Welcome to Writing the PhD dissertation: Structure, Quality and Contribution - Autumn 2024 - CPH

This course is aimed for PhD students at Social science and Humanties. PhD students enrolled at Aalborg University have priority.


Course organiser:

Ninna Meier, Institut for Sociologi og Socialt Arbejde, The Organizational Sociology Research Group

Date:

12,13,14 November, 2024

Time:

Day 1: 10-17

Day 2: 9-17

Day 3: 9-15.30

Seats:

16

ECTS:

3

Deadline for enrolment:

1 September 2024 - you will be notified about the selection. 

Deadline for paper upload if accepted: 

25 October 2024 (Confirmation of participation after deadline).

Lecturers:

Ninna Meier

Caitlin McMullin

Venue:

Lokalet Studio 2, Frederikskaj 10B, Bygning C, 1. sal., 2450 København SV, Aalborg University, Campus Copenhagen. 

Please note: The sign says building C - see map below.


Seats:

16 Confirmation of participation after the deadline. Paper deadline October 25th, 2024.

Course description, incl. learning objectives and prerequisite:

Form and content are linked in academic writing. Thus, structure, coherence, and flow are important elements that support the quality of a PhD dissertation. PhD students must learn to make decisions about their research and writing while they are doing this research and while they are writing their PhD dissertation. Thus, the ’academic craft’ involves systematic reflection and choices about focus, research question, unit of analysis, theory and concepts, philosophy of science approach, design, methods, ethics, and analysis. However, the academic craft is also demonstrated through how those choices are presented and argued for in writing and through one’s capacity to develop a text in which these choices and their consequences are clearly presented and reflected uponThis work starts in the beginning of the PhD process and lasts until the defense. The course is therefore designed to be useful to PhD students at any stage of the process. It is important to note that the course organizers will draw on research and examples from their own work and research fields. The course will thus be substantially focused on social science and qualitative research and will be open to participants from social science and humanities. Moreover, participation requires active engagement with the course literature, one’s own work, and contributions to the discussions that take place during the course.


The Purpose of the PhD course is to focus on the academic craft that is needed to write and edit the constitutive parts of a dissertation so that these parts join to a structured and coherent academic text of high quality where the boundary conditions and contributions of the dissertation are clearly presented and discussed. During the course lectures, group and solo exercises, and shared discussions we will expand participants’ ’toolbox’ and experiences with making the necessary decisions about and in their writing.

The course material draws on social science and humanities research into academic writing, especially regarding clarity, concepts/constructs, form-content relationships, the role of theory, context, quality criteria (e.g., reliability, coherence, transparency, and analytical generalizability). It is also a very practical course with a strong focus on participants’ own PhD project and writing, with exercises and time for discussions and advancing participants’ own text. 

Teaching methods:

The course consists of three main elements: 1) writing exercises (based on participant’s own research) and tools/techniques, 2) lectures, group discussions, and feedback/sparring with course organizers and other PhD students, and 3)course literature on academic writing.

The three days of the course each have a main theme. Every day will consist of lectures and discussions based on the course material, guided writing exercises, group reflections, and feedback. Participants will receive feedback on their ambitions for and challenges with writing by the course organisers, as well as from the other participants. We will also examine and discuss how the craft involved in structuring a dissertation is related to the content of the text and therefor also the specific phenomenon/object under study, the methods used to examine this, and the empirical material that is produced.

Day 1: Structure. We begin by discussing how the overall structure of a dissertation relates to – and hopefully supports – the dissemination of the research that it represents. We discuss different approaches to working with structure and structuring dissertation texts, as well as explore how structure can be linked to the ’voice’ of the PhD researcher.  

Day 2: Quality. On day two, we zoom in on quality in research and in academic writing as both process and product. We discuss different contributions to understanding what quality in writing might be and how quality in writing relates to quality in the rest of the research process. Through exercises, presentations, and discussions we develop a nuanced vocabulary for talking about and working with quality; how to discuss quality in one’s own writing in writing and we explore the ways in which quality criteria are so important for research in general and for the craft of writing a PhD dissertation in practice.

Day 3: Contribution. On the last day we focus on the contribution of a PhD dissertation. What is a contribution? To research? To theory and/or methods? To a field of practice? To policy? Where, how, and why is this contribution made? Often, a PhD dissertation can be said to contribute to one or more fields of research – so how do you choose where to focus and how to argue for your contribution? Through exercises and discussions, we will explore how the craft of writing and structuring a PhD dissertation also supports the clear presentation of the dissertation’s contribution and perspectives.

Description of paper requirements, if applicable:

Course participants are – after acceptance into the course is confirmed – expected to submit a 10-page (max) paper/essay in which they present their research question and their PhD project (max 1 page) and discuss these in relation to one or more of the key concepts of the course (structure, coherence, quality, contribution) based on contributions from the course literature and including reflections upon their own ambitions for and challenges with regards to writing.

Key literature:

Mandatory literature:

Alvesson, M. and Sandberg, J. (2024), The Art of Phenomena Construction: A Framework for Coming Up with Research Phenomena beyond ‘the Usual Suspects’. Journal of Management Studies, early view version. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/joms.12969

Alvesson, M., Hardy, C., & Harley, B. (2008). Reflecting on reflexivity: Reflexive textual practices in organization and management theory. Journal of Management Studies, 45(3), 480-501.

Cloutier, C., & Ravasi, D. (2021). Using tables to enhance trustworthiness in qualitative research. Strategic Organization19(1), 113–133. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476127020979329

Jarzabkowski, P., Langley, A., & Nigam, A. (2021). Navigating the tensions of quality in qualitative research. Strategic Organization, 19(1), 70-80. 

Locke, K., Feldman, M., & Golden-Biddle, K. (2022). Coding Practices and Iterativity: Beyond Templates for Analyzing Qualitative Data. Organizational Research Methods, 25(2), 262-284.

Meier, N. & Wegener, C. (2017). Writing with resonance. Journal of Management Inquiry, 26(2), 193–201.

Patriotta, G. (2017). Crafting papers for publication: Novelty and convention in academic writing. Journal of Management Studies, 54(5), 747-759.

Pratt, M. G., Kaplan, S., & Whittington, R. (2020). Editorial Essay: The Tumult over Transparency: Decoupling Transparency from Replication in Establishing Trustworthy Qualitative Research. Administrative Science Quarterly, 65(1), 1-19. 

Ragins, R. B. (2012). Editor's comments: Reflections on the craft of clear writing. Academy of Management Review, 37(4), 493-501.

Suddaby, R. (2010). Editor's comments: Construct clarity in theories of management and organization. Academy of Management Review, 35(3), 346-357.

 

Suggested literature:

Golden-Biddle, K., & Locke, K. (1993). Appealing work: An investigation of how ethnographic texts convince. Organization Science, 4(4), 595-616.

Graebner, M. E., Martin, J. A., & Roundy, P. T. (2012). Qualitative data: Cooking without a recipe. Strategic Organization10(3), 276–284. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476127012452821

KAMLER, B and THOMSON, P 2014 Helping doctoral students write: Pedagogies for supervision. London: Routledge. Second edition

Locke, K., Golden - Biddle, K., & Feldman, M. S. (2008). Making doubt generative: Rethinking the role of doubt in the research process. Organization Science, 19(6), 907-918

Meier, N. & Dopson, S. (2021): What is context? Methodological reflections on the relationship between context, actors, and change. In Managing Healthcare Organisations in Challenging Policy Contexts. (2021). Edited by Roman Kislov, Diane Burns, Bjorn Erik Mork & Kathleen Montgomery. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Pratt, M. G., Sonenshein, S., & Feldman, M. S. (2022). Moving beyond templates: A bricolage approach to conducting trustworthy qualitative research. Organizational Research Methods, 25(2), 211-238. doi:10.1177/1094428120927466

THOMSON, P and KAMLER, B 2013 Writing for peer reviewed journals. Strategies for getting published. London: Routledge

Timmermans, S., & Tavory, I. (2012). Theory construction in qualitative research: From grounded theory to abductive analysis. Sociological Theory, 30(3), 167-186.

Tracy, S. (2013). Qualitative Research Methods. Collecting Evidence, Crafting Analysis, Communicating Impact. Chapters 12 and 13. Blackwell Books.

Van Maanen, J. (1996). Commentary: On the matter of voice. Journal of Management Inquiry, 5(4), 375-381. doi:10.1177/105649269654012

Weick, K. E. (1989). Theory construction as disciplined imagination. Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 516-531.

Weick, K. E. (1995). What Theory is Not, Theorizing Is. Administrative Science Quarterly, 40(3), 385–390. https://doi.org/10.2307/2393789

Important information concerning PhD courses: 

The Doctoral School has decided to introduce a no-show fee of DKK 3000 for each course where the student does not show up. Cancellations are accepted no later than 2 weeks before the start of the course. Registered illness is of course an acceptable reason for not showing up on those days. Furthermore, all courses open for registration approximately four months before start. 

For inquiries regarding registration, cancellation or waiting list, please contact the PhD administration at aauphd@adm.aau.dk


Cancelled!
Welcome to Hands-on Analysis of Qualitative Interviews

Course description, incl. learning objectives and prerequisites:

This four-day Ph.D. course provides participants with an introduction to the steps, processes and reflections involved in analysing qualitative data in particular interviews, including working with concrete data. The course is interdisciplinary, and we invite students from different disciples to join the course.

The main learning objectives for the course are that the participants gain theoretical and practical knowledge on how to analyze data from qualitative interviews and other types of qualitative data. This includes understanding ontological, epistemological and methodological assumptions in qualitative research and why they are important. The main focus of the course is the particiapants’ development of concrete tools for reflective thinking and practice on how to analyze data from qualitative interviews and other types of qualitative data. During the course we will narrow ourselves to focusing in detail on two approaches; 1) Reflective Thematic Analysis by Braun and Clarke (2006, 2013, 2022), and 2) Narrative Identity Analysis, e.g. Discourse Analysis and Positioning Analysis from the approaches developed by for instance Michael Bamberg (De Fina et al., 2006; Bamberg et al., 2011) & Davies & Harré (1990).

As highlighted by the title this course is mainly about HOW to work with interview data and preferably  with the participants’ own data from qualitative interviews or/and data provided by the course holders (English and Danish data). The course is held in English and participants are invited to bring data in any language, but if the language is not Danish, Scandinavian, English or Spanish the students will be expected to be fully proficient in the respective language.

The course is split into two blocks and students are expected to work independently with peers in the time period between the two blocks.

Tentative course description:

The course consists of two teaching blocks of respectively two full course days.

Block I:

Day 1: Introduction, lectures, group work 1 & 2, discussion

Day 2: Lectures, group work 3 & 4, panel discussion and how to prepare for block II of the course, evaluation of block I

Block  II:

Day 1: Introduction, lectures, presentations, group work 5, discussion

Day 2: Lectures, presentations, group work 6 + 7, discussion and wrap up


Teaching methods:

The teaching methods of the course will be Problem-Based-Learning including a mixture of lectures, group work, peer comments, group discussions, and comments and feed-back on individual papers and research projects.

Description of paper requirements:

The students are required to present a short paper describing their own Ph.D. project, and focusing on data generation and analyses. The procedure for this will take place in two steps:

1)     On application to the course the student is required to send a one to two-page abstract describing her/his Ph.D. project, the stage of the project, the design/methods, and e.g. the amount of interview data expected available at the time of the course. The application should also include a short and tentative description of the stage of data analyses that the student expects to have reached when the course starts (e.g. development of research question/interview topics, pilot interview, transcription, initial data analysis etc.) and the students expectations for the course.

After completion of the first block of the course the students will be required to continue elaborating on her/his data analyses and to write up a 5–7-page paper describing the data analysis procedure which has been applied (codes etc.) and tentative suggestions for themes (results). This work should be sent to the course teachers one week before the second block (25th, November). The students will receive individual feedback during the second block. The students will also work in designated groups during the periode between block I and block II and prepare short presentations during the course.

Organizer: Kristine Jensen de López, Chalotte Glintborg.

Lecturers: 

Chalotte Glintborg

Kristine Jensen de López

ECTS:
4

Time: 

Block 1: October 8-9, 2024 (in Aalborg)

Block 2: December 2-3, 2024 (in Aalborg)

Place: TBA

Zip code: 
9000

City: Aalborg

Number of seats: 20 (minimum 10)

Deadline: 17 September 2024

Key literature:

Bamberg, M. (Eds.), Discourse and identity (pp. 1–23). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press

Bamberg, M., De Fina, A. & Schiffrin, D. (2011). Discourse and identity construction. In. S. J.

Schwartz et al. (Eds.). Handbook of Identity Theory and Research, (pp. 1-23).

Bamberg, M & Georgakopoulou, A. (2008). Small stories as a new perspective in narrative and

identity analysis In: Text & Talk - An Interdisciplinary Journal of LanguageDiscourse & Communication Studies, 28, 3, 377-396.

Braun, V. & Clarke, V (2006), Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology(vol. 3, 2, 77-101 doi/abs/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

Braun, V. & Clarke, V. (2014). Successful qualitative research: A practical guide for beginners. London: Sage.

Braun, V. & Clarke, V. (2016) (Mis)conceptualizing themes, thematic analysis, and other problems with

Fugard and Potts´(2015) sample-size tool for thematic analysis. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, Vol 19(6), 739-743.

Braun, V. & Clarke, V. (2019). To saturate or not to saturate? Questioning data saturation as a useful concept for thematic analysis and sample-size rationales, Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health. DOI: 10.1080/2159676X.2019.1704846

Braun, V., Clarke, V. & Hayfield, N. (2019). ´A starting point for your journey, not a map´: Nikki Hayfield in conversation with Virginia Braun and Victoria Clarke about thematic analysis. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 1-22, doi:10.1080/14780887.2019.1670765.

Braun, V. & Clarke, V. (2020). One size fits all? What counts as quality practice in (reflexive) thematic analysis? Qualitative Research in Psychology, DOI: 10.1080/14780887.2020.1769238

Braun, V. & Clarke, V. (2021). Thematic Analysis: A Practical Guide. Sage Publications Ltd, London

Davies, B., & Harré, R. (1990). Positioning: The discursive production of selves. Journal for the

Theory of Social Behavior, 20(1), 43–63.

De Fina, A., Schiffrin, D., & Bamberg, M. (2006). Introduction. In A. De Fina, D. Schiffrin, & Bamberg (eds.) Discourse and Identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Glintborg, C. & Berger, N.P. (2018) Narrative forskningstilgange, p. 14-27. I Glintborg, C., Hedegaard-Sørensen, L. & Kirkebæk, B. (red). Professionelle blikke. Når fortællinger forandrer identitetFrydenlund Academic.

Jensen de López, K. & Lyons, R. (2020). Narratives and identity construction of children with developmental speech and language disorders. In Glintborg, C.C. & de la Mata, M. (eds) Identity Construction and Illness in persons with disabilities. Routledge, p. 104-114.

Jensen de López, K., Feilberg, J.,Baena, S., Lyons, R., Harding, S., Kelic, M., Klatte, I., Mantel, T. C., Novogrodsky, R., Ulfsdottir, T.S., Zajdó, K, Rodriguez-Ortiz, I. R. (2021). `So, I told him to look for friends!`Barrries and protecting factors that may facilitate inclusion for children with Language Disorder in everyday social settings: cross-cultural qualitative interviews with parents. Research in Developmental Disabilities, Special Issue on Parental Involvement across cultures.

Lyon, R., Glintborg, C., & McAllister, L. (2019). Narrative inquiry and its use in communication disorders research. In R. Lyons & L. McAlister (Eds.) Qualitative research in communication disorders: An Introductory Guide for Students and Clinicians. Guildford, UK: J & R Press.

Important information concerning PhD courses: We have over some time experienced problems with no-shows for both project and general courses. It has now reached a point where we are forced to take action. Therefore, the Doctoral School has decided to introduce a no-show fee of DKK 3000 for each course where the student does not show up. Cancellations are accepted no later than 2 weeks before the start of the course. Registered illness is of course an acceptable reason for not showing up on those days. Furthermore, all courses open for registration approximately four months before start. This can hopefully also provide new students a chance to register for courses during the year. We look forward to your registration.

For inquiries regarding registration, cancellation or waiting list, please contact the PhD administration at aauphd@adm.aau.dk


Program final.pdfProgram final.pdf

The Nordic-Baltic Doctoral Network in Social Work

is inviting doctoral students from Nordic, Baltic and countries beyond

to participate in the XV Summer School

 

August 19-23, 2024, at Aalborg University, Denmark

 

The Nordic-Baltic Doctoral Network in Social Work (NBSW) is a joint network of doctoral schools, universities, and other institutions in social work in seven countries. The network provides research training for PhD students in social work in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and other countries.

We invite PhD students to participate in the summer school of the Nordic-Baltic Doctoral Network in Social Work (NBSW). This summer school aims to bring together PhD candidates in social work from Nordic and Baltic countries and countries beyond for five days of intensive lectures and thorough discussions focusing on research about and with people in vulnerable positions.

Participation in the summer school is free of charge, however, submission of a paper connected with the theme of the summer school is a prerequisite for participation. 


Research about and with people in vulnerable positions

The 2024 summer school will focus on research about and co-creation with people in vulnerable positions. The course provides 5 ECTS credits and has been developed especially for this summer school.

 Research has during the last decades focused more and more on giving voices to and collaborating with people in vulnerable positions – both as informants and as stakeholders in the research process. This focus and the associated processes have challenged both the more traditional perception of informants as objectives in the research process and the researchers’ position as the person managing the research process alone or together with colleagues from academia. Besides it has entailed different and new ethical and practical dilemmas in the research process when involving or co-producing with people who are stigmatized and/or challenged by several physical, mental and/or social issues in their lives.

 The summer school will be based on key-note presentations, the participants’ research experiences/reflections and the papers produced by participants for the summer school. The key-note presentations, the discussions and the papers will all focus on the possibilities and the challenges when including people in vulnerable positions as informants and as stakeholders.

The keynotes will present methodological, theoretical, ethical, and experienced-based issues within the overall topic and will through discussions include participants’ experiences. This will be further explored in the parallel sessions where students’ papers will be discussed and given feedback from senior researchers and participating doctoral students in smaller groups. All student papers must relate to both their research and the overall topic of the summer school. 

 The summer school will each day contain a mixture of keynote presentations related to the perspectives of the overall topic and workshops where the PhD students present and discuss their papers under the guidance of experienced researchers or keynote speakers. Paper will receive feedback from fellow doctoral students and 1-2 senior researchers during the summer school. 


TIME

Start Monday, August 19, 2024, at 14:00 CET.

End Friday, August 23, 2024, at 12:30 CET


PLACE

Aalborg University, Department of Sociology and Social Work https://www.en.soc.aau.dk/

Summer school venue: Hotel Højgaarden, Slettestrandvej 50, 9690 Fjerritslev, Denmark http://www.hojgaarden.dk/

 

PRICE

The prize is all-inclusive covering transportation from and to the airport (42 km each way), accommodation and all meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee breaks) during the summer school. Single room: 3800 Danish kroner (€470). Sharing a double room: 3400 Danish kroner (€455) pr. person.

Participation in the summer school is free.

 

NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS

The maximum number of participants is 25.

The international NBSW Steering Committee will assess all applications and make the final selection of participants.  

 

ORGANISING COMMITTEE

The XV Nordic-Baltic Doctoral Network Summer School is organised by Aalborg University in cooperation with the coordination group of the Nordic-Baltic Doctoral Network in Social Work.

 

APPLICATION FORM

 Please fill in the application until May 12, 2024 (midnight) at the latest:

 

PRELIMINARY PAPER INSTRUCTIONS

Paper: 5 ECTS credits (4000-5000 words)

Papers and presentations must connect the participant’s doctoral research project with the theme of the summer school.

 

KEY DATES:

Application deadline:                               12 May at midnight

Decision about participation:                  31 May

Literature list for reading:                        31 May

Registration deadline:                             14 June

Paper submission deadline:                    22 July 3 pm CET

Summer School start:                              19 August

 

CONTACT:

Lars Uggerhøj                                          Mette Rømer

Professor of Social Work                         Associated Professor of Social Work

lug@socsci.aau.dk                                   romer@socsci.aau.dk

Welcome to: Visual Methods

Dates: September 16-19, 2024

Deadline: 26 August 2024

Place: Nordkraft, Aalborg – room 10.12

Number of seats: 25

ECTS: 4

Requirements: Abstract of research paper to be submitted before the course

Lecturer(s):

Brady Wagoner

Caroline Demuth

Sarah Awad

Eric Jensen

Course responsible: Brady Wagoner wagoner@ikp.aau.dk

Course description:

This four-day course introduces different perspectives and techniques in visual methods. It provides practical guidance for visual data collection, analysis and dissemination, which includes such techniques as working with various visual props, annotated drawings, photo-elicitation, using first- and third-person video, among others. There will also be focused discussions of and feedback on students’ research projects, in relation to visual methods. The course as a whole makes the general argument that visual material can be used both as a powerful complement to traditional verbal and textual data, as well as a site of investigation in its own right. 

Course schedule:

Day 1. Introduction and photo-elicitation

10.00-10.45 Introduction and overview of visual methods-- Brady Wagoner and Sarah H. Awad

10.45-12.30 Visuals in science communication and evaluation research--Eric Jensen

12.30-13.30 Lunch

13:30-15:00 The social life of images, including photo elicitation techniques – Sarah H. Awad

15:00-15:30 Coffee break

15:00-17:00 Photo-elicitation techniques exercises — Sarah H. Awad and Brady Wagoner

 

Day 2. Annotated drawings, including mental maps

9.30-12:30 Lecture and exercises with annotated drawing methods, using empirical examples from research on zoos, museums, mental maps of cities and creative work spaces—Eric Jensen

12:30-13:30 Lunch

13:30-15:
00 Mental maps, followed by discussion--Brady Wagoner

15:00-15:30 Coffee break

15:30-17:00 Discussion of student projects

 

Day 3. Using and analyzing third-person video

9.30-12:00 Lecture on multimodal analysis of video material--Carolin Demuth

12:00-13:00 Lunch

13:
00-14:30 Further discussion and exercises analyzing videos--Carolin Demuth

14:30-15:00 Coffee break

15:00-17:00 Discussion of student projects

 

Day 4. Using and analyzing first-person video, with the subjective camera methodology

9.30-12:00 Lecture on subjective camera technology—Brady Wagoner

12:00-13:00 Lunch

13:00-15:00 Discussion of student projects

Teaching methods:

A combination of lectures, panel discussions, group work, practical exercises and small group discussions. 

Key literature:

Day 1

Awad, S. H. & Wagoner, B. (2018). Image Politics of the Arab Uprisings. In Wagoner, B., Moghaddam, F. & Valsiner, J. (Eds). The Psychology of Radical Social Change: From Rage to Revolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [20 pp]

Berger, J (1972). Ways of Seeing. Penguin: London [166 pp].

*Radley, A. (2010). What people do with pictures, Visual Studies, 25, 267-279 [22 pp]

Reavey, P. (2021). Handbook of Visual methods in psychology. New York: Psychology Press (incl. ch. 1, 2, 4, 7, 22, 28, 32) [235 pp]

*Rose, G. (2008) Visual Methodologies. London: Routledge (Chapter 1) [32 pp] 

Day 2

Awad, S. H. & Wagoner, B. (2018). Image Politics of the Arab Uprisings. In Wagoner, B., Moghaddam, F. & Valsiner, J. (Eds). The Psychology of Radical Social Change: From Rage to Revolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [20 pp]

Jensen, E. & Laurie, C. (2017). Doing Real Social Research. London: Sage (pages 296-301) [7 pp]

Lonchuk, M. & Rosa, A. (2011). Voices of graphic art images. In Märtsin, M., Wagoner, B., Aveling, E. L., Kadianaki, I., & Whittaker, L. (Eds), Dialogicality in focus: Challenges to theory, method and application. Nova Science Publishers. [17 pp] 

 

Day 3

Demuth, C. (2012). Video-based Discourse and Conversation Analysis in Cultural Developmental Psychology: Mother-Infant Interactions in Kikaikelaki, Cameroon and Muenster, Germany. In: Karin Schweizer, Tanja Schielein, Mechthild Kiegelmann, Tiberio Feliz, & Guenter Huber (Eds). Qualitative Psychology Nexus, Vol. IX: Beyond text: Video and other Medium Use in Qualitative Research. Center for Qualitative Psychology, pp. 31-52. Available at: http://psydok.sulb.uni-saarland.de/volltexte/2012/3417/

Paasch, B. S. Raudaskoski, P. L. (2018). Multimodal Interaktionsanalyse. In: Davidsen, J. & Kjær, M (eds.). Videoanalyse af social interaktion. p. 151-184, Samfundslitteratur

Raudaskoski, P. L. & Kjær, M. (2016). Interaktionsanalyse. In: Horsbøl, A. & Raudaskoski, P. (eds.). Diskurs og praksis: teori, metode og analyse. 1. ed, p. 111-134.. Samfundslitteratur (Metoder i samfundsvidenskab og humaniora; No. 1).

Wiggins, Sally (2017). Discursive Psychology. Theory, Method and ApplicationsLondon: Sage

Optional further readings:

Davidsen, J. & Krummheuer, A. (2018). Transkription af videodata. In: Malene Kjær and Jacob Davidsen (Eds.). Videoanalyse af social interaction, pp. 97-112, Samfundslitteratur

Demuth, C. (2018/2020) Videoanalysen. In: G. Mey & K. Mruck (Eds) Handbuch Qualitative Forschung in der Psychologie (2nd extended and revised edition), Heidelberg: Springer Reference Psychologie. https://meteor.springer.com/container/contribute.jsf?id=114469

Demuth, C. (2021). Managing Accountability of Children’s Bodily Conduct: Embodied Discursive Practices in Preschool. In: Sally Wiggins & Karin Osvaldsson Cromdal (eds). Discursive psychology and embodiment: Beyond subject-object binaries. Pp. 81-111, Palgrave Macmillan

Goodwin, C. (2000) Action and embodiment within situated human interaction. Journal of Pragmatics, 32: 1489-1522

Paasch, B. S. & Raudaskoski, P. L. (2018). Multimodal Interaktionsanalyse. In: Davidsen, J. & Kjær, M (eds.). Videoanalyse af social interaktion. p. 151-184, Samfundslitteratur

Raudaskoski, P. L. (2010) Observationsmetoder (herunder videoobservation). In S. Brinkmann & L. Tanggaard (eds.). Håndbog i de kvalitative metoder. København : Hans Reitzels Forlag: 81-96.

Day 4

*Wagoner, B. & Brescó, I., Herbig, L. (2022). Studying the stream of experience at memorial sites: The subjective camera methodology. In M. Watzlawik & S. Salden (Eds.), Courageous Methods in Cultural Psychology: Beyond the symbolic nature of language. New York: Springer.  [30 pp] 

Kusenbach, M. (2003). Street phenomenology. Ethnography, 4, 455-485. [30 pp] 

Lahlou, S. (2011). How can we capture the subject's perspective? An evidence-based approach for the social scientist. Social science information, 50(4), 607-655 [43 pp] 

Important information concerning PhD courses: We have over some time experienced problems with no-show for both project and general courses. It has now reached a point where we are forced to take action. Therefore, the Doctoral School has decided to introduce a no-show fee of DKK 3.000 for each course where the student does not show up. Cancellations are accepted no later than 2 weeks before start of the course. Registered illness is of course an acceptable reason for not showing up on those days. Furthermore, all courses open for registration approximately four months before start. This can hopefully also provide new students a chance to register for courses during the year. We look forward to your registrations.

For inquiries regarding registration, cancellation or waiting list, please contact the PhD administration, aauphd@adm.aau.dk



Undervisere: Lene Tanggaard Pedersen og Svend Brinkmann

Sted: 9000 Aalborg - lokale følger.

ECTS: 4

Dato: 4-8 November 2024

Deadline: 1 oktober 2024

1-2 sides motiveret ansøgning med projektbeskrivelse, der fokuserer på projektets kvalitative elementer. Kursets deltagere udvælges på baggrund af ansøgningen. Sendes til hannepc@ikp.aau.dk: 

Beskrivelse:

5-dages kursus som introducerer til kvalitativ forskning. To af de fem dage vil fokusere specifikt og intensivt på det kvalitative forskningsinterview med en blanding af teori og praktiske øvelser, og en dag handler om feltarbejde og deltagende observation. De øvrige dage tematiserer bl.a. forskningsetik og præsenterer nogle nyere tilgange til kvalitativ forskning. Der vil kurset igennem være fokus på kvalitativ forskning som et håndværk, der læres bedst gennem øvelse. Formiddagene består af forelæsninger og lærerstyrede øvelser, mens eftermiddagene organiseres af kursisterne selv i grupper.

Alle deltagere bliver opdelt i fem faste temagrupper, som mødes hver eftermiddag under kurset. I forarbejdet til kurset indgår, ud over læsningen af kursuslitteraturen, at hver temagruppe for­bereder eftermiddagens arbejde til en af kursusdagene. Deltagernes projekter kan også inddrages, men er ikke tænkt som hovedtema.

Mandag

10:00 – 11:00   Introduktion til kvalitativ forskning v/ Svend Brinkmann

11:00 – 13:00   Etik i kvalitativ forskning v/ Svend Brinkmann

13:00 – 14:00   Frokost

14:00 – 15:00   Gruppediskussioner med udgangspunkt i formiddagens præsentationer og egne pro­jekter.

15:10 – 16:00   Tilbagemelding til plenum

16:00 – 17:00   Evt. mulighed for konsultation for interesserede

Litteratur til dagen:

Kvale, S. & Brinkmann, S. (2015). Interview: Introduktion til et håndværk (3. udg.). København: Hans Reitzels Forlag. (kapitel 1-5)

Brinkmann, S. & Tanggaard, L. (2020). Kvalitative metoder, tilgange og perspektiver: En introduktion. In Brinkmann, S: & Tanggaard, L. (red.) Kvalitative metoder: En grundbog. København: Hans Reitzels Forlag.

Brinkmann, S. (2020). Etik i en kvalitativ verden. In Brinkmann, S. & Tanggaard, L. (red.) Kvalitative metoder: En grundbog. København: Hans Reitzels Forlag.

Tirsdag

09:00 – 11:00   Introduktion til det kvalitative forskningsinterview v/ Lene Tanggaard

11:00 – 13:00   Interview-variationer v/Lene Tanggaard

13:00 – 14:00   Frokost

14:00 – 15:00   Gruppediskussioner/-øvelser med udgangspunkt i formiddagens præsentationer og egne projekter.

15:10 – 16:00   Tilbagemelding til plenum

16:00 – 17:00   Evt. mulighed for konsultation for interesserede

Litteratur til dagen:

Kvale, S. & Brinkmann, S. (2015). Interview: Det kvalitative forskningsinterview som håndværk (3. udg.). København: Hans Reitzels Forlag(kapitel 6-9)

Tanggaard, L. (2007). The research interview as discourses crossing swords – the researcher and apprentice on crossing roads. Qualitative Inquiry, 13(1): 160-176.

Onsdag

09:00 – 11:00   Analysemetoder og læsning af kvalitative forskningsinterviews v/Svend Brinkmann

11:00 – 13:00   Analysehåndværket v/Lene Tanggaard

13:00 – 14:00   Frokost

14:00 – 15:00   Gruppediskussioner/-øvelser med udgangspunkt i formiddagens præsentationer og egne projekter.

15:10 – 16:00   Tilbagemelding til plenum

16:00 – 17:00   Mulighed for konsultation for interesserede

Litteratur til dagen:

Kvale, S. & Brinkmann, S. (2015). Interview: Det kvalitative forskningsinterview som håndværk (3. udg.). København: Hans Reitzels Forlag. (kapitel 10-14)

Jacobsen, B., Tanggaard, L. & Brinkmann, S. (2020). Fænomenologi. In Brinkmann, S. & Tanggaard, L. (red.) Kvalitative metoder: En grundbog. København: Hans Reitzels Forlag.

Phillips, L. (2020). Diskursanalyse. In Brinkmann, S. & Tanggaard, L. (red.) Kvalitative metoder: En grundbog. København: Hans Reitzels Forlag.

Torsdag

09:00 – 13:00   Deltagende observation og etnografisk feltarbejde v/Lene Tanggaard

13:00 – 14:00   Frokost

14:00 – 15:00   Gruppediskussioner med udgangspunkt i formiddagens præsentationer og egne pro­jekter.

15.10 – 16:00   Tilbagemelding til plenum

16:00 – 17:00   Mulighed for konsultation for interesserede

Litteratur til dagen:

Hastrup, K. (2020). Feltarbejde. In Brinkmann, S. & Tanggaard, L. (red.) Kvalitative metoder: En grundbog. København: Hans Reitzels Forlag.

Raudaskoski, P. (2020). Observationsmetoder (herunder videoobservation). In Brinkmann, S. & Tanggaard, L. (red.) Kvalitative metoder: En grundbog. København: Hans Reitzels Forlag.

Czarniawska, B. (2020). Narratologi og feltstudier. In Brinkmann, S. & Tanggaard, L. (red.) Kvalitative metoder: En grundbog. København: Hans Reitzels Forlag.

Szulevicz, T. (2020). Deltagerobservation. In Brinkmann, S. & Tanggaard, L. (red.) Kvalitative metoder: En grundbog. København: Hans Reitzels Forlag.

Fredag

09:00 – 13:00   Formidling af kvalitativ forskning og aktuelle tilgange: Autoetnografi og litterære beskrivelser v/ Svend Brinkmann

13:00 – 14:00   Frokost

14:00 – 14:50   Gruppediskussioner med udgangspunkt i formiddagens præsentationer og egne pro­jekter.

15:00 – 15:45   Tilbagemelding til plenum

15:45 – 16:00   Evaluering og afslutning

 

Litteratur til dagen:

Baarts, C. (2020). Autoetnografi. In Brinkmann, S. & Tanggaard, L. (red.) Kvalitative metoder: En grundbog. København: Hans Reitzels Forlag.

Tanggaard, L. & Brinkmann, S. (2020). Formidling af kvalitativ forskning. In Brinkmann, S. & Tanggaard, L. (red.) Kvalitative metoder: En grundbog. København: Hans Reitzels Forlag.

Important information concerning PhD courses: 
We have over some time experienced problems with no-show for both project and general courses. It has now reached a point where we are forced to take action. Therefore, the Doctoral School has decided to introduce a no-show fee of DKK 2.000 for each course where the student does not show up. Cancellations are accepted no later than 2 weeks before start of the course. Registered illness is of course an acceptable reason for not showing up on those days. Furthermore, all courses open for registration approximately four months before start. This can hopefully also provide new students a chance to register for courses during the year. We look forward to your registrations.



Welcome to Existential Healthcare Communication as an Aesthetical and Philosophical Practice

This course is free of charge for PhD students.

Course responsible: Professor Finn Thorbjørn Hansen finnth@ikp.aau.dk

Date: November 25-28, 2024

Deadline: 23 October 2024

Place: Aalborg University, Department of Communication & Psychology, Research Section ‘Arts, Aesthetics & Health’

Max participants: 20

Course language: English

ECTS: 3

Requirements:

Before the course:

We will ask each participant to write and send a short description (4 pages) of their research project and describe in what way they find phenomenological dimensions in their research and what their main phenomenological question and wonderment currently is.

 

After the course:

We will ask each participant to make a 7-pages reflection on the notion of ‘Existential Health’ as they see it now, and where and how they see the relevance as well as challenges in working with existential healthcare communication through inspiration from aesthetical and philosophical  (contemplative) practices.

 

Lecturer(s):

·       Professor Finn Thorbjørn Hansen, Head of TEN, Aalborg University

·       Professor Carlo Leget, Chair of Care Ethics, University of Humanities, Utrecht, The Netherlands

·       Associate Professor Rasmus Dyring, Department of Philosophy, Aarhus University

·       Senior Researcher Mai-Britt Guldin, Research Unit for GP and Department of Public Health, Aarhus University

 

Professor Finn Thorbjørn Hansen is full professor of applied philosophy and head of the research group TEN (Time, Existence & Nature connectedness), Art, Aesthetics & Health, Department of Communication, University of Aalborg (Denmark). He has been a Visiting Professor at Agder University in Kristiansand (Norway) where he was head of an international research project ‘Wonder, Silence and Human Flourishing’(Hansen et al, 2023). His research focus and specialty is the phenomenology and ethics of wonder, existential and ethical phenomenology and ‘philosophical and phenomenological action research’. He has been heading several external funded research projects in the field of Health Care, Higher Education, Innovation and research on Artistic Creation. He is the founder of the Danish Society for Philosophical Practice and have written several books on wonder and philosophical counselling practices. For more information:

https://vbn.aau.dk/en/persons/123561

 

Professor Carlo Leget is full professor of care ethics and research director at the University of Humanistic Studies in Utrecht, the Netherlands, and director of the Center for Loss and Existential Values in Aarhus. As chair of the care ethics department, he is responsible for the Master in Care Ethics & Policy at his university, and his research focuses on the intersection of care, meaning and end of life issues. Since 2015 he is a member of the Health Council of the Netherlands and the Care Ethics Research Consortium. For more information:

https://www.uvh.nl/contact/vind-een-medewerker?person=nhrjrsEsHowOfbPwC

 

Associate Professor Rasmus Dyring is associate professor of philosophy at Aarhus University. He works in the cross section between medical anthropology and the philosophy of healthcare doing mainly phenomenological research in conversation with ethnographic material. His main research interests are aging and dementia in a phenomenological perspective with a focus on potentiality and creativity. Dyring is the principal investigator of a VELUX HUMpraxis-project devoted to investigating, and developing practice that facilitates, everyday creativity in life with dementia.

For more information: https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/persons/rasmus-dyring(ed0be392-1816-42d4-bd7d-d8885a31860c).html

Senior Researcher Mai-Britt Guldin is a psychologist and senior researcher at Research Unit for General Practice and Department for Public Health, Aarhus University, Denmark and director of Center for Loss and Existential Values in Aarhus. Her research focus is on loss, grief, and end of life issues and for years she chaired her own research program and authored several books about loss and grief. Currently she is running the Center for Loss and Existential Values in Aarhus.

Short description of and Program for the course:

Existential Healthcare Communication as an Aesthetical and Philosophical Practice

Different disciplines use various methodologies and epistemologies to research and study existential healthcare communication. In this PhD course, we bring together approaches from psychology, spiritual-existential care, and philosophy, and we study their differences and points of intersection.

Day 1 focuses on the relationship between a psychological (Dr. Mai-Britt Guldin) and a spiritual-existential approach (Prof. Carlo Leget).

Day 2 focuses on philosophical approaches based on critical phenomenology (Dr. Rasmus Dyring) and wonder-based phenomenology (Prof. Finn Thorbjørn Hansen).

On Day 3 we explore the approaches and their methodologies and learn how to work with them academically.

Day 4 starts with ‘phenomenology in action’ through experiencing a ‘Wonder Lab’, and in the afternoon, focus on the Ph.D. students’ projects with supervision. 

This course is of specific interest to Ph.D. students with a background in psychology, nursing, anthropology, medicine, theology, sociology, and philosophy. 

 

Day 1. Introduction and Existential and Spiritual Health Care

10.00-10.30 Introduction to the course – Finn Thorbjørn Hansen 

10.40-12.30 Existential healthcare communication and communication between disciplines: tensions, challenges and possibilities - Mai-Britt Guldin & Carlo Leget

12.30-13.15 Lunch

13:15-14:45 An integrative approach to loss and grief: development of an interdisciplinary model – Mai-Britt Guldin & Carlo Leget

14:45-15:00 Coffee break

15:00-16:00: Working with the Integrative Process Model of loss and grief in existential healthcare communication - Mai-Britt Guldin & Carlo Leget

16:00-16:15 Coffee break

16:15-17:00: Panel discussion and dialogue on “Integrative Process Model of loss and grief” — MaiBritt-Guldin, Carlo Leget, Rasmus Dyring & Finn Thorbjørn Hansen

Day 2. Eco-phenomenological and world-oriented healthcare

9:30 – 10:30: Basic dimensions in Existential, Critical and Eco-phenomenology – Finn and Rasmus

10:45-12:15: How to get from Person-centered Care to Word-open Care and Back (1): Everyday Creativity in Dementia Care --- Rasmus.

12:15-13:00. Lunch

13:00-14:30: How to get from Person-centered Care to Word-open Care and Back (2): how art and philosophical experiences may nurture Eco-Existential and Wonder-based relations between people and relations to the world based on a case from Aalborg University Hospital. --- Finn

14:30-14:45: Coffee break

14:45: A Case about Everyday Creativity and Micro Existential Dramas in One Situation in Dementia Unit --- Rasmus.

16:15:-17:00: Panel discussion and dialogue on how artistic, creative, and philosophical practices can enhance and nurture eco-existential health and spiritual recovery --- Rasmus, Finn, Carlo and Mai-Britt.

Day 3. Doing research on existential healthcare communication and ‘existential and spiritual experiences’

9.30-10.30: Doing research from a psychological perspective - Mai-Britt Guldin

10:30-10:45: Coffee break

10.45-11.45: Doing research from a spiritual care perspective – Carlo Leget

11.45-12.30: Dialogue with Mai-Britt and Carlo

12.30-13.15: Lunch

13:15-14:15: Doing research from a philosophical (critical relational-ontological) perspective - Rasmus

14:15-14:30: Coffee break

14:30-15:30: Doing research from a phenomenological action research perspective - Finn

15:30-16:15: Dialogue with Rasmus and Finn

16:15-17:00: PhD-students work in groups developing research/wonder questions


Day 4. Wonder Lab and PhD-students’ projects with supervision

9:30 – 12:00. Exercise in Wonder Lab and reflections – Finn & Carlo

12:00-12:45: Lunch:

12:45-14:15: Students work in groups on PhD-students projects with supervision (part 1)

14:15-14:30: Coffee break

14:30-16:00:  Students work in groups on PhD-students’ projects with supervision (part 2)

16:00-17:00: Summing up and dialogue around the PhD-students’ research/wonder questions --- Carlo & Finn

 

Background description for the course, incl. learning objectives and prerequisites:

In the research section ‘Arts, Aesthetics & Health’ at Department of Communication and Psychology, Aalborg University, we are in different ways inquiring into the relationship between how liberal arts, aesthetical experiences, and health (or well-being) might be interconnected.

In this four days PhD-seminar we will focus on the phenomenological and existential dimensions of communication and search for meaning in healthcare professions, and professions where both the interhuman (person- and human-centered), worldly and interspecies (nature- and phenomenon-led) care are central.

For decades, professionals and researchers in healthcare and human-centered professions have called for a re-humanization of health, education, and welfare. This has been described as responding to an unsettling tendency in these professions of feeling “out of tune with life” or “out of resonance” with the core values of their professions (Kitson et al. 2010; Galvin & Todres, 2013; Uhrenfeldt et al., 2018; Martinsen, 2018; Rosa, 2019; Hansen & Jørgensen, 2020). Lately, this quest for a re-humanization of health, education and welfare has now also been connected to a deeper ontological and existential connection with the world as such (Biesta, 2022; Dyring & Grøn, 2022, Dyring, 2023; Hansen, Eide & Leget, 2023).

The concept of Health and what it phenomenological is like to feel healthy in contrast to naturalistic theories of health have also for some years been connected to a state of “homelike being-in-the-world”(Sevenaeus, 2000, 2011, 2016), “Authentic Homecoming” (Galvin & Todres, 2013), “Existential Rootedness”(Ücok-Sayrak, 2019) or “Ontological Homecoming”(Hansen & Jørgensen, 2020; Hansen, Eide & Leget, 2023).

However, what is meant by authentic or ontological “homecoming” or “world-centered”, “world-open” and “nature- and phenomenon-led” care differ because of different understandings of what an ontological and existential relation and resonance (Rosa, 2019) with the world is.

Seen from an eco-phenomenological perspective: How are dignity, humanness, care ethics, care aesthetics (Thompson, 2023), and spiritual care as important concepts and practices in existential health communication to be understood from a non-anthropocentric world-care perspective? What is meant by health in existential and spiritual care if we need to involve such an eco-phenomenological approach (where health is more than what we mean by bio-medical (physical) health and psycho-sociological (mental) health? Why is it for example, that Hans-Georg Gadamer, in his reflections on truth, methods, and health (2004, 2006, 2007) puts such an emphasis on the experience of art and philosophy as portals to another ontological and existential connection to Being or Nature as such? Is it possible through deep experiences of wonder and presence that we as human beings can learn to get into more healthy relations and resonance with the world and the meaningfulness we may experience by co-being-in-the-world?

In this PhD-course we are going especially to inquire into three questions:

1)       How do we in Existential Healthcare Communication work in theory and practice with a new notion of ‘Existential Health’ (or Existential Sustainability), which on the one hand is closely connected to what Hartmut Rosa coins as ‘Existential Resonance’(Rosa, 2019), and Svenaeus (2000) and Todres & Galvin (2010), and Hansen & Jørgensen (2020) through Heidegger (Heidegger, 1995) describe as a kind of “ontological homecoming”, and on the other hand with the experience of feeling connected to nature seen from an eco-phenomenological perspective (Sallis, 2016; Abram, 2017; Nelson, 2021;Verducci & Kule, 2022)?

2)       Why is it that especially ‘art experiences’ (song, music, art works, dance, poetry) and ‘philosophical experiences’ (such as philosophizing and wondrous conversations and dialogical communities of wonder) and sometimes also more spiritual rituals and practices seem to create a special kind of soul-nurturing and spirit-strengthening ‘non-time’ and ‘non-space’ when indwelling into existential questions and experiences of people in care, their relatives or of caretakers? How are we to understand the enigmatic relation between Health Humanities and Environmental Humanities, or between human health and planetary health (Wahl, 2006; 2016)? 

3)       How do we do research on the existential, spiritual, and eco-phenomenological dimensions in healthcare communication? How can you through theoretical studies pave the way for new orientations in understanding existential care ethics and healthcare communication in a non-anthropocentric perspective that rests on ontology and phenomenology that puts the aesthetical and philosophical experiences in the center? And how do you do qualitative and empirical research on these subjects through practice phenomenology (Van Manen, 2014, 2023), action research (Dinkens & Hansen, 2016; Hansen, 2022) or art-based research (Visse, Hansen & Leget, 2019, 2020)?

Each lecturer on the course will take his/her departure from a specific healthcare context and health issue and show how he/she work in this context and with this health issue through aesthetical (or everyday creativity) experiences or/and philosophical (dialogical) experiences.

On the first day Carlo Leget and Mai-Britt Guldin will set the stage by a methodological reflection on existential and spiritual communication in healthcare in three lectures: 1) Introducing the healthcare sector as a place where different disciplines and paradigms meet. What are the challenges and obstacles for existential communication from a psychological perspective and from a spiritual perspective? 2) Crossing the boundaries of paradigms: How to connect knowledge from different disciplines and professions in healthcare: the example of the Integrated Process Model of loss and grief, its scientific foundation and its methodological underpinning; 3) Spirituality, hermeneutics and the arts: Focusing on the development of the Diamond Model for spiritual conversation (Leget, 2017, 2022, and 2023) the spiritual dimension will be explored, the importance of the non-cognitive dimensions of meaning, and the role of the arts, opening the way to a phenomenological approach.

On the second day 

Dyring will focus on the everyday-creative and existential dimensions of communication when working with people in the care of dementia. (Dyring 2022a, Dyring 2022b), and 2) how to facilitate the sharing of a world that includes people who are many different places in their dementia (Dyring and Grøn 2021). Together these issues call for “world-open care” (Dyring 2022a, Dyring 2023) as a critical supplement to the reining paradigm of “person-centered care” (Kitwood 2019).

Finn Thorbjørn Hansen will focus on what can be meant by existential health as “Ontological Homecoming” and ‘World- and Phenomenon-led Care”. Hansen will take his departure on the research on ‘Culture on Prescription’ and the new notion of ‘Culture Medicine’. He will especially show how the phenomenology of wonder and practices of being in ‘Communities of Wonder (Hansen, 2015, Hansen & Jørgensen, 2020; Hansen, et al., 2023) can nurture what can be understood as health through the notion of ‘ontological homecoming’ based on Late Heidegger and eco-phenomenological perspectives. On the practice-methodological level, he will describe how he works with the interplay between art experiences and philosophical dialogues (through the dialogue model ‘the Wonder Compass’, Hansen, 2022, 2023) when working with parents in grief and with cancer patients and their relatives and caretakers.

On the third day, the four lecturers will give each a methodological description of how they in practice work as researchers-in-the-field with phenomenology, philosophical practices, or art-based research.

On the fourth and final day, the Ph.D. students will participate in the morning session in a Wonder Lab Session led by Hansen and Leget, experiencing different forms of working with their research questions in wondrous, aesthetical, philosophical, and contemplative ways. In the afternoon session, the Ph.D. students will in groups, reflect upon self-chosen methodological or theoretical questions that have been awoken during the course and in relation to their own research project. 

Teaching methods:

The course will be organized through lectures, dialogues, and interactivity through workshops.

The organizer of this course is Professor Finn Thorbjørn Hansen.

Morning and afternoon lectures in Day 1, 2 & 3 will be thematically organized to address the questions listed above. The lectures will be followed by questions and discussions in groups and class.

On Day 4, the participants will be divided into groups of 5-6 participants. It is expected that every group member has read all abstracts and key questions in their group before the course. Before the course starts, the participants will be asked to do two things:

1) write an abstract that describes their research project and their main research question (wonder), and

2) to list at least 5 questions that have come up while reading the mandatory literature of this course.

Important information concerning PhD courses: 

There is a no-show fee of DKK 3,000 for each course where the student does not show up. Cancellations are accepted no later than 2 weeks before the start of the course. Registered illness is of course an acceptable reason for not showing up on those days. Furthermore, all courses open for registration approximately four months before start of the course.

We cannot ensure any seats before the deadline for enrolment, all participants will be informed after the deadline, approximately 3 weeks before the start of the course.

To attend courses at the Doctoral School in Medicine, Biomedical Science and Technology you must be enrolled as a PhD student.

 For inquiries regarding registration, cancellation or waiting list, please contact the PhD administration at aauphd@adm.aau.dk When contacting us please state the course title and course period. Thank you.

Mandatory readings

Dyring, Rasmus. 2022a. “Dementia Care Ethics, Social Ontology and World-Open Care: Phenomenological Motifs.” In Eriksen, C and N. Hämäläinen (eds.) Perspectives on Moral Change: Anthropologists and Philosophers Engage Transformations of Life Worlds. 106-125. New York: Berghahn Books.

Dyring, Rasmus. 2023. “Existential Care Ethics.” In Wardle, Huon, Nigel Rapport and Albert Piette (eds.) The Routledge Handbook of Existential Human Science. 173-182. London: Routledge.

Esperandio, M. R. G., & Leget, C. (2022). Opening a hermeneutic space for spiritual care practices. HORIZONTE-Revista de Estudos de Teologia e Ciências da Religião20(62), e206204-e206204.

Guldin, M., Leget, C. (2023). The Integrated Process Model of loss and grief. An interprofessional understanding. Death Studies, published online https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2023.2272960

Hansen, F.T. (2022). What would an Apophatic Action Research look like? International Journal of Action Research, Eikeland (ed.), special issue on «Conceptualizing AR». Vol. 18, Issue 2/2022, pp: 100–115.

Hansen, F.T. (2024). The Sense of Wonder as a necessary ‘Philosophical Literacy’ in Healthcare. In: Culture, Spirituality and Religious Literacy in Healthcare (Dellenborg, L. & Enstedt, D. Eds.), p. 217-231London: Routledge.

Hansen, F.T. (2024). Wonder and Philosophy as Grounding Sources in Health Humanities. In: Crawford, P., Kadetz, P. (eds) Palgrave Encyclopedia of the Health Humanities, p. 1-15. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26825-1_221-2

 

Hansen, F.T. (2024). Existential Health and Spiritual Recovery: Two possible new and important concepts in Health Humanities. The Nordic Journal of Arts, Culture and Health, Vol. 6, No. 1: 1-12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18261/njach.6.1.3

Hansen, F.T. & Jørgensen, L.B. (2020). A contribution to the ontology of the Fundamentals of Care Framework from a Wonder-based Approach. Journal of Clinical Nursing, Vol 29, No. 11-12 (Special Issue). Pp: 1797-1807. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.15272

Hansen, F.T. & Jørgensen, L.B. (2021). Wonder-inspired Leadership: Or how to cultivate ethical and phenomenon-led health care. Nursing Ethics: Vol. 28, No. 6 (September): 951-966. https://doi-org.zorac.aub.aau.dk/10.1177/0969733021990791

Haufe, M., Leget, C., Potma, M., & Teunissen, S. (2023). Better spiritual support for people living with early stage dementia: Developing the diamond conversation model. Dementia, 14713012231213907.

Leget, C. (2017). Art of Living, Art of Dying: Spiritual Care for Good Death. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Leget, C. & Boelsbjerg, H. B. (2023). The Art of Spiritual Care.: Implications for the use of instruments and tools. Tidsskrift for Forskning i Sygdom og Samfund20(38), 71-86.

Leget, C. (2023). Inner Space, Resonance, and Wonder. In: Hansen, Eide Leget (eds), Wonder, Silence, and Human Flourishing: Toward a Rehumanization of Health, Education, and Welfare, 47-63.

Van Wijngaarden, E., Leget, C., & Goossensen, A. (2016). Disconnectedness from the here-and-now: a phenomenological perspective as a counteract on the medicalisation of death wishes in elderly people. Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy, 19(2), 265-273.

Visse, M., Hansen, F.T. & Leget, C. (2019). The Unsayable in Arts-Based Research: on the Praxis of Life Itself. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, Vol. 18: 1-13 (DOI: 10.1177/1609406919851392)

Visse, M., Hansen, F.T. & Leget, C. (2020). Apophatic Inquiry: Living the Questions Themselves. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, Vol. 19: 1-11.

Additional readings:

Basting, Anne. 2020. Creative Care: A Revolutionary Approach to Dementia and Elder Care. 43-136. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.

Bauman, Z. & Donskis, L. (2013). Moral Blindness: The Loss of Sensitivity in Liquid Modernity. Cambridge:Polity Press.

Bellass, Sue, et al. 2019. ‘Broadening the Debate on Creativity and Dementia: A Critical Approach’, Dementia 18(7–8): 2799–820.

Capobianco, R. (2011). Engaging Heidegger. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Capobianco, R. (2015). Heidegger’s Way of Being. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Cobb, M., Puchalski, C., & Rumbold, B. (Eds.). (2012). Oxford textbook of spirituality in healthcare. OUP Oxford.

Cooper, D. (2012). Living with Mystery: Virtue, Truth, and Practice. European Journal of Philosophy of Religion,4(3): 1-13.

Crawford, P., Brown, B. & Charise, A. (eds.)(2020). The Routledge Companion to Health Humanities. London: Routledge.

Dinkins, C. S. Hansen, F.T. (2016). Socratic Wonder as a Way to Aletheia in Qualitative Research and Action Research. In: HASER. Revista Internacional de Filosofía Aplicada, Nr. 7: 51-88.

Dyring, Rasmus. 2022b. “On the Silent Anarchy of Intimacy: Images of Alterity, Openness and Sociality in Life with Dementia” In Mattingly, Cheryl and Lone Grøn (eds.) Imagistic Approaches to Aging and Care: Conversations between Anthropology, Philosophy and Art. 109-136. New York: Fordham University Press.

Dyring, Rasmus and Lone Grøn. 2022. “Ellen and the Little One: A Critical Phenomenology of Potentiality in Life with Dementia.” Anthropological Theory 22(1): 3-25.

Evans, H.H. (2016b). Medicine, the body and an invitation to wonder. Medical Humanities, June, Vol. 42, No. 2, pp: 97-102.

Franke, W. (2014). A Philosophy of the Unsayable. Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press.

Gallagher, A. (2020). Slow Ethics and the Art of Care. Howard House, Bingley: Emerald Publishing.

Galvin, K., & Todres, L. (2013). Caring and well-being: a lifeworld approach. London: Routledge.

Han, B.-C. (2015). The Burnout Society. Stanford, CA: Stanford briefs.

Han, B.-C. (2017). The Scent of Time. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Han, B.-C.(2023). Vita Contemplativa. Polity Press.

Hansen, F.T. (2015). The Call and Practice of Wonder. How to evoke a Socratic Community of Wonder in professional settings. In: M. N. Weiss (ed.), The Socratic Handbook, pp. 217-244. Vienna: LIT Verlag.

Hansen, F.T. (2016). At undre sig ved livets afslutning: Om brug af filosofiske samtaler i palliativt arbejde [To Wonder at the End the of Life: On the Use of Philosophical Conversations in Palliative Care]. Copenhagen: Academic Publisher.

Hansen, F.T. (2019). Negativ fænomenologi [Negative Phenomenology]: . In: Michael Rasmussen & Mogens Pahuus (eds.), Mennesket og det andet: Bidrag til den eksistentielle fænomenologi, s. 151-178. Aalborg: Aalborg Universitetsforlag.

Hansen, F.T. (2022). At skrive sig ud mod det gådefulde via undringens fire verdenshjørner. In: Herholdt-Lomholdt, S. (red.), Fenomenologi. å leve,samtale og skrive ut mot det gåtefulle i tilværelsen, s. 47-78 Bergen: Fagbokforlaget.

Hansen, F.T. (2023). Apophatic and Existential Wonder as a Humanizing Force. In: Hansen, F.T., Eide, S.B., & Leget, C. (2023). Wonder, Silence, and Human Flourishing: Towards a humanization of the professions of Health & Care, Welfare and Education, p. 21-46. Lanham: Lexington Books.

Heidegger, M. (1995). The fundamental concepts of metaphysics: World, finitude, solitude. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Køster, A. & Kofod, E.H. (2022). Cultural, Existential, and Phenomenological Dimensions of Grief Experience. Routledge.

Mugerauer, R. (2008). Heidegger and homecoming: The leitmotif in the later writings. Toronto: University ofToronto Press.

Nygaard et al. (2022). Existential in Scandinavian Healthcare Journals: An Analysis of the Concept and Implications for Future Research. Religions, Vol. 13(979): 1-43. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13100979

Richards, Ruth. 2010. ‘Everyday Creativity: Process and Way of Life – Four Key Issues’, in J.C. Kaufman and R.J. Sternberg (eds), The Cambridge Handbook of Creativity. New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 189–215.

Käll, Lisa F. 2017. ‘Intercorporeal Expression and the Subjectivity of Dementia’, in Luna Dolezal and Danielle Petherbridge (eds), Body/Self/Other: The Phenomenology of Social Encounters. Albany: State University of New York Press, pp. 359–86.

Kitwood, Tom. 2019. Dementia Reconsidered, Revisited: The Person Still Comes First, 2nd ed, Edited by  Dawn Brooker. 6-23, 44-63, 104-122. London: Open University Press.

Kontos, Pia. 2006. ‘Embodied Selfhood: An Ethnographic Exploration of Alzheimer’s Disease’, in Annette Leibing and Lawrence Cohen (eds), Thinking about Dementia: Culture, Loss, and the Anthropology of Senility. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, pp. 157–79.

Køster & Kofod

 

Leget, C., van Nistelrooij, I., & Visse, M. (2019). Beyond demarcation: Care ethics as an interdisciplinary field of inquiry. Nursing ethics, 26(1), 17-25.

Rosa, H. (2019). Resonance. A Sociology of Our Relationship to the World. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Schinkel, A. (2018). Wonder and moral education. Educational Theory, 68(1), 31–48. https://doi.org/10.1111/edth.12287

Svenaeus, F. (2000). The hermeneutics of medicine and the phenomenology of health: Steps towards a philosophy of medical practice. London: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Thorsted, A.C. & Hansen, F.T. & (2022). At tænke med hjertet: En grundbog i eksistentiel praksisfænomenologi[To Think With the Heart: Basic Reflections on Existential Praxis Phenomenology]. Aarhus: Klim. (378 pages)

Todres, L., Galvin, K. T., & Holloway, I. (2009). The humanization of healthcare: A value framework for qualitative research. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, 4(2), 68-77.

Todres, L., & Galvin, K. (2010). “Dwelling-mobility”: An existential theory of well-being. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, 5(3), pp. 1-6.

Tronto, J. C. (1993). Moral boundaries: A political argument for an ethic of care. Psychology Press.

Ücok-Sayrak, Ö. (2019). Existential Rootedness: Aesthetic Ecology of Communication Ethics. Vancouver: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press.

Uhrenfeldt, L., Sørensen, E. E., Bahnsen, I. B., & Pedersen, P. U. (2018). The centrality of the nurse–patientrelationship: A Scandinavian perspective. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 27, 3197–3204. https://doi. org/10.1111/jocn.14381 

Van der Meide, H., Olthuis, G., & Leget, C. (2015). Why frailty needs vulnerability: A care ethical perspective on hospital care for older patients. Nursing Ethics, 22(8), 860-869.

Van Wijngaarden, E., Leget, C., & Goossensen, A. (2015). Ready to give up on life: The lived experience ofelderly people who feel life is completed and no longer worth living. Social Science & Medicine,138, 257-264.

Verducci, D. & Kule, M. (eds.)(2022). The Development of Eco- Phenomenology as An Interpretative Paradigm of The Living World. Springer.

Zeiler, Kristin. 2014. ‘A Philosophical Defense of the Idea that We Can Hold Each Other in Personhood: Intercorporeal Personhood in Dementia Care’, Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy 17: 131–41.




Welcome to The social side of robots and AI. Exploring video-based method for the analysis of interaction with robots and artificial intelligence 

ECTS: 
3

Time: 
November 12-15, 2024

Place: 
Aalborg University, Rendsburggade 14, 9000 Aalborg. Room will follow

Number of seats:
16

Deadline:
29 October 2024

Enrolment requirements:

No paper will be required. However, we will need an abstract from every participant before the course starts to get an overview over the topics and be able to relate to their projects during the course. Participation will also require preparing and hold a presentation during the course.

Description:
This PhD course prepares students to explore video-based methods for the analysis and design of peoples’ interactions with robots or artificial intelligence (AI) in social settings.

Social and collaborative robots as well as AI systems are increasingly leaving factory shop floors and research laboratories and enter the everyday life and routines of various people in private, public, institutional, and organizational settings. Robots and AI are integrated in diverse contexts including family interactions, education, teamwork, public transport, and hospital settings. In difference to controlled laboratory environments, the technologies increasingly enter the complexity and “messiness” of real-world contexts. They meet a diversity of people engaging and interacting in various forms and for various purposes with the technology. Traditionally, laboratory research uses quantitative methods often focusing on dyadic task-based interaction, with one user and one robotic or AI system solving one specific task. However, to understand what happens when people engage with robots and AI in real-world settings, we need to open our perspective to the specific social context, the diversity of people that engage with the technologies and the various forms in which people engage/disengage, interact or collaborate with the technology as a single user, in groups or with other participation forms or roles. Therefore, we need to turn to qualitative methods that can deal with the complexity and dynamics of interaction with robots and AI in real world settings.  

The course introduces video-based methods for analyzing and designing robots or AI for real-world settings, combining video/ethnography and co-creation tools from participatory and interaction design. We will focus on methodological issues concerning 1) Describing practices using ethnomethodology, video ethnography and analysis, 2) Intervening in practices using enactments, bodystorming, and voice-overs, 3) Reflecting on how these practices inform our understanding of real-world practices and concrete guidelines and how this in turn can inform the design of robots and AI, thus facilitating interdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration.

Learning Objectives:

The students will gain knowledge and practical experience in:

a)      Planning and conducting video ethnographic studies, including data collection, ethics, transcription, and video analysis.

b)      Preparation and facilitation of collaborative data sessions and co-creation workshops, using techniques for rapid prototyping, including doing enactments, bodystorming and vocal sketching.

c)      Facilitating and navigating interdisciplinary collaborations by using techniques that can bridge both fields.

Teaching methods:

The course will be divided into two parts. The first part will be taught through lectures that introduce methods and workshops in which the students gain firsthand practical experience with these methods. In the second part of the course, the students will relate and apply the acquired knowledge to their own PhD-projects and present their results for discussion at the end of the course.

For practical and pedagogical reasons, the exercises in the first part of this course will particularly focus on video-based methods exploring the impact of robots on social practices in public settings and explore how a deeper understanding of these practices can inform design. Public spaces are easy to access for students during exercises in the workshops and the course lectures have the relevant data to supplement the workshops. In the second part of the course, we will encourage students to apply the methods to their own PhD projects, which may include robots and AI in any social settings.

Target group

This course is directed to an interdisciplinary audience looking for

a)      students of social science and humanities aiming to understand meaning-making processes in social settings in which robots or AI are or should be embedded,

b)      design students who are interested in exploring material and social aspects when designing robots or AI for interactions in real world settings, and

c)      students of robotics, HRI, HCI who are programming or building robots and AI and are interested in learning techniques for grounding their development in a deeper understanding of human practices and human-centred design processes.  

To summarize, the course is for every PhD student who is studying, designing or developing human-robot or human-AI interaction in any social setting. Both Danish and foreign students are welcome. The course will be taught in English.

Program outline:

Day 1: Describing

  • Overview of the course & welcome (0.5hr)
  • Introduction Lecture to the topic of observation for design (video observation, transcription, and video analysis (1,5 hrs)
  • Workshops on observation, transcription, and video analysis (5 hrs)
  • Q&A (0,5 hrs)

Day 2: Intervening

  • Introduction Lecture video-based and participatory methods for rapid prototyping with focus on co-creation methods like enactment and bodystorming (1,5)
  • Workshops testing different methods of enacting human robot interaction (5 hrs)
  • Open Q&A session (0,5)

Day 3:  Describing and intervening in own PhD projects

  • Broadening the perspective to other application scenarios & bridging analysis and design in a mini-project: Dive into particular themes of observing, analyzing enacting and informing/designing in regard to your own project (lecture and discussion 3 hrs)
  • Afternoon: group or individual work relating the knowledge to the students’ own projects (5hrs)

Day 4: Reflecting

  • Finalizing mini-project work and individual / group presentation preparation (4 hrs)
  • Students’ presentations (2 hrs)
Final Discussions and evaluation (1hrs)

Organizer:
The Doctoral Programme in Communication and Psychology
  
Lecturers:

Dr. Antonia L. Krummheuer, Associate Professor for Qualitative Methods and Technology Studies, Institute for Communication and Psychology, member of the HRI Lab at Aalborg University and the steering committee of Aalborg Robotic Challenge, is organizing and teaching on the course.

Dr. Hannah R. M. Pelikan, postdoc in the AI in Motion group, Department of Culture and Society, Linköping University, developed several techniques for bridging video ethnography and interaction design. She is part of the program committee for the HRI 2024 conference and co-editor of the special issue on Sound in HRI at the ACM Transactions on Human-Robot Interaction.

Key literature (I am very sorry; I noted the wrong application deadline for the PhD course. We are still working on the list. We will also remember to split it up in mandatory and secondary literature.):

Mandatory

Interaction analysis (methods)

  1. Heath, C., Hindmarsh, J., & Luff, P. (2010). Video in Qualitative Research: Analysing Social Interaction in Everyday Life. Sage.
  2. Hannah Pelikan. 2023. Transcribing human–robot interaction: Methodological implications of participating machines. In P. Haddington, T. Eilittä, A. Kamunen, L. Kohonen-Aho, T. Oittinen, I. Rautiainen, & A. Vatanen (Eds.), Ethnomethodological Conversation Analysis in Motion: Emerging Methods and New Technologies (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003424888

Interaction with Robots

  1. Alač, M., J. Movellan & F. Tanaka, 2011: When a Robot Is Social: Spatial Arrangements and Multimodal Semiotic Engagement in the Practice of Social Robotics. Social Studies of Science, 41(6): 893–926. https://doi.org/0.1177/0306312711420565.
  2. Dautenhahn K. Some Brief Thoughts on the Past and Future of Human-Robot Interaction. ACMTrans. Hum.-Robot Interact. 2018;7(1). Available from: https://doi.org/10.1145/3209769.
  3. Hornecker, E., Krummheuer, A. L., Bischof, A., & Rehm, M. (2022). Beyond dyadic HRI: building robots for society. interactions, 29(3), 48–53. https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3526119

Interaction Design

  1. Brandt, E., Binder, T., & Sanders, E. B.-N. (2012). Tools and techniques: Ways to engage telling, making and enacting. I J. Simonsen & Toni. Robertson (Red.), Routledge International Handbook of Participatory Design (s. 145–181). Routledge.
  2. Krummheuer, A. L. (2023). Practice-based robotics: How sociology can inform the development of social robots. I F. Muhle (red.), Soziale Robotik: Eine sozialwissenschaftliche Einführung (s. 117-136). De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110714944-006
  3. Pelikan, H, & Jung, M.F. (2023). Designing Robot Sound-In-Interaction: The Case of Autonomous Public Transport Shuttle Buses. In Proceedings of the 2023 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI '23). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 172–182. https://doi.org/10.1145/3568162.3576979
  4. Randall, D., & Rouncefield, M. (2018). Ethnographic Approach to Design. In K. L. Norman & J. Kirakowski (Eds.), The Wiley Handbook of Human Computer Interaction (pp. 125--141). https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118976005.ch7
  5. Lucero, A., Dalsgaard, P., Halskov, K., & Buur, J. (2016). Designing with Cards. I P. Markopoulos, J.-B. Martens, J. Malins, K. Coninx, & A. Liapis (Red.), Collaboration in Creative Design: Methods and Tools (s. 75–95). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29155-0_5

Secondary

Related to the case of traffic:

  1. Haddington, Pentti and Rauniomaa, M. (2013). Interaction between road users: offering space in traffic. Space and Culture Vol 17 (2).
  2. Laurier, E., Muñoz, D., Miller, R., & Brown, B. (2020). A Bip, a Beeeep, and a Beep Beep: How Horns Are Sounded in Chennai Traffic. Research on Language and Social Interaction53(3), 341–356. https://doi.org/10.1080/08351813.2020.1785775
  3. Liberman, K. (2013). The Local Orderliness of Crossing Kincaid. I K. Liberman (Red.), More Studies in Ethnomethodology (s. 11–43). SUNY Press.

More general

  1. Crabtree, A., Rouncefield, M., & Tolmie, P. (2012). Doing Design Ethnography. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-2726-0
  2. Matarić, M., 2018: On Relevance: Balancing Theory and Practice in HRI. ACM Transactions on Human-Robot Interaction, 7(1):8:1–8:2. https://doi.org/10.1145/3209770.
  3. Moore, R.J., M.H. Szymanski, R. Arar & G-J. Ren, (Eds.), 2018: Studies in Conversational UX Design. Wiesbaden: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95579-7.
  4. Šabanović, S., 2010: Robots in Society, Society in Robots. International Journal of Social Robotics, 2(4): 439–450. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-010-0066-7.
  5. Šabanović, S. & W.-L. Chang, 2016: Socializing Robots: Constructing Robotic Sociality in the Design and Use of the Assistive Robot PARO. AI & SOCIETY, 31(4): 537–551. https://doi. org/10.1007/s00146-015-0636-1.
  6. Suchman L. Human-Machine Reconfigurations: Plans and Situated Actions. Second edition. Cambridge University Press; 2007.
  7. Weiss A, Spiel K. Robots beyond Science Fiction: mutual learning in human–robot interaction on the way to participatory approaches. AI & Society. 2022; 37:1-15. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-021-01209-w.
  8. Ylirisku, S. & J. Buur, 2007: Designing with Video. Focusing the User-Centred Design Process. Wiesbaden: Springer.
Important information concerning PhD courses: We have over some time experienced problems with no-shows for both project and general courses. It has now reached a point where we are forced to take action. Therefore, the Doctoral School has decided to introduce a no-show fee of DKK 3.000 for each course where the student does not show up. Cancellations are accepted no later than 2 weeks before start of the course. Registered illness is of course an acceptable reason for not showing up on those days. Furthermore, all courses open for registration approximately four months before start. This can hopefully also provide new students a chance to register for courses during the year. We look forward to your registration.


For inquiries regarding registration, cancellation or waiting list, please contact the PhD administration, aauphd@adm.aau.dk




Welcome to Action Research and participatory research as engaging in sustainable change.

Today, action research encompasses a diversity of projects across various fields such as education, social work, healthcare, the caregiving sector, and many others. It is conducted in both public and private organizations. Action research is associated with a wide array of concepts such as innovation, co-creation, capacity building, co-production, co-evaluation, learning, leadership, and organization, to name a few. However, what does the significant growth in the number of action research projects imply, what dilemmas rise, and what consequences has it had - and might it have - now that action research has become so widespread? For "the young action researcher," this can be experienced as both conflicting and problematic, particularly concerning the relationship between knowledge, theory, method, and action.

Three researchers, well-experienced with action research, will be present throughout the course, each providing their perspective on action research. This ensures coherence in the course content, both during presentations and group work. Internationally recognized action researcher Miren Larrea will deliver a keynote address at the course and participate in paper workshops with the Ph.D. students.

Purpose: to share knowledge about and experience with action research with Ph.D. students engaging in action research or similar change-oriented research approaches in their Ph.D. projects. Additionally, it aims to create a forum where research supporting desired change processes in the Ph.D. students' projects can be presented and discussed.

Learning objectives:

  • Acquiring knowledge and understanding of action research in a modern and historical perspective.
  • Expanding methodological creativity and argumentation in their own Ph.D. project.
  • Gaining inspiration and perspectives in relation to their own Ph.D. project.


Teaching methods:

Lectures, parallel paper presentation workshops, plenary discussions. Lectures:

The history of action research and its different approaches by Søren Frimann

Action research today includes a diversity that may be called the “action family”, which are change and action-oriented approaches used in different contexts, such as private and public organizations, education, health care and local communities. Action research is often associated with concepts such as co-creation, capacity building, empowerment, and organizational learning. Many organizations have discovered that action research is an approach that can be rewarding for solving organizational problems and creating a space for learning, reflexivity, and development in practice, while also creating research through the action research process.

This presentation provides an overview of the history of action research as well as its scientific paradigms and approaches. Based on concrete examples of action research, the various scientific positions, roles, and approaches in action research are unfolded and discussed.

Learning Processes, Collective Craftsmanship, and Art in Action Research Practice by Julie Borup Jensen

In recent years, within action research, there has been a movement towards new approaches to knowledge production, involving socio-material and art-based investigation methods. Current calls in international journals and conferences address the question of action research as a craft, or even as practices resembling art. For instance, the Action Research Journal issued a call for papers in 2020 titled "Artfulness in the Organizational Playground." Global climate change, green transition, and sustainability also play a role in this discussion. The assumption is that art can inspire the thematic exploration of the (co)creative aspects of action research concerning inclusive and engaging ways of conducting research that contribute to tangible learning and change.

This lecture provides insight into perspectives on creative and artistic approaches to action research, inviting participants to reflect on the artistic aspects of their own investigative practices.

‘Withness-thinking’, ‘relational responsiveness’ and ‘social poetics’ in action research by Lone Hersted

This part of the PhD course contributes to a methodological discussion on action research and draws on the intellectual work of the now deceased British professor in communication, John Shotter. The lecture is inspired by a social constructionist and process-oriented approach to action research. Shotter has launched the term ‘withness-thinking’, which puts the relational in the foreground of all our inquiries. ‘Withness-thinking’ requires a special way of engaging oneself in the process together with the participants (often also called co-researchers). In this lecture we’ll explore how we can understand the thinking of John Shotter and which kind of implications this way of thinking may lead to in our action research practice. Special attention will be paid to concepts such as ’withness-thinking’, ’withness-writing’, ’relational responsiveness’, ’social poetics’, ’polyphony’, and ’joint action’ and how these concepts are related to each other and can inspire us in our living dialogues and interplay with the action research participants.  

The role as an action researcher - guest lecture by Miren Larrea

The lecture evolves around navigating in tensions and in dilemmas when doing research for sustainable change in organizations and society. Experience from doing action research and similar types of research to increase community growth will be shared with the PhD-students, with the aim of inspiring to approaches to research that would link research on regional development with practical work in the same field. She will share experience with the development of action research processes with policy makers, in order to create participatory perspectives of regional development.


Description of paper requirements, if applicable:

The Ph.D.-student can participate with either 1) a research paper or 2) a project description.

Provide an abstract of max. 500 words by 15th September 2024, containing:

  • Purpose with the paper / project
  • Methodological Considerations and Reflective Thoughts on Methodology
  • Tentative Literature and/or Theoretical Considerations

Scope of Full Paper / Complete Project Description: 3000 words. The content is expected to elaborate on the same considerations as presented in the abstract.

 Full paper / project description by October 21. 2024


Organizer: Julie Borup Jensen 

Lecturers: Julie Borup Jensen 

ECTS: 2

Time: 5. November from 9am - 6. November 4pm 2024

Place: Kroghstræde 39220 Aalborg East, DK

Zip code: 
9220

City: Aalborg

Number of seats: 24

Deadline: 15 September 2024

Important information concerning PhD courses: We have over some time experienced problems with no-show for both project and general courses. It has now reached a point where we are forced to take action. Therefore, the Doctoral School has decided to introduce a no-show fee of DKK 2.000 for each course where the student does not show up. Cancellations are accepted no later than 2 weeks before start of the course. Registered illness is of course an acceptable reason for not showing up on those days. Furthermore, all courses open for registration approximately four months before start. This can hopefully also provide new students a chance to register for courses during the year. We look forward to your registrations.


    Welcome to: The curses and joys of educational categorisations in schooling, state and society


    Course description, incl. learning objectives and prerequisites:

    The field of education is overloaded with categories. “Good” and “bad” students, instruction and teachers being the foremost, but also categories of e.g. gender, nation-ness, race, and class, and categories of feelings such as performance anxieties and stress is operating. So is politically formulated categories such as “inclusion” and “competence”. Also society and the state at large is overloaded with educational categories. State crafting and the governance of citizens have increasingly become educational and categorized the population to be governed accordingly.

    As social science-humanities scholars of education, our research often focus on exploring such categories, but also we bring in preconstructions of such categories in our theoretical apparatus and due to our reading of the history and practices on the field we are studying.

    The course targets the challenge and question of how to establish categories in empirical material in education research with a focus on sociological, historical, political science and ethnographical approaches.

    How do we as education scientists establish theoretical approaches in the form of categories as optics to study the empirical material? How to establish a conversation with the material and the actors we are studying? How to make the empirical material answering us back? These methodological questions are crucial challenges for scholars working empirical with researching education and upbringing, and the disciplines of history of education, educational sociology and ethnography and education policy studies offers different possibilities and problems in this context.

    At this one-day course we will establish a common laboratory for PhD-scholars dealing with research in educational issues across social sciences and the humanities to discuss and get inspired by senior scholars who work with similar challenges. We will share our laboratory work and challenges with each other.

    The learning objectives is:

    • to develop the competence of the participants to establish dialogues between empirical material and theoretical tools with a special focus on the question of categories and the process of categorization
    • To extend the knowledge of the participant concerning the newest methodological development within the empirically and social-science/humanities (SSH)-based education research.

     

    The course provide and put into dialogue:

    • insights from the laboratory of four senior scholars speaking from respectively a transnational ethnography of education perspective (Li); a history of experience and welfare state studies-      perspective (Buchardt)  an affect theory based perspective (Vertelyté) and a new materialist inspired policy ethnographic perspective (Madsen).
    • discussion of and response to problems and data from the participants own laboratories.

     

    Programme outline:

    8.45-9.00:          Arrival and coffee

    9.00-9.15:          Jin Hui Li: Introduction and main angles on the methodological problem in focus today

    9.15-9.45           Manté Vertelyté /case from the lab

    9.50-10.20         Mette Buchardt/case from the lab

    10.20-10.40       Questions and discussions

    10.40-11.00       Break

    11.00-12.00       Comments on papers and feedback divided in tracks: Each PhD-scholar: 20 min. (5 min. presentation; 5 min. feedback from a peer-PhD scholar; 5 min feedback from a senior scholar; 5 min. questions from plenum).

    12.00-12.45       Lunch

    12.45 -13.15      Miriam Madsen/case from the lab

    13.20- 13.50      Jin Hui Li/case from the lab

    13.50-14.10       Questions and discussions

    14.10-14.30       Break

    14.30-15.40       Comments on papers and feedback in tracks

    15.40-16.00       Short recap and goodbye: “Two things I take with me today”.

     

    Description of paper requirements, if applicable:

    1 page project description, 1 page description of a methodological challenge concerning interpretation of empirical material, 1 page of except from empirical material (field work, interview, document, historical source et al.

    Key literature:

    • Beverly Skeggs: Formations of Class and Gender: Becoming Respectable, Sage 1997 (excerpts).
    • Ann Laura Stoler: Carnal Knowledge and Imperial Power. Race and the Intimate in Colonial Rule, Berkeley/Los Angeles/London: University of California Press 2002 (excerpts).
    • Maria Tamboukou ‘History and Ethnography: interfaces and juxtapositions.’ Handbook of Qualitative Research in Education, Northampton (MA) & Cheltenham (UK): Edward Elgar, 2012, 136-152.
    • Karen Barad:.Posthumanist Performativity: Toward an Understanding of How Matter Comes to Matter. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 2003, 28(3), 801-831.
    • Sophy Bergenheim:”From Survival Mode to Utopian Dreams: Conceptions of Society, Social Planning, and Historical Time in 1950s and 1960s Finland “.P. Haapala, M. Harjula, H. Kokko (eds.) Experiencing Society and the Lived Welfare State, Palgrave Macmillan 2023.
    • Miriam Madsen (2021) The configurative agency of metrics in education: a research agenda involving a different engagement with data, Journal of Education Policy, 36:1, 64-83, DOI: 10.1080/02680939.2019.1682679
    • William Mazzarella ”Affect: What is it Good for?”, in S. Dube (ed.): Enchantments of Modernity Empire, Nation, Globalization, London: Routledge 2020.
    • Manté Vertelyté (2023): ‘Have we lost our sense of humour?!’ Affective senses of racial joking in Danish schools, Social Identities, DOI: 10.1080/13504630.2023.2208067

     

    Suggested literature: (more to come)

    • Heikki Kokko & Minna Harjula: Social History of Experiences: A Theoretical-Methodological Approach”. P. Haapala, M. Harjula, H. Kokko (eds.) Experiencing Society and the Lived Welfare State, Palgrave Macmillan 2023
    • Frevert, Ute. Emotions in History. Lost and Found, Budapest: Central European University Press, 2011.

    Organizer: 


    Lecturers:

    • Jin Hui Li, Centre for Education Policy Research (CfU), AAU
    • Mette Buchardt, Centre for Education Policy Research (CfU), AAU
    • Miriam Madsen, Policy Futures, DPU, Aarhus University
    • Manté Vertelyté, Policy Futures, DPU, Aarhus University


    ECTS: 1

    Time: 29 October 2024

    Place: Aalborg University, Department of Culture and Learning, A.C. Meyers Vænge 15, Copenhagen, DK.

    Zip code: 
    2450

    City: Copenhagen

    Number of seats: 25

    Deadline: 8 October 2024
    Important information concerning PhD courses: We have over some time experienced problems with no-shows for both project and general courses. It has now reached a point where we are forced to take action. Therefore, the Doctoral School has decided to introduce a no-show fee of DKK 2.000 for each course where the student does not show up. Cancellations are accepted no later than 2 weeks before the start of the course. Registered illness is of course an acceptable reason for not showing up on those days. Furthermore, all courses open for registration approximately four months before start. This can hopefully also provide new students a chance to register for courses during the year. We look forward to your registration.
Welcome to VI International Perspectives on Education Policy (IPEP) Summer School (18-23 August 2024)

See more about the outcome, the programme, preparation for the course and lectures: 

IPEP Summer School August 18-23, 2024 - Aalborg Universitet (aau.dk)

Description:

The IPEP Summer School will consider theories and methods relevant across the field of educational policy research. It is designed for primarily PhD students, but also relevant to postdoctoral fellows and researchers of policy in all areas of education; and advanced master students can participate (if seats are available).

IPEP builds on a cooperation agreement between the University of Verona (Department of Human Sciences) and Aalborg University (Department of Culture and Learning). It stems from a synergy between these universities, the University of Nottingham (School of Education), and the Institute of Research on Population and Social Policies of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR-IRPPS), co-founders of the International Research Centre for Global and Comparative Policy Studies on the Education and Learning of Adults (IRC-GloCoPoS).

The Summer School will include an explicit focus on policy related to higher and adult education, and the specific content of activities will be developed in light of the participants’ profiles.

In continuity with past years’ seasonal schools (in Verona), this IPEP Summer School will provide participants with an opportunity to learn about, and discuss:

  • The nature and the role of ‘theory’ in the understanding of educational policy
  • The relationship between global, national, and institutional governance in education
  • The strengths and limits of document analysis, discourse analysis and educational ethnography to investigate education policy
  • Current discourses on new technologies, their consequences and educational responses to them
  • Urgent education policy issues in the countries represented by the participants

The Summer School is carried out as a unique opportunity for the participants to experience and collaborate on policy ethnographic fieldwork in an international perspective. It is innovative in respect to have the participants doing a real fieldwork and thus learning the tools of education policy ethnography in practice. This concept has proved very successful in the past years, where we have had participants from all over the world, who have been particularly pleased with its strongly practice-based character.

This year, for the first time it will take place at Aalborg University (Denmark). The days of fieldwork will be organized in collaboration with the UCN (University College of Northern Jutland).


General information:

Preparation required ahead of the Summer School:

Before the start of the summer School students will be asked to fill in and upload in Moodle a “Questions for participants about education policy issues” sheet that is provided separately after registration.

Students should note that each of the lectures will include a ‘Preparation’ section. Please look at it carefully and kindly do as asked, in due time. As there is a limited time for individual study during the Summer School, please consider preparing for these lectures ahead of the Summer School.

Access to preparatory readings:

All ‘Preparatory readings’ mentioned in the lecture’s outlines will be made available to students ahead of the Summer School in moodle. ‘Further readings’ will be made available during the Summer School also in moodle.

Final certificate:

Students are reminded that to receive a completion certificate (corresponding to 5 ECTS) the attendance requirement is 100%, and they should upload a short essay by September 15th, 2024 (for which they will receive also a short written evaluation by the IPEP Faculty).

Bursaries:

The ESREA Presidium has gladly agreed to support the IPEP 2024 with four scholarships, which can be applied for by PhD students who need support for travel and accommodation costs. Please write an application, stating your situation and needs, and forward this to Coordinator Annette Rasmussen anra@ikl.aau.dk at the time of your acceptance to the IPEP Summer School.


Coordinator: Annette Rasmussen, anra@ikl.aau.dk

Secretary: 
Jane Bak Andersen, jband@ikl.aau.dk

ECTS: 5

Time: 18-23 August 2024

Place: Krogstræde 3

Zip code: 
9220

City: Aalborg

Number of seats: 25

Deadline: 26 June 2024

Important information concerning PhD courses: We have over some time experienced problems with no-shows for both project and general courses. It has now reached a point where we are forced to take action. Therefore, the Doctoral School has decided to introduce a no-show fee of DKK 2000 for each course where the student does not show up. Cancellations are accepted no later than 2 weeks before the start of the course. Registered illness is of course an acceptable reason for not showing up on those days. Furthermore, all courses open for registration approximately four months before start. This can hopefully also provide new students a chance to register for courses during the year. We look forward to your registration.

Welcome to Expertise and emerging technologies: A working and organizing perspective.


Course organizers and lecturers

  • Dr. Kasper Trolle Elmholdt, Associate Professor, Department of Politics and Society, Center for IT Management, Aalborg University (elm@dps.aau.dk) (Organizer)
  • Dr. Mohammad H. Rezazade Mehrizi, Associate Professor, School of Business and Economics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, KIN Center For Digital Innovation (m.rezazademehrizi@vu.nl) (Co-organizer)

Guest lectures for specific sessions

  • Dr. Pedro Monteiro, Assistant Professor, Department of Organization, Copenhagen Business School
  • Prof. Ruthanne Huising Work, Technology, and Organization Research Center, Emlyon business school
  • Prof. Davide Nicolini, Warwick Business School, visiting professor at BI Norwegian Business School Oslo

Course description

Technological developments, particularly in the areas that directly touch on skilled and knowledge work, are raising once again questions on “expertise”. Researchers are thus called to examine how is expertise developed, applied and organized with particular attention to the intended and unintended consequences of technologies in these processes. This PhD course aims to introduce PhD students to these academic conversations and thus provide them with the insights, methods, and skills to investigate and contribute to scholarship in this area.

The course focuses on the following topics

  • Scholarly debate on expertise: foundational traditions, current research, and future developments
  • Technologies & expertise: how (emerging) technologies generate novel expertise, disrupt existing one, and generally re-configure modes of learning and knowing
  • Organizing & expertise: understanding expert authority, coordination among specialists, and the management of experts and expertise

 Learning objectives

  • Understand how expertise is developed, applied, and recognized through academic scholarship in organization and management
  • Develop a critical understanding of the interplay of expertise and technologies  (including but not limited to artificial intelligence and similar digital technologies)
  • Gain experience in how to investigate the impacts of technologies on the development, application and recognition of expertise
  • Critically analyze the relations between organizing and expertise
  • Develop scholarly insights on current trends around expertise and expert work

 How to apply

  • There are limited places in this course; please make sure you apply as soon as possible.
  • Please write a brief statement about how your current PhD research is related to the topic of expertise and what you expect to learn through the program (300-500 words)

Prerequisites: There is no formal prerequisite, but a basic familiarity with qualitative research is ideal. Students are expected to have read all required readings before each class.

Program:
The course runs from September to November 2024 and combines online and in-person attendance in Copenhagen at Aalborg University.  We focus on different aspects of expertise in each session, and the sessions will combine a mix of student presentations, lectures, and group work.

Practicalities:

  • Credits: 5 ECTS
  • Fee: Free (but limited places)

 

Online Introduction (Zoom)

Day (online or in person)

 

2/9/2024

12-13 CET

 

(online)

-     Welcoming the participants and introduction to the course

-     Organizational and sociological foundations of expertise

 

 

 

In-person seminar (Copenhagen)

Day

Morning

Afternoon

9/9/2024

 

9-16 CET

 

 

From micro to macro-dynamics of expertise

 

Method Workshop: How to observe unobservables: the challenges of observing and capturing expertise in research

 

10/9/2024

 

9-16 CET

 

 

Technologies of expertise

 

Collective exercise: constructing a historiography of technologies of expertise (a fun-game!)

 

Showcasing technologies of expertise: A virtual trip into the land of medical diagnosis (remote observation of radiology work)

 

11/10/2024

 

9-16 CET

 

 

Developing and enacting expertise in relation to (emerging) technologies

 

Paper development workshop

Students’ presentation and feedback on analytical perspectives on expertise

 

 

Online seminar (Zoom)

Day

 

9/10/2024

 

8.30-12.30 CET

 

 

Organizing experts and expertise

 

-     Perspective session

-     Plenary discussion with students on their own projects

10/10/2024

 

8.30-12.30 CET

 

 

Organizing experts and expertise

 

-     Perspective session

-     Plenary discussion with students on their own projects

 

Final seminar (Zoom)

Day

 

8/11/2024

 

13-15 CET

 

 

-     Plenary discussion on critical essays

-     Final conclusions on the course

 


Teaching methods:

The course consists of

  • Dialectic lectures: Where we engage in critical reflection on the readings, and collective discussions, we use multiple forms of plenary discussions, peer-discussions, and interactive exercises.
  • Mini-ethnographic investigation: to gain a first-hand experience of the reality of expertise and practically learn how to investigate it, students will perform a mini-ethnographic examination of a domain of expertise (per their choice) in the period between the first and the second part of the course (see the schedule below) and produce a research essay, which will be presented at a final symposium.

Description of paper requirements, if applicable:

  • A critical essay, maximum 10,000 words on a specific area of expertise (students’ choice)
  • Format: a standard academic paper
  • To be presented in the symposium (online)

Key literature:

Mandatory literature: An approx, 300 pages compendium will be created based on extracts from books below:

  • Abbott, Andrew. 2014. The System of Professions: An Essay on the Division of Expert Labor. University of Chicago Press.
  • Barley, S. R. (2020). Work and technological change. Oxford University Press, USA.
  • Barley, S. R. (1996). Technicians in the workplace: Ethnographic evidence for bringing work into organizational studies. Administrative science quarterly, 404-441.Collins, H., &  Evans, R. (2019). Rethinking expertise. University of Chicago Press.
  • Eyal, G., & Medvetz, T. (2023). The Oxford Handbook of Expertise and Democratic Politics. Oxford University Press.Eyal, G. (2019). The crisis of expertise. John Wiley & Sons.
  •  Pasquale, F. A. (2023). Battle of the Experts: The Strange Career of Meta-Expertise. In The Oxford Handbook of Expertise, edited by Gil Eyal and Thomas Medvetz.
  •  Huising, R. (2023). Professional Authority in The Oxford Handbook of Expertise, edited by Gil Eyal and Thomas Medvetz.
  • Heimstädt, M., Koljonen, T., & Elmholdt, K. T. (2023). Expertise in management research: A review and agenda for future research. The Academy of Management Annals.
  • Pakarinen, P., & Huising, R. (2023). Relational Expertise: What Machines Can't Know. Journal of Management Studies.
  • Treem, J. W., & Leonardi, P. M. (Eds.). (2016). Expertise, communication, and organizing. Oxford University Press.

 

Suggested literature:

  • Susskind, Richard, and Daniel Susskind. 2015. The Future of the Professions: How Technology Will Transform the Work of Human Experts. Oxford University Press, USA.
  • Pryma, J. (2022). Technologies of expertise: opioids and pain management’s credibility crisis. American Sociological Review87(1), 17-49.
  • Sandberg, J., Rouleau, L., Langley, A., & Tsoukas, H. (Eds.). (2017). Skillful performance: Enacting capabilities, knowledge, competence, and expertise in organizations (Vol. 7). Oxford University Press.

Time: 9-13 September 2024

Place: TBA

Zip code:  
2450

City: Aalborg University Copenhagen

Number of seats: 25

Deadline for application: 15 August 2024


    Welcome to Sociology of time

    Course description, incl. learning objectives and prerequisite:

    The aim of the course it to familiarize students with classical and contemporary perspectives in the sociology of time, to enable students to critically discuss theoretical assumptions, methodological approaches and empirical results within studies of time and temporality and to construct a theoretical framework and methodological approach to a specific research problem in the student’s own ongoing or planned project.

    Prerequisites

    This PhD course addresses both PhD students unfamiliar with theories of time and PhD students who are more experienced with the field. The first group will obtain knowledge about the key concepts, theoretical traditions and methodological discussions in the field. The second group will obtain new perspectives on their own work through the attentiveness to theoretical development, methodological concerns and discussions of how to apply theories and concepts in specific analyses.

    When signing up for the course, participants should submit ½ page about their own research and the role of time in it. These short papers will be used to select participants, if more than 15 sign up.

    Learning outcomes

    After completion of the course the doctoral student shall be able to:

    1. Knowledge and understanding

    • Present and discuss a broad overview of the different approaches in the sociology of time in general and of theoretical assumptions within the chosen areas of specialization in particular
    • State and analyze the main empirical results within the chosen area of specialization
    • Present and discuss current areas of conflict within the chosen area of specialization

    2. Skills and abilities

    • Orally and in writing present, explain and problematize research within the sociology of time in a format that meets international standards.
    • In a more elaborate paper synthesize the theories and research within the chosen area of specialization and construct a theoretical framework and methodological approach to a specific research problem in the student’s own ongoing or planned project.

    3. Judgment and approach

    • Critically discuss theoretical assumptions and empirical results within the sociology of time in general and the chosen area of specialization in particular.
    • Critically discuss methods used within the chosen area of specialization.
    • Critically discuss trends and future development of the chosen area of specialization.

    Lecturers:

    Anne-Kirstine Mølholt, Aalborg University
    Merete Monrad, Aalborg University

    ECTS:
    2

    Time:
    5-7 June 2024 (10am to 1pm)

    Place:
    AAU Copenhagen, Frederikskaj 10B, 1st floor, studio 3

    Number of seats:
    15. We will contact you after registration deadline for letting you know whether your admission has been accepted or you are on the waiting list. PhD fellows enrolled at AAU have first priority.

    Participation fee:
    The course is free of charge

    Deadline:
    Participation deadline: 1st of May 2024
    Paper deadline: 25th of May 2024

    Paper requirements
    Learning outcomes will be examined through an individually written working paper. The paper will be presented and discussed in a paper seminar. The paper must be submitted app. 10 days in advance of the course. For their paper, students are required to engage with and refer to some mandatory parts of the literature and to a relevant amount of extra literature of their own choice pertinent to their paper topics. Students choose their own topic, preferably in line with their topic of doctoral research. Papers must elaborate on the role of time in the student’s ongoing research. The paper must be no more than 4.000 words excluding abstract and references. 

    Important information concerning PhD courses: We have over some time experienced problems with no-show for our courses. Therefore, the Doctoral School has decided to introduce a no-show fee of DKK 3,000 DKK for each course where the student does not show up. Cancellations are accepted no later than 2 weeks before start of the course. Registered illness is of course an acceptable reason for not showing up.

    For inquiries regarding registration, cancellation or waiting list, please contact the PhD administration, aauphd@adm.aau.dk



Course organizer (name, department and research group):

MASSHINE

Title and date of the course:

“Social data science – machine learning in the humanities and social sciences”. 26 – 30 August 2024

This course is supported by Danish Data Science Academy (DDSA)

Location:

Hotel Højgaarden, Slettestrandvej 50, 9690 Fjerritslev

Lecturer(s):

 Associate Professor Roman Jurowetzki (Aalborg University Business School)

Associate Professor Rolf Lyneborg Lund (Department of Sociology and Social Work, Aalborg University)

Professor Birger Larsen (Department of Communication and Psychology)

Assistant Professor Mathieu Jacomy (Department of Culture and Learning, Aalborg University)


Numbers of seats:
21 - 
We will contact you after registration deadline for letting you know whether your admission has been accepted in the course or you are on the waiting list.

Deadline:
1 of July 2024  

Course description, incl. learning objectives and prerequisites:

The developments in computer science technologies and the increasing amount of accessible data present a range of new methodological opportunities for the social sciences and humanities.

Data from websites, social media, and electronic devices (often referred to as ‘Big Data’) allow for new approaches and perspectives on issues relevant for both the social sciences and humanities. Meanwhile, the increasing computational power and development of artificial intelligence algorithms provide the means for accessing, combining, and analyzing a variety of data types (numerical, textual, relational) in new and meaningful ways.

 This course is a hands-on practical introduction with no prerequisites in applying computer science techniques (like programming and machine learning) in humanities and social science research. It will cover a broad range of techniques and methods representing the latest methodological innovations in social science and humanities applications of machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Some techniques include:

  • Collecting data from the web using web scraping methods and API's
  • Processing textual data for quantitative analysis (Natural Language Processing)
  • Working and visualizing networks (network analysis)
  • Dimensionality reduction and clustering techniques (topic models and k-means clustering)
  • Visualization techniques for text data and networks
  • Building and understanding machine learning classifiers

This course is meant as a hands-on tools course focusing on the practical use of these methods and will not go in depth with the mathematical and theoretical foundations. It will rather provide a broad overview of the data science ecosystem and toolbox and enable immediate application.

Preliminary Program:

Monday: Foundations of Data Science and Machine Learning

• An Introduction to Python and Data Science: A brief overview aimed at refreshing or introducing participants to the fundamental Python programming concepts and data science principles. This session sets the stage for more advanced topics by ensuring a common baseline of knowledge.

• Introduction to Machine Learning and Exploratory Techniques: This session will delve into the core concepts of machine learning, covering various exploratory data analysis techniques to uncover patterns and insights from data, essential for any data-driven research.

• Clustering - a world of patterns: Participants will explore clustering algorithms, learning how to identify natural groupings in data. This technique is crucial for pattern recognition and is widely applicable in social science research.

 

Tuesday: Diving Deeper into Machine Learning

• Introduction to Supervised Machine Learning: Building on the previous day’s foundation, this session focuses on supervised learning models, their applications, and how they can be utilized in humanities and social sciences research.

• Explaining Machine Learning Models: A crucial aspect of machine learning in research is the ability to interpret and explain models. This session aims to equip researchers with techniques to demystify complex models.

• Working with Geospatial Data: An introduction to the integration and analysis of geospatial data within machine learning frameworks, highlighting its importance in sociogeographical modelling.

• Case Example: A practical demonstration of applying supervised machine learning techniques in research, with a focus on register-based studies.


Wednesday: Network Analysis and Visualization

• Introduction to Network Analysis: This session introduces network analysis concepts, emphasizing their applicability in exploring social structures and relationships.

• Curating Networks (TANT-Lab session): Participants will learn about the curation and management of network data, preparing it for analysis and visualization.

-  Visual Network Analysis: Techniques for the visual representation of networks will be explored, enhancing interpretability and insights.

- The Core Principle of VNA: Focuses on the foundational principles of visual network analysis, emphasizing critical evaluation and application.

 

Thursday: Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Its Applications

• Intro to NLP and String Manipulation: An overview of NLP fundamentals, including text manipulation techniques, setting the groundwork for more advanced NLP applications.

• Supervised ML and NLP: Exploring the intersection of supervised machine learning and NLP, showcasing how these tools can be combined to extract meaning and insights from textual data.

• NLP and Unsupervised ML, Getting Tweets, Semantic Search, SBERT Embeddings: A series of sessions aimed at demonstrating the breadth of NLP applications, from analyzing social media data to implementing semantic search technologies using state-of-the-art embeddings.

 

Friday: Methodological Outlook and Future Directions

• Introduction to Web Scraping in Python: Participants will learn the techniques for programmatically collecting web data, an essential skill for researchers in the digital age.

• Examples Using APIs and Article Scraping: Practical demonstrations of how to leverage APIs and scrape articles for research purposes, providing a window into the vast potential of web data for social science research.


Teaching methods:

Each day will consist of a mixture of lectures and exercises using interactive online notebooks allowing participants to try out and use the various methods as they are being taught.

Participants are expected to work on a portfolio during the week with each day having hours dedicated to portfolio work with the possibility of sparring with the course lecturers. Here, participants will work on applying the methods and techniques presented on various cases.

Description of paper requirements, if applicable:

The course teaches the methods in python using the Jupyter Notebook IDE on Google Colab.

It is not a prerequisite to know Python beforehand as access to relevant courses will be provided and the first day of the course provides the relevant introduction.

Participants are expected to complete assigned introductory e-courses (e.g. on DataCamp or other selected platforms) before the course. Access to DataCamp will be provided 4 weeks in advance. 


Number of ECTS:

5


Velkommen til "Skriv PHD afhandlingens 'kappe': Struktur, sammenhæng, kvalitetskriterier og bidrag"

Beskrivelse
:

I akademisk skrivning hænger form og indhold sammen. Derfor er elementer som struktur, sammenhæng og rød tråd vigtige for kvaliteten af den tekst, som formidler forskningsaktiviteterne og de resultater, som den PhD-studerende producerer. Det, vi kan kalde ’det akademiske håndværk’ handler ikke kun om systematisk refleksion angående fokus, forskningsspørgsmål, analyseenhed, teori og begreber, videnskabsteori, design, metode og etik, samt analyseproces. Kvaliteten af håndværket handler i høj grad også om skriftligt at argumentere for de valg, som man tager eller har taget desangående og at opbygge en tekst, hvor disse valg og deres konsekvenser er tydelige i indhold og struktur. Dette arbejde starter tidligt i processen og pågår kontinuerligt i løbet af en ph.d. proces. Kurset er derfor designet til at deltagere kan få glæde af oplæg, øvelser og pensum uanset hvor de er i ph.d. forløbet.

OBS: Kursuslitteraturen og undervisningen trækker på humanistisk/socialvidenskabelig forskning, men kurset er åbent for deltagere fra alle forskningstraditioner.

Formålet med ph.d.-kurset er at sætte fokus på det akademiske håndværk, der skal til for at skrive og redigere en afhandlings elementer, så de ved afhandlingens færdiggørelse fremstår som en struktureret, sammenhængende tekst af høj kvalitet, og hvor resultaternes gyldighedsbetingelser og bidrag er tydeligt præsenteret. På kursets tre dage arbejder vi med dette gennem forelæsninger, konkrete øvelser, og fælles diskussioner med henblik på at opbygge og udvide deltagernes ’værkstøjkasse’ og erfaring med at tage de nødvendige beslutninger, som færdiggørelse af en afhandling kræver.

Kurset bygger på nyeste forskning i akademisk skrivning, særligt angående klarhed, struktur, form-indhold relationen, kvalitetskriterier som reliabilitet, kohærens, transparens og analytisk generaliserbarhed. Samtidig er det et praktisk kursus, hvor deltagerne arbejder konkret med deres egen tekst i forhold til kursets emner.

Efter optagelse: Kursusdeltagerne skal indsende et refleksions-paper på max 10 sider. Præsentation af phd-projektet og det/de foreløbige forskningsspørgsmål må fylde max 1 side, da det centrale i paperet skal være en refleksion over skrivemæssige udfordringer og ambitioner er i relation til deres afhandlings struktur, kvalitet og bidrag.

Teaching methods:

Kursets 3 dage har hvert et tema. Hver dag vil bestå af underviseres oplæg på baggrund af kursuslitteraturen, guidede skriveøvelser, parvise refleksioner og feedback, samt dialoger i plenum.

Deltagerne vil få feedback på deres egne skriveambitioner og -udfordringer af underviserne og de andre kursusdeltagere. Vi vil desuden undersøge og diskutere, hvordan håndværket i at give en tekst form hænger sammen med tekstens indhold og dermed det konkrete fænomen/proces/felt, som deltagerne har undersøgt.

  • Undervisere:
    Ninna Meier og Caitlin McMullin, Aalborg Universitet

  • ECTS:
    3

  • Time:
    30-31/1-1/2 2024

  • Kursussted: 
    Aalborg Universitet, Aalborg. 9220 Aalborg Øst. Seminarrum bliver udmeldt senere.

  • Antal deltagere:
    16. Efter tilmeldingsfristen vil vi lade dig vide, om du tilbydes en plads på kurset eller venteliste. Ph.d. studerende indskrevet på Aalborg Universitet har første prioritet.
    Kurset er fyldt op, men det er muligt at komme på venteliste, skriv til  Marianne Høgsbro: inst.issa.phd@socsci.aau.dk

  • Deltagergebyr:
    Der er ingen deltagergebyr for deltagelse

  • Deadlines: 
    For tilmelding: 3. januar 2024. Paper deadline: 15. januar 2024. Der skal indleveres et paper på max 10 sider.

    Hvis du har spørgsmål er du velkommen til at kontakte Marianne Høgsbro: inst.issa.phd@socsci.aau.dk

    Vigtig information vedrørende Ph.d. kurser: Ph.d skolen har desværre i længere tid oplevet, at der er flere deltagere som ikke dukker op til vores kurser efter tilmelding. Vi har derfor besluttet at indføre et no-show gebyr på vores kurser på 2,000 kr. hvis en tilmeldt deltager ikke dukker op. Det er muligt at aflyse deltagelse senest 2 uger inden kursusstart. Dokumenteret sygdom er selvfølgelig accepteret som gyldig grund til aflysning af deltagelse.
Welcome to Writing the PhD dissertation: Structure, Quality, and Contribution

Course description, incl. learning objectives and prerequisite:

Form and content are linked in academic writing. Thus, structure, coherence, and flow are important elements that support the quality of a PhD dissertation. PhD students must learn to make decisions about their research and writing while they are doing this research and while they are writing their PhD dissertation. Thus, the ’academic craft’ involves systematic reflection and choices about focus, research question, unit of analysis, theory and concepts, philosophy of science approach, design, methods, ethics, and analysis. However, the academic craft is also demonstrated through how those choices are presented and argued for in writing and through one’s capacity to develop a text in which these choices and their consequences are clearly presented and reflected uponThis work starts in the beginning of the PhD process and lasts until the defense. The course is therefor designed to be useful to PhD students at any stage of the process. While the course is open to PhD students from all disciplines, it is important to note that the course organizers will draw on research and examples from their own work and research fields. Moreover, participation requires active engagement with and reflection upon the course literature and one’s own work.

The Purpose of the PhD course is to focus on the academic craft that is needed to write and edit the constitutive parts of a dissertation so that these parts join to a structured and coherent academic text of high quality where the boundary conditions and contributions of the dissertation are clearly presented and discussed. During the course lectures, group and solo exercises, and shared discussions we will expand participants’ ’toolbox’ and experiences with making the necessary decisions about and in their writing.

The course material draws on social science and humanities research into academic writing, especially regarding clarity, concepts/constructs, form-content relationships, the role of theory, context, quality criteria (e.g., reliability, coherence, transparency, and analytical generalizability). It is also a very practical course with a strong focus on participants’ own PhD project and writing, with exercises and time for discussions and advancing participants’ own text. The course is open to PhD students from all disciplines, but it is important to note that the course literature and the lecturers draw on examples from social science and humanities, primarily qualitative research.

Lecturers:

Ninna Meier and Caitlin McMullen, Aalborg University

ECTS:


Time:
9-10-11 April 2024

Place:
Lokalet Studio 2, Frederikskaj 10B, Bygning C,1. sal., 2450 København SV, Aalborg University, Campus Copenhagen. 

Number of seats:
16. 
We will contact you after registration deadline for letting you know whether your admission has been accepted in the course or you are on the waiting list. PhD students enrolled at AAU have first priority.

Participation fee:
The course is free of charge

Paper:
Course participants are expected to submit a 10-page (max) paper/essay in which they present their own work in relation to one or more of the key concepts of the course (structure, coherence, quality, contribution) and reflect upon their own ambitions for and challenges with regards to writing

Deadline:
Participation deadline: 10th March 2024
Paper deadline: 25th March 2024

Important information concerning PhD courses: We have over some time experienced problems with no-show for our courses. Therefore, the Doctoral School has decided to introduce a no-show fee of DKK 2,000 DKK for each course where the student does not show up. Cancellations are accepted no later than 2 weeks before start of the course. Registered illness is of course an acceptable reason for not showing up.

For inquiries regarding registration, cancellation or waiting list, please contact the PhD administration, aauphd@adm.aau.dk

The course is full and it is now longer possible to sign up.  It is no longer possible to be added to the waiting list.
Description:
Drawing on examples from the global north and global south, this course adopts a policy perspective to addressing the challenges of achieving a just green transition and pursuing a more sustainable society. Following the policy cycle (problem identification, agenda setting, policy formulation, decision-making, policy implementation, and policy evaluation), the course aims to provide a broader understanding of the key dimensions concerning the green transition. The course views the green transition as a broader phenomenon going beyond mere technological solutions: it is a social, cultural, political, and administrative-organizational project. Therefore, it is essential to inquire into the public deliberation and debates about desired futures, political decision making as well as political contestation as highlighted by NIMBYism (not-in-my-backyard-ism) which has surged due to the need for rapid climate action and fundamental change of energy systems. To enact and implement any policies related to green transition then the political system needs legitimacy, in the form of support for the public and societal stakeholders. This is especially the case in democracies, also true in less democratic or outright undemocratic societies. It thus requires the public to be convinced that environmental issues and climate change are real and man-made, otherwise it will never be identified as a political problem. Furthermore, it requires that the issue it on the public’s agenda for a sustained period. If this is not the case, then political system it unlikely to pursue the costly policies related to climate change. The green transition also requires that there are supportive governance structures in place for realizing the abstract goals of combatting climate change as well as practical policies related to this. Local governments, for example, are generally viewed as important actors in the realisation of high-level policy objectives in the green transition and the global visions for the creation of a climate neutral society by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Congruently, EU’s policies under the Green Deal envisions key roles for national and local governments in the green transition by, for example, planning for and developing green infrastructures in built-up environments, promoting green transport (electrical vehicles), or by reducing energy consumption. Therefore, it is also important to consider how local governments may play a part in the green transition by either playing an active and innovative role or by playing a more reactive instrumental role. Unions, too, are important actors. In the growing renewables industry, they acquire new and more ambiguous roles. While they remain to be employers’ antagonists regarding traditional employment relations, decarbonization is essentially a mission they share with employers in the interest of humanity.

This course will focus on:

  • Problem identification: e.g. popular attitudes and perception of environmental and climate issues, environment citizenship, the role of stakeholders and interest groups (unions, the renewables industry, green think tanks etc.)
  • Policy formation: e.g. green growth/degrowth, climate taxes, active labour market policies enabling workers’ transition from closing black industries to the growing renewables sector.  
  • Agenda setting: e.g. the environmental and climate agenda
  • Policy formulation: e.g. policy visions, the role of local governments and the Green Deal, conceptualising the green transition and energy futures
  • Decision-making: e.g. green infrastructure and public deliberation
  • Policy implementation and evaluation: e.g. Supportive governance structures and capacity, environmental Justice and contestation 

Learning Objectives (knowledge and abilities)

  • Gain an overview of the state-of-the-art knowledge on policies and governance structures supporting green transition
  • Ability to formulate arguments and hypothesis about the green transition
  • Understand the implications, challenges and opportunities related to the Green Transition
  • Possess knowledge of key theoretical and conceptual approaches related to the subject area in the context of social science and history
  • Be able to critically assess relevant theories and make informed choices regarding theory selection in relation to empirical analyses
  • Have the ability to apply relevant theories and tools of the field to concrete empirical cases and issues

  • Lecturers:
    Malayna Raftopoulos; Mads Peter Klindt; Christian Lindholst; Kristian Kongshøj; Troels Fage Hedegaard, Theresa Scavenius; Anita Nissen;  Aalborg University

  • ECTS:
    4

  • Time:
    April 29th to May 2nd

  • Place:
    Aalborg University

  • Zip code: 
    9220

  • City:
    Aalborg

  • Number of seats:
    15. We will contact you after registration deadline for letting you know whether your admission has been accepted in the course or you are on the waiting list. PhD fellows enrolled at AAU have first priority.

  • Deadlines:
    Registration deadline: 14th March 2024
    Post paper deadline: 17th May 2024

  • Participation fee:

    The course is free of charge

  • Important information concerning PhD courses: 
    We have over some time experienced problems with no-show for our courses. Therefore, the Doctoral School has decided to introduce a no-show fee of DKK 2,000 DKK for each course where the student does not show up. Cancellations are accepted no later than 2 weeks before start of the course. Registered illness is of course an acceptable reason for not showing up.

    If you have questions you are welcome to contact PhD programme secretary Marianne Høgsbro inst.dps.phd@dps.aau.dk

Welcome to Unveiling Complexity: Statistical Approaches to Interactive Hypothesis Testing in the Social Sciences

 Course description

"Unveiling Complexity: Statistical Approaches to Interactive Hypothesis Testing in the Social Sciences" is an applied course designed for PhD students in quantitative social sciences who wish to deepen their understanding and skills in testing conditional hypotheses (e.g., also called statistical moderation). Interactive hypotheses are abundant in social science research, as we often want to understand the conditions under which certain relationship exist.

In this course, students are introduced to state-of-the-art best practice in the statistical testing of interactive hypotheses. The applied statistical teaching is done with R and students are recommended to have basic knowledge of R programming. Students are encouraged to bring their own research questions to the course and engage with potential interactive hypotheses in their field during the practical parts of the course.

Through a combination of lectures, practical exercises, and case studies, you will learn how to develop and validate interactive hypotheses in quantitative social science research using R. You will explore various statistical tools such as kernel or bin plots to assess the validity of linear interactive models. We will also touch upon more advanced machine-learning-based models, such as the Kernel Regularized Least Squares estimator, to uncover the true interactive patterns in your data.

By the end of the course, you will have a comprehensive toolkit of advanced statistical approaches to tackle complex research questions in the social sciences. You will also gain the ability to critically evaluate existing literature and design rigorous empirical studies that effectively capture and analyze interactive phenomena.

Lecturers:
Dominik Schraff, Associate Professor, Department of Politics and Society, Aalborg University

ECTS:
2

Time:
25-26 March 2024

Place:
Aalborg University, Campus Aalborg

Number of seats:
15. 
We will contact you after registration deadline for letting you know whether your admission has been accepted in the course or you are on the waiting list.

Paper requirements

The final paper is a post-reflection paper that should be send to the teacher 2 weeks after the course. The paper should present the whole workflow of (1) specifying an interactive (social science) hypothesis, (2) acquiring and preparing the data to test it, (3) specifying the statistical model to test the hypotheses, and (4) assess the statistical validity of the findings on the interactive relationship.

The emphasis should lie on the last point (4), so students are encouraged to use readily available data, e.g. replicating existing studies proposing interactive relationships.

Participation fee:
The course is free of charge

Deadlines:
Participation deadline: 1st February 2024
Post paper deadline: 3rd April 2024

Important information concerning PhD courses: We have over some time experienced problems with no-show for our courses. Therefore, the Doctoral School has decided to introduce a no-show fee of DKK 2,000 DKK for each course where the student does not show up. Cancellations are accepted no later than 2 weeks before start of the course. Registered illness is of course an acceptable reason for not showing up.

If you have questions you are welcome to contact PhD programme secretary Marianne Høgsbro inst.dps.phd@dps.aau.dk