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By Geraldine Fitzpatrick
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77 ratings
The podcast currently has 122 episodes available.
Özge Subaşı is the Director of Futurewell: CoCreation and Wellbeing Group in the Media and Visual Arts Department at Koç University in Turkey. In this episode, Özge shares a journey from industrial design to interaction design, with a focus on diversity, inclusion, and justice. The work with visually impaired children and older people significantly influenced Özge's transition into human-centered design. Özge's story reflects a life of multiple relocations—whether moving schools as a child, transitioning disciplines, or navigating new countries and cultures. Özge describes “always coming from somewhere and not being in the system.”
The episode emphasizes the importance of holding true to core values, such as listening without prejudgment, fostering open communication, and caring for both the individual and the community. Özge's practical examples illustrate how these values influence research and teaching choices, as well as navigating trade-offs, particularly while completing an evaluation document. The discussion also addresses challenges with Özge's depression during the academic journey and strategies for maintaining personal wellbeing. Additionally, the episode highlights some difficulties faced by academics in Türkiye, including engaging with the international community and managing issues related to travel and visas.
Özge's commitment to personal values, to trying different ways of being an academic researcher, and to fostering an empathetic and inclusive work culture is really inspiring.
Overview
00:00 Intro
00:29 Episode Introduction
03:37 Introduction and Background
04:39 Early Career and Education
08:10 Transition to Interaction Design
11:50 Values and Philosophy
14:15 Challenges in Academia
18:07 Building a Collaborative Culture
26:37 Balancing Academic Expectations
34:42 Navigating Academic Trade-offs
36:04 Embracing Personal Values
38:36 Prioritizing Mental Health
42:26 Building Supportive Environments
47:00 Challenges in Academia
53:45 International Collaboration and Travel
01:02:22 Concluding Thoughts
01:04:36 End
Related Links:
Futurewell: CoCreation and Wellbeing Group, Media and Visual Arts Department, Koç University
Özge’s LinkedIn page
Özge on Instagram @allthefooldays (personal page on food & family) and @sozges on X
Continuing our culture theme, I revisit past podcast conversations that explore how to foster positive research environments and cultures. We hear from people such as Elizabeth Adams, Tanita Casci, Jolanta Burke, Janet Reed, Alex Taylor, Kia Hook, and Lindsay Oades, who share their experiences and insights on creating a sense of belonging and collegiality within academic settings. Their stories emphasize recognizing individual strengths, promoting transparency, celebrating achievements, and the importance of supportive management practices for bringing out the best in people. Hopefully you will take away practical ideas and inspiration, and recognise the importance of both micro-actions and collective efforts in creating supportive, transparent, and inclusive cultures.
00:00 Intro
00:29 Episode introduction - fostering good cultures
03:48 Glasgow Uni's Research Culture Awards
07:51 Jolanta Burke on positive organisations
09:53 Janet Read on flexibility and supporting people with young families
11:47 Janet Read on know your team
12:32 Janet Read on bringing out the best in people
16:14 Alex Taylor on the power of the collective
22:25 Kia Höök on Fika
25:50 Lindsay Oades on autonomy, rationales and leeting people they are valued
29:58 Wrapping up
33:18 Outro
34:05 Repeating what Lindsay said
Related Links
Past episodes used in this curated episode:
Tanita Casci and Elizabeth Adams on supporting, rewarding and celebrating a positive collegial research culture (from May 2021)
Jolanta Burke on burnout, harmonious passion, positive workplaces & helping others (from Nov 2017)
Janet Read on charm bracelets, finish tape & the work to be a complete academic (from May 2018)
Alex Taylor on research at the boundaries, moving from industry to academia, the labour of academia & the power of the collective (from July 2019)
Kia Höök on challenges of success & value of slowing down and re-connecting (from Feb 2017)
Lindsay Oades on academic wellbeing, connecting to strengths, meaning and purpose, and not taking the system too seriously (from Sept 2018)
And others you can search for on Changing Academic Life who also talk about culture (among many others): Sarah Davies (part 2), Mark Reed, Karen Stroobants, Elizabeth Churchill.
Continuing the theme of great research environments, I explore how to contribute to creating great research cultures with a focus on the concept of psychological safety. I contrast the prize winning example we heard about in the last episode with examples of experiences with poor research environments. This leads to a discussion of the value of psychological safety as defined by Amy Edmondson, and others for enabling creativity, collaboration, and innovation. Psychological safety is about creating conditions where people feel safe speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns and mistakes and that foster a learning culture. I discuss practical strategies for leaders through their everyday interactions for fostering such an environment and enabling innovation, collaboration and personal growth and wellbeing. And I finish up with an invitation for all of us to reflect on our role in cultivating a supportive and inclusive academic culture.
00:00 Intro
00:29 Introduction to Creating Great Research Cultures
00:52 Recap of Prize-Winning Research Environment
02:38 Understanding Psychological Safety
03:40 Examples of Poor Research Environments
10:37 Defining Psychological Safety
12:21 Historical Context of Psychological Safety
15:42 Research on Psychological Safety
21:31 Psychological safety as key factor in Google's great teams
23:03 Leadership and Psychological Safety
24:15 Role Modeling and Self-Awareness
26:46 Fostering Belonging, Inclusion and Learning
29:18 Co-Creating Research Culture through our Actions
31:20 Conclusion and Reflection
Related links:
Previous podcast episode with Line, Nicklas, and Nina on Danis Young Academy prize research environments
Amy Edmondson web page
Amy C. Edmondson and Shike Lei, Psychological Safety: The History, Renaissance, and Future of an Interpersonal Construct. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior. Vol 1:23-43, 2014.
Amy C. Edmondson. The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth. Wiley. 2019.
Pat Thomson, Blog article - Felling like an imposter?
Pat Thomson, feeling like an imposter?
Google’s Project Aristotle
Royal Society, Research Culture Embedding inclusive excellence: Insights on the future culture of research. (Tom Welton quote on culture p6)
What are the ingredients for creating a supportive, inclusive research culture? Nina Molin Høyland-Kroghsbo from the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences , Microbial Ecology and Biotechnology at the University of Copenhagen discusses the Research Environment Prize established three years ago by the Danish Young Academy to promote and celebrate good research environments, as experienced by early career researchers in those environments.
We are joined here by the 2024 prize winners, PhD students Line Maj Sternberg and Nicklas Stott Venzel who nominated their Research Unit in Psychology of Sport, Excellence and Health at the University of Southern Denmark. They share what makes their environment great, and how the group translates their research on what makes a great sports environment into what makes a great research environment. In particular, they talk about encouragement for taking initiative, a focus on long-term development, open communication, psychological safety, promoting mental health, and a sense of belonging, as key factors. Nina also reflects on the common themes that the awarding panel has seen across over a hundred nominations, such as belonging, collaboration, creative practices, and celebrating both successes and failures.
Overview:
00:34 Episode Introduction
03:26 Meet the guests
06:44 The Danish Young Academy and the Research Environment Prize
11:51 Line and Nicklas on applying sports research to academia
18:38 Building trust and open communication
22:34 Support for long term development and wellbeing
25:55 Psychological safety in research
26:55 Creative methods for sensitive topics
29:56 Common themes from nominated research environments
34:47 More examples of good practices
38:41 Having clear values
44:03 Learning from failures, celebrating successes
45:56 Value of good research culture for scientific integrity
49:51 Wrapping up, final thoughts
53:48 End
Related links:
SDU Prize announcement
Prize announcement by the Young Academy on LinkedIn
LinkedIn profiles for Nina and Line
In this solo episode (S6 E3) I invite us to rethink the concept of networking within academia, inspired by what the late Liam Bannon shared with us in our recent conversation and the evident relational impact he had on people. I encourage us, myself included, to view networking as being about the other person, not about us, and see it as an opportunity for forming meaningful impactful social connections.
I offer some practical ideas for making networking about giving and helping others, based on the value of generosity, curiosity, and everyday interactions. In the end our real impact and success in academia are measured by the quality of relationships and the human connections we build, not by the titles or metrics we collect.
Overview
00:00 Introduction to Changing Academic Life
00:29 The Challenges of Networking
01:33 Rethinking Networking: Social Connections
01:48 Tribute to Liam Bannon
02:43 Personal Relations in Academic Careers
03:44 The Importance of Human Connections
10:16 Networking for Others
10:50 Practical Networking Strategies
17:17 Maintaining Connections
21:38 Conclusion and Call to Action
22:58 End
Related links:
Recent episode with Liam Bannon
Gopinaath Kannabiran
Adam Grant, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Update 22 Sept 2024: It is with deep sadness that I share Liam passed away this morning. May we honour his memory and his generosity in sharing his reflections by always reminding ourselves about what and who is really important.
Liam Bannon is a Professor Emeritus and founder and director of the Interaction Design Centre at the University of Limerick in Ireland. In April 2024 I released a conversation with Liam Bannon recorded in 2017 about his career, ending with a hint about some health issues.
This is a follow up conversation with Liam from Sept 2024 where he shares his profound reflections on life, health, and academia, amid dealing with terminal cancer. Recorded from his hospital bed, Liam shares his journey since his 2015 stage-four lung cancer diagnosis and subsequent health challenges, including a brain tumour. Emphasising the importance of appreciating life, paying attention to how and with whom we spend it, and maintaining meaningful relationships, Liam offers invaluable insights on managing career pressures, the costs of neglecting personal connections, and the significance of staying true to one's values. Despite audio quality issues, this deeply personal and reflective conversation is a poignant reminder to reassess our priorities and strive for a life balanced between professional aspirations and personal well-being, and prioritising relationships.
Here is a pdf file of the transcript. There is also a transcript embedded with the audio that you can follow along with.
Overview:
00:29 Episode introduction
07:25 Liam’s health journey
12:11 Reflections on professional connections & relationships
21:22 Being reflective about
25:37 Contributions & tradeoffs
31:04 Asking what do you want to do with your life
33:48 Prioritising people & relationships
38:50 Taking stock, taking holidays, being true to yourself
44:32 Wrapping up
46:16 End
Introducing the new season of Changing Academic Life.
Reflecting on my recent transitions. And thanks to the HCI group for support.
In this short solo episode a share a simple yet powerful technique, S.T.O.P., for taking a purposeful pause throughout your every day. Stop, Take a breath, Observe, Proceed.
00:29 Motivating STOP
01:50 What is STOP
04:37 Using STOP
11:19 Towards making STOP a habit
13:58 End
Volkmar Pipek was a highly influential researcher from Uni of Siegen who sadly passed away in Jan 2024 after a long illness. This short episode draws from a written interview he gave to Mateusz Dolata on the occasion of his 2023 EUSSET-ISSI Lifetime Achievement Award. I read an extract where he shares his advice about becoming and being a researcher: Be curious. Be who you are. Be curious who you are. Wise advice for all of us.
Read the full interview with Volkmar Pipek
Interview conducted by Mateusz Dolata, University of Zurich
Text accompanying the EUSSET-ISSI Lifetime Achievement Award 2023 to Volkmar Pipek
EUSSET: European Society for Socially Embedded Technologies
ISSI: Institute for Social Informatics
Volkmar Pipek, University of Siegen and Volkmar’s publications
Liam Bannon is a Professor Emeritus and founder and director of the Interaction Design Centre at the University of Limerick in Ireland.
Liam has been a hugely influential thinker writer and researcher since the 1980s, along with various collaborators, in shaping work around technology and design.
Recorded in-person in 2017, he reflects on his interdisciplinary journey and contributions, covering areas such as AI, HCI, CSCW, human-centered design, and collaboration. Liam’s experiences exemplify the challenges and rewards of crafting a unique academic career largely outside the box, grounded in interdisciplinary collaboration and a commitment to improving human-technology interactions, while also highlighting the importance of personal fulfilment and being able to think broadly.
Related Links:
Liam at the Interaction Design Centre, Uni of Limerick
Some of the people & papers he mentions:
George Miller
Zenon Pylyshyn, (1973). What the mind's eye tells the mind's brain: A critique of mental imagery. Psychological Bulletin, 80(1), 1–24.
H. Rudy Ramsey and Michael E Attwood (1979) Human Factors in Computer Systems: A Review of the Literature, Technical Report SAI-79-111DEN
James Jenkins, Uni of Minnesota
Don Norman, Human Centered Design, UCSD. See also https://jnd.org
Kjeld Schmidt
Lucy Suchman
Rob Kling Center for Social Informatics
Susanne Bødker, Aarhus Uni; see also our 2023 podcast conversation
Mike Cooley, Engineer Lucas Aerospace
Terry Winograd and Fernando Flores, Understanding Computers and Cognition, A New Foundation for Design, 1987, Addison-Wesley.
Bannon, L. & Bødker, S. (1991) Beyond the Interface: Encountering Artifacts in Use. Book Chapter in J.M. Carroll (Ed.) (1991) Designing Interaction: Psychology at the Human-Computer Interface, pp.227-253. (New York: Cambridge University Press) (See also an earlier version)
Bud Mehan, UCSD
Pelle Ehn, Morten Kyng and Participatory Design e.g., see this paper
Rank Xerox Cambridge EuroPARC e.g., see overview articles 'What is EuroPARC?' and 'Rank Xerox Cambridge EuroPARC'
Liam J. Bannon (2006) Forgetting as a feature, not a bug: the duality of memory and implications for ubiquitous computing, CoDesign, 2:1, 3-15
Liam J. Bannon (2012) Interactions
Schmidt, K., Bannon, L., Four characters in search of a context
Schmidt, K., Bannon, L. Taking CSCW seriously. Comput Supported Coop Work 1, 7–40 (1992).
The Google Scholar listing of all of Liam’s publications
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