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Welcome to ALARA's regular e-News of activities, events and information
for the Action Learning / Action Research Community.
Your contributions to this fortnightly bulletin are welcome. Please send any items to admin@alarassociation.org
The beginning of this year, when COVID-19 was "over there" and not really of concern, seems like several years ago. In February, the disruption was viewed as a short-term problem, with everything starting to return to normal by May. Clearly, COVID-19 and its consequences are much larger and longer lasting than most people predicted. The enormous toll on families and communities - physically, moralely, mentally, financially and spiritually - has been devastating.
The AL / AR community encourages direct communication and participation. The isolation required for social distancing has been particularly difficult. That strong drive amongst practitioners for communication, however, should not be repressed. The ALARA members pages allow you to contact other ALARA members. I encourage you to reach out to fellow practitioners and commence email, telephone and video conversations. There are many members with whom you can spend time, so please consider them as people to add to your family, friends and other colleagues at the end of a telephone or internet connection.
We at ALARA hope that you and those close to you are safe and well. If you are feeling bored and in need of stimulation, please consider renewing a friendship with an AL / AR practitioner, or striking up a new one. You may be surprised by the opportunity to create new projects or new ideas, and the conversation amongst kindred spirits is often uplifting. And if you are really bored, ALARA can always offer some things to do!
If you would like assistance in contacting ALARA members, please email admin [at] alarassociation.org.
Information about events is frequently changing. Information that is available at the time of production of this e-News has been included, but you may wish to keep checking relevant links, as the situation for each event could change at any time.
In this e-News:
- ALARA-BALT 2020 Australasian Conference -Best of Both Worlds - Face-to-face and Virtual
- Strategic Plan - Next Steps
- ALARA Publications Printing Online
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ALARA-BALT 2020 Australasian Conference - Face-to-face and Virtual
The Organising Committee of the ALARA-BALT Conference has responded to the challenges presented by the coronavirus by creating a flexible event. Originally scheduled for 8-10 November 2020 in Launceston, Tasmania, the usual form of conference at the Silo Hotel is at risk. The latest indications are travel within Australia will be approaching normal by that time, however international travellers may not be able to enter Australia or may face quarantine restrictions.
The Conference will now provide both a face-to-face and a virtual experience. The size of the face-to-face audience in Launceston will be highly dependent on the lifting of travel restrictions, and the desire of action learning and action research practitioners to meet in that lovely city. The addition of the virtual element will make a larger and potentially broader experience for participants who may not be able to travel to Launceston.
Participants may wish to gather in a small group and attend the conference remotely from their own city, participating with the face-to-face audience and other virtual locations. Alternatively, participants may wish to join the conference remotely from their own home / office to participate in conversations. Naturally, ALARA and BALT will welcome those who wish to join the face-to-face audience in Launceston.
All ALARA conferences are inspiring because of the presentations and discussions generated by participants. The Organising Committee invites submission of proposals for presentations that presenters will deliver either face-to-face or virtually. Both types of presentations should engage the participants. The revised proposal form includes instructions on the presentation scenarios. As originally announced, proposals received by 31 May will receive a response by 15 June, while the final deadline for submissions is 3 August 2020.
ALARA and BALT hope to greet you, in person or virtually, at this year’s ALARA-BALT Conference - Discovering the Future Together: Action Learning and Action Research at Work. For more information, please see the conference web pages.
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Global Evaluative Study of Action Research Presentation postponed
The ESAR research team are meeting next month when they hope to finalise a revised date for this event. A late October date is possible, but further information will be provided as soon as travel movements can be confirmed.
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Strategic Plan Update
The ALARA Board considered all input received on the proposed strategic plan, and they have now finalised that Strategic Plan for 2020 - 2023.
The Board will now continue the actions outlined in the Operationalisation Plan. Clarifying ALARA's Object is an early step in this work, and members will be invited to contribute to that work before the matter is put to a vote at the AGM late in the year.
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ALARA Publications Online
Last e-News, ALARA announced that it had arranged print-on-demand services with IngramSpark, a worldwide printing service. This arrangement also means that the ALARA publications lodged with IngramSpark will be offered to online book distributors / sellers, such as Amazon, Book Depository and Booktopia.
A search of these online book distributors show that some are now carrying ALARA publications. For example, here on Amazon are ALARA Monographs, while this page on the Book Depository contains some of the ALAR Journals.
ALARA is now able to offer its publications in a variety of forms, and via several methods
- Previously printed copies of some journals, monographs and other publications for $40.00 for a Journal, $20.00 for a Monograph and $60.00 for a book, with no additional fee for standard postage, which is a saving over purchasing directly from a print-on-demand service. Faster postage is available at an additional cost.
The list of publications and the process for purchasing them can be found on the ALARA website.
- Print-on-demand copies of all Monographs and all issues of the Action Learning and Action Research Journal from Volume 20 (2014) ordered via IngramSpark. If you would like to order a copy, please contact admin [at] alarassociation.org.
- As mentioned , ALARA publications are also available via large online distributors.
- Electronic copies of the Journal and Monographs via the ALARA website. Members can access these copies soon after they are published, while non-members can access them about twelve months later. See here for Monographs, and here for Journals.
- Abstracts of the articles in each volume of the Journal since Volume 17 No 2 (2011) are available to the general public, while members have access to the full content of all articles on the Journal website - https://journal.alara.net.au (we are planning to upgrade this site during this year - more information to come).
- ALARA supplies copies of the Action Learning and Action Research Journal to Informit and EBSCO for loading in their search sites, where the public can access individual articles. Members can access the Informit site free of charge after logging into the ALARA site - more details here.
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Submissions for Publications
The latest Monograph is by Eileen Piggot-Irvine, Wendy Rowe and Lesley Ferkins, entitled Thumbs Up for Action Research in Case Studies from the Evaluation Study of Action Research. The latest issue of the Action Learning and Action Research Journal has been published on the Journal website and is available on the ALARA website for members.
Eileen Piggot-Irvine, our Monographs Editor, welcomes submission of Monographs by emailing the editor. For further information please see the Monograph submission guidelines.
ALARA has published the Action Learning and Action Research Journal for 24 years, and you are invited to submit papers for the 2020 issues. Please visit the ALARj on the Journal website or see the submission guidelines on ALARA's website for more information.
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Administation Assistance Requested
Action Learning, Action Research Association Ltd is seeking assistance in three roles, which could be performed by one, two or three people. These roles are Minute Secretary, Membership Administrator and Administration Support.
- Minute Secretary: The Minute Secretary may attend meetings of the Board (usually 11 per year), and does attend meetings of the Committees Group (between 6 and 10 per year) and the Annual General Meeting.
- Membership Administrator: The Membership Administrator supports the Membership Co-ordinator, Publications Co-ordinator and Committees Group on all matters related to the management of the ALARA membership.
- Administration Support: The Administration Support supports the Board on all matters related to the general administration of ALARA.
Each role requires between about 2 and 10 hours per month. A full description of the work is available here. ALARA will consider applicants in a volunteer or paid capacity.
ALARA also have a number of important initiatives for which we are seeking assistance. These initiatives include developing a marketing plan, helping to create local networks or conversation events in any location where members wish to meet, approaching organisations that utilise Action Learning / Action Research that may wish to support ALARA and its activities, and developing relationships with organisations that will provide benefits to members and the wider Action Learning / Action Research community. A description of the initiatives is available here.
If you would like to discuss these roles or initiatives, or would like to undertake one or more of them, please contact ALARA (admin@alarassociation.org or president@alarassociation.org).
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Other Events and Information
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World Education Research Association (WERA) Visiting Researcher Awards 2020
As part of WERA’s efforts to contribute to the advancement of education research, it is offering academics the “WERA Visiting Researcher Awards.” Awardees are provided an opportunity to visit highly regarded research labs or professional or education research institutions in order to build their capacity and enhance their qualifications for an international academic career in education science.
The deadline for submissions is 1 May 2020. See here for more information.
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Program Management Seminar - postponed from April to 26-28 August 2020
The CEEMAN Program Management Seminar, will take place in August 2020 in Bled, Slovenia. See here for more information.
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Canadian Journal of Action Research Special Issue
The CJAR has announced a call for submissions for a special theme issue: Action Research and Indigenous Ways of Knowing. Submissions close on 1 October 2020. A flyer about the call is available here.
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28th CEEMAN Annual Conference - 23-25 September 2020
The title for the conference is Science and Management: An Alliance to Solve Global Challenges. The conference will be held online. To find out more about the conference click here.
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PRIA Online Courses
PRIA International Academy is offering four online courses commencing in May. See their online courses here.
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International Management Teachers Academy
The International Association for Management Development in Dynamic Societies is conducting the International Management Teachers Academy from 14-25 June 2020 in beautiful Bled, Slovenia. Please see here for more information.
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AR+ Co-Labs
AR+ Foundation has announced a Relational Action Inquiry Co-lab, commencing on 8 May 2020. See here for more information.
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EURAM 2020 Conference - The Business of Now
The 2020 conference of EURAM (European Academy of Management) will be held in Dublin Ireland but has been rescheduled to 4-6 December 2020. The theme is The Business of Now: the future starts here. More information is available here.
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WERA Focal Meeting 2020+1 6 - 9 July 2021
The Organising Committee have postponed this event to 6-9 July 2021. See the conference website for more information.
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