A sociomaterial account of partnership, signatures and accountability in practice

Abstract: Professional work is often heralded as undergoing radical transformation. This paper focuses on partnership between health professionals and families as a specific instance of changes aimed at delivering shared responsibility and joint knowledge work. An ethnographic study of a residential child and family health services provides the empirical basis for a detailed examination of what is signed, by whom, and with what effects. I show how signing and signatures provide fertile starting points for sociomaterial analysis, a rich empirical reference point for what Nicolini calls zooming in on particular instances, and zooming out to understand their connections to other practices. Schatzki's practice theory is used as a theoret- ical basis, drawing also on Kemmis' notions of practice architectures and ecologies of practices to elaborate such connections. I trace how acts of signing and signatures as artefacts are produced through and reflect partnership, indeed pointing to significant changes in professional work. However I also show that wider ecologies of practices present architectures that challenge diffuse accountability and shared epistemic work

Transforming trajectories for disadvantaged young children: lessons from Tasmania’s Child and Family Centres

The early years influence children’s learning, wellbeing and health and continue to do so into adulthood. As a result, they constitute an effective target for intervention seeking to transform the trajectories of children affected by disadvantage. The complex, multi-faceted nature of disadvantage makes it a ‘wicked problem’ – one that defies simple solutions delivered through isolated initiatives or organisations. As a result, the need for integrated and place-based approaches across education, health and other domains is recognised. Tasmania’s Child and Family Centres exemplify such initiatives. Interviews were conducted with parents, volunteers and staff in three Centres, each located in communities affected by high levels of disadvantage. Analysis draws on cultural-historical theory to explore transformation resulting from expanding ways of making sense of the world and acting in it – i.e. learning. Evidence of significant change was found across three planes: children’s engagement in activities such as play; family practices, especially in interaction with children; and the communities in which children grow up. Integration and the place-based nature of the Child and Family Centres were found to be important in accomplishing these changes. However, these in themselves are not sufficient to address the wickedness of poor outcomes for disadvantaged children. Activities, practices and communities are shaped by, and shape one another, in dialectic relationships. Re-directing children’s trajectories in the early years benefits from approaches that work across each of these planes, and foster mutually enabling connections between them. The Child and Family Centres are achieving precisely this

Effective Strategies for Managing the Outsourcing of Information Technology

More than half of information technology (IT) outsourced projects fail, primarily due to a lack of effective management practices surrounding the outsourcing end-to-end process. Ineffective management of the IT outsourcing (ITO) process affects organizations in the form of higher than expected project costs, including greater vendor switching or reintegration costs, poor quality, and loss of profits. These effects indicate that some business leaders lack the strategies to effectively manage the ITO process. The purpose of this single-case study was to apply the transaction cost economics (TCE) theory to explore strategies 5 business professionals use to manage an ITO project in a financial services organization located in the Midwestern region of the United States. Participant selection was purposeful and was based on the integral role the participants play on the ITO project. Data collection occurred via face-to-face semistructured interviews with the participants and the review of company documents. Data were analyzed using inductive coding of phrases, word frequency searches, and theme interpretation. Three themes emerged: vendor governance and oversight, collaborative strategic partnership, and risk management strategies enabled effective management of ITO. Identifying and executing appropriate outsourcing strategies may contribute to social change by improving outsourcing infrastructure, which might support job creation; increasing standards of living, especially within emerging markets; and heightening awareness of different cultures, norms, and languages among people living in different regions around the world to establish commonalities and gain alignment with business practices

Conceptualising the PhD as preparing for academic practice in geography

© 2014, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht. This paper situates the geography PhD within the broader context of doctoral education. It addresses questions relating to the PhD as preparation for future academic work. Theoretical and practical ideas are woven through a discussion of the work of the Centre for Excellence in Preparing for Academic Practice, at the University of Oxford, UK. The Centre initiated wide-ranging reforms and has had lasting impacts, with a philosophy of remaining sensitive to disciplinary context. The paper argues that cultural historical activity theory is a useful lens for understanding challenges in contemporary doctoral education, and responses to them. Key concepts are outlined, and a worked example provided, drawing from the Centre’s work. Connections are made with relevant initiatives specific to geography

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

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

Epistemic Practices in Professional-Client Partnership Work

© 2018, Springer Nature B.V. Relational aspects of professional practice demand increasing attention in research on work and learning. However, little is known about how knowledge is enacted in practices where different people work together. Working in partnership with clients surfaces a number of epistemic demands, responses to which are poorly understood. This paper analyses two cases of nurses working with parents in support services for families with young children. The questions asked are: What epistemic practices are enacted when professionals work in partnership with clients? How do they generate distinct modes of partnership work? Findings show how professionals’ and clients’ knowledge is mobilised and made actionable through practices of diagnostic reasoning, recontextualising, testing and contesting knowledge claims. A distinction is presented between partnership that unfolds as strengthening the client from a professional epistemic perspective, and that which validates and augments the client’s own epistemic contribution. This reveals how knowledge is made to matter and becomes a basis for action in the course of working with others, and informs a new analytical distillation highlighting key epistemic aspects of professional-client partnership