VisionSpace Initiative (Action Research Reflective Practitioners)

For more information email Mark C. Williams at m.williams@ecu.edu.au

To join the Living Action Research List go to http://www.actionresearch.net, go down to the bottom of

the "What's New" section and click on details of "How to Join the Living Action Research Forum"

1. Our major goals are for professional practitioners, including academics of course, and students to:
a. Be part of the expansion of action research professional practice (Schön, 1983) from the heartland of
Education into Management (see http://www.bath.ac.uk/carpp), Commerce, Business Studies,
Information Systems, Electronic Business, Law, Defense, Politics, and the other professions;
b. Maintain an artistic and inclusively energizing vision for our be-ing, language, and brightness (Don
Cupitt, 2002, Emptiness and Brightness; also see Alan Rayner http://www.bath.ac.uk/bio-sci/rayner2.htm);
c. Discover new ways to use language, including our cultural roles, to become brighter (i.e. have more fun
and live more fully whilst becoming more efficient, effective, and empowered within our work,
professional, organizational, global and local communities, citizenship, learning, and personal lives.)

2. The VisionSpace Initiative promotes reflective practitioner renewal gatherings (face-to-face through to virtual) ranging from informal chats, formal meetings, music jams, art happenings, international contacts, etc, through to workshops within international academic, business, or professional conferences, etc.

3. These gatherings allow practitioners and students to share accounts of our learning concerning our own or other practitioner’s practice. (Note that students can do research projects on practitioner’s reflections.)

4. In this manner, we carefully open our learning and practice to inclusional conversation, thus developing living theories through reflective inquiry, action, and scholarship (http://www.actionresearch.net/living.shtml).

5. Part of this sharing involves accounts of how we or, especially for students doing research projects, other professional’s reflective practitioner action research can brighten professional practice.

6. The result can be action to, as Gregory Bateson says, make a “difference” (see www.global-vision.org).

7. During conference workshops we contribute by presenting fully referred academic or professional papers, or by listening, conversing, or though sharing art, music, poetry, or ceremonies, etc.

8. For example; at Australian VisionSpace gatherings we learn from the Australian Aboriginal Dream Time art and music ( see http://www.crystalinks.com/dreamtime.html) with teachings of “jiva or guruwari, a seed power deposited in the earth”; at Chinese VisionSpace gatherings we learn from the lunar ceremony; in Japan from the tea ceremony; in Britain from country rambles, In Pakistan by traditional hospitality times; etc.

9. We expect the main communication medium for VisionSpace to be the Internet, increasingly with artificially intelligent agents joining in the communicative action with discourse ethics (Habermas, 2002) & metaphors Cybor and Gaia (see http://www.bookfinder.com/dir/i/Cybor_and_Gaia-The_New_World_Order/0965915808)

10. Thus we are committed to join with each other by including artistic and ceremonial expression to strengthen our spirit; rigorous scholarship to enhance our learning; political action to enhance our ability to make a “difference” for the better; acts of compassion and integrity to enhance our credibility; inclusive conversation to strengthen our minds; social fun times to strengthen our fellowship; physical exercise and activity to strengthen our bodies; all within our common humanity to strengthen our soul.

11. Initially, our major Internet communication forum is accessed by joining the Living Action Research List. (To do this go to http://www.actionresearch.net, go down to the bottom of the "What's New" section and click on details of "How to Join the Living Action Forum".)

12. Initially, our major forum for news and information is via Dr Jack Whitehead's email group newsletter at http://www.actionresearch.net/Mondays.html and his home page at www.actionresearch.net

Founding Members

Professional Action Research Group, School of Management Information Systems, ECU, Australia

(http://www-business.ecu.edu.au/users/mwilliams/practice-research.htm)

We-B Centre, Faculty of Business and Law, Edith Cowan University, Australia (http://www.we-bcentre.com)

Institute of Electronic Business (IEB), affiliate of Universit˛t der Künste, Berlin (http://www.ieb.net)

Transformative Education Group, Curtin University of Technology, Australia (http://pctaylor.smec.curtin.edu.au)

Grand Media™ internet-based intelligent building systems solution (http://www.roomplease.com/hotel83414)