Next week the 2016 Institute of Australian Geographers (IAG) annual conference will take place in Adelaide.

In between practicing my presentation based on some empirical findings (!) and playing with photographs of cycling adventures (see below slide) for my presentation, I have been packing for the trip. I'm never good at last minute packing so need to pack my bags a few days in advance, then re-pack before I leave, taking out things I won't end up needing. Some essentials will never make my cull list though and these are:

• business cards (thanks Mac Uni);
  
• lap top/notebook to type up any notes I write whilst at a conference (add a notepad and pens there too) - I can not read my own handwriting after a few days now;
  
• a book to read for pleasure - this is something I have been looking forward to since the end of the summer holidays and will be devouring every page I can;
  
• hand cream/face cream because sitting in a climate controlled room for four days dries you out;
  
• running shoes - for fast walks around the conference venue city or for jumping on an Adelaide free city bike and going for a spin!!!; and
  
• knitting ** not at all essential but is my back up in case I finish my book and it's raining.
  

Short list of current reading for mixed-methods paper draft:
 
Browne, A. (2015) Can people talk together about their practices? Focus groups, humour and the sensitive dynamics of everyday life. AREA.
Cook, I. (2004) Follow the thing: Papaya. Antipode, 36, 642-664.
Cook, S., J. Shaw & P. Simpson (2015) Jography: Exploring Meanings, Experieces and Spatialities of Recreational Road-running. Mobilities, 1-26.
Furness, Z. 2010. One less car : bicycling and the politics of automobility. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Hanson, S. (2010) Gender and mobility: new approaches for informing sustainability. Gender, Place & Culture, 17, 5-23.
Hitchings, R. (2012) People can talk about their practices. Area, 44, 61-67.
Kent, J. & R. Dowling (2013) Puncturing automobility? Carsharing practices. Journal of Transport Geography, 32, 86-92.
Knox, P. & S. Marston. 2016. Cultural Geographies. In Human Geography: Places and Regions in Global Context, eds. P. Knox & S. Marston, 178-211. Harlow: Pearson.
McIlvenny, P. (2014) Vélomobile Formations-in-Action: Biking and Talking Together. Space and Culture, 17, 137-156.
--- (2015) The Joy of Biking Together: Sharing Everyday Experiences of Velomobility. Mobilities, 10, 55-82.
Merriman, P., G. Revill, T. Cresswell, H. Lorimer, D. Matless, G. Rose & J. Wylie (2008) Landscape, mobility, practice. Social & Cultural Geography, 9, 191-212.
Morrison, C.-A. (2012) Solicited diaries and the everyday geographies of heterosexual love and home: reflections on methodological process and practice. Area, 44, 68-75.
Nightingale, A. (2003) A Feminist the the Forest: Situated Knowledges and Mixing Methods in Natural Resource Management. ACME: An International E-Journal for Critical Geographies, 2, 77-90.
Pantzer, M. & E. Shove (2010) Understanding innovation in practioce: a discussion of the production and re-production of Nordic Walking. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 22, 447-461.
Pucher, J. & R. Buehler. 2012. City Cycling. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Reckwitz, A. (2002) Toward a Theory of Social Practices: A Development in Culturalist Theorizing. European Journal of Social Theory, 5, 243-263.
Schatzki, T. 2001. Introduction: practice theory In The Practice Turn in Contemporary Theory, eds. T. Shatzki, K. K. Cetina & E. von Savigny, 11-23. London: Routledge.
Shove, E. (2010) Beyond the ABC: climate change policy and theories of social change. Environment and Planning A, 42, 127-1285.
Shove, E. & M. Pantzer (2005) Consumers, Producers and Practices: Understanding the invetnion and reinvention of Nordic walking. Journal of Consumer Culture, 5, 43-64.
Shove, E., M. Pantzer & M. Watson. 2012. The Dynamics of Social Practice. London: Sage.
Spinney, J. (2011) A Chance to Catch a Breath: Using Mobile Video Methodology in Cycling Research. Mobilities, 6, 161-182.
Spotswood, F., T. Chatteron, A. Tapp & D. Williams (2015) Analysing cycling as a social practice: An empirical grounding for behaviour change. Transportation Research Part F, 29, 22-33.
Watson, M. (2012) How theories of practice can inform transition to a decarbonised transport system. Journal of Transport Geography, 24, 488-496.

I am now more than half way through my PhD journey and it's all happening. I have been reading (many many things), writing (abstracts and chapter drafts), working on my data analysis, and thinking through and planning my remaining time through to submission. 

So as time is short I thought I'd share some of the reading I've been doing recently and still have to look at over the next few weeks. Note the strong social and cultural geography focus:

• Bawaka Country including Suchet-Pearson S., Wright S., Lloyd K., Burarrwanga L., Ganambarr R., Ganambarr-Stubbs M., Ganambarr B., and Maymuru D. (2015) Working with and learning from Country: decentring human author-ity. Cultural Geographies, 22:2, 296-283.
• Jackson P. (2000) Rematerializing social and cultural geography. Social & Cultural Geography, 1:1, 9-14. 
  
• Law J. (2004) After method : mess in social science research. Routledge: London.  
• Middleton J. (2010) Sense and the city: exploring the embodied geographies of urban walking. Social & Cultural Geography, 11:16, 575-596.

November and December seem to have passed me by. I haven't been stationary however.

After wrapping up the first 25 interviews in October I've been transcribing, coding and figuring out what data I have - before tentatively making plans to launch into the next 25 interviews early in 2016. I also spent a week on the Gold Coast at the 2015 Sate of Australian Cities National Conference in December and blogged about my experience there on the Department's blog page here.  

Looking forward to the summer break and taking some time to write as well as ride!

I've been busy working on some preliminary data analysis of late. I started working through first and second cycling coding by hand (see Saldana, 2013), examining five interview transcripts from the first 25 completed interview. This week I have moved to coding using the NVivo software. The preliminary data analysis is in preparation for my participation at the State of Australian Cities PhD Symposium and Conference that is fast approaching in early December. 


References:
Saldana, J. (2013). The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers​ 2nd Edn. Sage: London. 

Today we reached 700 responses for the online questionnaire! http://tinyurl.com/cyclingpractice 

I am still seeking interview participants - if you're interested in participating please complete a questionnaire, or if you have done so already and have not received an emailed inviting you to participate in further research, please do not hesitate to send an email to me (nicole.mcnamara[at]mq.edu.au) expressing your interest in participating in an interview.  

It is satisfying yet also slightly sad to have passed the half way point with my interviews: 25 down and 25 left to do. I am looking forward to the month ahead and getting those last 25 done!

Meanwhile in planet questionnaire, I have passed 500 responses and we are still going with it. Ride on!

Good morning from @ATRF2015

Today's program includes the poster session where PhD students, industry members and academics have the challenging task of first condensing/summarising a paper into one A0 sized poster and then presenting it briefly.

My poster is "Understanding Cycling Practices in Sydney: A Practice Approach". I'll be talking about how I use a practice lens to view cycling research in order to understand people's cycling practices in greater detail, and hypothesize about the insights that this approach can bring.

The 37th Australasian Transportation Research Forum is on this week in Sydney (September 30 to October 2). I'm polishing up my poster for Friday's poster session.

https://www.regodirect.com.au/atrf2015/home/

The past few weeks have been incredibly enjoyable conducting interviews with different people who ride bikes (fold-up, e-bikes, old bikes, road, mountain, hybrid, cargo, tricycles...), listening to stories of cycling in Sydney and people share their experiences.

I'm really looking forward to the next couple of months of field work!

Do you cycle?

If you cycle in Sydney, and are over 18 years old, we would love to hear from you! Click here to complete a short questionnaire or email the research team: nicole[.]mcnamara[@]mq[.]edu[.]au to find out more.

I'm presenting at the Department of Geography and Planning lunch time seminar series tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to sharing some thoughts on cycling practice with colleagues and fellow students! The feedback and discussion at seminars is always invaluable.

I'm also settling into a field work routine of arranging interviews, talking about cycling, and transcribing interviews on my train commute to uni, before going to work, waiting for dinner to cook... Then arranging interviews and starting the cycle again. Read, write, talk, type & repeat.