This paper elucidates approaches to collaborative autoethnography (CAE) drawing on two female aca... more This paper elucidates approaches to collaborative autoethnography (CAE) drawing on two female academics' experiences, who live in Ireland. As Ellis et al., (2011) state, autoethnography 'seeks to describe and systematically analyse personal experience to understand cultural experience'. We as two female sociologists, retrospectively and selectively analyse experiences with international academic life; borders, cultural norms, and identity. We refer to belonging to explore academic mobility within the contexts of our lives. We explore relationships between enabling/constraining factors contributing to our engagement with knowledge production and belonging to new academic environments outside our places of origin. Tanja's account documents her doctoral journey from Slovenia to Ireland, learning the host country's cultural fabrics to engage with academia, leaving and coming home, which did not mean returning to 'the known'. Lisa's narrative displays synergies to Tanja's illuminating emotions upon entering the UK in 2017, when antiimmigrant sentiment was heightened. However, her experiences of returning during COVID-19 disrupted her imaginaries of coming home. Written in a conversational style, we explore commonalities/differences in experiences of international academic careers. This paper illuminates CAE for opening conceptual avenues into multi-layered dimensions of academics' experiences, illuminating its significance for international Higher Education policy-making.
Three authors, from different cultural contexts and research fields, engage in a trialogue, inter... more Three authors, from different cultural contexts and research fields, engage in a trialogue, interrogating three stages of research—formulation of research protocol, field work, and data analysis—in order to explore some of the complexities of translating meaning across cultures. The voices merge into three conclusions regarding narratives in/of translation. First, narratives as translations are always in a process of being translated and re-constructed. Second, researchers have to be aware of power issues through the whole research process. Third, reflexivity needs to be incorporated in all stages of the research practice.
The mission of the Centre is to help create the conditions for excellent policies, services, and ... more The mission of the Centre is to help create the conditions for excellent policies, services, and practices that improve the lives of children, youth, and families through research, education, and service development. The UCFRC has an extensive network of relationships and research collaborations internationally and is widely recognised for its core expertise in the areas of Family Support and Youth Development.
ABSTRACT The significance of a wider social context in building youth resilience has recently bee... more ABSTRACT The significance of a wider social context in building youth resilience has recently been recognised, with the suggestion that resilience research requires a move from individual-level experience to wider social practices, discourses, and ideological positions. Relatively little research looks at rapid ideological change in state institutions and structures, or the consequent implications this has for understanding protective mechanisms and coping strategies among young people. Based on the socio-ecological approach to resilience, this article explores the meaning of youth resilience in the context of a sudden socio-political transformation in Slovenia. For this purpose, experiences with transitions to adulthood in 20 people growing up under socialism and post-socialism are compared. Narrative thematic analysis of the interviews shows two types of transitions to adulthood emerging: supported, and individualised This article shows that the meaning of youth resilience changes through socio-political and economic transformation. It emphasises the role that social policies and state ideologies have in shaping social ecologies and consequently youth perceptions of risk and coping: from social processes under socialism to an individual process in post-socialism.
.................................................................................................... more ...................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................ v Statement of Originality ............................................................................................. vii Table of
Dementia refers to a group of neuro-degenerative disorders that cause significant impairments to ... more Dementia refers to a group of neuro-degenerative disorders that cause significant impairments to quality of life and difficulties performing activities of daily living. This symposium brings together representatives from four independent international research teams from Europe and the Asia/Pacific region. The speakers bring together perspectives from psychology, computer science, engineering, and nursing, to share the latest research on how robotic technologies may be able to assist people with dementia. The first speaker presents a survey of system requirements to assist a person with early stage of dementia to stay at home, followed by development and testing of service scenarios implemented on a robot. The second speaker focuses on robots that provide cognitive stimulation for people with dementia, and presents results from tests in real world settings with older patients. The third speaker focuses on how companion robots may help relieve the problem of social isolation in peopl...
Three authors, from different cultural contexts and research fields, engage in atrialogue,interro... more Three authors, from different cultural contexts and research fields, engage in atrialogue,interrogating three stages of research—formulation of research protocol, field work,and data analysis—in order to explore some of the complexities of translating meaning across cultures. The voices merge into three conclusions regarding narratives in/of translation. First, narratives as translations are always in a process of being translated and re-constructed. Second, researchers have to be aware of power issues through the whole research process. Third,reflexivity needs to be incorporated in all stages of the research practice.
In this paper we confront the content and form of a memory book that has remained private for ove... more In this paper we confront the content and form of a memory book that has remained private for over seventy years. Its journey started in Ravensbrück female concentration camp, belonging to Slovenian prisoner Viktorija. We argue that the friendship book is a testimonial object, a place in which women's written texts live in perpetuity. Through thematic analysis of its entries and an inquiry of the mediating role of its materiality, this paper argues that Viktorija's book constitutes book as a place of relational resilience (Jordan 2005) and that resilience is an active process of resistance. We suggest that the study of resilience needs to consider the relevance of resistance for individual and collective coping with severe circumstances. An exploration of the affordances of Viktorija's book that considers the reciprocal nature of action (Mol 2010: 265) and approaches agency as distributed between human and non-human actors, allows for the interplay of Funktions- and Spei...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
People with dementia often experience loneliness and social isolation. This can result in increas... more People with dementia often experience loneliness and social isolation. This can result in increased cognitive decline which, in turn, has a negative impact on quality of life. This paper explores the use of the social robot, MARIO, with older people living with dementia as a way of addressing these issues. A descriptive qualitative study was conducted to explore the perceptions and experiences of the use and impact of MARIO. The research took place in the UK, Italy and Ireland. Semi-structured interviews were held in each location with people with dementia (n = 38), relatives/carers (n = 28), formal carers (n = 28) and managers (n = 13). The data was analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The findings revealed that despite challenges in relation to voice recognition and the practicalities of conducting research involving robots in real-life settings, most participants were positive about MARIO. Through the robot’s user-led design and personalized applications, MARIO provided a...
This paper elucidates approaches to collaborative autoethnography (CAE) drawing on two female aca... more This paper elucidates approaches to collaborative autoethnography (CAE) drawing on two female academics' experiences, who live in Ireland. As Ellis et al., (2011) state, autoethnography 'seeks to describe and systematically analyse personal experience to understand cultural experience'. We as two female sociologists, retrospectively and selectively analyse experiences with international academic life; borders, cultural norms, and identity. We refer to belonging to explore academic mobility within the contexts of our lives. We explore relationships between enabling/constraining factors contributing to our engagement with knowledge production and belonging to new academic environments outside our places of origin. Tanja's account documents her doctoral journey from Slovenia to Ireland, learning the host country's cultural fabrics to engage with academia, leaving and coming home, which did not mean returning to 'the known'. Lisa's narrative displays synergies to Tanja's illuminating emotions upon entering the UK in 2017, when antiimmigrant sentiment was heightened. However, her experiences of returning during COVID-19 disrupted her imaginaries of coming home. Written in a conversational style, we explore commonalities/differences in experiences of international academic careers. This paper illuminates CAE for opening conceptual avenues into multi-layered dimensions of academics' experiences, illuminating its significance for international Higher Education policy-making.
Three authors, from different cultural contexts and research fields, engage in a trialogue, inter... more Three authors, from different cultural contexts and research fields, engage in a trialogue, interrogating three stages of research—formulation of research protocol, field work, and data analysis—in order to explore some of the complexities of translating meaning across cultures. The voices merge into three conclusions regarding narratives in/of translation. First, narratives as translations are always in a process of being translated and re-constructed. Second, researchers have to be aware of power issues through the whole research process. Third, reflexivity needs to be incorporated in all stages of the research practice.
The mission of the Centre is to help create the conditions for excellent policies, services, and ... more The mission of the Centre is to help create the conditions for excellent policies, services, and practices that improve the lives of children, youth, and families through research, education, and service development. The UCFRC has an extensive network of relationships and research collaborations internationally and is widely recognised for its core expertise in the areas of Family Support and Youth Development.
ABSTRACT The significance of a wider social context in building youth resilience has recently bee... more ABSTRACT The significance of a wider social context in building youth resilience has recently been recognised, with the suggestion that resilience research requires a move from individual-level experience to wider social practices, discourses, and ideological positions. Relatively little research looks at rapid ideological change in state institutions and structures, or the consequent implications this has for understanding protective mechanisms and coping strategies among young people. Based on the socio-ecological approach to resilience, this article explores the meaning of youth resilience in the context of a sudden socio-political transformation in Slovenia. For this purpose, experiences with transitions to adulthood in 20 people growing up under socialism and post-socialism are compared. Narrative thematic analysis of the interviews shows two types of transitions to adulthood emerging: supported, and individualised This article shows that the meaning of youth resilience changes through socio-political and economic transformation. It emphasises the role that social policies and state ideologies have in shaping social ecologies and consequently youth perceptions of risk and coping: from social processes under socialism to an individual process in post-socialism.
.................................................................................................... more ...................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................ v Statement of Originality ............................................................................................. vii Table of
Dementia refers to a group of neuro-degenerative disorders that cause significant impairments to ... more Dementia refers to a group of neuro-degenerative disorders that cause significant impairments to quality of life and difficulties performing activities of daily living. This symposium brings together representatives from four independent international research teams from Europe and the Asia/Pacific region. The speakers bring together perspectives from psychology, computer science, engineering, and nursing, to share the latest research on how robotic technologies may be able to assist people with dementia. The first speaker presents a survey of system requirements to assist a person with early stage of dementia to stay at home, followed by development and testing of service scenarios implemented on a robot. The second speaker focuses on robots that provide cognitive stimulation for people with dementia, and presents results from tests in real world settings with older patients. The third speaker focuses on how companion robots may help relieve the problem of social isolation in peopl...
Three authors, from different cultural contexts and research fields, engage in atrialogue,interro... more Three authors, from different cultural contexts and research fields, engage in atrialogue,interrogating three stages of research—formulation of research protocol, field work,and data analysis—in order to explore some of the complexities of translating meaning across cultures. The voices merge into three conclusions regarding narratives in/of translation. First, narratives as translations are always in a process of being translated and re-constructed. Second, researchers have to be aware of power issues through the whole research process. Third,reflexivity needs to be incorporated in all stages of the research practice.
In this paper we confront the content and form of a memory book that has remained private for ove... more In this paper we confront the content and form of a memory book that has remained private for over seventy years. Its journey started in Ravensbrück female concentration camp, belonging to Slovenian prisoner Viktorija. We argue that the friendship book is a testimonial object, a place in which women's written texts live in perpetuity. Through thematic analysis of its entries and an inquiry of the mediating role of its materiality, this paper argues that Viktorija's book constitutes book as a place of relational resilience (Jordan 2005) and that resilience is an active process of resistance. We suggest that the study of resilience needs to consider the relevance of resistance for individual and collective coping with severe circumstances. An exploration of the affordances of Viktorija's book that considers the reciprocal nature of action (Mol 2010: 265) and approaches agency as distributed between human and non-human actors, allows for the interplay of Funktions- and Spei...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
People with dementia often experience loneliness and social isolation. This can result in increas... more People with dementia often experience loneliness and social isolation. This can result in increased cognitive decline which, in turn, has a negative impact on quality of life. This paper explores the use of the social robot, MARIO, with older people living with dementia as a way of addressing these issues. A descriptive qualitative study was conducted to explore the perceptions and experiences of the use and impact of MARIO. The research took place in the UK, Italy and Ireland. Semi-structured interviews were held in each location with people with dementia (n = 38), relatives/carers (n = 28), formal carers (n = 28) and managers (n = 13). The data was analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The findings revealed that despite challenges in relation to voice recognition and the practicalities of conducting research involving robots in real-life settings, most participants were positive about MARIO. Through the robot’s user-led design and personalized applications, MARIO provided a...
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Papers by Tanja Kovacic