria prevalence has halved in endemic Africa since 2000, largely driven by the concerted international control effort. To achieve the new global targets for malaria control and elimination by 2030, and to sustain elimination once achieved, additional vector control interventions are urgently needed to supplement long-lasting insecticide-treated nets and indoor residual spraying, which both rely on effective insecticides for optimal protection. Improving housing and the built environment is a promising strategy to address this need, with an expanding body of evidence that simple modifications to reduce house entry by malaria vectors, such as closing eaves and screening doors and windows, can help protect residents from malaria. However, numerous questions remain unanswered, from basic science relating to the optimal design of house improvements through to their translation into operational use. The Malaria Journal thematic series on 'housing and malaria' collates articles that contribute to the evidence base on approaches for improving housing to reduce domestic malaria transmission