Reflexive Process Research Articles

Climate services for agriculture: Steering towards inclusive innovation in Australian climate services design and delivery

CONTEXTClimate services are integral to climate change adaptation in agriculture. Inclusive innovation prioritises inclusion of marginalised actors, grassroots knowledge and accessibility of use. Yet many innovation processes are multi-stakeholder, complex and may not prioritise inclusion from the outset. In these circumstances, researchers and designers may seek to influence existing projects towards greater inclusivity. OBJECTIVESThis paper explores efforts to increase the inclusivity of existing innovation processes, focusing on the design of My Climate View, an online Australian climate services platform for agriculture. Findings relate to contemporary issues in inclusive innovation literature, including: (1) Who should be included in innovation processes (within given resourcing)?; (2) How requirements for inclusion or exclusion can emerge through the design and use of a technology; and (3) The influence of program level structures upon inclusivity and design. METHODSOur approach is informed by Responsible Innovation and Inclusive Innovation theory and enacted through user-centred design. Findings are synthesised from analysis of 60 semi-structured interviews with farmers, advisors and extension officers. We additionally draw on observations as researchers in the multi-actor My Climate View development team, where extensive engagement separate to research activities has included agricultural and Indigenous stakeholders. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONEngaging with a broad sample of potential target users enabled diverse and sometimes unexpected use cases. Customisation of interface parameters allowed the incorporation of tacit knowledge and positively affected the inclusivity of My Climate View, extending the value of the platform to growers of niche commodities outside of the original scope. Inclusivity in innovation can be impacted by diverse factors, including design team decisions, structural factors, budget and external factors. Requirements for inclusion and exclusion can emerge and evolve throughout a design process, supporting Responsible Innovation's framing of inclusivity alongside principles of reflexivity and responsiveness. SIGNIFICANCEThe findings enrich the evidence base for climate services and broader agricultural technology development processes by providing insights for those seeking greater impact by practicing inclusivity in innovation. We provide four implications for increasing inclusivity in the design of climate services: (1) Maximising customisation and avoiding prescriptive interpretation enables greater flexibility of use; (2) Sampling broadly within target users to uncover unanticipated values and opportunities for inclusion and exclusion; (3) It is important to embed efforts towards inclusion alongside processes of reflexivity; and (4) Responsible and inclusive approaches to climate services design are valuable even if brought in once development has commenced.

A qualitative evaluation of mentors’ experiences of a Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic mentor scheme for clinical psychologists

ABSTRACT Objectives Inequalities in the clinical psychology profession extend to the uptake and recruitment of clinical psychologists from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds. Mentoring schemes can help facilitate mentee’s personal and professional development. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of mentors who participated in the BAME mentor scheme at University of Bath. Methods Qualitative interviews were conducted with N = 29 mentors (both trainee and qualified clinical psychologists), who predominately identified as female and White British. The reflexive thematic analysis six-step process was employed to analyse the data. Results Four major themes were generated; (1) Mentoring as a learning curve; (2) Mentoring in the context of BAME; (3) Why we mentor: The impact; and (4) Moving the scheme forward: What next? Conclusions Overall, mentoring was a rewarding experience for mentors, and given the right support, could help strengthen the mentoring experience and aims of the scheme for the future. These findings offer insight and guidance for future mentoring programmes considering diversifying the clinical psychology profession.

Academic citizenship, together: Prioritising care and reflexivity in scholarly life

This essay explores dimensions of academic citizenship relating to collegiality and collectivity within academia. Building on notions of reflexivity and care, and from a starting point that highlights some of the problems of the conditions and nature of contemporary academic work, it offers a discussion of how scholars might define and interrogate values for relating to one another as colleagues. Though we focus on and discuss our own values and practices, we argue for the processual, unfinished nature of these. Academic citizenship is thus framed as a reflexive process that aims to create caring spaces within academia

Decentralising chronic disease management in sub-Saharan Africa: a protocol for the qualitative process evaluation of community-based integrated management of HIV, diabetes and hypertension in Tanzania and Uganda

IntroductionSub-Saharan Africa continues to experience a syndemic of HIV and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Vertical (stand-alone) HIV programming has provided high-quality care in the region, with almost 80% of people living...

From inside the head to putting it on the table – supporting reflexive decision-making for unpaid female carers considering higher education

ABSTRACT When unpaid female carers consider whether to pursue higher education (HE), they frequently experience decision-making uncertainties which stem from the structural and cultural challenges associated with their roles as carers. Reflexivity is a critical part of decision-making, as it empowers individuals to mediate between the present and future within the structural and cultural conditions which impact and guide their actions. To investigate the reflexive deliberation processes unpaid female carers engage in as part of their HE decision-making processes, this study analysed data from an in-depth, qualitative Australian study with 15 unpaid female carers who were considering higher education. Dialogic processes including narrative interviews and a card sort activity made visible the array of mental activities involved in reflexive decision-making by carers. Considering the more and less productive types of reflexive inner conversations which had been identified enabled participants to reflexively adjust the efficacy of some of their decision-making processes. This study contributes to the reflective and career counselling literature by theorising the cognitively and emotionally complex personal and structural demands of HE decision-making. By conceptualising reflexive decision-making anew, unpaid female carers and HE institutions can better identify and address the structural and cultural conditions which may be influencing their HE decision-making.

Flourishing on the Stage: Embodied Reflexivity and the Effacing of Work Boundaries in Contemporary Performing Arts

This article contributes to the debate on individualised and reflexive processes taking place in contemporary cultural work by considering Italian theatre actors’ experiences. Drawing on in-depth qualitative interviews, the analysis focuses on work as the affective and reflexive site where subjectivities are formed. Performing artists display an embodied reflexive stance in which disciplinary practices and self-care instances are configured as both dispositives of an entrepreneurial ethos of work and as reflexive self-affirmative processes. Recognizing the embodied and emotional experiences that tie theatre actors to their professional activities, the paper considers the reflexive circularity that takes place between subjective meanings, affects and embedded experiences of work. Within this ongoing interpretive circle, cultural work emerges as positioned beyond traditional boundaries of work.

A local perspective on internal, external, and reflexive biomarker testing processes for lung cancer in an academic medical center.

In a large academic medical center, processes for ordering and receiving biomarker testing to inform cancer treatment in non–small cell lung cancer varied by whether tests were conducted internally or externally. Lack of standardization in biomarker testing processes, despite the availability of electronic health record solutions, contributes to clinician burden and may increase risk of delays in receipt of testing results; therefore, efforts to streamline ordering processes may benefit health systems.

Parent Support for Physical Activity and Motor Skills During Early Childhood: A Mixed-Methods Application of the Multi-process Action Control Framework.

Promoting physical activity (PA) and fundamental movement skills (FMS) in early childhood is necessary to address the high rates of inactivity in children. Parent support is a determinant of PA in children, however, parental intentions to support are not always translated into behavior resulting in an intention-behavior gap. Positioned within the multi-process action control (M-PAC) framework, this study used an explanatory concurrent mixed-methods design to explore parents' intentions and support of PA and FMS during early childhood. Parents (N=124) of children aged 3-4 years completed an online survey consisting of items assessing reflective (e.g., attitudes), regulatory (e.g., planning), and reflexive (e.g., habit) processes of M-PAC and intentions and support for child PA and FMS. A subset of parents (n=20) completed a semi-structured online interview guided by the M-PAC framework. Significantly more parents intended to support PA (71%) compared with FMS (44%; p<0.001) and successfully translated intentions into action for PA (57%) compared with FMS (27%; p<0.001). Discriminant function analysis showed parent behavior profiles for PA and FMS support were associated with a combination of reflective, regulatory, and reflexive processes, however, these differed based on support behavior. Qualitative findings highlighted parents' differential views on PA and FMS support and contextualized the psychological processes associated with each. Parent PA support interventions during early childhood should include strategies for supporting FMS. Interventions should prioritize fostering a combination of reflective, regulatory, and reflexive behaviors to translate intentions to support PA and FMS into behavior among parents of young children.

The State of the Art in the Biophilic Construction of Healthy Spaces for People

Human beings need a connection to nature for their overall well-being, as highlighted by numerous publications. Housing is an extension of people’s lives. Confinement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of sustainability, longevity and the digital society are placing value on more sustainable and healthy construction for people’s well-being and quality of life. These premises motivate this study of the state of the art of biophilic design with a therapeutic and social approach. The main objective of this research is to investigate the evolution of the concept of biophilia in healthy buildings for people and the environment, analysing the current situation and identifying the main theories, models and applications. This research employs the six-step methodology for state-of-the-art analysis (SotA), using the process of reflexivity throughout this study. There are very few scientific studies that measure the positive impact of biophilic design on people’s well-being, and they tend to take the form of scientific discussion rather than evidence; this is their main limitation. Our recommendation is to identify new quantitative research on the biophilic impact on humans of healthy spaces in order to evaluate their effects.

Engaging in Reconciliation in Australia, and the Challenge of Institutional Reform

ABSTRACT The emphasis on reconciliation as a process of individual reflexivity and institutional reform raises important questions about people’s engagement in reconciliation discourses. This paper uses critical discourse analysis to examine how staff at a regional Australian university interpret reconciliation and its application in a workplace context. Many frame their understanding on ideas that are considered foundational to reconciliation in post-colonial Australia. Notions of relationships and coexistence, unity and social harmony, cultural respect and the rightful place of First Nations peoples form the foundation to a revisionist national identity tied to a critical examination and responsiveness to past injustice. Participants recombine and reorder these concepts in ways that speak to their individualised translation, with a greater emphasis on the agency of First Nations peoples in the learning and teaching environment. Such expressions indicate a willingness by respondents to engage in the ideas of reconciliation at the cognitive level. For many, however, reconciliation remains an aspirational or desired activity, and belies a reticence to take personal action that will contribute to wider institutional change.

Coping trajectories of intensive care nurses as second victims: A grounded theory

A qualitative study that provides evidence of the institutional support required by intensive care unit (ICU) nurses as second victims of adverse events (AEs). BackgroundThe phenomenon of second victims of AE in healthcare professionals can seriously impact professional confidence and contribute to the ongoing occurrence of AEs in hospitals. ObjectivesThe objective of this study was to describe the coping trajectories of second victims among nurses working in ICUs in public hospitals in Chile. MethodsConducting qualitative research through the grounded theory method, this study focused on high-complexity hospitals in Chile, using theoretical sampling. The participants consisted of 11 nurses working in ICUs. Techniques used included in-depth interviews conducted between March and May 2023, as well as a focus group interview. Analysis, following the grounded theory approach proposed by Strauss and Corbin, involved constant comparison of data. Open, axial, and selective coding were applied until theoretical data saturation was achieved. The study adhered to reliability and authenticity criteria, incorporating a reflexive process throughout the research. Ethical approval was obtained from the ethics committee, and the study adhered to the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research. ResultsFrom the interviews, 29 codes were identified, forming six categories: perception of support when facing an AE, perception of helplessness when facing an AE, initiators of AE, responses when facing an AE, professional responsibility, and perception of AE. The perception of support when facing an AE emerged as the main category, determining whether the outcome was stagnation or overcoming of the phenomenon after the AE. ConclusionsFor the coping process of ICU nurses following an AE, the most crucial factor is the support from colleagues and supervisors.

Beyond activity patterns: The complex process of activity management among individuals with chronic musculoskeletal pain after an orthopaedic trauma.

Individuals must change the way they perform activities in response to chronic pain. In the literature, three activity patterns are commonly described: avoidance, pacing, and persistence. Many studies have explored these activity patterns. However, little research has delved into the factors that lead people to adopt a particular activity behaviour. This study aimed to explore the relationship that people with chronic musculoskeletal pain have with activity and highlight the factors underlying their practices. The qualitative study was conducted by researchers in the social sciences, physiotherapy, psychology, and rehabilitation medicine. Observations of vocational workshops and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 33 persons undergoing rehabilitation for chronic musculoskeletal pain after an accident. Patients' declarations and actions show that any one patient will alternate between activity patterns: the same person may adopt a strategy of avoidance, pacing or persistence depending on the context, the importance of the activity, personal objectives, and representations of self, pain, and activity. The decision to engage in a particular behaviour is based on a process of self-negotiation weighted by the circumstances, the nature of the activity, the importance attached to it, and the individual's perceived ability. Our study emphasized the complexity of physical, social, and contextual factors that intervene in the relationship toward activity. Rather than favouring pacing, the therapist's role in rehabilitation might be to reinforce the reflexive process and the patient's adaptability in approaching the activity, to foster the capacity to find flexible solutions. Patients choose an activity pattern (avoidance, pacing, persistence) according to the challenges they face in their daily lives. Context, representations of self and activity, as well as goals sought influence these choices. Some patients report having learned to adapt their activity management strategies. Therefore, therapeutic approaches in the rehabilitation context could focus on these adaptive capacities to offer patients optimal pain and activity management and develop their ability to use different strategies according to the circumstance.

A balancing act: radicality and capture in institutionalising reflexive governance for urban sustainability transitions

Over the past two decades, urban actors have sought to foster long-lasting change towards sustainability through reflexive governance. Related activities, including transition labs, arenas, experiments, and roadmaps, have been problematised for disparities between using a discourse of transformation and radicality while failing to materialise radical action and succumbing to ‘projectification’ – meaning that the impact of an intervention tends to evaporate after the initial experiment impulse. Enabling a transformative legacy of such interventions requires institutionalising reflexive governance arrangements, i.e. a process of integrating these arrangements as part of the existing institutional set-ups while maintaining ‘radical’ elements. Particularly as the focus in certain urban transitions shifts from emerging and supporting niche practices towards institutionalising new ways of working and breaking down regime structures, it becomes paramount to better understand such processes. Based on a comparative empirical analysis of six European cities, we explore how these cities attempt to institutionalise reflexive governance and take stock of the tensions encountered, particularly to what extent cities manage to safeguard their radical ambitions, or whether these become ‘captured’ in the process. Other highlighted tensions are a focus on internal dynamics, a struggle around voluntary structures and accountability, and a challenge of keeping momentum with new actor constellations while trying to address complexity and uncertainty. We conclude by putting forward three recommendations for how reflexive governance processes may increase their impact: through prioritising institutional embeddedness in and outside of the local authority; creating transparency around how governance arrangements are adjusted and modified throughout the process for accountability; and renewing commitment periodically to ensure continuity and commitment from actors involved.

Taking boys seriously: Utilising participatory action research to tackle compounded educational disadvantage

This paper presents successive phases of Taking Boys Seriously (TBS), a longitudinal participatory action research initiative bringing together diverse educational bodies and indigenous educators across a highly stratified education system in a contested society. The voices and everyday life and school experiences of adolescent boys are positioned firmly at the centre of a research methodology aimed at re-engaging, empowering, and learning from marginalised boys. We discuss how a collaborative and reflexive process co-produced with a committed steering group has been vital in pursuit of systemic change. New concepts of compounded educational disadvantage, relational education, and an educational ecosystem have been co-theorised and applied in practical ways to counter deficit narratives and support holistic approaches and new partnerships across educational settings in Northern Ireland. Strengths and limitations of our participatory approach are considered, particularly in relation to the role and participation of boys in the research process.

My teacher identities and emotions: a self-reflexive account of the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT This study investigates the identities, identity work and emotions of an international accounting teacher working in the UK. An autoethnographic method is adopted to explore the self-reflexive account of the accounting teacher in a UK university during the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020 to 2022. Personal narratives are analysed in combination with emails, notes and the relevant literature, drawing insights from theoretical concepts of identity, identity work, and emotions. The findings indicate that the teacher experienced multiple identities and emotions through interactions with students and colleagues while teaching during the pandemic. This study captures and represents the teacher identity as a dynamic process with emotions as key elements in the process. The self-account illustrates a reflexive process through which a more enabling way of engaging with students can be developed.

The "New-Old" Dimensions of Caring in Humanitarian Response: The Opportunity for Public Health Palliative Care to Advance the Humanitarian-Development Nexus, Decoloniality, and Localization Thought.

How can palliative care framings advance humanitarian discourse? The imperative for palliative care in humanitarian settings is increasingly urgent. Recent efforts by health and humanitarian organizations demonstrate increasing attention to the issue. Yet palliative care is still not adequately formally considered or enacted by humanitarian agencies in rhetoric, policy, research, or practice. Even where it is considered in humanitarian action, palliative care is often assumed to be a novel intervention, rather than a caring practice that has existed from time immemorial, including in humanitarian situations. The generation of ideas in this paper has followed a dynamic, iterative, and reflexive process through engagement with key literature, critical thinking, conversations with colleagues across both sectors, primary data, and debate amongst the authors. The paper argues that the current dominant frame of a new, specialized, professionalized, and medicalized palliative care in the humanitarian sector would perpetuate existing challenges. It contends that viewing both fields through a "new-old" lens, where historical and traditional caring practices intertwine with progressive discourse for a more just and appropriate public health response, can further humanitarianism. It posits that the humanitarian-development nexus, decoloniality, and localization thought can benefit from palliative care practice through critical interaction with a broad range of literature.

Investigating Digitally Inflected Intercity Cycle Commuting

ABSTRACT Multiple smart-city cycle technologies have been developed to support cycle commuting and create lower carbon cities. Such technologies hold significant potential to reshape how cycle commuting is experienced, understood, and governed. To investigate such phenomena, this article provides a rich account of digitally inflected inter-city cycle commuting. It shows how technologies including gamification elements script cycle commuting and consequently reshape cycling practices and infrastructures. As such digitally inflected cycle commuting is revealed as a complex multifaceted process of selfhood, reflexivity, embodiment, and social interaction which challenges imaginaries of mobile subjects underpinning standardized smart city transport policy prescriptions.

Modeling reflection in artificial intelligence systems: state of art and prospects

Abstract. The paper is devoted to analyzing the current state of research and assessing the prospects for modeling reflexive processes using artificial intelligence systems, in particular, multi-agent systems for relevant simulation of collective problem solving. Reflexive modeling of each other by agents will ensure the development of a coherent model of the control object, the purpose of collective work and norms of interaction, as well as the developing of effective interaction between agents. This will allow the system, by self-organizing, to adapt to the characteristics of arising problems, in particular, to take into account their complex structure, the network nature of conditions and goals, opacity, subjectivity and dynamism.

RHYTHM AND NATURE: APPLYING TRAUMA-INFORMED APPROACHES TO RESEARCH TO PRIORITIZE CHOICE, EXPRESSION, AND JUSTICE

Abstract Trauma-informed approaches are widespread in direct clinical and particularly in social work practice, and have gained momentum in other areas such as research, organizational culture, supervision, and leadership. Given the recent collective global trauma of the pandemic and the cumulative effects of historic and ongoing racial injustice, a trauma-informed approach to research with older adults, especially with those who have disabilities, such as relating to dementia, can contribute to the movement for access, justice, equity, and inclusion for all. Closely aligned with practices of community-based participatory action research, trauma-informed research pays particular attention to the consideration of the design of studies, the analytical and theoretical frameworks, collaboration among researchers and participants, data collection methods, research questions that capture the knowledge and experiences of participants’ resiliency, strengths, and challenges, and the processes of reflexivity. Rhythm &amp; Nature was a 10-week pilot study designed to incorporate trauma-informed research approaches to promote principles of safety, trustworthiness, collaboration, choice, self-expression, and justice. We created a modifiable drumming and nature-based intervention to promote opportunities for self-expression and confidence. Before and after each drumming and nature-based session, we collected data using emojis (e.g., to increase access for people with limited language or literacy) to indicate how participants felt in the moment and used their ongoing feedback to continuously tailor the program to their unique abilities and needs. Both quantitative and qualitative results of this pilot study and implications for future research, policy, practice and education with older adults, particularly with disabilities, will be discussed.

Reflexivity in Translation: A Multi-layered, Dialogic, and Self-reflexive Process

Abstract Translation theory and practice cannot be separated since the selection process implemented while translating implies a certain level of reflexivity that reflects the translator’s approach to practice. This article aims at investigating the different types of reflexivities categorised by Lynch and their application to translation practice. In particular, the English into Italian translation of the report on theatre From Live to Digital performed by the writer will be analysed, and examples of the translation process will be presented in light of the many layers of reflexivities involved. Specifically, hermeneutic and standpoint reflexivities will be explored considering the issue of ethnocentric violence and the quest for foreignization. Furthermore, conceiving reflexivity as an inward turn and a dialogic process, translators come to know their “Self” and the “Other,” which results in the creation of something creative. Translation being a form of creative writing resulting from a dialog is referred to as responsive translation, implying the translator’s unique sensitivity and interpretation. In conclusion, a reflexive approach in translation practice generates an ethical response to the source text because of a thorough self-investigation of the translator’s stance, differently from translations performed by software that don’t undergo a reflexive process at the time being.