Reflexive Process Research Articles

Identity reflexivity: a framework of heuristics for strategy change in hybrid organizations

PurposeThe aim of this research is to investigate the relationship between (dual) organizational identity and individual heuristics – simple rules and biases – in the process of strategy change. This paper offers a theory on identity reflexivity as a cognitive mechanism of strategy change in the context of organizational hybridity.Design/methodology/approachThe authors draw on a 2-year ethnographic study at a Dutch social housing association dealing with the process of strategy change. The empirical data comprises of in-depth semi-structured interviews, ethnographic observations as well as secondary sources.FindingsConflicting identities at the organizational level influence heuristics at the individual level, since members tend to identify with their department's identity. Despite conflicting interpretations, paths of cognitive shortcuts – that the authors define as internal and external identity reflexivity – are shared by the conflicting identities.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings of this research are subject to limitations typical of a qualitative case-study, such as possibly being context dependent. The authors argue that this research contributes to the understanding of how individual heuristics relate to organizational heuristics, and suggest that the process of identity reflexivity can contribute to the alignment of conflicting identities enabling strategy formation in the context of a dual-identity organization.Practical implicationsUnderstanding how managers with conflicting identities achieve agreements is important to help organizational leaders to pursue sustainability-oriented strategy change.Social implicationsGiven the pressure experienced by mission-driven organizations to integrate multiple sustainability demands in their mission, understanding managers' decision-making mechanism when adapting to new, often conflicting, sustainability demands is important to accelerate societal sustainability transitions.Originality/valueThis paper addresses the process of new strategy design in the context of a socially driven business. This context fundamentally differs from the one addressed by the existing heuristics literature with respect to organizational environment and role, and specific competing demands.

The ‘haunting’ and the ‘haunted’: Whiteness, orthography and the (post)-apartheid condition in Namibia

ABSTRACT In this paper I contend that a project of recovering one's ethnographic archive can engender not only a process of reflexivity, including on one's positionality, but also offer a heuristic device for exploring wider ethnographic issues. In starting with a reflection on my position as a white male researcher in Namibia, I focus my analysis to a broader exploration of whiteness in Namibia, and the enduring presence of apartheid in the (post)-apartheid era. In building on Tina Campt's haptic, I confront my own nostalgia and hauntings which emerged during the course of retrieving the orphaned ethnographic archive. In the process, I made space for making sense of the nostalgia and hauntings of other whites in Namibia, and more broadly, for exploring the relationship between whiteness and the (post)-apartheid condition. Further, I argue that a new vocabulary and orthography are needed for engaging with the (post)-apartheid condition. In traversing it as a series of puncta, I explore the complex interrelationship between whiteness’ hauntings – its historical claims on people, space and time – and the ways in which apartheid's traces continue to haunt whiteness in the (post)-apartheid period. Haunting and haunted, I argued that white people's experiences, narratives and perceptions in Namibia are characterized by historical inequalities and privilege, as well as a sense of dislocation and dispossession. Ultimately, it is my belief that, as noted earlier, (post)-apartheid must be viewed as a condition that does not yet fully exist, but can only be desired, being understood as deferred.

BIOE and the Teaching of Physics: inferences from the Critical Theory of Technology

This article reads from Andrew Feenberg's Critical Theory of Technology, analyzing the International Bank of Educational Objects (BIOE) in Physics teaching, investigating whether the Educational Objects (EO) available in BIOE contemplate a process of teaching and learning that is critical and reflexive and that articulates with one or more pedagogical conceptions linked to its educational objective. For this, the qualitative approach of the documentary type was used for data collection and content analysis to arrive at the results. Thus, we verify that the EO for Physics available in BIOE do not contemplate a critical and reflexive teaching and learning process articulated to one or more pedagogical conceptions linked to its educational objective; it does not broaden the problematization related to educational practices in physics towards the politicization of science and technology, in understanding the implications of an educational technology; and it is absent in the very understanding of human relations with such objects and the systems in which they operate, including the teaching and learning process.

A Call for Radical Reflexivity in Counseling Qualitative Research

In this article, we provide an interdisciplinary overview of reflexive practice within qualitative research and discuss dominant views on reflexivity within qualitative counseling literature. We propose a new way to frame the reflexive process called radical reflexivity. Finally, we offer examples from our research experience and discuss implications.

Cardiac vagal tone: a neurophysiological mechanism that evolved in mammals to dampen threat reactions and promote sociality.

Cardiac vagal tone: a neurophysiological mechanism that evolved in mammals to dampen threat reactions and promote sociality.

Critical Self-Reflexivity:

The purpose of this article is to share a student’s critical reflexivity process in an effort to overcome the insecurity confronted by the expectations of Indigenous-Settler reconciliation. The critical self-reflexivity we present is an essential practice to unlearn colonialism with the aim to foster critical thinking as a move towards a reconciliatory approach to education. Paulette Regan’s (2014) provoking research speaks to insecurity as a barrier to moving forward. Inspired by teachings of relational accountability and an Indigenous education course taught by an Indigenous female scholar, critical self-reflexivity is one of the pedagogical approaches to surpass insecurity and engage in reconciliation in more meaningful ways. Based on this experience, critical social justice pedagogies inspire Settlers to begin the process of acknowledging their privilege, power, perspective and the ways in which dominant knowledge production perpetuates inequities, injustice and marginalization. This article contributes to critical pedagogy in practice as demonstrated by a student’s critical reflection.

Development of an ethical roadmap

Ethics are a system of moral principles and branch of knowledge enquiry defining what is good for individuals and society. Academic disciplines operate within publicly defined ethical parameters created to support researchers through complex dilemmas. However, paradigms in interdisciplinary research, a growing focus on emancipatory and participatory methods and questions relating to an ethic of technology call for a rethinking of existing frameworks that are largely predicated on bioethics. This paper describes an enquiry that used a design-lens through which to explore existing ethical frameworks operating in health. An Ethical Roadmap resource was created in response to issues and questions raised during the enquiry. We suggest that the Roadmap creates the space for discourse, discussion and a level of rehearsal as potential ethical dilemmas are encountered and responses are worked through. The process potentially enables a reflective and reflexive process that may build self-awareness of how researcher values may manifest themselves in particular contexts and from the different disciplinary backgrounds of members within a team. We describe the Ethical Roadmap as ‘becoming’ rather than ‘finite’ and as a solid starting point from which researchers can develop the resource offering further, through use, introducing the open source version of the Roadmap.

CARDIAC AFFERENT SIGNALING PARTIALLY UNDERLIES PREMATURE VENTRICULAR CONTRACTION-INDUCED CARDIOMYOPATHY

Background The mechanisms underlying premature ventricular contraction (PVC)–induced cardiomyopathy (PIC) remain unknown. Transient receptor potential vanilloid-1 (TRPV1) afferent fibers are implicated in the reflex processing of cardiac stress. Objective The purpose of this study was to determine whether cardiac TRPV1 afferent signaling promote PIC. Methods A PIC swine model (50% PVC burden) was created via an implanted pacemaker. We selectively depleted cardiac TRPV1 afferent fibers using percutaneous epicardial application of resiniferatoxin (RTX). Animals were randomized to PVC only (n = 11), PVC+RTX (n = 11), or control (n = 6). We examined early-stage (4 weeks after implantation; n = 5) and late-stage PIC (8 weeks after implantation; n = 6). At terminal experimentation, animals underwent echocardiography, serum sampling, and physiological and autonomic reflex testing. Results Depletion of cardiac TRPV1 afferents by RTX treatment was confirmed by absent sensory fibers and absent functional responses to TRPV1 activators. Left ventricular ejection fraction was worse in late-stage than early-stage PIC (P Conclusion TRPV1 afferent depletion alleviates left ventricular dysfunction in early- but not late-stage PIC. This temporal effect suggests that multiple pathways promote PIC, of which TRPV1 afferents are a part.

Reflections From Applying Intersectionality to a Constructivist Grounded Theory Study on Intimate Partner Violence and Trauma

In this research note, I reflect on conducting a qualitative study on trauma and intimate partner violence (IPV), applying an intersectional lens to constructivist grounded theory methodology. I argue that despite offering an ability to critically examine socially constructed categories of identity, and providing a way to ensure the active inclusion of social justice goals into research, intersectionality is underused within social work research. I also reflect on the particular importance of an intersectional lens in countering the previously identified assumptions of sameness underlying IPV and trauma services. From recounting my research process, I discuss recommendations for further intersectional research, and research on trauma. Recommendations include allowing enough time for recruitment and analysis, making visible the researcher’s role, including a participatory element in studies, and ensuring continuous critical and reflexive processing at all research stages.

A participatory research approach in community pharmacy research: The case for video-reflexive ethnography.

Video-reflexive ethnography (VRE) is a qualitative methodology that explores the complex nature of healthcare 'as it really is'. Its collaborative and reflexive process invites stakeholders (e.g. pharmacists and pharmacy support staff) to participate in analysing their everyday work practices as captured on video footage. Through close collaboration with practitioners and attention to their work contexts, VRE may be a useful methodology to engage a time-poor pharmacy workforce in research about themselves, encouraging more practitioner involvement in practice-based research. Aside from research, VRE has also been used effectively as an intervention to facilitate learning and change in healthcare settings, and could be effective in provoking change in otherwise resistant pharmacy environments. Much like traditional ethnographic approaches, VRE researchers have relied on being present 'in the field' to observe, record and make sense of practices with participants. The COVID-19 pandemic however, has introduced restrictions around travel and physical distancing, which has required researchers to contemplate the conduct of VRE 'at a distance', and to imagine new ways in which the methodological 'closeness' to stakeholders and their workplace contexts can be maintained when researchers cannot be on site. In this commentary, we outline the rationale for participatory methods, in the form of VRE, in pharmacy research. We describe the underlying principles of this innovative methodology, and offer examples of how VRE can be used in pharmacy research. Finally, we offer a reflexive account of how we have adapted the method for use in community pharmacy research, to adapt to physical distancing, without sacrificing its methodological principles. This paper offers not only a new methodology to examine the complexity of pharmacy work, but demonstrates also the responsiveness of VRE itself to complexity, and the potential breadth of future research applications in pharmacy both during and beyond the current pandemic.

Cardiac afferent signaling partially underlies premature ventricular contraction-induced cardiomyopathy.

The mechanisms underlying premature ventricular contraction (PVC)-induced cardiomyopathy (PIC) remain unknown. Transient receptor potential vanilloid-1 (TRPV1) afferent fibers are implicated in the reflex processing of cardiac stress. The purpose of this study was to determine whether cardiac TRPV1 afferent signaling promote PIC. A PIC swine model (50% PVC burden) was created via an implanted pacemaker. We selectively depleted cardiac TRPV1 afferent fibers using percutaneous epicardial application of resiniferatoxin (RTX). Animals were randomized to PVC only (n = 11), PVC+RTX (n = 11), or control (n = 6). We examined early-stage (4 weeks after implantation; n = 5) and late-stage PIC (8 weeks after implantation; n = 6). At terminal experimentation, animals underwent echocardiography, serum sampling, and physiological and autonomic reflex testing. Depletion of cardiac TRPV1 afferents by RTX treatment was confirmed by absent sensory fibers and absent functional responses to TRPV1 activators. Left ventricular ejection fraction was worse in late-stage than early-stage PIC (P <.01). At 4 weeks (early stage), left ventricular ejection fraction was higher in PVC+RTX vs PVC animals (51.7% ± 1.6% vs 45.0% ± 2.1%; P = .030), whereas no significant difference between PVC and PVC+RTX was observed at 8 weeks (late stage). Histologic studies demonstrated reduced fibrosis in PVC+RTX vs PVC alone at 4 weeks (2.27% ± 0.14% vs 3.01% ± 0.21%; P = .020), suggesting that RTX mitigated profibrotic pathways induced by persistent PVCs. TRPV1 afferent depletion alleviates left ventricular dysfunction in early- but not late-stage PIC. This temporal effect suggests that multiple pathways promote PIC, of which TRPV1 afferents are a part.

The Problem of the Subject in Artificial Nature

The article discusses the situation with the subject and subjectivity that arises in the conditions of scientific and technological progress. The concept of the subject is introduced through the distinction between reflex (natural) and reflexive (artificial) processes of self-awareness, the subject is understood as a way of connecting “worlds” in the sense of K. R. Popper. The forms of reflection that create subjectivity are introduced as philosophical inventions in the sense of I. I. Lapshin as an aphorism, dialogue and system. The research methodology is of a general semiotic and neo-Kantian character: the function of subjectivity for artificial environments of human life is considered as a reflexive basis for constructing theories and carrying out technical activities, the performance of this function leads to a consistent transformation of nature due to the accumulation of artifacts in the sensually accessible physical world (the first artificial nature), in the rational world of logical-grammatical forms (the second artificial nature), in the world of reason or intellectual reflection (the third artificial nature). Based on the analysis of subjectivity in the first, second and third artificial nature, we conclude that the crisis of the subject and human subjectivity observed in the information society, expressed in the models of the subject-free objectivity of the technosphere or technological singularity is evidence of the exhaustion of the methodological resources of the subject’s analysis. The third artificial nature, i. e. a man-made technical environment that includes intellectual artifacts, autonomous intelligent agents of making socially significant decisions, needs a new philosophical invention that allows for self-awareness procedures. In the conclusion, the assumption is formulated that as such a new philosophical invention, the “environment” can be discussed that removes the “system” in the same sense in which the “system” removes the “dialogue”, and the latter – “aphorism”. Keywords: subject, technology, philosophy of technology, artificial nature, second nature, third nature, technological singularity

Managing higher education for a changing regulatory environment

PurposeThis article addresses the relationship of universities to their changing regulatory environments internationally.Design/methodology/approachThis article updates analysis published in 2004 exploring the contrasting modes of, and key trends in, regulation of higher education across eight OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) states. The article offers a wider analysis of the changing patterns of regulation rooted in mutuality, oversight, competition and design, and the implications for the management of higher education institutions.FindingsSince 2004, higher education has seen more growth in oversight-based and competition-based regulation, but also some decentralization of regulation as an increasing cast of actors, many international and transnational in character, have asserted themselves in key aspects of the regulatory environment. This article explores the implications of these changes in the regulatory mix over higher education for the ways that universities manage their regulatory environment, arguing first, that there is significant evidence of meta-regulatory approaches to regulating universities, and second, that such a meta-regulatory approach is consistent with an emphasis on university autonomy, raising a challenge for universities in how to use the autonomy (variable by country) they do have to manage their environment.Originality/valueThis article offers an original analysis of how universities might most appropriately respond, deploying their autonomy, however variable, to address their external regulatory environment. The author suggests we might increasingly see the external regulatory environment as meta-regulatory in character and universities making more use of reflexive governance processes.

Alteration of H-reflex amplitude modulation is a marker of impaired postural responses in individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury.

Individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI) show altered postural reactions leading to increased risk of falls. To investigate neural correlates underlying this deficit, we assessed the modulation pattern of the Soleus H-reflex in iSCI individuals following unexpected perturbations of a base of support. Ten men with iSCI (AIS D) and 8 age-matched controls (CTRL) stood on a force-platform randomly tilted forward or backward. The center of pressure (CoP) excursion, 95% confidence ellipse area and electromyographic (EMG) activity of the Soleus (SOL) and Tibialis Anterior (TA) muscles were analyzed. SOL H-reflex amplitude was assessed by stimulating the tibial nerve prior to and at 100, 150 and 200ms following perturbation onset. Although SOL and TA short-latency EMG responses were comparable in both groups, long-latency EMG responses occurred later in the iSCI group for both directions: during backward tilt, a decrease in H-reflex amplitude was observed at all stimulus timings post-tilt in CTRL, but only at 200ms in iSCI. The decrease in H-reflex amplitude was smaller in iSCI participants. During forward tilt, an increase in H-reflex amplitude was observed at 150 and 200ms in the CTRL group, but no increase was observed in the iSCI group. Decreased and delayed SOL H-reflex amplitude modulation in the iSCI group accompanied impaired balance control as assessed clinically with the Berg Balance Scale and biomechanically through CoP displacement. Overall, delayed and reduced spinal reflex processing may contribute to impaired balance control in people with iSCI.

Critical Discourse and Critical Reflection in Mezirow’s Theory of Transformative Learning: A Dialectic Between Ontology and Epistemology (and a Subtext of Reflexivity Mirroring My Own Onto-Epistemological Movement)

In this article, I argue that critical discourse in Mezirow’s theory of transformative learning is a constructionist, ontological act that serves to support an individual’s critical reflection, which, in turn, is a constructivist, epistemological act. The notion of onto-epistemology is helpful in bringing to the fore the entanglement of these two concepts, and mirrors my own reflexivity and my own transformative learning process in coming to determine the relationship between constructionism and constructivism, and between critical discourse and critical reflection. It is important that facilitators of adult education are aware of the theory underpinning both of these concepts so that, like myself, their choices in designing learning activities is grounded in, and guided by, theory, enabling them to support and facilitate appropriate learning outcomes.

Reentry and the American Dream: People returning to the community share the same dream but lack the same access

Criminal justice researchers and professionals often define successful reentry using one measure: recidivism. However, current recidivism rates suggest something might be missing from this limited definition of successful reentry. Additionally, research reveals that reintegration is a reflexive process between the individual and the community. To fully understand the various perspectives regarding reentry, and the potential pitfalls, this study used semi-structured interviews and a survey experiment derived from the interviews. Qualitative analysis reveals that people reintegrating into the community have the same goals as everyone else: they aspire to own a house, have a family, enjoy their job, and feel like productive members of society. However, the quantitative results suggest that people in the community view certain aspects of success as less important for people who have been incarcerated. Because successful reintegration in the community lowers recidivism and improves public safety, a variety of policy implications are discussed.

The Theoretical Construction ofPobladoresandFaveladosas Social Movements in Latin America

How did the social sciences theoretically contribute to producing the movements of Chileanpobladoresand Brazilianfaveladosduring the twentieth century? Through a critical review of the main theories that seek to understand the political actions of the urban poor in Santiago de Chile and Rio de Janeiro, this article shows the close relationship between these movements and the production of social sciences, in which a double hermeneutic operates—a mutually influential reflexive process that eventually contributed to the constitution and recognition of the movements as such. This research analyzes how social sciences perform the same social struggles that they attempt to describe, in other words, how certain academic contexts interact positively or negatively with the political and social disputes generated from the movements in question. I review theories of marginality and dependent urbanization, urban social movements, utilitarian views, and new social movements, showing how these interpretations alternated between requiem, rediscovery, and denial of the favelados and pobladores as social movements.

A Critical Reflexion on Two Conceptual Tools From a Global South Perspective: Réflexion critique sur deux outils conceptuels selon la perspective des pays du sud.

Occupational therapy's conceptual tools need to be considered from Global South perspectives to make them more culturally relevant and safe. This paper uses an empirical example, and the author's professional and academic experiences, to analyze the strengths, limitations, and potential refinement of the Critical Thinking Tool (CTT) and the Participatory Occupational Justice Framework (POJF). The paper describes processes of critical reflexivity and intercultural translation to compare concepts used in the CTT and POJF with the findings of a study about olive growing in Palestine to consider the applicability of these tools in Global South settings. The CTT should be amended to address collective occupations, and global and historical contexts, and the POJF should embed intercultural translations and solidarity into its philosophy and processes. These refinements would enhance the cultural safety of the CTT and the POJF. Tools in occupational therapy will benefit from more evidence to enhance their global utility in an increasingly interconnected world, in which occupational therapists share the duty to tackle social and occupational injustices.

Reflexivity as a mediating element - The case of Francisco Milanez

Abstract This article aimed to discuss how Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of reflexivity was conceived, and how it influenced and was developed by Bernard Lahire’s in his sociology. To operationalize the way the concept is articulated, but emphasizing its development by Lahire, this paper presents as an empirical case how reflexivity was engendered in José Francisco Bernardes Milanez’ biographical trajectory, a historical environmental activist from the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The central argument we defend is that the Bourdieusian-inspired concept of reflexivity has a certain objectivist and structuralist weight, which gives a secondary role to individuals’ reflection capacity and agency. Despite this weight, reflexivity acts as a mediator between structures and their individual agency within actors’ social lives. In this sense, reflexive capacities can be better understood and analyzed by considering the ways individuals connect their daily practices, dialectically and concomitantly, with reflexive processes. This article emphasizes that sociological analyses at the individual level can be potentially more substantive if they consider structure, agency, and reflexivity in an integrated way. Finally, we argue that the conceptual and argumentative association of elements from the two authors helps to avoid false antinomies.

Reflexivity as a mediating element - The case of Francisco Milanez

Abstract This article aimed to discuss how Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of reflexivity was conceived, and how it influenced and was developed by Bernard Lahire’s in his sociology. To operationalize the way the concept is articulated, but emphasizing its development by Lahire, this paper presents as an empirical case how reflexivity was engendered in José Francisco Bernardes Milanez’ biographical trajectory, a historical environmental activist from the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The central argument we defend is that the Bourdieusian-inspired concept of reflexivity has a certain objectivist and structuralist weight, which gives a secondary role to individuals’ reflection capacity and agency. Despite this weight, reflexivity acts as a mediator between structures and their individual agency within actors’ social lives. In this sense, reflexive capacities can be better understood and analyzed by considering the ways individuals connect their daily practices, dialectically and concomitantly, with reflexive processes. This article emphasizes that sociological analyses at the individual level can be potentially more substantive if they consider structure, agency, and reflexivity in an integrated way. Finally, we argue that the conceptual and argumentative association of elements from the two authors helps to avoid false antinomies.