{"title":"Challenging the empowerment expectation: Learning, alienation and design possibilities in community-university research","authors":"Joe Curnow","doi":"10.5130/IJCRE.V10I1.5151","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5130/IJCRE.V10I1.5151","url":null,"abstract":"As community-university partnerships have become mainstream, researchers have argued that these approaches have the potential to be transformative, supporting community learning and creating capacity for community development. While this remains the dominant narrative of community research, some researchers have questioned the impacts of community research on frontline community, or peer, researchers who represent partnerships in their communities. These studies complicate the narrative, suggesting that learning and capacity building are not straightforward processes. While on the whole community-university partnerships tend to be empowering for community researchers, research is needed to understand the experiences of community researchers for whom this is not the case. My research examines a Toronto-based community-university participatory action research partnership, asking what community researchers learnt through their participation. I argue that, while community researchers learnt a great deal from their participation, the overall impact was not empowerment, but alienation. They did have their knowledge of community validated, and they built research skills, developed grievances through their conversations with neighbours and interrogated the links between grievances, all of which were important aspects of their participation. However, through the process they developed, or entrenched, a sense of powerlessness and dependence on the university researchers to take up their cause politically. This contradicts the aspirations of community-university partnership models, especially participatory action research, and raises questions about the inevitability of empowering social action stemming from these research projects. I argue that the disempowerment that the community researchers reported points to the need for community research to be embedded within existing social action organisations and infrastructure to provide clearer pathways to action because, without this, peer researchers may become overwhelmed by the scope of the grievances in their neighbourhoods and withdraw from, rather than embrace, the need for collective social action.","PeriodicalId":53967,"journal":{"name":"Gateways-International Journal of Community Research and Engagement","volume":"87 1","pages":"229–48-229–48"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2017-06-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88948791","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Supporting communities of practice: A reflection on the benefits and challenges facing communities of practice for research and engagement in nursing","authors":"M. D. Waal, O. Khumisi","doi":"10.5130/IJCRE.V9I1.4717","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5130/IJCRE.V9I1.4717","url":null,"abstract":"Because of its potential self-sustainability, communities of practice may serve as useful practice-based knowledge sharing platforms for collaborative research and training, and thereby enhance development of human resources in the health sector. However, communities of practice are complex structures and need support from their host organisations and commitment from their members. This article examines the diverse ways in which communities of nurse educators and practitioners who were part of a funded program in Tshwane District, South Africa evolved over a period of seven years. Adopting an ethnographic approach of reflexivity and learning, we compared and analysed the ways in which the communities of practice became sustainable over time. Our recommendations for institutional support of communities of practice in the health sector are based on the lessons we learned during the program that contributed to the configuration and reconfiguration of some of our communities of practice and the disengagement of others. We believe that our findings may have implications for replicability and sustainability of other communities of practice. Keywords: collaborative learning, collective knowledge, self-sustainability","PeriodicalId":53967,"journal":{"name":"Gateways-International Journal of Community Research and Engagement","volume":"100 1","pages":"58-73"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2016-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76083512","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Unusual conversations: A reflection on the mechanics of internationally engaged public scholarship","authors":"Jonathan Damiani","doi":"10.5130/IJCRE.V9I1.4389","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5130/IJCRE.V9I1.4389","url":null,"abstract":"This article analyses the civic engagement pathways of researchers from the Asia-Pacific and the United States in an effort to see how the principles of what American scholars consider publicly engaged research and creative practice are being enacted in research sites across the globe. The purpose of this ongoing project is to focus on finding ways of connecting American scholars with a network of higher education and research institutions that hold a commitment and passion for social responsibility and civic engagement as it impacts education, research and service for community development overseas. The narrative includes the voices and perspectives of colleagues dedicated to engaged scholarship from across the new region in which I work (the Asia-Pacific), alongside the voices of some of Imagining America’s (IA) 2014 National Conference participants. These conversations serve as a critical reflection on the mechanics of doing public scholarship overseas and frame a new model of internationally engaged scholarship. Keywords: Internationally engaged public scholarship, unusual conversations","PeriodicalId":53967,"journal":{"name":"Gateways-International Journal of Community Research and Engagement","volume":"28 1","pages":"132-144"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2016-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84931443","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ciann L. Wilson, V. Oliver, S. Flicker, T. Prentice, R. Jackson, J. Larkin, Jean-Paul Restoule, C. Mitchell
{"title":"‘Culture’ as HIV Prevention: Indigenous Youth Speak Up!","authors":"Ciann L. Wilson, V. Oliver, S. Flicker, T. Prentice, R. Jackson, J. Larkin, Jean-Paul Restoule, C. Mitchell","doi":"10.5130/IJCRE.V9I1.4802","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5130/IJCRE.V9I1.4802","url":null,"abstract":"This article explores the ways in which (a) Indigenous youth involved in an HIV intervention took up and reclaimed their cultures as a project of defining ‘self’, and (b) how Indigenous ‘culture’ can be used as a tool for resistance, HIV prevention and health promotion. Data were drawn from the Taking Action Project: Using arts-based approaches to develop Aboriginal youth leadership in HIV prevention . ‘By youth, for youth’ HIV education and awareness workshops were facilitated in six Indigenous communities across Canada, incorporating traditional and contemporary art forms to explore how youth perceived the links between structural inequality and HIV vulnerability. Over 100 youth participated, with 70 partaking in individual interviews to reflect on their experiences at the workshops. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using NVivo software. Indigenous youth understood culture as a complex construct that included reconnecting to land, body, history, community and ceremony. For many youth, being Aboriginal and participating in cultural activities was seen as important for intergenerational healing, empowerment, health and combatting HIV. Youth spoke excitedly of their attempts to reclaim their languages and cultures despite barriers. They also understood art as a medium for self-expression and as an important site of cultural evolution. Our project demonstrates that the incorporation of culture within health strategies is important for effective HIV prevention amongst Indigenous youth. Reclaiming Indigenous cultures, languages and ceremonies may help to nurture future generations, diminish cycles of victimisation and combat hopelessness by reconnecting youth to stories of resistance and survival. Keywords: Indigenous youth, culture, HIV prevention, arts-based research","PeriodicalId":53967,"journal":{"name":"Gateways-International Journal of Community Research and Engagement","volume":"23 1","pages":"74-88"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2016-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83062570","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Impact of international humanitarian service-learning on emerging adult social competence: A mixed-methods evaluation","authors":"Paul L. Schvaneveldt, T. Spencer","doi":"10.5130/IJCRE.V9I1.4788","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5130/IJCRE.V9I1.4788","url":null,"abstract":"This article presents the results from a study into international humanitarian service-learning experiences on young adult volunteers. Specifically, the service-learning experiences of emerging adults who had served in orphanages in Latin America were assessed, in a pre- and post-test design, for their development in areas of social competency such as identity, self-efficacy, self-esteem and ethnocentric attitudes. A mixed-methods design using both qualitative and quantitative measures was used. Both qualitative and quantitative results identified significant and important impacts on the development of the social competencies of these emerging adults. In addition, several qualitative themes illustrated that longer term international service-learning experiences have a profound impact on the social competence of emerging adults. Keywords: International humanitarian service, service-learning, emerging adult competency","PeriodicalId":53967,"journal":{"name":"Gateways-International Journal of Community Research and Engagement","volume":"18 1","pages":"113-131"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2016-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74254232","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
L. Peek, Jennifer Tobin-Gurley, Robin S. Cox, L. Scannell, Sarah Fletcher, C. Heykoop
{"title":"Engaging youth in post-disaster research: Lessons learned from a creative methods approach","authors":"L. Peek, Jennifer Tobin-Gurley, Robin S. Cox, L. Scannell, Sarah Fletcher, C. Heykoop","doi":"10.5130/IJCRE.V9I1.4875","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5130/IJCRE.V9I1.4875","url":null,"abstract":"Children and youth often demonstrate resilience and capacity in the face of disasters. Yet, they are typically not given the opportunities to engage in youth-driven research and lack access to official channels through which to contribute their perspectives to policy and practice during the recovery process. To begin to fill this void in research and action, this multi-site research project engaged youth from disaster-affected communities in Canada and the United States. This article presents a flexible youth-centric workshop methodology that uses participatory and arts-based methods to elicit and explore youth’s disaster and recovery experiences. The opportunities and challenges associated with initiating and maintaining partnerships, reciprocity and youth-adult power differentials using arts-based methods, and sustaining engagement in post-disaster settings, are discussed. Ultimately, this work contributes to further understanding of the methods being used to conduct research for , with , and about youth. Keywords: youth, disaster recovery, engagement, resilience, arts-based methods, participatory research","PeriodicalId":53967,"journal":{"name":"Gateways-International Journal of Community Research and Engagement","volume":"6 6 1","pages":"89-112"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2016-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77101270","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Christine Garinger, Kristin A. Reynolds, J. Walker, Emma Firsten-Kaufman, Alicia Raimundo, Pauline C Fogarty, M. Leonhart
{"title":"Mobilizing Minds: Integrated knowledge translation and youth engagement in the development of mental health information resources","authors":"Christine Garinger, Kristin A. Reynolds, J. Walker, Emma Firsten-Kaufman, Alicia Raimundo, Pauline C Fogarty, M. Leonhart","doi":"10.5130/IJCRE.V9I1.4415","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5130/IJCRE.V9I1.4415","url":null,"abstract":"High rates of highly persistent mental health problems can have significantly damaging effects on young adults’ lives, and young adults are less likely to seek treatment for such problems. This article describes a unique Canadian knowledge translation project called Mobilizing Minds: Pathways to Young Adult Mental Health , which aimed to impact not only the mental health literacy of young adults, but to engage young adults in the entire research process from inception to dissemination of results. Knowledge translation is a process that involves producing and assessing the quality of the knowledge to be translated and tailoring the knowledge to be user friendly for particular segments of the population. The article gives particular attention to the ways in which the Mobilizing Minds project was influenced by youth engagement. We discuss three aspects: 1) structures, processes and communication; 2) project products ; and 3) challenges and responses. Lessons learned specific to intergenerational collaboration will be of interest to youth as consumers of mental health information and services, mental health practitioners, researchers, and decision-makers seeking to improve mental health at a systemic level. Keywords: knowledge translation, young adult, mental health, participatory research, youth engagement, youth-adult partnerships","PeriodicalId":53967,"journal":{"name":"Gateways-International Journal of Community Research and Engagement","volume":"8 1","pages":"172-185"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2016-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82505297","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Caught up in power: Exploring discursive frictions in community research","authors":"Cindy Hanson, Adeyemi O. Ogunade","doi":"10.5130/IJCRE.V9I1.4729","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5130/IJCRE.V9I1.4729","url":null,"abstract":"This article outlines the debate around the emancipatory claims of community-based research (CBR) and identifies discursive frictions as a pivotal point upon which much of CBR practice revolves. Using a Foucauldian theoretical lens, we suggest that CBR is neither inherently emancipatory nor repressive, but that research outcomes are more often a product of power asymmetries in CBR relationships. To illustrate how power asymmetries in research relationships produce discursive frictions, several studies from our work and the literature are presented. The article provides examples of CBR relationships between the researcher and community members and relationships within the community to illustrate how power asymmetries and discursive frictions in these relationships dynamically influence research outcomes and thus alert researchers to the need to address power asymmetries not just before initiating CBR projects, but during CBR projects as well. We interrogate how power asymmetries and discursive frictions operate and are constructed in CBR in an attempt to highlight how research might be conducted more effectively and ethically. Finally, we indicate that some of the tensions and challenges associated with CBR might be ameliorated by the use of participatory facilitation methodologies, such as photo-voice and story circle discussion groups, that draw attention to power asymmetries and purposefully use more creative participatory tools to restructure power relationships and ultimately address the inequities that exist in the research process. Because CBR is continually caught up in power dynamics, we hope that highlighting some examples might offer an opportunity for increased dialogue and critical reflection on its claims of empowerment and emancipation. Keywords: discursive friction, Foucault, participatory methodologies, power asymmetries, research relationships, emancipatory research","PeriodicalId":53967,"journal":{"name":"Gateways-International Journal of Community Research and Engagement","volume":"15 1","pages":"41-57"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2016-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86048768","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Fundamental researcher attributes: Reflections on ways to facilitate participation in Community Psychology doctoral dissertation research","authors":"R. Liboro, R. Travers","doi":"10.5130/IJCRE.V9I1.4353","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5130/IJCRE.V9I1.4353","url":null,"abstract":"As novice researchers, Community Psychology doctoral students encounter fresh challenges when they attempt to facilitate participation by members of the community in their dissertation projects. This article presents the merit in adopting fundamental researcher attributes, which have been described in published academic literature as personal characteristics that facilitate participation by members of the community in research studies. The value of these researcher attributes is exemplified in the discussion of one of the author’s experiences in the early stages of his dissertation research process. This article also presents new researcher attributes for facilitating participation by community members that the author recognised after critical reflection on his experiences during the same research process. Cultural humility , shared vulnerability , reflexivity , methodological flexibility , academic assiduity and creative resourcefulness are researcher attributes doctoral students should consider adopting and developing if they intend to facilitate participation by members of the community in their dissertation projects. Keywords: researcher attributes, graduate students, doctoral dissertation, participatory research, participation continuum","PeriodicalId":53967,"journal":{"name":"Gateways-International Journal of Community Research and Engagement","volume":"53 1","pages":"145-158"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2016-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81145560","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A. Egeru, P. Nampala, H. Massa-Makuma, M. Osiru, A. Ekwamu
{"title":"Innovating for skills enhancement in agricultural sciences in Africa: The centrality of field attachment programs","authors":"A. Egeru, P. Nampala, H. Massa-Makuma, M. Osiru, A. Ekwamu","doi":"10.5130/ijcre.v9i1.4868","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5130/ijcre.v9i1.4868","url":null,"abstract":"Africa remains an intensely agrarian continent, with two-thirds of its people directly or indirectly deriving their livelihood from agriculture. Higher agricultural education has thus emphasised production of graduates with the requisite skills to drive agricultural development. Despite these efforts, too few graduates in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have the employable skills necessary to transition to the labour market. A similar situation is observable among agricultural science graduates, who are vital to serving rural smallholder farmers. Most Colleges of Agriculture in Africa offer field attachment internships in agriculture and related fields but they are largely designed to cater for undergraduate students and are not part of the training programs at graduate level. To ameliorate this gap, the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), a network of 55 member universities in SSA, designed and rolled out an innovative field attachment program award (FAPA), launched in 2010, to serve graduate students. The FAPA is competitively based and designed to encourage students to follow through with the dissemination of their research and to enable them to link more closely with the communities and agencies working in the geographical area where the research was undertaken. During the period 2010–2015, five grant cycles were successfully implemented and 114 graduate students from 17 countries in SSA awarded. This article discusses the lessons learned during this period by examining two key areas: (1) the application process and implementation of the awards; and (2) the reported outcomes and challenges for grantees. Establishing the award has generated key technical and implementation lessons that the network and individual universities have been able to use to improve and institutionalise processes. Grantees have reported gaining a range of cross-cutting skills in personal mastery, initiative leadership and innovativeness, proactivity, flexibility, communication, analytical capacity, teamwork, networking and advocacy, and technical capacity, particularly in engaging with smallholder farmers. They have also noted significant challenges, in particular around establishing productive and sustainable engagement with smallholder farmers. These outcomes have influenced curricular reviews by member universities, with particular emphasis on these skills sets. Keywords: graduate employability, internships, sub-Saharan Africa, university","PeriodicalId":53967,"journal":{"name":"Gateways-International Journal of Community Research and Engagement","volume":"139 1","pages":"159-171"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2016-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81398013","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}