karincrawford.info » book writing

November 2010

Karin — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 11:05:01 +0000

I seem to have been doing so much this month that it is hard to know where to start selecting key bits to make a note of here. Workwise, as usual, a mixture of teaching, research and writing. I have spent a good part of the month working with colleagues on a research bid to the joint research councils, but will have to keep fingers crossed for several months before we know the outcome. I have also been pleased to be invited to become involved in an international collaborative research project, which although unfunded at this time will be the focus of some funding bids in coming months. I have spent a good bit of time this month on the analysis work for the Irish evaluative research to support the development of progress and interim reports.

The book that I have written about several times over the last year in this journal was finally submitted in its finished form this month, phew! It has been a long haul, but a satisfying project to complete. That being said, it is not really complete as there will be more work to do on copy-editor queries and proofing as the publishing process progresses – the plan is for publication October 2011. In the meantime I have been commissioned to write another book for the same publisher, so need to make a start on planning and writing again!

I was also pleased this month to have been successful in my application for recognition as a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) at Standard Descriptor 3 (SD3) - I have held SD2 for some years, so was pleased to participate in the pilot implementation of the University of Lincoln Professional Standards Framework for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, following the HEA accredition of the institution’s framework earlier in the year. The HEA have now announced a consultation on a review of the recognition scheme, so I hope that the outcome will be that SD3 is given a distinct tier of recognition, rather than being titled ‘Fellow’ alongside SD2, but we shall see.

At home, one of the highlights of November, was a trip to the grey seal colony at Donna Nook, on the Lincolnshire coast – this is the time of year when the seals come right up close to the shoreline to give birth to their cubs and when we visited, we saw over 1,000 seal cubs – it was amazing. I felt priviledged to be so close and see so many seals in their natural habitat in the wild – wonderful. Follow this link to see the photographs and video clips we took on our visit - Seals at Donna Nook.

Finally, I couldn’t make a journal entry for this November without mention of the weather! I don’t think I can ever remember such cold weather, or the extremes of ice and snow coming so early in the winter. This picture was taken by a colleague and shows the frozen expanse of Brayford water in front of the University.

September 2010

Karin — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 08:49:36 +0000

ack to work after a spell of annual leave – it was a good break for whilst we didn’t go away, we did get lots of useful things done including some decorating and major sorting out! One of the high points of September is always the graduation ceremonies. University of Lincoln ceremonies take place in Lincoln Cathedral with celebrations afterwards in the grounds of Lincoln castle – a truly magnificent setting. Here are a couple of pictures of the event.

I have also been busy with writing and teaching this month, drafting a book chapter for an edited book, planning teaching for the term, making revisions to the book I am writing and working with individual doctoral students and undergraduate students through tutorials and supervision sessions as, like me, students are also planning the progression of their work for the coming academic year.

May 2010

Karin — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 20:26:47 +0000

According to the American photographer, Edwin Way Teale, ‘The world’s favorite season is the spring’ and ‘all things seem possible in May’ – and certainly for me, I have achieved many things over the last month. I had a heavy workload of marking to do, alongside teaching and some external examining work to get through – everything has been completed, a good feeling. I also seem to have participated in more than my fair share of lengthy meetings over the last month! The book writing is continuing at a pace now, with the first full draft of the whole manuscript nearing completion – another good feeling This month I also enjoyed a very productive short visit to County Mayo in Ireland where I am part of a team undertaking an evaluative research study; this was an initial introductory visit, meeting key people and getting a feel for the context of the work to come. Finally, as the month closed, I had a short break from work, and spent a long weekend visiting Glasgow, the Trossachs, Loch Lomond and surrounding areas – such beautiful scenery. So to finish off this entry, here is a stunning picture of Loch Lomond in the sunshine … bliss!

April 2010

Karin — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 18:33:25 +0000

I am writing this right at the end of the month – I seem to have packed lots into the last few weeks as ever. I have been to London twice, once for a conference launching the final report of the Learning Landscapes research project, which has been an exciting research study looking at the ways in which academics work with colleagues in estates and other key stakeholders to develop and manage innovation in the design of teaching and learning spaces in Higher Education; the study has been led by colleagues at Lincoln and I have done a small part to support the work (i am even credited in the final report, which is nice). The second visit to London was for a meeting of the SEDA Scholarship, Research and Evaluation Committee. I did have a few days annual leave over the Easter period, which offered a welcome break. We didn’t go away, but enjoyed some day trips in beautiful sunshine. The book chapters continue to progress, and as I write this I am steeped in marking, which will keep me busy for some days yet!

March 2010

Karin — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 21:27:16 +0000

If you have read my blog from last month, you will know that I was looking forward to delivery of a new car this month – and yes, I am now driving around it in – a shiny, red new toy – a pleasure to drive! Another busy month has flown by; I have been teaching and working with students at all levels, from undergraduate through to doctoral students, this month, which makes for many interesting sessions. I have also been supporting a number of colleagues and doctoral students in developing their confidence with qualitative data analysis software (NVivo8) – I am really only learning this myself, so working with others in this way offers learning for us all. Good news about the conference papers I mentioned in my last blog, as all of those submitted (3) have been accepted! So now have plenty of work to do, developing these for presentation and hopefully, later, publication. My book writing has also continued at some pace, this month. Overall a really good month, made even more enjoyable by some excellent family weekends – spring has definately sprung!

October 2009

Karin — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 08:03:12 +0000

Autumn at the aboretum in Lincoln

‘Autumn, the year’s last, loveliest smile’ (attributed to William Cullen Bryant)

It really has been a beautiful autumn, but as I write this, the evenings are getting darker, it is getting colder and the clocks are about to be set back for winter! Still October has been a good month for me, it feels as though the new academic year has now fully got underway with the usual round of meetings and strategic planning. More excitingly I have been working with many new students having the early ‘taste’ of learning in higher education. This month I have also been able to find some space to make some serious ‘in-roads’ into the sole-authored book I am writing for Sage publications, on interprofessional collaborative practice in Social Work, there is alot more to do, but I feel that this is now moving on well. I am also working on developing some of my doctoral thesis for submission as journal articles, but this is a surprisingly time-consuming process.

During October, we went to see Bob Golding in the fantastic, new one-man play which celebrates the life and career of the legendary comedian Eric Morecambe – it was a great night out.

So, my plans for November? Well, more writing, perhaps some updating to this website, there will be marking and more teaching and, of course, planning for the festive season!

August 2009

Karin — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:05:21 +0000

I am writing this blog part-way through August, which, thus far has been a quiet and peaceful month. From the end of July until early August, I was away on a cycling holiday, cycling from Germany to Austria, some 160 miles over six cycling days. No computers, no phone, no television, just sunshine, stunning views, excellent food, and the best company – brilliant!

Despite having some more annual leave days once back at home, I spent some time planning the book writing for next term, keeping up with work emails, updating these web pages; none of these thing are a chore…

At the end of the month we have a long weekend in Edinburgh for the Edinburgh tattoo which should be excellent, if the weather is favourable.

Back to the more serious work next month…watch this space!