Papers by Ejgil Jespersen
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH IN SPORT, EXERCISE AND HEALTH, 2020
When I was twelve years old, I attended a routine school posture screening.
Following an orthopae... more When I was twelve years old, I attended a routine school posture screening.
Following an orthopaedic examination, I was diagnosed with adolescent
idiopathic scoliosis. Although it turned out for me that it was not
a serious and progressive form of scoliosis, the diagnosis impacted my life
in a disabling way, resulting in feelings of fear, anxiety, and losing a sense
of trust in my own body. I experienced bodily doubt. This was also
accompanied by me negatively objectifying my body. This article is an
evocative autoethnography presenting my personal story of experiencing
a medical diagnosis of scoliosis. The health of my spine was evaluated
purely by comparison to a desired aesthetical straight line. The way I felt in
my body was never taken into consideration during this process. It is also
a story of finding my own ways of healing, which was possible through
engaging in dance and somatic practices. They allowed me to experience
my body as a living subject – a soma. I was able to find ways to positively
objectify my body through practices of deep body listening and developing
greater bodily awareness. My healing was also connected to regaining
a sense of bodily certainty and trust, through experiencing
moments of wholeness in spontaneous expressive self-movement.
Dance is also vital in my story. The personal evolution of approaching
dance presents a healing potential of this art, allowing for the conscious,
expressive, and therapeutic nature of the living body to be unveiled.
BMJ Open, 2019
Introduction. Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, the
diagnosis and management of this condition, ma... more Introduction. Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, the
diagnosis and management of this condition, may lead
to poorer body image and diminished psychosocial
functioning. Furthermore, treatment, especially bracing
and surgery as well as screening, remain controversial
and debated, with an unclear evidence base. Personal
experiences in terms of issues such as person-centred
care, shared decision making, and patient and
public involvement, are contemporarily recognised
as highly valued. Nonetheless, people’s experiences
related to adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is an issue
underrepresented in current systematic reviews and
systematically developed recommendations. There
appears a substantial imbalance between a vast amount of
biomedical research reports, and sporadic biopsychosocial
publications in this field. The objective of this planned
scoping review is to explore and map the available
evidence from various sources to address a broad question
of what is known about experiences of all those touched,
directly and indirectly, by the problem of adolescent
idiopathic scoliosis.
Methods and analysis. We based our protocol on
the Joanna Briggs Institute’s scoping review method,
including the Population – Concept – Context framework,
to formulate the objectives, research questions, eligibility
criteria and conduct characteristics of the study. We will
consider any primary study designs, research synthesis
reports, as well as narrative reviews and opinion pieces.
We will not restrict eligible publications to English
language. Search and selection processes will include
academic and grey literature searches using multiple
electronic databases, search engines and websites,
hand searches, and contacting the authors. We will use
a customised data charting table and present a narrative
synthesis of the results.
Ethics and dissemination. Scoping review is a secondary
study, aiming at synthesising data from publicly available
publications, hence it does not require ethical approval.
We will submit the report to a peer-reviewed
journal
and disseminate it among professionals involved in
scoliosis management, guideline and recommendation
development, and policymaking.
Physical Culture and Sport, 2019
When reading the masterpiece about “The Agon Motif” by John W. Loy and W. Robert Morford (2019), ... more When reading the masterpiece about “The Agon Motif” by John W. Loy and W. Robert Morford (2019), I was struck by their recurrent reference to the pursuit of honor in agonal sport contests, as it has become common sense to replace honor with dignity in modernity. I take the German social-philosopher Axel Honneth (1995) as a prime example of spelling out the replacement of honor with dignity in what he names “the struggle for recognition”. In a historical perspective, however, it looks like, that dignity can be understood as a distribution of honor rather than as an oppositional concept of honor. Recognition should not only be conceptualized at the categorical level, but also understood in terms of ‘comparative recognition’, which sorts members of a group into an intra-group hierarchy based on their relative merits and, thereby, pave the way for self-esteem (Mark, 2014). Furthermore, Honneth (2008) develops his concept of recognition to a two-level one by including a primordial recognition in terms of mimesis based upon his former concept of basic self-confidence. It is a kind of elementary responsiveness, which always and necessarily contains an element of involuntary openness or devotedness in the bodily-affective sphere. Therefore, I suggest taking mimesis as the precondition of honor into account and understanding dignity as a distribution of honor in the institution of modern sport.
Physical Culture and Sport, 2019
idrottsforum, 2018
Recognition of otherness: On Henning Eichberg (1942-2017) as another nosey
Henning Eichberg’s las... more Recognition of otherness: On Henning Eichberg (1942-2017) as another nosey
Henning Eichberg’s last book, posthumously edited by Signe Højbjerre Larsen and published by Routledge entitled Play in Philosophy and Social Thought is the second book in a trilogy that will remain unfinished. Ejgil Jespersen, who was well acquainted will Henning and knows his œuvre well, is our reviewer – with mixed reactions and emotions, and some unanswered questions.
Children want to play, and it is very good for their development. Thus, the playground appears to... more Children want to play, and it is very good for their development. Thus, the playground appears to be an ideal place. This is what Darijana Hahn finds in a study of how the playground epitomizes visions of play, childhood, and societal longings.
In this article, I focus on tourism for all including persons with disabilities and how universal... more In this article, I focus on tourism for all including persons with disabilities and how universal design of built environments for movement is a step forward for an inclusive society. Universal design is not dealing with accessibility for minorities in terms of specific disability groups, but is encompassing environments, products, programmes and services for movement " to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design " , as it is told in the Convention on the Rights for People with Disabilities (CRPD).
In Phenomenology of Perception, both intellectualism and empiricism were blamed for not grasping ... more In Phenomenology of Perception, both intellectualism and empiricism were blamed for not grasping consciousness in the act of learning. This was, Merleau-Ponty thought, due to an objective volatilizing of the subjective role of the lived body in perception. In order to overcome the difficulties in the tradition of learning and the philosophy of consciousness, Merleau-Ponty's next important step was to take maximal grip as a central case of learning. To him, learning as being-in-the-world, basically has to be sketched out in embodied and socially contextualized situations. Drawing upon this asymmetrical identity from Merleau-Ponty, our argument in this paper is that learning is best understood as a phenomenon that involves the learner's engagement with the world and her intention to make sense of its structures. A new perspective is thus employed to present learning as an embodied and socially embedded phenomenon, which is always projected by habitual experience and involves transcendence. These characteristics of learning are brought together in an integral and comprehensive way and have relevance to studies of learning in institutions and in daily experience.
Play is not a problem to be solved, so why questioning play? Why questioning something, to which ... more Play is not a problem to be solved, so why questioning play? Why questioning something, to which there is no answer? Henning Eichberg seems to be dealing with a mystery when questioning play in his latest book.
The Dreyfus skill model has a wide range of applications
to various domains, including sport, nur... more The Dreyfus skill model has a wide range of applications
to various domains, including sport, nursing,
engineering, flying, and so forth. In this article, the authors
discuss the skill model in connection with two
different research projects concerning ski instruction
and treating anorexia nervosa. The latter project has
been published but not in relation to the skill model.
The skill model may very well be applied to these areas,
and the authors conclude that in doing so, it also
brings about new ways of understanding the different
domains.
Keywords: the skill model; ski instruction; skiing; anorexia nervosa
Review of Øyvind Førland Standal: Phenomenology and Pedagogy in Physical Education. Routledge, 2015.
Ugeskrift for laeger, Jan 12, 2014
The Danish Government Committee on Psychiatry states that recovery-oriented rehabilitation is an ... more The Danish Government Committee on Psychiatry states that recovery-oriented rehabilitation is an important framework and direction in psychiatry. Recovery-oriented rehabilitation means that the intervention is based on best practice. It is also based on four values: self-determination, person involvement, self-determination/choice and growth potential. A comprehensive national plan of action on how to develop a recovery-oriented rehabilitation to Danish citizens with mental disorders is recommended.
Adapted physical activity quarterly : APAQ, 2008
The purpose of this study was to investigate the learning that takes place when people with disab... more The purpose of this study was to investigate the learning that takes place when people with disabilities interact in a rehabilitation context. Data were generated through in-depth interviews and close observations in a 2 (1/2) week-long rehabilitation program, where the participants learned both wheelchair skills and adapted physical activities. The findings from the qualitative data analysis are discussed in the context of situated learning (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998). The results indicate that peer learning extends beyond skills and techniques, to include ways for the participants to make sense of their situations as wheelchair users. Also, it was found that the community of practice established between the participants represented a critical corrective to instructions provided by rehabilitation professionals.
Ugeskrift for laeger, Jan 12, 2014
This article describes the core themes in modern rehabilitation and how it can be used in practic... more This article describes the core themes in modern rehabilitation and how it can be used in practice. The purpose of rehabilitation is an independent and meaningful life with the greatest possible functional ability. Rehabilitation goals will always be what matters most to the patient (not what health professionals think matters). The doctor's role includes clarification of biomedical issues, but also highlighting resources and barriers in relation to rehabilitation (including practical, economic and social barriers and resources).
in Norway has treated patients with physical symptoms with no organic cause, so called conversion... more in Norway has treated patients with physical symptoms with no organic cause, so called conversion disorder patients, for over a decade. For four years research on the treatment has been carried out. Patients with conversion disorder seem not to fit in traditional somatic hospitals because their patienthood depends upon psychiatric diagnosis. Ironically, they appear not to belong in psychiatric hospitals because of their physical symptoms. The treatment offered these patients at hospitals for rehabilitation is adapted physical activity consisting of behaviour elements such as positive reinforcement of normal function and lack of positive reinforcement at dysfunction. The pedagogical approach is seen as crucial in the successful rehabilitation of the patients. The disorder and treatment can be understood by using theories about the ecstatic body, radical behaviourism and phenomenology. When patients have problems in behaviour concerning both body and mind, it would be natural to employ both in the road to recovery. This article describes the various treatments and discusses them from phenomenological, ethical and philosophical perspectives.
Focus Tidsskrift For Idraet, 2012
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Papers by Ejgil Jespersen
Following an orthopaedic examination, I was diagnosed with adolescent
idiopathic scoliosis. Although it turned out for me that it was not
a serious and progressive form of scoliosis, the diagnosis impacted my life
in a disabling way, resulting in feelings of fear, anxiety, and losing a sense
of trust in my own body. I experienced bodily doubt. This was also
accompanied by me negatively objectifying my body. This article is an
evocative autoethnography presenting my personal story of experiencing
a medical diagnosis of scoliosis. The health of my spine was evaluated
purely by comparison to a desired aesthetical straight line. The way I felt in
my body was never taken into consideration during this process. It is also
a story of finding my own ways of healing, which was possible through
engaging in dance and somatic practices. They allowed me to experience
my body as a living subject – a soma. I was able to find ways to positively
objectify my body through practices of deep body listening and developing
greater bodily awareness. My healing was also connected to regaining
a sense of bodily certainty and trust, through experiencing
moments of wholeness in spontaneous expressive self-movement.
Dance is also vital in my story. The personal evolution of approaching
dance presents a healing potential of this art, allowing for the conscious,
expressive, and therapeutic nature of the living body to be unveiled.
diagnosis and management of this condition, may lead
to poorer body image and diminished psychosocial
functioning. Furthermore, treatment, especially bracing
and surgery as well as screening, remain controversial
and debated, with an unclear evidence base. Personal
experiences in terms of issues such as person-centred
care, shared decision making, and patient and
public involvement, are contemporarily recognised
as highly valued. Nonetheless, people’s experiences
related to adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is an issue
underrepresented in current systematic reviews and
systematically developed recommendations. There
appears a substantial imbalance between a vast amount of
biomedical research reports, and sporadic biopsychosocial
publications in this field. The objective of this planned
scoping review is to explore and map the available
evidence from various sources to address a broad question
of what is known about experiences of all those touched,
directly and indirectly, by the problem of adolescent
idiopathic scoliosis.
Methods and analysis. We based our protocol on
the Joanna Briggs Institute’s scoping review method,
including the Population – Concept – Context framework,
to formulate the objectives, research questions, eligibility
criteria and conduct characteristics of the study. We will
consider any primary study designs, research synthesis
reports, as well as narrative reviews and opinion pieces.
We will not restrict eligible publications to English
language. Search and selection processes will include
academic and grey literature searches using multiple
electronic databases, search engines and websites,
hand searches, and contacting the authors. We will use
a customised data charting table and present a narrative
synthesis of the results.
Ethics and dissemination. Scoping review is a secondary
study, aiming at synthesising data from publicly available
publications, hence it does not require ethical approval.
We will submit the report to a peer-reviewed
journal
and disseminate it among professionals involved in
scoliosis management, guideline and recommendation
development, and policymaking.
Henning Eichberg’s last book, posthumously edited by Signe Højbjerre Larsen and published by Routledge entitled Play in Philosophy and Social Thought is the second book in a trilogy that will remain unfinished. Ejgil Jespersen, who was well acquainted will Henning and knows his œuvre well, is our reviewer – with mixed reactions and emotions, and some unanswered questions.
to various domains, including sport, nursing,
engineering, flying, and so forth. In this article, the authors
discuss the skill model in connection with two
different research projects concerning ski instruction
and treating anorexia nervosa. The latter project has
been published but not in relation to the skill model.
The skill model may very well be applied to these areas,
and the authors conclude that in doing so, it also
brings about new ways of understanding the different
domains.
Keywords: the skill model; ski instruction; skiing; anorexia nervosa
Following an orthopaedic examination, I was diagnosed with adolescent
idiopathic scoliosis. Although it turned out for me that it was not
a serious and progressive form of scoliosis, the diagnosis impacted my life
in a disabling way, resulting in feelings of fear, anxiety, and losing a sense
of trust in my own body. I experienced bodily doubt. This was also
accompanied by me negatively objectifying my body. This article is an
evocative autoethnography presenting my personal story of experiencing
a medical diagnosis of scoliosis. The health of my spine was evaluated
purely by comparison to a desired aesthetical straight line. The way I felt in
my body was never taken into consideration during this process. It is also
a story of finding my own ways of healing, which was possible through
engaging in dance and somatic practices. They allowed me to experience
my body as a living subject – a soma. I was able to find ways to positively
objectify my body through practices of deep body listening and developing
greater bodily awareness. My healing was also connected to regaining
a sense of bodily certainty and trust, through experiencing
moments of wholeness in spontaneous expressive self-movement.
Dance is also vital in my story. The personal evolution of approaching
dance presents a healing potential of this art, allowing for the conscious,
expressive, and therapeutic nature of the living body to be unveiled.
diagnosis and management of this condition, may lead
to poorer body image and diminished psychosocial
functioning. Furthermore, treatment, especially bracing
and surgery as well as screening, remain controversial
and debated, with an unclear evidence base. Personal
experiences in terms of issues such as person-centred
care, shared decision making, and patient and
public involvement, are contemporarily recognised
as highly valued. Nonetheless, people’s experiences
related to adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is an issue
underrepresented in current systematic reviews and
systematically developed recommendations. There
appears a substantial imbalance between a vast amount of
biomedical research reports, and sporadic biopsychosocial
publications in this field. The objective of this planned
scoping review is to explore and map the available
evidence from various sources to address a broad question
of what is known about experiences of all those touched,
directly and indirectly, by the problem of adolescent
idiopathic scoliosis.
Methods and analysis. We based our protocol on
the Joanna Briggs Institute’s scoping review method,
including the Population – Concept – Context framework,
to formulate the objectives, research questions, eligibility
criteria and conduct characteristics of the study. We will
consider any primary study designs, research synthesis
reports, as well as narrative reviews and opinion pieces.
We will not restrict eligible publications to English
language. Search and selection processes will include
academic and grey literature searches using multiple
electronic databases, search engines and websites,
hand searches, and contacting the authors. We will use
a customised data charting table and present a narrative
synthesis of the results.
Ethics and dissemination. Scoping review is a secondary
study, aiming at synthesising data from publicly available
publications, hence it does not require ethical approval.
We will submit the report to a peer-reviewed
journal
and disseminate it among professionals involved in
scoliosis management, guideline and recommendation
development, and policymaking.
Henning Eichberg’s last book, posthumously edited by Signe Højbjerre Larsen and published by Routledge entitled Play in Philosophy and Social Thought is the second book in a trilogy that will remain unfinished. Ejgil Jespersen, who was well acquainted will Henning and knows his œuvre well, is our reviewer – with mixed reactions and emotions, and some unanswered questions.
to various domains, including sport, nursing,
engineering, flying, and so forth. In this article, the authors
discuss the skill model in connection with two
different research projects concerning ski instruction
and treating anorexia nervosa. The latter project has
been published but not in relation to the skill model.
The skill model may very well be applied to these areas,
and the authors conclude that in doing so, it also
brings about new ways of understanding the different
domains.
Keywords: the skill model; ski instruction; skiing; anorexia nervosa