Touching moments: phenomenological sociology and the haptic dimension in the lived experience of motor neurone disease Jacquelyn Allen-Collinson and Amanda Pavey Keywords: motor neurone disease; phenomenological sociology; Merleau-Ponty; the senses; touch and the haptic Abstract Currently, there is a relative research lacuna in phenomenological research into the lived experience of motor neurone disease. Based on a sociological research project in the UK, involving 42 participants diagnosed with MND, this article explores the potential of a phenomenological sociology for analysing experiences of this drastically life-limiting neurological disorder. Calls have … [Read more...] about From Sociology of Health and Illness, Volume 36, Issue 6, July 2014
10 reasons why we need a Critical Physiotherapy Network
The response to the formation of our Critical Physiotherapy Network has been amazing, and it's made me think about some of the reasons why physiotherapy is now ready for a group like this. 1. Health care is increasingly complex The sheer size and complexity of the health care system is profoundly challenging the old medical model. Writers like Bryan Turner, Simon Williams, Debbie Lupton, Chris Shilling, Nick Fox, Alan Petersen and others have shown that biomedicine has brought about many great achievements, but it has also contributed to the present dysfunction in the health system. As the old system is slowly dismantled (and with it, many of the principles that have underpinned … [Read more...] about 10 reasons why we need a Critical Physiotherapy Network
3 books on the philosophy of walking
A few months ago, an English translation of Frédéric Gros's book 'A Philosophy of Walking' came out, which prompted me to think about what walking means to physiotherapists and whether some of the more recent philosophies of walking might help us think about what walking means to us as practitioners, philosophers of movement, and walkers. Walking is a subject that hasn't received a lot of philosophical attention. Like movement, posture and function, they are ideas we, as physiotherapists, claim some ownership over. We certainly teach a lot about these concepts and do a lot of research into aspects of these phenomena, but do we don't really know what we mean when we say physiotherapy is … [Read more...] about 3 books on the philosophy of walking
Critical Physiotherapy Network is born!
Today is a momentous day! After some weeks of planning, I am proud to announce the formal arrival of the Critical Physiotherapy Network. For a long time now, I've been thinking about bringing together a group of critical-thinking physiotherapists from around the world who were interested in philosophy, history, cultural studies, sociology, qualitative research and education. A few weeks ago I decided to step down from my role as Head of Physiotherapy at AUT University, and that induced me to think about some of the projects that were lying in wait ready for when I had more time. So I began by contacting half-a-dozen colleagues I knew around the world who were critical … [Read more...] about Critical Physiotherapy Network is born!
‘The male race’ and the great things students write…
Now it's the end of the semester and the exams are over, I thought I would share a few student bloopers from our health programmes. These are all authentic out-takes from student assignments and, I think you'll agree, some are pure genius: New Zealand has had a poor oral rate for many years. Contact with live stick for example pigs has been proven to have infected some people with MRSA. This website gave me full detention of congenital heart disease. Many people who consumed aspartame surfed the effect of blindness. By restoring and maintaining health in the developed world beginning in New Zealand we aim to eradicate the 27-28 percent of all children in developing countries … [Read more...] about ‘The male race’ and the great things students write…
Movement/life in early 20th century England
The BBC has recently compiled a series of amazing documentaries which show what life was like for ordinary people in Northern England in the first years of the 1900s. The documentaries (click here to view on YouTube) derive from the work of pioneering film makers Sagar Michell and James Kenyon (more about them here), and have been restored to their former glory by the National Film Archive in the UK having been lost for many years. Documentary film of ordinary people's lives is commonplace now, but in 1900 - only five years after the invention of the film camera - people were still experimenting with its possibilities. There are many things that can be said about this film series, … [Read more...] about Movement/life in early 20th century England
Sitting is the new smoking…really, again!
As a follow up to the piece I wrote earlier this week, this article in Vox this week is interesting. … [Read more...] about Sitting is the new smoking…really, again!
