October 09, 2024

New Episode: Teacher Practitioners as Researchers

Writing about web page https://exchanges.warwick.ac.uk/index.php/exchanges/podcast

A second episode promoted by the research culture special issue of the podcast is released.

After many months of it being rather quiet on the podcasting front, I’m genuinely pleased we seem to have moved into a fruitful period of production. With the third episode in as many weeks now live, listeners have a chance to take a deeper diver into the paper by Elizabeth Hidson (Faculty of Education and Society, University of Sunderland) which featured in our research culture special issue just over a month ago. Elizabeth, or Liz as she prefers, works in the area of educational research and teacher training, with a particular interest in international teaching experiences.

Listen in here: International Teacher Practitioners as Researchers: In Conversation with Elizabeth Hidson [24:21]

Her paper (Developing a Research Culture with Trainee Teachers on International Initial Teacher Training Programmes) talks about ideas of installing research culture ideas into a community of practitioners who might not normally consider themselves as ‘researchers’. As such, our conversation looks at the challenges she and her students face, not least of which come from the changing environments, perceptions and insights which arise when we step outside our western educational cultural norms.

We move on then to talk about some of Liz’s other work and forthcoming publications, touching on I’m pleased to say ideas around the benefits of open access publishing – to authors and readers around the world. Naturally, we also explore some of Liz’s experiences in publishing, and the advice she has to offer others approaching their earliest formal publications: not least of which being her suggestion to ‘find your tribe’ in creating an effective research discourse.

I hope you enjoy the episode, because I’m recording three more episodes next week – so there’s plenty more to come this year in terms of episodes. And naturally, if you’re a past author of Exchanges and keen to appear as a guest to talk about your work and publications, then get in touch, as we’d love to have you on the podcast show!


October 02, 2024

New Episode: Being an Effective Academic Citizen

Writing about web page https://exchanges.warwick.ac.uk/index.php/exchanges/podcast

Our second new episode takes a lengthy look at the changing field of academic publishing and how it relates to post-graduate researcher training.

I sat down to talk with Dr Jonathan Vickery (School of Arts, Warwick) a couple of weeks ago in the School’s custom podcast recording studio for a chat. Jonathan is more than one of our recent Exchanges authors, in that he is also editor of the Journal of Law, Social Justice and Global Development – one our fellow Warwick based titles. As a result we were able to have quite a lengthy chat around the themes of his paper - Critical Reflections on Universities, Publishing, and the Early Career Experience. The paper itself was born from a pair of IAS panel workshops I chaired earlier in 2024, at which Jonathan was one of my gracious panel members.

Without wanting to spoil anything ahead of listeners experiencing this episode, I think it is fair to say that we touched on a variety of very interesting and highly relevant areas for post-graduate researchers and indeed anyone involved in their development. We considered the technologically-driven evolution of academic publishing, and Jonathan in particular feels we’re either on the cusp or in the middle of a genuine phase change not seen since the introduction of movable type. Touching on ideas of knowledge economy, academic enterprise and collaboration vs competition in the academy though, there’s plenty of food for thought throughout the episode. For my own part it was fantastic to use the recording equipment – and I’ll note my particular thanks here to the technical staff who got it set up for us. It was even more of a pleasure though to have unfettered access to a scholar like Jonathan to talk about a topic very close to my own heart.

Hopefully we’ll be brining you a few more episodes shortly – although I suspect they might not run quite so long as this discussion. But then again, you never know!


September 26, 2024

New Episode: Outreach, Reaching Across the Divide & Engaging the Public

Writing about web page https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/BDEDZbjNcNb

A new episode relating to the research culture special issue is now live.

I am pleased to announce we have a new episode of the Exchanges Discourse podcast, the first in a series of episodes that are coming your way over the next couple of months. This is the first in a mini-series featuring authors who contributed to our special research culture special issue, and I couldn’t be happier to have such a gracious guest as Phil Jemmett from Warwick’s own WMG. Listen to our conversation here:

As always we talk a lot about my guest’s life and work, but especially the article Phil and colleagues contributed to our recent journal issue – entitled: Engaging Academics with Outreach: How the ‘STEM Connections’ model empowers staff. Along the way we also talk about Phil’s publishing experiences, thoughts on being a public academic including matters of opinion on the best way to represent yourself and your research to a class of potentially disengaged school children. As such, our conversation touches on various techniques for engaging the public with topics of academic research and expertise. As a result, we get chatting about how to improve your academic presentational skills and especially the best routes to capturing an audience’s attention.

As always the episode concludes by offering some advice to less seasoned academic authors in publishing approaches and ways in which they can make their papers really sing.

You can read Phil and colleagues article here: https://doi.org/10.31273/eirj.v11i3.1544

As always, my thanks to my guest for their thoughts, and I hope you enjoy the episode.

Next up, as I recorded it last week, is a long and exciting chat with fellow editor and author Jonathan Vickery on the subject of publishing and the knowledge economy. Hopefully with you this time next week!



September 25, 2024

Special Issue Published: MRC @ 50

Writing about web page https://doi.org/10.31273/eirj.v11i4

After only a month, another special issue of Exchanges is launched to celebrate a unique, special and impactful archive

This half of the year has felt rather like a continual production of issues of Exchanges, which I guess is no bad thing! After last month’s highly anticipated and well-received Research Culture special issue, today I am so pleased to reveal we’ve just published our next one. This time the special issue [1] celebrates, commemorates and highlights work on and around the Modern Records Centre (MRC) archive here at the University of Warwick. In part the issue is a potted guide to the history of the MRC itself, but mostly it celebrates the fantastic role archives play in enabling groundbreaking and insightful social, cultural and historical research.

Read the issue:

https://exchanges.warwick.ac.uk/index.php/exchanges/issue/view/100 or https://doi.org/10.31273/eirj.v11i4

Most of the articles in the issue are drawn from the 50th anniversary symposium hosted last year by the MRC, where speakers talked about their personal reflections of the archive, as much as they focused in on the research its collections have helped them to achieve. Hence this issue is very much a reflection of that day, wherein we invited all the speakers to contribute in some way. Not everyone decided or was able to contribute, but I would argue a strongly representative sample of the speakers have, making this volume a fitting capstone to the fantastic MRC’s ‘special’ birthday year.

Naturally, as with all specials there’s been a lot of work behind the scenes to bring the issue to you, not least of that from a great team of associate editors. Along the way we’ve faced some unexpected organisational challenges which did slow down the production of the issue a little bit – but I have been so impressed as always by the dedication, focus and team spirit I’ve seen from all the editors. Much as I am happy to have the issue live, I’m certainly sad I won’t be working with these people closely for the foreseeable future – they really have been a fantastic group!

Anyway, with this issue out, I can return my focus to the forthcoming regular issue of Exchanges due out next month (!), and following up with all the authors of both recent special issues too.[2] Not to mention, talking with my editors on the other special issues we’ve got developing…

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[1] Officially our 8th special, since the first one in 2020. 4 more are active development right now too.

[2] I’m hoping I’ve not been too quiet in the past couple of weeks as my focus has been squarely on getting this issue out!


September 17, 2024

Attending the International Research Culture Conference 2024

Writing about web page https://warwick.ac.uk/research/ncrc/ircc/

Second research culture conference is a time to celebrate and look to the future.

Yesterday I went along as Exchanges Chief Editor to attend the second International Research Culture Conference(IRCC '24), hosted at Warwick once more. As readers will remember at the 2023 event we launched our collaboration with the National Centre for Research Culture and the work began towards producing our first research culture special issue. That came out last month, and if you haven’t read it yet – you really should.

Yesterday was a chance, alongside listening to a range of informative and engaging speakers, to celebrate this publication a little. More importantly thought it was a chance to announce the call for the next research culture special issue – arising from this year’s conference. That, and of course my call for more associate editors to get involved. Delegates to the event will soon have a mailshot with more information about that.

It was a long day, but another one where I spent most of the moments between sessions talking to various delegates about the journal, our plans and how they can get involved. My thanks to everyone who stopped by our stall for a little chat – and I hope you enjoyed our little bits of promotional merchandise too. And my thanks to the NCRC for working with us once again in launching this second exciting issue call.

Next up though, my focus will be swinging firmly back onto the MRC @ 50 special issue – coming very, very soon to your screens.

Our shared exhibit stand


September 11, 2024

Reflections on: Collaboration of the Faculties– Adventures in Interdisciplinarity

Writing about web page https://exchanges.warwick.ac.uk/index.php/exchanges/


British Academy event for early career researchers explores some exciting and innovative thinking about interdisciplinary working and research.

Hyperbole is omnipresent in Linked.In posts, to a routinely and often nauseating superfluidity, but for once when I posted last week about being ‘delighted’, ‘honoured’ and ‘inspired’ by an event I attended: this was quite simply the honest truth. Last Friday (6th Feb) I had the genuine pleasure to head into London to the prestigious British Academy’s Westminster headquarters to attend their Early Career Researcher Network’s event entitled Collaboration of the Faculties - Adventures in Interdisciplinarity. This intriguingly titled event promised to explore the challenges of combining differing perspectives and methodologies, dissemination of interdisciplinary work and how to engage audiences across the disciplines. No small challenge!

I’d been approached way back in March this year by Paula Back, the BA’s ECR Network Officer, to get involved as a panellist. I realised from the outset, rather gratifyingly, I was one of the first people who’d been approached, which was a rare treat. Since then, there’s been a regular stream of conversation from the organisers which I’ve been privy too as they built up to the event. It felt very inclusive, and welcoming, to be included in this, rather the often-distant communications one has when speaking at other events! Certainly, I will say the planning organisation and delivering of this researcher development event was pretty much close to my personal ideal, and everyone involved should be commended for it!

On the day, the first thing that struck me was how welcoming and engaged everyone present was. I know most of the audience, beyond the speakers, are self-selected – those who have decided to attend. Yet, the resultant audience was so receptive you’d almost suspect they’d be carefully chosen to attend based on their willingness to engage! Certainly, at many conferences I’ve attended, many people head off into their cliques or friendship groups, to the exclusion of a wider conversation. Being somewhat of a wallflower [1] I sometimes find it challenging to network and have wider discussions as a result. This wasn’t a problem at the BA event, as I barely stopped talking for the entire event run time [2.] Frankly, by the end of the day, I was ready to go silent for some hours and simply let my brain start to reflect on the event.

Now, I’m not going to try and capture a blow-by-blow account of the day. There were so many excellent speakers, questions and side-discussions that it would take me far too long to recount. Not to mention, I’m sure there are better scribes than I out there who will have written a fuller accounting [3]. What I will share though are some of my key takeaways that have resonated with me over the weekend – in no order of priority!

Language barriers: A common theme was the difficulty of speaking to non-domain experts about your research or work, without using terms which are at worst opaque, or where you end up explaining them in other domain terms. Not ideal! When attempting to apply for funding or forming an effective interdisciplinary research teams, it is exactly these sorts of linguistic barriers which can create a genuine challenge to team cohesion and effectiveness. These sorts of barriers are perhaps even more apparent when scholars consider outlining their research or its outcomes to the public or to members of policy sphere and political classes.

Identity: A personal quandary for many researchers seeking to move to an interdisciplinary space or sphere of working. HEIs and senior executives continue to express their keenness for researchers to be more interdisciplinary in their working and practice. However, many of the esteem markers and career progression mechanisms are simply not configured to recognise or authenticate the ‘value’ of such work. Domain specific research remains more ‘significant’ in terms of these esteem markers, which means in terms of establishing an identity and even a career as an interdisciplinary researcher it can be a major uphill struggle with a slower progression to the senior grades. This was an area within which a number of speakers highlighted the importance of policy makers in changing perceptions and the lived reality.

Power Dysfunctions: A theme common to me from my own publishing research, but the existence of power dynamic imbalances are an issue even within interdisciplinary researcher groups. We’ve all encountered the ‘powerful’ and ‘dominant’ PI. Yet, broadly speaking, when groups of researchers come from across the disciplines to tackle a common problem scientists will typically view a problem from a certain vantage point or precept to those in the humanities, for example. Now, whomever is the driving or vocal force within the group – hierarchically speaking or simply by force of personality, can artificially close off exactly the kind of exciting, original or novel paths of exploration which interdisciplinary working is supposed to enable. As one speaker put it ‘to the [man] with the hammer, every problem looks like a nail’. [4] Overcoming this, can mean serious changes to underlying research culture too, another topic within which I’m heartily familiar.

Show Don’t Tell: When seeking to engage audiences around novel interdisciplinary-related concepts, methodologies or approaches – be they fellow researchers, the public, media or policy makers – ‘show don’t tell’ is a great approach [5]. It can help overcome some of those language barriers mentioned above, but can also help the interdisciplinary researcher by ‘forcing’ them to recontextualise their own work and potentially see it in a fresh light. Quite simply, by finding new ways to engage with audiences (and have audiences engage themselves) simply having objects, exhibits or interactive interventions can ensure a greater degree of success than simply seeking to ‘explain’ an interdisciplinary idea, research, method or methodology.

The Future is Interdisciplinary: ‘Complex real-world problems require interdisciplinary solutions’ as one speaker succinctly put it. When you look at global problems – climate change, space-exploration, healthcare etc., – there is no singular research domain that has the complete picture or solution. Working across boundaries, brining knowledge, expertise and ability from across the interdisciplinary spectrum is key to creating effective, practical leavers to affect successful change or outcomes. Getting this degree of buy in (and appreciating some of the challenges mentioned above) though, is still a journey: not everyone is ready, willing or able to step out of their disciplinary silo. Yet. Perhaps in a decade or so this might be a more natural expectation – look at the move towards open publishing for example – but for now, disciplinarity remains the realpolitik and de facto ruling principles of the academy.

Connectivity is Key: I would argue the event itself was this connectivity made manifest, but in achieving this effective interdisciplinary working future for researchers and society, finding people who are likeminded, who are willing to step beyond the disciplinary and helping to support and enable each other is key goal. Fresh and exciting perspectives await!

Alongside this exciting stuff, I was speaking myself about Exchanges and our role in facilitating interdisciplinary publishing – without any myopic application of ‘true’ or ‘authentic’ interdisciplinary research: we remain catholic, welcoming and all-encompassing in our approach. I was gratified to have such a positive feedback from the audience to my comments and answers to questions, as well as the delegates and organisers I spoke to throughout the day, about Exchanges’ rationale and approach. I hope in our own, modest, way we can help engender the kinds of exchanges (#sorrynotsorry) which the British Academy event was seeking to enable through this event. Certainly, from a more pragmatic standpoint, as more than one potential author spoke to me on the day and subsequently about future article ideas, I’m excited to see what fresh perspectives we can help bring to global attention in our forthcoming issues.

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My grateful thanks to everyone attending, who asked a question and of course the British Academy for the invite to get involved in the first place. I had a simply terrific day, and I suspect a version of this blog post will be appearing as a future editorial in Exchanges itself! So, I was certainly inspired too.

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Endnotes

[1] No, honestly, I am. Despite appearances to the contrary.

[2] Except, naturally, during the presentations.

[3] Of course if anyone would like to submit a critical reflection article on the events and speakers of the day, I’d be more than happy to consider it for publication!

[4] I work with a lot of scientists, and this feels very true to me – there’s always a positivist viewpoint that is privileged over others – frustrating!

[5] And one I’ve long loved from screenwriting theory and practice, I should note.

Myself & Prof Tia de Nora on our Dissemination panel, photo credit the British Academy


August 20, 2024

Journal Server Upgrades for Future Developments

Writing about web page https://exchanges.warwick.ac.uk/index.php/exchanges/announcement/view/63

The week beginning 2nd September sees changes to Exchanges server and potential brief downtime.

Due to a planned server migration for Exchanges, and the other Warwick University Press Journals, during the first week of September there is a possibility that access to the site may be restricted. While we’re awaiting an update to learn more about the exact timings – I suspect it won’t be across the entire week – I thought it was worth highlighting the issue for all our author and reader community.

Practically, what this means is that there may be periods of time during the week beginning 2nd September when readers, reviewers and indeed editors (and myself) won’t be able to either login or access Exchanges. Our apologies in advance for any issues this creates, but as we’re out of term time our hope is that this is the least disruptive time to stage this work.

As it happens the reason behind this work is due to a migration of the servers on which all of the WUPJs are mounted, and an incoming new company who will be looking after hosting, maintaining and supporting the service. This is quite exciting to hear, as it looks like this opens up the potential for enabling future platform developments and improvements for the journal. We’ll be working with our colleagues in the University Library and other journal editors to explore this in the coming weeks, and doubtless I’ll have more to share on the subject once I have it.

In the meantime, our thanks for bearing with us as we go through this transitionary phase!


August 08, 2024

Research Culture Special Issue Goes Live

Writing about web page https://exchanges.warwick.ac.uk/index.php/exchanges/issue/view/99

August brings with it the biggest ever issue of Exchanges

I was writing my Linked.In post about the new issue of Exchanges, and I realised for once there was no hyperbole in what I was writing. I am most certainly genuinely thrilled to announce the culmination of 11 months of work with some fantastic authors and editors to bring our first ever Research Culture special issue to publication. You can read the issue with its 32 articles inspired by or drawn from the International Research Culture Conference (IRCC) 2023 here:

I am also not exaggerating when I say there are some very preeminent scholars, thinkers and practitioners represented in this issue, which makes it all the more exciting to have them in our pages. Working with the editors, and of course our issue partners at the National Centre for Research Culture (NCRC) at Warwick has been a lot of hard work, but mostly a very efficient process. While this is a HUGE issue (and achievement) it has by no means been the most challenging special issue to have worked on, and for that I am grateful.

While this publication marks the culmination of nearly a year of activity, I’m already in the early stages of preparing the way for the IRCC ’24 conference and the special issue which we’ll be producing from that too. Thankfully that issue will be 12 months from now, and I’ve around 4 or 5 other issues to support in the meantime (MRC@50 especially as that’s hopefully coming out next month). Will the next issue be as big – or as Prof Kita Sotaro (NCRC Director) suspects even bigger? I can’t say for sure right now, but going on my experiences with this one – it wouldn’t be much of surprise if it is!

Guess I’d best get recruiting some more associate editors soon then…

Naturally, my gracious thanks to the NCRC, all my editors and every single contributing author for their efforts!


August 07, 2024

Closing Time (Sort of)

Change is afoot for the Exchanges campus office

Closing time, one last call for alcohol, so finish your whiskey or beer. Closing time, you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here. (Semisonic, Closing Time, 1998)

Yes, it has come to this – the Exchanges office is closing down. But before you all start wailing and gnashing your teeth, not to mention organising a quick whip around to buy me a leaving gift [1] I should point out…this is not actually the end.

What is happening though is over here in the IAS where Exchanges is currently based our wonderful department has rather become a victim of our own success. Over the next few months, we’ve got lots of exciting new research fellows coming to join us, and unsurprisingly campus office space is (as always) at a premium. Now, I’ve very much enjoyed my current office, which I moved into during September 2019 [2] – having a space on the main campus to call my own did lend a spot of prestige to the journal. It was easier to arrange to meet people in person too, as I didn’t have to worry about checking if my office mate was in or out – nor did people have to walk a looooong way to find me.

Naturally, not that long after the IAS had moved here to Zeeman the pandemic lockdowns began. As a consequence, I didn’t really see the inside of my office regularly again for a good 18 months. [3] Despite that for the past couple of years I’ve made regular pilgrimages to my office and hosted many people for publishing and educational discussions, so I’ll confess I will miss this place. But…this isn’t the end, merely a point of inflection.

Which is why, today, I’m surrounded by boxes, bits and pieces which are moving along with me (and Exchanges) just down the corridor. This is where I’ll now be office mates with my line manager and the IAS’ associate director – the estimable Dr Fiona Fisher. Personally, I couldn’t wish for a nicer and more supportive fellow office dweller, and I’m looking forward to a range of informative, interesting and possibly amusing conversations in the coming months.

Hence, after today – if you come looking to meet with me on campus – don’t visit my old room of Zeeman of C 0.10 – but instead come along and knock on C 0.05. You’ll be assured of a warm welcome – even if I’m not there – as Fiona always likes to say hello too!

And to close as I began, with Semisonic, and the reason I picked this song for this article.

Closing time, every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end, yeah…

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Endnotes

[1] A new car would be nice, just saying.

[2] Before this I was sharing an office with a researcher over in Milburn House, on the Science Park.

[3] Being part time at Warwick, and with the pandemic it still feels like I’ve only just arrived here – despite it being the best part of 5 years ago since we transitioned here.


July 25, 2024

More Frequently Asked Questions

Writing about web page https://exchanges.warwick.ac.uk/index.php/exchanges/FAQ

The annual revision to Exchanges FAQ has finished – is your question there?

It may be the summer – although looking at the weather currently I’d be hard pressed to confirm that – which means, normally, it’s time for me to pick up on all the annual update tasks. This year though I’m hard at work trying to get our next two special issues out the door, which means I’ve got a lot less time and attention available for this sort of administrative delight. That said, this week I thought it was time to do a little spring (summer?) cleaning on our Frequently Asked Questions page. It might not be the most heavily visited part of our site, but I believe it collates a range of highly useful advice based on the sort of specific questions I get week in and week out from our contributors.

I was inspired to update it based on an excellent question I was asked by someone recently about funder acknowledgements. Incidentally, in recent years I’ve been increasingly encouraging our authors to think about this sort of information, as I’d been surprised how few of them seem to offer an acknowledgement as a matter of course. Now part of the solution would be to make it a semi-mandated field in the manuscript submission process. Given I’m not going to be able to make any changes on that any time soon [1], I thought adding something about it to the FAQ would make a suitable stab at gentle encouragement.

Of course, being the kind of person I am, once I’d tweaked one answer on the FAQ, I realised how long it had been since I last systematically updated it. By which I mean, I couldn’t honestly remember if I had ever updated the FAQ. Which I wasn’t overly happy with, and hence it became a key task for the week. So, one print out later I sat in my office with my editing blue pen [2] going through the list of questions and their answers, and in a few cases creating a few new ones to add in. Now, I am not going to suggest that all the answers to everyone’s questions are there now – but I think 80% of what I am asked regularly can now be found on the FAQ page, or indeed by following the links to the various other reams of guidance we make available for contributors.

Will it stop people asking me directly? No, and to be fair, I hope not: a bit of human interaction is always a good thing. If nothing else it helps provide a source of insight into the sort of information we need to be providing or clarifying for our contributors. I do hope though that the page as it stands offers a reliable source of information and perhaps even relief to our current and potential future contributors!

Naturally, if you’ve got a great question that’s not yet represented on the page – drop me a line. I’ll be only too happy to add it into our collection!

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Endnotes

[1] That is unless the IT Services and Library teams suddenly surprise me with hitherto unavailable developmental time. I am ever hopeful they will!

[2] Normally I edit in red or green ink, but the blue pen was to hand. #FascinatingFacts


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