It's probably as a result of the growth of the Critical Physiotherapy Network, but I've been asked to run one of the Physiotalk Tweet sessions next Monday evening (GMT), and I get to nominate what the topic is in advance. These are one hour-long Twitter based chats around a particular theme to do with physio. You can find some of the recent ones here. It could be a great opportunity to talk about critical physiotherapy, the Network, philosophy and physiotherapy, etc., but I'm not sure what topic would work best, and so I need your help. I've got 12 hours to decide what to do. Can you send me your votes on this poll to give me an idea what would appeal to you, if you were going to … [Read more...] about Physiotalk help needed – 12 hours to help me choose a topic
Connectivity – Contributions from the Network #2 – Jenny Ralls
Today's post came from Jenny Ralls, Clinical Specialist working with RehabWorks in Bury St. Edmunds, UK. Enjoying learning about this idea which I have never conceptualised before. Presumably when extrapolated we all become 'disabled' in some way? For example, colleagues without the confidence to Tweet or 'Link-in / Facebook' become network disabled. Living in a very rural community, reliance on my car or bicycle to reach local amenities makes me geographically disabled. Ignorance or apathy regarding casting a vote makes one politically disabled. Or rather, not disabled, but just with a different view and perspective on life and its demands. Which brings me back to connectivity being a … [Read more...] about Connectivity – Contributions from the Network #2 – Jenny Ralls
Connectivity – Contributions from the Network #1 – Karen Atkinson
Thanks to everyone who sent me comments and thoughts on the Connectivity writing project. Over the next few days I'll post up some of the feedback and thoughts that these pieces. Remember to send comments on these things too and I'll pull them all together. This post came from Karen Atkinson - Senior lecturer and Manager of the Allied Health Professions Support Service (AHPSS) Resource Centre at the University of East London. I have worked with disabled physiotherapy students in higher education and in clinical practice for over 20 years. For part of my doctoral work I have researched the lived experiences of visually impaired physios as they transitioned from higher education into … [Read more...] about Connectivity – Contributions from the Network #1 – Karen Atkinson
ISIH conference abstracts submitted
I've decided to submit two abstracts for the ISIH conference next year. The first follows some work I've been doing for a chapter I'm writing for an upcoming book by Franziska Trede and Celina McEwen titled 'Educating the deliberate professional: Preparing practitioners for emergent futures', and looks at the historical role played by artisans and whether professions like physiotherapy might find some meaningful and interesting ways to reinvent this role in 21st century health care. This is the first abstract: Re-inventing artisans for 21st century health care Calls for health professionals to be more than ‘technical rationalists’ have been prominent in professionalization … [Read more...] about ISIH conference abstracts submitted
Connectivity #4 – The philosophy of connectivity
This post is part of a new project for the Critical Physiotherapy Network. If you want to know more about the project, track back to this post.Connectivity is about connections. Surprising, I know, but there it is. What makes it interesting and novel as a theory is the philosophy that underpins it. Firstly it is ontological. It is about being, so naturally there is a semblance of phenomenology in the complex assemblage of ideas that underpins it. But this is not the phenomenology of Heidegger, more the later phenomenology that emphasises the importance of intersubjectivity. (For more on this idea, there is a post coming up in a few days with an interview with Jens Olesen who's … [Read more...] about Connectivity #4 – The philosophy of connectivity
Connectivity #3 – Connectivity and physiotherapy
This post is part of a new project for the Critical Physiotherapy Network. If you want to know more about the project, track back to this post.Connectivity, as I see it, is about the way people use mediating technologies to engage meaningfully in the world. Connectivity is about real life, real people's abilities, real problems - the very things that physiotherapists face every day. In some ways, it's nothing new to physiotherapy, but it carries with it the possibility of a radical revision of our purpose and function as a profession. Here are some thoughts on how connectivity might enhance and/or challenge our practice. Physiotherapy has always followed a reductive biomedical model … [Read more...] about Connectivity #3 – Connectivity and physiotherapy
Connectivity #2 – Connectivity explained
This post is part of a new project for the Critical Physiotherapy Network. If you want to know more about the project, track back to this postFirst off, a qualifier...connectivity is a complex subject. It would be very hard to sum it up in a few hundred words. My task here is to outline how I understand it in a way that brings other people in to the discussion. Apologies if this explanation misses the mark for you...by all means feel free to offer up your own interpretations in the comments box below. Having argued in the last post that the two prevailing models of disability (the medical and social) rely on the idea that the disabled person is 'other,' connectivity is striking … [Read more...] about Connectivity #2 – Connectivity explained