This paper discusses sketching as a spatial and embodied ethnographic research method. Rather than a means to represent fieldwork experiences in quasi-photographic images, this method prompts researchers to slow down and open their senses. In doing so, sketching can initiate an imaginative and interpretive ethnographic process. In order to explore this process we draw on [first author’s] sketches of fieldwork encounters, made in the context of his participant observation in a Dutch Asylum Seekers’ Residence Centre. The sketches were made to imagine and interpret this border-space as it may be experienced by asylum seekers. Unlike other ethnographic research methods, sketching allowed [first author] to imagine his own perspective as well as the perspectives of asylum seekers involved in these encounters. In doing so, the sketches shed light on non-verbal, embodied interactions between asylum seekers and [first author], situated in the spatial and social setting of the Centre. Based on three fieldwork encounters, the paper demonstrates [first author’s] process of: (1) gaining access to the unfolding situations in front of his eyes; (2) registering his own perspectives of these situations; (3) imagining different perspectives of asylum seekers involved in these situations; (4) searching for different, and sometimes conflictual ways of framing these situations. Based on perceptual skills as well as contextual knowledge, the slow process of sketching helped us to gain critical and relational insights into the spaces opened up by these encounters.
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Ethnographic fieldwork is a balancing act between distancing and immersing. Fieldworkers need to come close to meaningfully grasp the sense-making efforts of the researched. In methodological textbooks on ethnography, immersion tends to be emphasized at the expense of its counterpart. In fact, ‘distancing’ is often ignored as a central tenet of good ethnographic conduct. In this article we redirect attention away from familiarization and towards ‘defamiliarization’ by suggesting six estrangement strategies (three theoretical and three methodological) that allow the researcher to develop a more detached viewpoint from which to interpret data. We demonstrate the workings of these strategies by giving illustrations from Machteld de Jong’s field- and text-work, conducted among Moroccan-Dutch students in an institution of higher vocational education.
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accepted abstract Quis14 conference Field findings show that value dimensions in legal services are functional, social and emotional. The last category emerges not only within but also outside the interaction with the lawyer. Recommendation of others or the trackrecord of lawyers for example, which play a role before or after the service, contribute to emotional values like trust and reassurance and help clients to reduce the perceived purchase risk, which is inherent to the nature of credence services. Also due to the credential character of legal services we conclude that not only professional skills but also service aspects as client involvement play an important role in the emergence of value because professional skills are difficult to judge even by routine buyers.
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The unexpected death of a child is one of the most challenging losses as it fractures survivors’ sense of parenthood and other layers of identity. Given that not all the bereaved parents who have need for support respond well to available treatments and that many have little access to further intervention or follow-up over time, online interventions featuring therapeutic writing and peer support have strong potential. In this article we explore how a group of bereaved mothers experienced the process of participating in an online course in therapeutic writing for the integration of grief. Our research questions were: How do parents who have lost a child experience being part of an online course in therapeutic writing? What are the perceived benefits and challenges of writing in processing their grief? We followed an existential phenomenological approach and analyzed fieldwork notes (n = 13), qualitative data from the application and assessment surveys (n = 35; n = 21), excerpts from the journals of some participants (n = 3), and email correspondence with some participants (n = 5). We categorized the results in three meaning units: (1) where does my story begin? The “both and” of their silent chaos; (2) standing on the middle line: a pregnancy that does not end; (3) closures and openings: “careful optimism” and the need for community support. Participants experienced writing as an opportunity for self-exploration regarding their identities and their emotional world, as well as a means to develop and strengthen a bond with their children. They also experienced a sense of belonging, validation, and acceptance in the online group in a way that helped them make sense of their suffering. Online writing courses could be of benefit for bereaved parents who are grieving the unexpected death of a child, but do not replace other interventions such as psychotherapy. In addition to trauma and attachment informed models of grief, identity informed models with a developmental focus might enhance the impact of both low-threshold community interventions and more intensive clinical ones. Further studies and theoretical development in the area are needed, addressing dialogical notions such as the multivoicedness of the self. Lehmann OV, Neimeyer RA, Thimm J, Hjeltnes A, Lengelle R and Kalstad TG (2022) Experiences of Norwegian Mothers Attending an Online Course of Therapeutic Writing Following the Unexpected Death of a Child. Front. Psychol. 12:809848. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.809848
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Emergency care (from ambulance to emergency room) is focused on somatic care: fixing the body. When a patient with mental dysregulation who experiences ‘disproportionate feelings like fear, anger, sadness or confusion, possibly with associated behaviours’ (Van de Glind et al. 2023) does not get appropriate attention, this can result in the disruption of treatment and even psychological trauma upon trauma. To improve the emergency care process, the authors of this paper - health researchers and design researchers engaged in a project based on the experience-based co-design (EBCD) approach (Donetto et al. 2015; Bate and Robert 2007). EBCD is a method used to design better experiences in healthcare settings, in cooperation with (former) patients and healthcare professionals. The process of EBCD involves partnerships between stakeholders and the discovery and sensemaking of experiences through specialized methods to gain an understanding of the interface between user and service, to design new experiences (Bate and Robert 2007, 31). There is, however, an interesting challenge in bringing patients and care professionals together. In emergency care, patients depend greatly on their healthcare providers. The patients in this study had existing mental vulnerabilities and may have been traumatized by previous visits. We needed to enable these stakeholders to be equal partners with ownership and power, one of the characteristics of co-design in EBCD (Donetto et al. 2015). In this paper, we describe how we adapted and applied the EBCD method, with a focus on creating equal partnerships. We also reflect on the extent of our success and the diBiculties we encountered in attaining this objective.
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Background: Research on maternity care often focuses on factors that prevent good communication and collaboration and rarely includes important stakeholders – parents – as co-researchers. To understand how professionals and parents in Dutch maternity care accomplish constructive communication and collaboration, we examined their interactions in the clinic, looking for “good practice”. Methods: We used the video-reflexive ethnographic method in 9 midwifery practices and 2 obstetric units. Findings: We conducted 16 meetings where participants reflected on video recordings of their clinical interactions. We found that informal strategies facilitate communication and collaboration: “talk work” – small talk and humour – and “work beyond words” – familiarity, use of sight, touch, sound, and non-verbal gestures. When using these strategies, participants noted that it is important to be sensitive to context, to the values and feelings of others, and to the timing of care. Our analysis of their ways of being sensitive shows that good communication and collaboration involves “paradoxical care”, e.g., concurrent acts of “regulated spontaneity” and “informal formalities”. Discussion: Acknowledging and reinforcing paradoxical care skills will help caregivers develop the competencies needed to address the changing demands of health care. The video-reflexive ethnographic method offers an innovative approach to studying everyday work, focusing on informal and implicit aspects of practice and providing a bottom up approach, integrating researchers, professionals and parents. Conclusion: Good communication and collaboration in maternity care involves “paradoxical care” requiring social sensitivity and self-reflection, skills that should be included as part of professional training.
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Some nurses are responding rebelliously to the changing healthcare landscape by challenging the status quo and deviating from suboptimal practices, professional norms, and organizational rules. While some view rebel nurse leadership as challenging traditional structures to improve patient care, others see it as disruptive and harmful. These diverging opinions create dilemmas for nurses and nurse managers in daily practice. To understand the context, dilemmas, and interactions in rebel nurse leadership, we conducted a multiple case study in two Dutch hospitals. We delved into the mundane practices to expand the concept of leadership-as-practice. By shadowing rebel nurse practices, we identified three typical leadership practices which present the most common “lived” experiences and dilemmas of nurses and nurse managers. Overall, we noticed that deviating acts were more often quick fixes rather than sustainable changes. Our research points to what is needed to change the status quo in a sustainable manner. To change unworkable practices, nurses need to share their experienced dilemmas with their managers. In addition, nurse managers must build relationships with other nurses, value different perspectives, and support experimenting to promote collective learning.
MULTIFILE
This article describes a European project which was aimed at improving the situation of persons with psychiatric or learning disabilities with regard to social participation and citizenship. The project took place in three countries (Estonia, Hungary and the Netherlands) and four cities (Tallinn, Budapest, Amersfoort and Maastricht). The project included research and actions at the policy level, the organizational level and the practice level. At the policy level, the framework of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations, 2006) and the European Disability Strategy (European Commission, 2010) were used to look at national and local policies, at the reality of the lives of those with disabilities and at the support that professional services offer with regard to participation and inclusion. The project generated a number of insights, recommendations and methods by which to improve the quality of services and increase the number of opportunities for community engagement. In this article, we present some of the lessons learned from the meta-analysis. Although the circumstances in each country are quite different with regard to policy, culture and service systems, it is remarkable that people with disabilities face many of the same problems. The study shows that in all three countries, access to services could be improved. Barriers include bureaucratic procedures and a lack of services. The research identified that in every country and city there are considerable barriers regarding equal participation in the field of housing, work and leisure activities. In addition to financial barriers, there are the barriers of stigma and self-stigmatization. Marginalization keeps people in an unequal position and hinders their recovery and participation. In all countries, professionals need to develop a stronger focus on supporting the participation of their clients in public life and in the development of different roles pertaining to citizenship
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In service design projects, collaboration between design consultant and service provider can be problematic. The nature of these projects requires a high level of shared understanding and commitment, which providers may not be used to. We studied designer-provider collaboration in multiple real-life cases, in order to uncover determinants for successful collaboration. The case studies involved six service innovation projects, performed by Dutch design agencies. Independent researchers closely monitored the projects. Additional interviews with designers and providers gave insights in how both parties experienced their collaboration in the innovation projects. During data analysis, a coding scheme was created inductively. The scheme supported us in formulating 12 themes for designer-provider collaboration, amongst them four contextual determinants of shared understanding and stakeholder commitment in SD-projects. The insights from this study were then grounded in literature. Knowledge gaps were identified on themes about agreements of responsibilities, the open-endedness of an SD-process, an opportunitysearching approach, and organizational change that is required for the successful implementation of innovative service concepts.
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To be able to ‘survive’ in a more and more globalising world, students of universities and universities of applied sciences must attain international competencies, in this study defined as respectively general personal, social competencies, intercultural competencies, a command of foreign languages and international academic and professional competencies. International competencies can be attained in different ways by students: internally (via foreign teachers and/or students) and/or externally (via internships and/or exchanges). The external attainment of competencies is far more successful when students are well prepared and when they receive proper supervision, both during and after their stay abroad. If this is not the case, students often tend to develop at a personal, social and (inter)cultural level, but significantly less at an academic and professional level (Stronkhorst, 2005). These students are also often unable to recognize and express which knowledge and skills they attained during their stay abroad (Orahood et al., 2004; CERI, 2008; Deardorff, 2009). With the preceding information as a starting point, the Social Work degree programme of Windesheim University of Applied Sciences in Zwolle started the minor ‘Social Work in Africa & Asia’ in the beginning of 2014. Students who participate firstly pass through a a six-week preparatory theoretical programma, followed by a three-month internship in Uganda or Vietnam. The minor concludes with a two-week postmortem programme. The practical component of the minor involves Eye4Africa, a Dutch internship supervision agency for internships in Uganda, Kenya and Vietnam. Eye4Africa arranges the internships, prepares the students for their stay abroad, both in the Netherlands and abroad, and then offers them support, coaching and intervision meetings. At the initiative of and in collaboration with Eye4Africa The Hague University of Applied Sciences carried out a qualitative study amongst eight female students of the Social Work degree programme of Windesheim University of Applied Sciences who followed the minor ‘Social Work in Africa & Asia’ during the academic year 2014-2015. The following was key to the research conducted: the question of the extent to which preparation for the Social Work in Africa & Asia minor at Windesheim University of Applied Sciences and the supervision that the Eye4Africa internship agency offers fourth-year Social Work students during their internships in Uganda in the autumn of 2014 had a positive impact on the attainment and further development of international competencies. The results have shown that the students found it very easy to recognise and express the knowledge and skills they gained during their internships. Secondly, the students mentioned clear professional, intercultural and personal, social growth. No growth or development in relation to academic competencies was observed in this study. However, this is not unusual, as the students were doing internships. Academic competencies are particularly attained when studying abroad, while professional competencies are particularly attained during internships (Hoven & Walenkamp, 2013; 2015). The main conclusion of this study is that the preparation and the supervision by Windesheim University of Applied Sciences and Eye4Africa within the framework of the minor ‘Social Work in Africa & Asia’ has aided students with regard to growth and the (further) development of international competencies. Some important short comments are that a relatively small, very one-sided sample has been interviewed and that there was no control group.
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