Working through research translation (Ilan Abrahams)

Most of us want to translate our ideas into forms that connect with the world. To get that work out that we’ve nurtured over the hours, months, and years.

Maybe this translation is part of a series of translations happening all the time? From the basic sensations of what we smell, hear and see, translated through emotions and patterns, into words and phrases in our heads. Then onto the computer, and through successive edits to the world beyond.

But, hold on, isn’t good communication a two–way process? Listening to other people, audiences and participants, too? Or, at least, trying to imagine what life is like from their perspective?


So, maybe good communication involves empathy and compassion. Part of my research is looking at how to cultivate these things in settings such as schools, workplaces, public spaces, community health centres, and universities. I’m also interested in a kind of contextual compassion – how can people become more aware of the structures and processes in their environment that might support them to move in this direction?

My ideas are still brewing about all of this, so my thinking behind co-organising this workshop with Georgia McKenzie (Allied Health) relates to something James Burford (RED) said to me at a recent Shut Up And Write session: "Thesis writing is a social process".

I thought that one great way to work through some of these ideas is to start communicating about them, to collaborate across areas and devise a workshop about these topics.

We applied through the Intellectual Climate Fund (ICF) for money to run the workshop, and were successful! So, come and join us in a couple of weeks for our "Health Research Translation and Communication" workshop and we can think these things through together.

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WORKSHOP: Health Research Translation and Communication


Do you want your research results to reach more than an academic audience?
Are you interested to include participants or consumer groups in your research design in ways that empower them?

This hands on workshop is designed to give researchers an opportunity to refine their communication strategies for the public and special interest groups.

The workshop will include presentations on the topics of:
Research Translation: communications styles and representations
Methodological options: participatory methods, action research, and others

Attendees will have the opportunity to workshop their ideas with other researchers as well as with expert speakers, and will walk away with a plan and resources for their own research.
Speakers:
  • Dr. Sophie Hill, Head of the Centre for Research Communication and Participation, Latrobe University School of Public Health. www.latrobe.edu.au/chcp
  • Atalanti Dionysus, Arts educational strategist, filmmaker, arts curator, creative art director researcher, and lecturer in multiplatform screen media production. www.atalantifilms.com.au
Facilitators:
  • Ilan Abrahams is a masters candidate in The School of Public Health. His research focus is compassion in health promotion across multiple settings.
  • Georgia Mckenzie is a masters candidate in The School of Allied Health. Her research focus is on facilitating physical activity and overcoming barriers in community settings for adults with disabilities, with a focus on participatory or inclusive research designs.'
Who should attend: Graduate and early career researchers interested in any aspect of health, in its broadest sense.

Date: Monday 29th October
Time: 9:30am – 1:00pm
Location: TLC Room 114, Bundoora Campus
Cost: Free, but bookings are essential as numbers are limited and catering is provided.

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Ilan Abrahams is a masters candidate in The School of Public Health. His research focus is compassion in health promotion across multiple settings.

Ilan has worked as a dancer and theatre maker, a lecturer in ecology and the arts at the VCA Centre for Ideas, a community arts facilitator, and a shiatsu practitioner. He has also worked for local government and the private sector in urban planning and design. Ilan has recently trained at the Royal Melbourne Hospital as a spiritual carer.

You can contact Ilan at i.abrahams@latrobe.edu.au

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