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1 – 10 of 796Isabelle Guérin, Sébastien Michiels, Christophe Jalil Nordman, Elena Reboul and G. Venkatasubramanian
In 2003, the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in southern India, Jayaram Jayalalithaa, gave a speech about the “silent revolution” of the empowerment of Indian women. But 15…
Abstract
In 2003, the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in southern India, Jayaram Jayalalithaa, gave a speech about the “silent revolution” of the empowerment of Indian women. But 15 years on, regrettably, the promises of that revolution do not seem to have been fulfilled. Thanks to the various programs set up to champion women’s empowerment (involving local NGOs, public programs, and international support), women are now more prominent in certain public spaces and are able to play a genuine advocacy role with regard to the public authorities. Girls education has also significantly improved. But it has not brought about improved employment opportunities. Women are in fact losing out on paid employment (as is the case in India as a whole). They are also heavily indebted (not only from microcredit, but also informal lending and lending from private financial companies). Their indebtedness is disproportionate to their income, and compared to men. Moreover, women almost exclusively put debt toward the social reproduction of families. Reduced opportunities for paid employment and massive debt have hit Dalit women particularly hard. The analyses of this chapter use data collected over more than a decade in a rural area of Tamil Nadu, drawing together ethnography and quantitative data, including panel data (2010–2016). They shed light on the complexity of social change, intertwining forms of domination (here, caste, and gender), and the ambiguous qualities of so-called empowerment programs, whose impacts have been various and unexpected.
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G. Meunier, Y. Le Floch and C. Guérin
To model magneto‐harmonic devices including solid conductors with holes when the skin depth is very small.
Abstract
Purpose
To model magneto‐harmonic devices including solid conductors with holes when the skin depth is very small.
Design/methodology/approach
The 3D finite element magnetic scalar potential formulation combined with the surface impedance condition approximation is used. It allows the modelling of thin skin depth effect at low cost.
Findings
The paper shows how to use surface impedance condition for solid conductors with holes, when using the magnetic scalar potential. Specific equations must be added to respect Ampere's theorem. The paper establishes these equations and the coupling with the finite element formulation. The final system of equations is symmetric.
Research limitations/implications
The formulation allows to treat linear material in the magneto‐harmonic assumption.
Originality/value
The use of surface impedance condition with the 3D finite element magnetic scalar potential formulation is well known. The originality is to take into account holes (multiply connected conductors).
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Kathryn Roulston, Deborah Teitelbaum, Bo Chang and Ronald Butchart
The purpose of this paper is to present considerations for developing a writing community for doctoral students.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present considerations for developing a writing community for doctoral students.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reflects on data from a self-study of a writing seminar in which the authors were involved. The authors examined students’ writing samples and peer-review comments, email correspondence, online discussion board postings, meeting minutes and participants’ reflections on their participation in the seminar.
Findings
While doctoral students described benefits from their participation in the writing seminar, the paper provides a cautionary tale concerning the challenges that can arise in the development and delivery of interventions that focus on developing writing communities involving doctoral students.
Research limitations/implications
This article draws on findings from an examination of a writing intervention to consider potential challenges that faculty and students face in developing writing communities. Findings may not apply to other kinds of settings, and they are limited by the small number of participants involved.
Practical implications
The paper discusses strategies that might be used to inform faculty in the development of writing communities for doctoral students.
Social implications
The authors’ experiences in developing and delivering a writing seminar highlight the importance of the process of trust-building for students to perceive the value of feedback from others so that they can respond to the technical demands of doctoral writing.
Originality/value
There is a growing body of work on the value of writing interventions for doctoral students such as retreats and writing groups. These are frequently facilitated by faculty whose area of expertise is in teaching writing. This paper contributes understanding to what is needed for faculty who are not writing instructors to facilitate groups of this sort. Participants must demonstrate a sufficient level of competence as writers to review others’ work; develop trusting, collegial relationships with one another; and be willing to contribute to others’ development and make a commitment to accomplishing the required tasks.
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Ali Yaylali, Sarah Albrecht, Kelly Jay Smith and Kate Shea
This paper aims to examine how doctoral students in education and applied linguistics fields successfully navigated graduate writing demands by participating in a support…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine how doctoral students in education and applied linguistics fields successfully navigated graduate writing demands by participating in a support community that catalyzed writing productivity, peer mentoring and feedback. Guiding graduate students’ writing processes based on scholarly interests and providing peer support are vital to scholarly productivity and transition into academia.
Design/methodology/approach
Following a collaborative analytic autoethnographic case study design (Adams et al., 2022; Chang et al., 2013), the authors narrated major events that impacted their writing and publication experiences. The authors visualized their entire doctoral writing experience based on the frequency of writing events that contributed to writing productivity. In data triangulation discussions, the authors reflected on writing experiences.
Findings
Findings show that the support community alleviated individual struggles associated with writing a dissertation and high-quality papers. Key factors contributing to scholarly growth included nonevaluative peer support, feedback and shared academic resources. Writing within the periphery of faculty research and predominantly focusing on doctoral milestones led to individual scholarly interests being overshadowed. Without structured guidance, doctoral writers may develop initiatives to alleviate individual struggles and meet academic writing demands in the disciplines.
Research limitations/implications
The authors recommend including structured guidance on developing writing productivity and a personal research agenda in the early stages of the doctorate.
Originality/value
This study offers unique examples of how a student group supported writing productivity and socialization into the academic community. It illustrates the multifaceted nature of academic writing influenced by faculty–student relationships, peers and individual initiatives. This paper provides doctoral writers and graduate programs with examples of accomplishing academic publishing goals.
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This paper aims to show how an Academic Literacies lens can contribute to a deeper understanding of writing for a professional doctorate (PD) by focusing both on the language of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to show how an Academic Literacies lens can contribute to a deeper understanding of writing for a professional doctorate (PD) by focusing both on the language of supervisors’ written feedback and on student and supervisor perspectives on feedback throughout Year 1 (Y1).
Design/methodology/approach
Firstly, written feedback summaries on formative assessments across two Y1 cohorts on a UK PD programme were analysed thematically to identify patterns in feedback practices. Secondly, two longitudinal, detailed student/supervisor case studies were developed, drawing on multiple data sources.
Findings
Supervisors’ written feedback enacted an encouraging dialogue around assessed writing, discursively constructing a sense of solidarity on the doctoral journey, focusing on the “long view”. Case study analysis, however, revealed tensions centred around jarring discontinuities in students’ feedback experience as they transitioned from formative to summative assessment at the end of Y1.
Research limitations/implications
The paper demonstrates that an Academic Literacies approach can offer valuable insights into the specific, situated context of writing for a distance learning PD and makes the case for greater attention to writing in contexts of partly taught doctorates.
Practical implications
Findings suggest that PD programmes should work towards providing continuity of feedback experience, through supervisor and examiner training and through assessment arrangements which support students to navigate challenging transitions between formative and summative phases of assessment.
Originality/value
This paper reports on an innovative research design which combined a textual “snapshot” of supervisory feedback, paying close attention to language, with detailed longitudinal case studies exploring perspectives on feedback over time. It contributes to doctoral writing research by throwing light on the relatively underexplored domain of writing in the taught phase of the PD. It contributes to doctoral education studies by highlighting the central role of feedback on writing in shaping the experience of PD researchers.
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Tseen Khoo and Jonathan O'Donnell
The increasingly pressured environment of academia has led to many toxic manifestations within sector cultures, such as hyper-competitiveness, erosion of research integrity…
Abstract
The increasingly pressured environment of academia has led to many toxic manifestations within sector cultures, such as hyper-competitiveness, erosion of research integrity, workforce attrition and increasing instances of burnout. The aim of The Research Whisperer (RW) blog is to level the research career playing field by providing honest, informed and compassionate perspectives about contemporary academia that reaches across institutions and internationally. We seek to counter the pervasive negativity with alternative perspectives on academic life that are realistic and prioritise kindness, generosity and a holistic approach to valuing research and researchers. The blog and its associated social media channels have cultivated a significant community of international researchers and research support professionals. This chapter discusses RW's strategies in growing and managing its global researcher community (through blog posts, social media, workshops and conferences), issues around its sustainability and what having such a community means.
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Susan Carter, Qiyu Sun and Farrah Jabeen
This study aims to broaches several endemic challenges for academics who support doctoral writing: writers are emotionally protective of their own writing; writing a thesis in…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to broaches several endemic challenges for academics who support doctoral writing: writers are emotionally protective of their own writing; writing a thesis in English as a second language is a challenging, complex task; and advising across cultures is delicate. Giving constructive feedback kindly, but with the rigour needed to raise writing quality can seem daunting. Addressing those issues, the authors offer a novel way of working with writing feedback across cultures.
Design/methodology/approach
The case study research team of two candidates and one supervisor stumbled onto an effective way of working across cultural and institutional difference. What began as advisory feedback on doctoral writing became an effective collaborative analysis of prose meaning-making. The authors reflected separately and collectively on how this happened, analysed reflections and this narrative inquiry approach led to theories of use to writing feedback practice.
Findings
The authors cross between theory and praxis, showing that advisors and supervisors can create Bhabha’s post-colonial third space (a promising social space that sits between cultures, beyond hierarchies, where new ways of thinking can be collaboratively generated) as a working environment for international doctoral writing feedback. Within this zone, Brechtian alienation, a theory from theatre practice, is applied to prompt emotional detachment that enables focus on writing clearly in academic English.
Research limitations/implications
Arguably the writing feedback session the authors described remains bound by the generic expectations of a western education system. The study is exegetical, humanities reading of practice, rather than a social science gathering of empirical data. Yet the humanities approach suits the point that a change of language, attitude and theory can give positive leverage with doctoral writing feedback.
Practical implications
The authors provide a novel practical method of supporting international doctoral candidates’ writing with feedback across cultures. It entails attracting the writers’ interest in theory and persuading them, via theory, to look objectively and freshly at their own writing. Also backed by theory, a theoretical cross-cultural space allows for discussion about differences and similarities. Detachment from proprietorial emotions and cross-cultural openness enables productive work amongst the mechanics of clear academic English text.
Originality/value
Underpinned by sociocultural and metacognitive approaches to learning, reflection from student and supervisor perspectives (the data), and oriented by theory, the authors propose another strategy for supporting doctoral writing across cultures. The authors demonstrate a third space approach for writing feedback across cultures, showing how to operationalise theory.
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Natasha Kitano and Murray Lane
The purpose of this research is to assess the impact of the synchronous online teaching strategy on higher degree research students, particularly those dealing with isolation. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to assess the impact of the synchronous online teaching strategy on higher degree research students, particularly those dealing with isolation. The aim is to enhance their coping mechanisms and writing productivity, fostering a supportive learning environment.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employed surveys to evaluate the effectiveness of a synchronous online teaching strategy designed for Higher Degree Research students who may experience isolation. The strategy incorporated activities involving writing, reflection, and peer interaction, targeting students who prefer social and solitary learning.
Findings
The results indicate that the teaching strategy significantly benefited a majority of higher degree research students, promoting skill improvement in writing, reflection, and meaningful connections within the student community. Notably, it exhibited the strongest positive correlation with solitary learners, particularly in terms of social connection, reducing their sense of isolation.
Research limitations/implications
This research underscores the potential of tailored teaching strategies in addressing isolation among Higher Degree Research students, acknowledging limitations including reliance on surveys. The study’s findings have significance for pedagogical design in online and blended learning environments, offering strategies to combat isolation and enhance the student experience while supporting diverse learning preferences. Further investigation into different learning contexts and demographics is also warranted.
Originality/value
This research contributes to the field by demonstrating the positive impact of a synchronous online teaching strategy on higher degree research students, particularly those prone to isolation. It emphasises the value of tailored approaches in enhancing their educational experience and combating feelings of solitude.
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David F. Feldon, Kathan D. Shukla and Michelle Anne Maher
This study aims to examine the contribution of faculty–student coauthorship to the development of graduate students’ research skills in the sciences, technology, engineering and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the contribution of faculty–student coauthorship to the development of graduate students’ research skills in the sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by quantitatively assessing rubric-measured research skill gains over the course of an academic year compared to students who did not report participating in coauthorship with faculty mentors.
Design/methodology/approach
A quasi-experimental mixed methods approach was used to test the hypothesis that the influence of STEM graduate students’ mentored writing mentorship experiences would be associated with differential improvement in the development of their research skills over the course of an academic year.
Findings
The results indicate that students who co-authored with faculty mentors were likely to develop significantly higher levels of research skills than students who did not. In addition, less than half of the participants reported having such experiences, suggesting that increased emphasis on this practice amongst faculty could enhance graduate student learning outcomes.
Originality/value
Qualitative studies of graduate student writing experiences have alluded to outcomes that transcend writing quality per se and speak directly to the research skills acquired by the students as part of their graduate training. However, no study to date has captured the discrete effects of writing experiences on these skills in a quantifiable way.
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The objective of this study was to investigate and explore the emotion experiences of employees in a work context. A non-probability sample (N=52) was taken from the mining…
Abstract
The objective of this study was to investigate and explore the emotion experiences of employees in a work context. A non-probability sample (N=52) was taken from the mining industry in the North West and Gauteng Provinces of South Africa. Data collection was done through a phenomenological method of semistructured in-depth interviews and observations. Content analysis was used to analyze and interpret the research data through open coding. The main goal was to determine the emotion experiences of employees, and the following three themes were extracted on the basis of three research questions: what are the particular emotions employees experience at work; what are the specific events or situations that lead to these emotions; and how do employees manage or control these emotion experiences. Some of the emotions experienced were anger, aggression and frustration, disappointment, and suspicion, skepticism and cynicism. The specific events were divided into three levels namely organizational, group, and individual level. Some of these events included organizational culture, lack of managerial support, supervisory relationships and ineffective communication, relationships at work, and role conflict. It was also found that employees make use of emotion work, emotional intelligence, and emotional distancing and detachment to regulate and manage emotion experiences.