Tag Archives: research

Clinical metaphors

Posted on by
Reply

I have just realised how many medical-like metaphors are out there in the world of organisational research/development.  This insight was prompted by my reading of Coghlan and Brannick (2010) which took me off on an interesting tangent…

We ‘diagnose’; talk of organisational ‘pathologies’ and go on to ‘intervene’.

One such example is in the use of the Viable Systems Model – the model can be used as a diagnostic ‘tool’ and Hoverstadt (2008) draws attention to a range of ‘pathological’ archetypes.

So I started to think about what was behind these metaphors… and the possibilities and problems they could bring. Continue reading →

Authenticity

Posted on by
Reply

I’ve been quite fascinated with the concept of ‘authenticity’ since I encountered it in TU812 –  so I was a little surprised when I did a search that I have not written a post with this title before.  I did however mention the concept in this post where I mentioned the definition offered by Krippendorff

the pleasure of participating in togetherness in which one is free to speak for oneself, not in the name of absent others, not under pressure to say things one does not believe in, and not having to hide something for fear of being reprimanded or excluded from further conversation (Krippendorff, cited in Ison, 2010,311)

My fascination stems from the subjective nature of someone else experiencing you as authentic.  Continue reading →

Knowing

Posted on by
1

Not sure where to start with this really.  ‘Knowing’ is one of those concepts I have come up against a few times.  Okay straight away my use of the phrase ‘come up against’ in the last sentence tells me that I am in some sort of adversarial battle with this concept.  It feels like that every time I encounter it, I kind of ‘get on top of it’, feel as if I am the master.  But then, it drifts away and next time we meet I have to start all over again. Continue reading →

Epistemology and research

Posted on by
Reply

When I studied D843 Discourse Analysis, I experienced my first formal foray into epistemology – a concern with the status of knowledge and the associated claims made by researchers.  I am sure I have only had a little insight into a vast topic but I want to re-visit those materials to inform my upcoming research.

Taylor (2001, 11-15) distinguishes two broad composites of different traditions in the epistemological claims made by researchers. Continue reading →

The practice of research

Posted on by
Reply

Spurred on by my Distinction for TU812, I signed up for T847 The MSc Professional Project.  It starts in November and will be the last module for me to gain the MSc in Systems Thinking in Practice (yeah, I know more letters but I have now moved on from the downer of my last post).

I’ve been in email correspondence with a couple of others who are also planning to do T847 – we’ve been wondering what we can do to ‘prepare’ over the summer.  Call it withdrawal symptoms if you like.

But, the emails have got me thinking – what am I preparing for?

Continue reading →