1,720,959 research outputs found
Finding the ‘action’ in feminist participatory action research
No full textAlthough feminist researchers have increasingly called for participatory and action-oriented research, there have been few analyses of the diverse actions that can occur. We theorized the actions considered and implemented in a feminist participatory action research project (FPAR). For three years we collaborated intensively with a group of diverse women on low income who were involved in a FPAR project designed to reduce social isolation and other self-identified health problems. Our data set included tape recordings of 32 one-on-one interviews, 15 research meetings, and extensive fieldnotes. Our findings indicated that actions occurred on both individual and collective levels; some had been enacted prior to the project and were shared to promote ongoing or new actions, while others arose as a consequence of the women's involvement in the project. Additionally, some actions were implemented and actualized while others, though discussed at length, remained hopes for the future. While the research participants reported the benefits of being involved in such projects, they also spoke of the potential risks. Our findings revealed the complexities of taking action in FPAR and highlight important considerations for others wishing to engage in this type of research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]Peer reviewedFinal article published.women's healthindividual and collective actionfeminismfeminist participatory action researc
An Assessment Strategy for the UFV Library: Faculty Sabbatical Leave Report for the Period January 1 - April 30, 2017
Get PDFEXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This project advocates the development of library assessment as a key function of the UFV Library.
The underlying premise of this project is that assessment in libraries is a good and necessary thing. Four primary arguments - accountability, benchmarking, professional values, and, perhaps the most compelling, communicating value – outline the rationale behind this assertion.
Assessment in academic libraries has matured to the point where it has become an area of specialization; libraries have developed programs of library assessment and position titles of the librarians and staff engaged primarily in assessment work reflect that emphasis. The literature on assessment is rich and can be categorized across a number of themes: assessment climate and culture; collections; student learning; methods; organizational performance; services; space; user experience and usability; and value.
UFV’s strategic framework offers additional context for an assessment program within its library. Site visits to UBC Okanagan, Thompson Rivers University, and (virtually) Capilano University offer insight into how we might develop such a program. A survey of assessment activities in the UFV Library rounds out the environmental scan.
There are a range of technologies, tools, and systems that support assessment work; this project explored four of them, largely because they were readily available: BlueCloud Analytics, a product provided by SirsiDynix and designed to analyze data from our integrated library system; Tableau, data visualization software; Dedoose, web-based software for analyzing qualitative data; and LibInsight, a system for consolidating and analyzing library data.
Finally, this project offers a plan of action for establishing a program of library assessment as we move forward with strategic planning.
Keywords: library assessment; academic library value; library impact; outcomes; library collections; library services; library operations; library facilities; assessment strategy; strategic planning; data analytics; data audit; environmental scan; library metricsSabbatical reportlibrary assessmentacademic library valuelibrary impactoutcomeslibrary collectionslibrary serviceslibrary operationslibrary facilitiesassessment strategystrategic planningdata analyticsdata auditenvironmental scanlibrary metric
A full measure: Towards a comprehensive model for the measurement of women’s health
No full textCurrently, the determinants of health perspective conceptualizes women’s health as a complex mix of social, political, economic and biological factors. Measurements of women’s health have typically relied on a biomedical model, viewing health as independent from the social environment. This gap between health determinants conceptualizations and the measurements of health affects research, policy and practice in the early 21st century. When applied to women’s health, standard mea- surements often result in oversights, errors, inconsistencies and simpli- fications. Critical social justice agendas, compatible with determinants discourse, are consequently unable to meet the increasing demand for accountability and evidence-based research, policy and practice. The purpose of this paper is to examine this gap between conceptualizations and measurements of women’s health and suggest ways to advance measurements.
Four questions frame this discussion: (1) How have health researchers conceptualized women’s health? (2) How have health researchers measured women’s health? (3) How can the social determinants of health perspective, specifically focusing on gender, advance both conceptualizations and measurements? (4) What are the implications for research in women’s health? -- From publisher description.bookPublishe
Advancing women's social justice agendas: a feminist action research framework
Get PDFFeminist action research is a promising, though under-developed, research approach for advancing women's health and social justice agendas. In this article the foundations, principles, dimensions, promises, and challenges of engaging in feminist action research are explored.Final article published.feminismwomen's healthparticipatory researc
Seduction and enlightenment in feminist action research
No full textFor my research purposes, I conceptualized FAR as a framework that blended feminist theory with participatory action research in order to make women central in my work. Since FAR espouses collaboration between "marginalized" women, service providers concerned about their welfare, and researchers, I assumed there would be a sense of collaboration, empowerment and trust among the research participants that would lead to emancipatory change. Since the women involved with the YWCA differed considerably both in the meanings they brought to their participation and of themselves as women, service provision needs to be sensitive to these differences based on class, age, race, ethnicity, lifestyle choices and privilege. Due to the organizational constraints, I was never able to fully challenge the label of the traditional researcher and was instead allied with the service providers who had rarely before challenged their own power base. Since the pre-employment training program caters to three different groups of women in a single year, establishing a trusting and collaborative relationship with the research participants was hindered. [...]Tom (1996) states that, ...if we do not make a conscious commitment to emergent and changing research design, we run the risk that collaborative-looking actions will be mistaken for genuine collaboration with the consequence that opportunities for collaboration will be missed.Peer reviewedFinal article publishe
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Confronting two-tiered community recreation and poor women's exclusion: Promoting inclusion, health and social justice
No full textThe social, psychological, and physical health benefits of participation in physical activity and other forms of recreation are well documented (Frankish, Milligan and Reid; Sallis and Owen; Reid and Dyck), and evidence suggests that low-income women view access to community recreation as an important dimension of their health and their communities (Weber; Frisby and Hoeber). Although many community recreation departments in Canada have a social mandate of providing services to all citizens to promote health and well being, consistent barriers to regular involvement persist for those who live on the margins and are unable to conform to dominant expectations inherent in modern forms of public recreation (Frisby, Crawford and Dorer; Lyons and Langille;Harvey). With its individualist ideology, classist notions of self-responsibility, and fees for service, we argue that community recreation has become a two-tiered system where only those with sufficient social, cultural, and financial resources can participate (Kidd). Consequently, insufficient subsidies, policies requiring "proof of poverty," and discrimina- tory practices exclude poor women from being actively involved in health-promoting forms of community recreation.
The purposes of this paper are: i) to examine how low-income women see involvement in community recreation contributing to their health, and ii) to examine low-income women's experiences with exclusionary community recreation policies and practices. Hearing the voices of those who are marginalized from the knowledge production and policy development process is important when considering how public sector programs, policies, and practices can become more inclusive (Lord and Hutchison; Frisby and Hoeber). Through fostering inclusion rather than classist forms of service delivery, the community development and social justice mandates of many community recreation departments is advanced thus providing health-promoting resources for those living on the margins.Peer reviewedFinal article publishe
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
The 'f' word has everything to do with it: how feminist theories inform action research
No full textThis article considers how feminist theories have and can contribute to action research, while acknowledging some of the tensions that arise when applying and building feminist theories. While feminist theorizing undoubtedly occurs in some action research, whether it is named or not, the gap appears to be in linking local knowledge to existing theoretical frameworks. Feminist theories, even though they are always partial and contested, have acted as an intentional counter to dominant theories about human experiences and strategies for change. They prompt people to ask new questions and to see power dynamics and relationships that may otherwise be missed or misread. As a result, they have an important role to play in any action research with transformative intentions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)Peer reviewedFinal article published.teacher action researchintersectionalitygender inequalityfeminist theoriesfeminist participatory action researchcommunity-based health researc
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