Researchers At Risk: Precarity, Jeopardy And Uncertainty In Academia

Description

This book explores the phenomenon of researchers at risk: that is, the experiences of scholars whose research topics require them to engage with diverse kind of dangers, uncertainties or vulnerabilities. This risk may derive from working with variously marginalised individuals or groups, or from being members of such groups themselves. At other times, the risk relates to particular economic or environmental conditions, or political forces influencing the specific research fields in which they operate. This book argues for the need to reconceptualise – and thereby to reimagine – the phenomenon of researchers’ risks, particularly when those risks are perceived to affect, and even to threaten the researchers. Drawing on a diverse and global range case studies including Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia, Balūchistān, Cyprus, and Germany, the chapters call for the need to identify effective strategies for engaging proactively with these risks to address precarity, jeopardy and uncertainty. Foreword: On the Biopolitics of Risk in Research References Acknowledgements Contents Notes on Contributors List of Figures Part I: Risks Related to the Internal Dimensions of Researchers (Researchers’ Identities): Introduction 1: Conceptualising Researchers’ Risks and Synthesising Strategies for Engaging with Those Risks: Articulating an Agenda for Apprehending Scholars’ Precarious Positions Introduction Selected Conceptualisations of Researchers’ Risks Synthesised Strategies for Engaging with Researchers’ Risks The Book’s Structure and the Chapters’ Sequencing Part I: Risks Related to the Internal Dimension of Researchers (Researchers’ Identities) Part II Risks Related to the External Dimension of Researchers (Researchers’ Professions) Part III: Risks Related to the Research Topic (Subject Matter) Part IV: Risks Related to the Research Setting (Conflict-Laden Locations) Conclusion References 2: Still Anonymous: Stigma, Silencing and Sex Work in Australia Introduction Sex Worker-Related Stigmas Risks of Disclosure Sex Workers’ Dissemination of Knowledge Conclusion References 3: “Punctuation, Pause, Next Slide, Please”: The Risks of Research and Self-Disclosure Introduction Literature Review Dawne: Collaborative Research Dawne: Interpersonal Risk Deb: Methodological Risk Dawne: Mutuality, Respect, and Reciprocity Deb: Topical Risk Conclusion References 4: Reconstructing Academic Identities at Risk: Conceptualising Wellbeing and Re-imaging Identities Introduction Academic Identity Notions of Wellbeing Academic Re-imaging Conclusion References 5: When Faith is on the Line: Exploring the Personal Risks and Rewards of Transformative Learning Introduction From UQ to USQ—Via the World Axiology, Ontology, Epistemology and Methodology Emotional Risk Psycho-social Risk Conclusion References 6: The Risky Responsibility of Doctoral Writing as Grief Work: Lessons Learnt Whilst Journeying with Trauma in Australia References Part II: Risks Related to the External Dimensions of Researchers (Researchers’ Professions): Introduction 7: “No Future for You”: Economic and Mental Health Risks in Young Spanish Researchers Introduction An Overview of the Situation of PhD Students in Spain PhD Students and Mental Health A Study of Precarity and Mental Health Among Spanish PhD Students Instruments Sample Statistical Routines Results and Discussion Conclusion References 8: The Risks of Precarity: How Employment Insecurity Impacts on Early Career Researchers in Australia Introduction Precarity, Risk, and Vulnerability Australia’s Precarious Scholars Risks to Researchers Risks to Research Conclusion References 9: How to Make the Cut in Academia: Managing the Uncertainty of Time as a Necessity to Have a Research Career Introduction Types of Risk in Academia: Hazard and Uncertainty Uncertainty as a Matter of Time The Future of One’s Own Academic Biography The Typology The Acrobat The Daredevil The Artist The Sideshow Conclusion References 10: The Need to Be a Leader of Research in the United States: Take the Risk and Move Beyond Your Opponents Introduction Risk-Taking as Researchers Conflict and Its Influence on Research Researchers and Their Ethical Obligations The Sensitivity of Research Conclusion References Part III: Risks Related to the Research Topic (Subject Matter): Introduction 11: God at First Place: My First Talk and Dinner with a Salafia Group. What They Talked About and How I Dealt with the Risk Introduction Salafism The Talk Conclusion I: The Talk Conclusion II: The Ethnographic Field Research Research at Risk: Research with Radical Groups References 12: Doing Feminist, Multispecies Research About Love and Abuse Within the Neoliberalised Academy in Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia Introduction Doing Critical, Multispecies Research When Universities Become (Big) Businesses Lessons Learned from Researching Multispecies Love and Abuse Conclusion References 13: Irony Sandwich: Reflections on Research Silencing from an Australian Silenced Researcher Introduction The Environment of the Study Reflexivity of Field Conditions Research Design Reflexive Relations Between Actors at Risk Findings “Irony Sandwich” Conclusion References 14: Embracing the Knot: The Importance of Personal Risk-Taking Within Intercultural Research in Aboriginal Australia Introduction Research for Social Change Social Work Tools for Risk-Taking in Research Methodological Rigour Research Design to Support Intercultural Research Authority and Legitimacy Recognising Nascent Power and Privilege—Knowing Yourself Participants, Mentors and Critical Friends Negotiating Safe Spaces in Remote Contexts—For Scholar and Participants Navigating Safety in Data Collection Physical Risks Emotional Risks The Emotional Hazards of Data Analysis Navigating Professional and Political Tensions Courage and Skill to Embrace the Knot Conclusion Making Way for Both Ways: Reflections on Research References Part IV: Risks Related to the Research Setting (Conflict-Laden Locations): Introduction 15: “Horrified by the Experience”? Reflections on a Pakistani Organisation’s Feedback About Doctoral Research Findings Introduction Background: Ethical Agreement and Unethical Research The Historical and Socio-political Context of “Professional” and “Reputational” Risks in Pakistan’s Academia The Colonial Legacy of the Institutional Structure of Pakistani Universities The Precarity and Vulnerability of “Outcast” Academics The “Reputational” Risk of Being Called a “Failure” and “Incompetent” Conclusion References 16: Where the Map Turns Red: The Multiple Expressions of Risk in Ethnographic Research Introduction Risks and Limitations in Data Collection Manifest and Unmanifest Risks Safety at Risk Baluchism Immunizing Education Conclusion References 17: The Ethics of Ethics: A Help or Hindrance When Conducting Sensitive Research with Australian Veterans? Introduction Background The Research Project A War Within: Making Sense of Suicide Through Narratives with Former Australian Defence Force Veterans The Ethics of Ethics Tensions Positionality Emotional Safety Conclusion References 18: Friend or Foe: The Perils of Conducting Research on Moral Injury in an Australian Veteran Population Introduction Background The Australian Veteran Population Inquiry into Alleged War Crimes in Afghanistan The Veterans’ War Against the Department of Veterans’ Affairs The Research: Towards a New Model of Moral Injury Online Harassment Reflections Moral Injury and Shame A High Prevalence of Psychological Distress in Transitioned Members of the ADF On Being a Member of the Out-Group Militarised Masculinity Personal Vulnerabilities Conclusion References 19: Activist or Advocate? Redefining Scholarly Risk in a West African Research Context Introduction Activist or Advocate? A Scholarly Identity Conflict Women in the West African Academy Wellbeing: A Framework for Risk Management Postcolonial Feminism and Participatory Research Ethical Considerations The Precarity of Wellbeing for Researchers Mental and Emotional Trauma Threats to Physical Wellbeing Risk to Professional Reputation Conclusion References 20: Dangerous Decisions: The Precarity of Real-World Research—A Provocation Introduction Is Danger Precarious? The Researcher as a Vulnerable Agent: A Case Study The Global Situation Researcher Challenges Conclusion References 21: Reconstructing Researchers at Risk and Risky Research: Some Answers to the Organising Questions Introduction Selected Themes Arising from the Preceding Chapters’ Content Researcher Identities Researcher Professions Subject Matter Conflict-Laden Locations Aligned Themes to Address the Book’s Organising Questions What Are the Different Kinds of Risk that Contemporary Researchers Encounter When Conducting Their Research? Why Do Some Researchers Encounter Risk, and What Are the Effects of that Risk on the Successful Conduct of Their Research? How Can Researchers Engage Effectively and Ethically with the Risks Attending Their Research? How Do Researchers at Risk Navigate the World After Completion of Their Research? Which Specific Strategies Are Effective in Assisting Researchers to Engage with the Risks that They Face, and Why Are Those Strategies Effective? Which Roles Are Played by Other Stakeholders (Such as Doctoral Supervisors, Ethics Review Committees and University Policy-Makers) in Supporting Researchers to Engage with the Risks that They Encounter? What Do Researchers’ Precarious Positions Signify About the Character, Possibilities and Limitations of Contemporary Research? How Can Researchers’ Uncertain Enquiries Contribute to Reconceptualising and Reimagining the Work and Identities of Contemporary Scholars? Conclusion Index