For the Monday evening educational conversation and invitation to colleagues:

5.00-7.00 1WN 3.8 Monday 31 January.

After we’ve caught up with each other’s news Namrata will be contributing to the conversation with details of some of her work in participatory action research in Kenya on "Institutionalising Suspicion : Investigating the role of social and cultural norms in governance and management of user owned micro-finance systems". Namrata is working on this research with Dr Susan Johnson in the Department Of Economics and International Development. The project they are doing this research for is Decentralised Financial Systems Action Research Project, Nairobi, web link -- http://www.MicroSave.org/dfs . Namrata will also share some of her hopes for her research work as she returns to Nepal in March.

Je Kan is now into the data analysis phase of his doctoral research into the pedagogisation of his living theory curriculum for the healing nurse at Fukuoka University. He has excellent video conferencing facilities both from Fukuoka and from his Mountain Temples in Kikuka if anyone fancies a video-chat.

Dean Tian Fengjun from China’s Experimental Centre for Educational Action Research and Mr. Gao have been unable to get their visas in time for the planned visit to the group in February and this is now being rescheduled for the Summer. Moira is still hoping to join us for a Monday evening conversation before she returns to Guyuan in February.

Robyn’s web-site for health visitors is now accessible at:

http://www.jackwhitehead.com/robynpound.html and this includes Robyn’s doctoral thesis on: HOW CAN I IMPROVE MY HEALTH VISITING SUPPORT OF PARENTING? THE CREATION OF AN ALONGSIDE EPISTEMOLOGY THROUGH ACTION ENQUIRY

“Motivated initially by rights for children, particularly freedom from violence, this thesis explores the enhancement of children's well-being in family life. It shows the creation of a living theory of health visiting as I seek to understand, improve, evaluate and explain my support of developing family relationships. From increasingly collaborative relationships with parents, colleagues, educational researchers and others, alongsideness emerges as an explanation I found appropriate to my parenting, health visiting and researching. Alongsideness, meaning creating and sustaining connections that enhance collaborative enquiry, intends to support the generation of personal theory for application in practice.”

It also includes her post-doctoral research report from December 2004 on:

How can I/we support the development of family-centred health visiting for improving wellbeing and reducing social exclusion? Co-enquiry project report?

Draft proposal of the 26^th January for the ESRC Seminar Competition at:

http://www.jackwhitehead.com/esrcsen270105.htm

Looking forward to the conversation – if you can’t make it and have news and ideas to share, just e-mail it in.

Love Jack.