Honest Reflection Research Articles

Recording the Personal: The Benefits in Maintaining Research Diaries for Documenting the Emotional and Practical Challenges of Fieldwork in Unfamiliar Settings

Through an analysis of personal research diaries maintained during a prolonged period spent working in Palestine, this article analyses the importance of maintaining research diaries when on fieldwork. The evidence produced stems from a content analysis of fieldwork diaries kept while researching commemorative events in the West Bank, Palestine, during a period of global uncertainty and at a time of much change in the region. In espousing the benefits of the fieldwork diary it is shown that diaries assume a more important role than acting as a mere logging device; they have the capacity to allow for personal reflection and to help with the development of strategic responses to the inevitable challenges one would expect to face when working far from the relative comfort of home. The research diary as a cathartic tool for researchers to record fears and shortcomings in their work is discussed and personal insights into some of the challenges this researcher faced when engaged in ethnographic work in Ramallah, Palestine are provided. In summarising the benefits of maintaining research diaries, the author, lamenting the lack of transparency in the literature to date on the practicalities of fieldwork, calls for more open and honest reflection on the challenges associated with conducting fieldwork, particularly that which takes place in volatile or unstable regions.

The Stone Girl (review)

Reviewed by: The Stone Girl Karen Coats Sheinmel, Alyssa B. The Stone Girl. Knopf, 2012. [224p]. Library ed. ISBN 978-0-375-97080-1 $19.99 Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-375-87080-4 $16.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-307-97462-4 $10.99 Reviewed from galleys Ad Gr. 7-10. Although Sethie gets straight As at her competitive girls' school in New York, she finds more satisfaction in smoking pot, having sex with Shaw, and keeping thin. When she meets one of Shaw's friends, Jane, the girls immediately bond, and Jane teaches Sethie to purge after eating, not realizing that Sethie has a bigger problem than the occasional pizza and chips binge. As Sethie's relationship with Shaw wanes, she steps up her efforts to lose weight, but when he comes clean about how he feels (or actually doesn't feel) about her, controlling her eating is all Sethie has left. The third-person narration is so densely focalized through Sethie's distorted view of things that it begins to feel claustrophobic; short, choppy sentences predominate, most of them starting with Sethie's name followed by a present tense verb, a style that becomes repetitive. Additionally, the lack of honest self-awareness and reflection renders Sethie's motivations a bit fuzzy: for a smart girl who craves control, she's quick to indulge in drugs, lies, and unprotected sex, and there is no textual revelation of why she prefers to take refuge in delusions. Her decision to get help is a rather quick turnaround; seems all she needed was a good talking-to from a sensible friend and a finally concerned mother to snap out of it. While unlike other treatments of anorexia and bulimia, this nevertheless touches on what is likely a more ordinary experience of girls who tell themselves lies until the truth becomes too insistent. Copyright © 2012 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Leadership Training for Postdoctoral Dental Students

Harvard School of Dental Medicine launched a course on leadership for its postdoctoral dental students in 2010 in order to introduce them to the art of leadership and the latest theories and principles regarding becoming a leader. Nine four-hour modules over a period of six months took the students on a journey of leadership self-exploration by building awareness of their capacity in core leadership skills; providing them with tools and frameworks for developing effective leadership skills; encouraging the immediate practice of core skills; creating space for honest reflection; and providing inspiration with guest lectures. A constant toggle between the present and their future as leaders was built into the course. In the student evaluations, the course received an overall rating of 4.71 (5=excellent), and the students reported an enhanced interest in all topic areas. They reported that the ability to build trust with others was the most beneficial skill for a dentist, while viewing advocacy skills as the least beneficial. All the students indicated an intention to continue developing their leadership skills. Through the course, the students developed an understanding of their leadership strengths and limitations through case studies, role-play, and self-reflection, as well as gaining an understanding of team dynamics and cultural perceptions in the context of dentistry.

Effect of nutritional condition on larval food requisition behavior in a subterranean termite Reticulitermes speratus (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae)

Although optimal investment theory would be similarly applicable to eusocial insects to maximize colony reproductive outputs, directly distinguishing an amount of investment in each larva should be a difficult task for workers because of the characteristics of group living. Thus, it is expected that workers adjust brood care by using a cue or signal conveying information of larval status. In termites, which are typical group of eusocial insects, there are nevertheless few direct observations on worker brood care and little is known about cues inducing worker feeding. I show here that a Japanese subterranean termite Reticulitermes speratus uses an overt food solicitation by larva, “pecking”, as a cue for worker feeding. Direct observations demonstrated that workers feed larvae in response to larval pecking. Furthermore, nutritional experiments showed that larvae exhibited pecking more frequently when their nutrient status is lower; hence, pecking may be an honest reflection of larval hunger status. These results indicate that workers can feed more starved larvae than less starved ones because pecking honestly reflects larval hunger state. That is, feeding in response to pecking should standardize the total amount of food intake of each larva and help a termite colony make worker investment efficient.

Honesty in critically reflective essays: an analysis of student practice

In health professional education, reflective practice is seen as a potential means for self-improvement from everyday clinical encounters. This study aims to examine the level of student honesty in critical reflection, and barriers and facilitators for students engaging in honest reflection. Third year physiotherapy students, completing summative reflective essays on clinical encounters using the modified Gibbs cycle, were invited to participate in an anonymous online survey. Student knowledge and beliefs about reflective practice, and disclosure of the truthfulness of their reflections, were assessed using a mixed method approach. A total of 34 students, from a maximum possible of 48 (71 %), participated in the study activities. A total of 68 % stated that they were at least 80 % truthful about their experiences. There was general student consensus that reflective practice was important for their growth as a clinician. Students questioned the belief that the reflection needed to be based on a factual experience. Reflective practice can be a valuable addition to the clinical education of health care professionals, although this value can be diminished through dishonest reflections if it is not carefully implemented. Student influences on honest reflection include; (1) the design of any assessment criteria, and (2) student knowledge and competency in applying critical reflection.

The Battlefield Health and Trauma Research Institute Scientific Ethics Committee

Abstract : The scientific enterprise is built on a foundation of trust. Society trusts that scientific research results are an honest and accurate reflection of a researcher s work. Researchers equally trust that their colleagues have gathered data carefully, have used appropriate analytic and statistical techniques, have reported their results accurately, and have treated the work of other researchers with respect. When this trust is misplaced and the professional standards of science are violated, researchers are not just personally affronted they feel that the base of their profession has been undermined. This would impact the relationship between science and society. This quotation is the opening paragraph of a guidebook published by the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine and eloquently depicts the central role that trust has in scientific investigation. Yet, newspapers periodically report instances in which scientists have acted unethically in their scientific practices. To cite a few recent examples: Joachim Boldt, a presumed leader in surgical resuscitation, is currently under investigation for fabrication of published scientific studies and performing research without Institutional Review Board approval. An investigation at Walter Reed Army Medical Center determined that Timothy Kuklo, an Army orthopedic surgeon, claimed other doctors as coauthors on an article, forging their signatures on submission forms, and may have overstated benefits of a product of a company for which he acted as a paid consultant. The article that launched the concern that the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine causes autism has recently been retracted by the editors of the noted British journal The Lancet following findings of fraudulent activity by the principal investigator, Andrew Wakefield.

Protein supplementation decreases courtship rate in the zebra finch

Much research has focused on the extent to which male ornaments and displays honestly reflect male quality or condition. While most ornaments are thought to be indicators of long-term condition, behavioural displays may be sensitive to short-term changes in condition. In the zebra finch, Taeniopygia guttata, male courtship rate has been suggested to be an honest reflection of male quality, yet experimental support for short-term condition dependence is limited. Captive zebra finches can be maintained on a seed-only diet, but dietary enrichment with high-protein food (hardboiled eggs) improves offspring growth, adult female fecundity and attractiveness. When given a choice, male zebra finches show a clear preference for such egg-supplemented seed mixture, presumably because of its greater richness in essential amino acids. Hence, we tested the hypothesis that male courtship rate can be increased by this nutritional enrichment. Contrary to our expectations, we found that this high-protein diet strongly reduced male courtship rate. We suggest two contrasting explanations for this counterintuitive finding. (1) The adult males’ preference for high-protein food might be maladaptive in captivity. Males may ingest too much protein, leading to reduced condition and courtship. (2) Nutritional enrichment may increase male condition, but courtship rate is not directly condition dependent. Instead, improved food quality might trigger a potentially adaptive shift in time allocation away from courtship and towards parental care. Follow-up studies will have to clarify whether this finding represents evidence for or against the condition dependence of courtship rate.

“Re-acculturation” through Community-Based Religious Education

Reflective engagement in reciprocal community partnerships holds tremendous potential for guiding members of congregations through the process of “re-acculturation.” One of the “best practices” named in research about community-engaged learning for undergraduates is “re-acculturation”—an ongoing process of critical reflection about one's own cultural formation and the cultural realities of people one encounters through community partnerships. Only through this kind of honest critical reflection can people develop friendships of true mutuality and reciprocity. Religious education should include biblical, ethical, and theological reflection, combined with historical and cultural research about ethnic, economic, and religious diversity in relation to particular congregation–community partnerships.

Risk management in clinical practice. Part 11. Oral surgery

Oral surgery is often an unpleasant experience for a patient and if managed inadequately can be a cause for complaint or a claim in negligence. A practitioner can reduce their risk of complaints, claims or even regulatory body investigations by following some straightforward risk management strategies. Effective communication skills deployed throughout the interaction with the patient, especially during the consent process, are a pre-requisite, as is a proper understanding of the law on consent. An honest reflection by the practitioner on their competence to carry out a procedure, considering their skills, the equipment and support available will result in fewer medico-legal cases. In this article, each stage of the patient's journey is discussed and risk management advice offered for a range of procedures that are regularly encountered in general dental practice.

The Men’s Group

Groupwork is a process of enquiry, discovery and action in which all participants are prepared to engage. It is a shared endeavour towards resolving problems or circumstances felt by participants to be both real and urgent. (Preston-Shoot, 2007, p.27). This is a reflective piece about my first fieldwork placement experience of establishing and running a therapeutic group. The work was based in a day-centre for clients with mainly mental health issues. The piece opens with an analysis of the theories used and effectively examines the first six weeks of a ‘Men’s Group’. The aim has been to include an honest reflection about what worked and what didn’t. As a first piece of groupwork, the Author feels it was an extremely valuable experience and one which he intends to build on in the future .

A Few Thoughts on the Elephant (and Donkey) in the (Class)room

In this article, the author discusses the implications of having strongly apparent political views in the public eye as a teacher or administrator. Ultimately, this article stresses the need to separate the private person from the authoritative persona in order to avoid stifling the students' independent growth and honest reflections on their own views.

A cost of reproduction in male Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua)

In many species, females are thought to base their choice of mate on quality, which males signal through displays and body ornamentation. One important question is whether these signals represent an honest reflection of quality so that they carry an intrinsic cost to the male. A considerable body of evidence has revealed complex mating behaviours in gadoid fish, such as Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua L., 1758), for which male reproductive success may be related to some form of female choice. However, if present, the cost of male signalling is not clear. To test the hypothesis that male behavioural displays are energetically costly, we quantified the number of displays initiated by males during spawning, and their corresponding mass loss, in two separate experiments. The number of displays was positively associated with mass loss in both experiments, suggesting that reproductive displays are costly to males; they also may be regarded as an honest signal of quality upon which females could base their choice of mate. To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate a cost of male reproductive behaviour in a broadcast-spawning fish.

Using a Qualitative Approach to Research to Build Trust Between a Non‐Aboriginal Researcher and Aboriginal Participants (Australia)

This article focuses on the qualitative methodologies employed in a research project developed in collaboration with Aboriginal advisors and gaining an in‐depth understanding of Aboriginal Victorian peoples’1 connection to their ancestral lands. It outlines why qualitative methodologies were used and highlights the ethical dimensions of working with Aboriginal Victorian communities. A research partnership was developed between Aboriginal Victorian communities and the non‐Aboriginal researcher and this process was emphasised because in the past Australian Indigenous people have been grossly exploited in health research. The methods of semi‐structured interviews and focus groups were used to gain a better understanding of this topic. The novel point of this article is that it provides an honest reflection of the benefits and limitations of this qualitative research process from the perspectives of a non‐Aboriginal researcher and an Aboriginal participant, when emphasis is placed on a collaborative approach. The paper outlines what a successful qualitative research project looks like in Victorian Aboriginal communities. This can be used as a blueprint not only for working with Aboriginal Victorian communities, who have been marginalised within Australian society, but may also be relevant to other culturally diverse communities throughout the world.

One Man's Plan: The Story of Gerald Melling's Tenure as Editor of New Zealand Architect, and some Implications Thereof

In late 1983 Gerald Melling replaced Gordon Moller as editor of the New Zealand Institute of Architects' journal, New Zealand Architect. The appointment of Melling was not contentious, Moller was stepping aside after a lengthy term, and while Melling brought less architectural experience to the job he added weight as a noted writer and editor. Melling edited New Zealand Architect for 11 issues, from No.4, 1983, through to issue No.2, 1986, and, as the NZIA might have expected, the first issues under Melling's influence displayed a far greater degree of creative and editorial urgency than had been the case previously. Yet, the end, when it came, was sharp, with Melling stepping down from the role in the aftermath of legal threats, and there are still rumours that the Institute abandoned its editorial association to the journal as a direct result of Melling's editorial control. This is not true, and this paper traces the circumstances of that myth. During Melling's supervision New Zealand Architect entered into a brief period of critical commentary in which New Zealand's buildings were viewed as a responsible to a wider public, and accountable to that audience through criticism. In his first editorial Melling wrote of the need for openness where architects get things right, and an honest reflection on where they get them wrong. Unfortunately the principle audience for New Zealand Architect, New Zealand's architects, did not always feel quite so happy about discussing their failures. Indeed, in one key instance they felt compelled to defend their work through legal channels. In his 1985 end-of-year Wellington BLAND Awards (Blatantly Limpwristed Acceptance of Nondescript Design) Melling erroneously named the architects responsible for the "Gross, overbearing, cheap and nasty" Control Data Building as Williams Developments. The architects, understandably perhaps, reacted immediately to what they perceived as a harmful association and demanded a retraction. One was offered, in the next issue, but it must be added that the sceptical tone of Melling's withdrawal, which involved reiterating his condemnation of the Control Data Building, was not helped by another mistaken attribution. The next issue, in which authorship was finally resolved, was to be Melling's last. Behind the print of the BLAND Awards was a flurry of threats, legal and otherwise, which called into attention the financial responsibility held by the NZIA in the advent of legitimate claims of slander being upheld, soon after Melling stepped down. This paper reviews the editorial content of New Zealand Architect immediately prior to, during the period of, and subsequent to Gerald Melling's dismissal as editor. Attention is given to the circumstances of his departure from, and the NZIA's subsequent dissolution of any legal relationship with the journal. I suggest that after Melling the journal's intellectual attention focused on the successful activities of architects and has not since seriously discussed wider issues regarding the social and public responsibilities of buildings, or architects. As Gerald Melling wrote in his first editorial, architects are seldom held to public account for their failures. Sadly, the Institute's response to one editor's attempt to rectify this oversight set its own journal on a course of social disengagement from which it has never been able to recover.

Transformative Multiculturalism and the Supervision of Social Studies Student Teachers: A Critical Look at One University Supervisor’s Approach

This collaborative study, conducted by two social studies teacher educators, examines how one university supervisor translates his theoretical commitment to transformative multiculturalism into his practice with student teachers. The value of this study is that it (1) illustrates the subtle nuances and applications of the transformative multicultural approach to social studies; (2) provides concrete examples of how a university supervisor, cooperating teacher, or mentor can coach a novice teacher to incorporate dimensions of transformative multiculturalism into his or her practice; and (3) explores some potential barriers to implementing a transformative multicultural perspective with pre-service and novice teachers through an honest reflection of where the university supervisor has fallen short of his professed commitment to transformative multiculturalism.

Lucinda Huffaker and the Hospitality of the Wabash Center

Abstract. As associate director and then director of the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion, Lucinda Huffaker has been a key factor in the Center's reputation for hospitality. The Center's work presupposes that reflection on teaching improves teaching and learning, and good reflection on one's teaching requires taking risks and making oneself vulnerable. Hospitality helps create a “safe space” that encourages such risks, even in the current inhospitable academic world, where factors like competitiveness and the increasing use of adjuncts make honest reflection on teaching difficult.

“How does the Cognitive Science of Religion Stack Up as a Big Theory, À La Hume?”

ion has proved invaluable. But one cannot infer from Chomsky's work, for example, that because our language performance depends on a language competence, that therefore the best model for understanding utterances is that we formulate representations of sentences and then use our will to make them public. And a full theory of language must complement Chomsky's generative theory with an account of the situ ation in which we speak and the meaning of utterances. Often we blurt things out. It is usually in the attempt to express in thought or writ ing that the ideas we are trying to bring out are clarified and shaped. Language competence is stored in individual minds, but language is irreducibly social. I am arguing that our gain in knowledge by abstract ing ritual competence from ritual performance does not justify the assumption that in action, including ritual action, what happens is that people read off their representations as blueprints that their actions put into play. Human agency requires more than competence. It is important to recall how young the cognitive science of religion is. It was launched in 1990 by Lawson and McCauley's book on ritual. Much of the empirical cognitive basis has been driven by the work of Justin Barrett, a psychologist, whose work only began to appear in 1996. It may, then, simply be too early for this approach to attempt a comprehensive theory of religion. That does not stop it from claiming to have done so (see Pascal Boyer's Religion Explained). Some of the grander claims for its achievements may be in danger of crowding out honest and hard reflections on the comprehensiveness of what has been done so far, reflections that will be the stimulus to further success. Theodore Vial, Iliff School of Theology 2201 S. University Blvd Denver, CO 80210

Privatised primary care on the agenda

Now that more is known about the future health agenda, I am beginning to wonder whether some of my previous comments have been a little… well, naive. I mentioned, for example, that following years of chaos and turbulence a government about to embark on its third term might be inclined to take a path of stability in health care. Yet, it is now clear that the health secretary, Patricia Hewitt, has no wish to see previous reform embedded, nor does she believe in investing in time for overworked staff to simply do what they are doing a little better and have much-wanted space for honest reflection.

Editorial

Editorial

So how do you feel about that? Assessing reflective practice

Despite a lack of evidence base, reflective practice remains a central feature of education for many professional groups. In addition, current trends in learning, teaching and assessing require a robust alignment between learning outcomes and assessed course work [Active Learning Higher Educat. 2 (2002) 145)]. Varied definitions of what it means to be a `reflective practitioner' and limited research make it difficult to know how and what to assess [Reflective Practice in Nursing, Blackwell Science]. Assessment of reflective practice frequently requires students to recount narratives about their practice and both formative feedback and assessment criteria make it clear that such narratives must demonstrate the students' application of appropriate and safe professional practice. This paper suggests that only three `stories' are legitimate and identifies these as `valedictory' `condemnatory' and `redemptive' This conclusion drawn is that the imperative to do well academically discourages students from engaging in honest and open reflection. This being the case, it may be argued that the assessment of reflective practice is a potential barrier to the personal growth and integrity that programmes are trying to nurture.