57,156 research outputs found

    Doing evolution in economic geography

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    Evolutionary approaches in economic geography face questions about the relationships between their concepts, theories, methods, politics, and policy implications. Amidst the growing but unsettled consensus that evolutionary approaches should employ plural methodologies, the aims here are, first, to identify some of the difficult issues confronting those working with different frameworks. The concerns comprise specifying and connecting research objects, subjects, and levels; handling agency and context; engaging and integrating the quantitative and the qualitative; comparing cases; and, considering politics, policy, and praxis. Second, the purpose is to articulate a distinctive geographical political economy approach, methods, and illustrative examples in addressing these issues. Bringing different views of evolution in economic geography into dialogue and disagreement renders methodological pluralism a means toward improved understanding and explanation rather than an end in itself. Confronting such thorny matters needs to be embedded in our research practices and supported by greater openness; more and better substantiation of our conceptual, theoretical, and empirical claims; enhanced critical reflection; and deeper engagement with politics, policy, and praxis

    The Relevance of Rigour for Design Practise

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    Design is an inverted discipline. The concept of rigour, as understood within the natural sciences, cannot be applied to Design Practice. Rigour for the natural sciences is a quality assurance mechanism ensuring that the knowledge bases of the disciplines are developed to an accepted set of standards. Design’s ontology is not like the natural sciences and as such an understanding of rigour for Design must proceed from an appropriate standpoint about the nature of Design Practice. This paper builds upon Harfield’s [1] ontological assessment of Design, Schön’s [2] [3] work on Reflective Practice and Spencer’s [4] investigation into the experience and practise of designing to develop a standpoint about Design Practice and make a proposition about the relevance of rigour for Design Practise. This paper considers how individual Reflective Practice practitioners, within the context of Design Practice, manage and ensure quality control through the application of care and thoroughness. This paper argues that rigour for Design Practise is the personal and phenomenological quality control of a design inquiry: a process of managing expanding mental chaos and restricting order

    The Long and Winding Road from Positive Psychology Theory to Corporate Application

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    This paper is intended to develop preliminary thoughts regarding implementation of positive psychology methods in organizations for the benefit of both the workforce and business. The first section examines the extension of positive psychology into scholarship for positive organizations. The second section reports informal qualitative interviews with selected senior corporate executives. The focus of investigation is the preliminary discovery regarding corporate awareness of, and interest in, positive psychology. The interviews will also investigate corporate executives’ attitudes regarding the practical use of academic research. The paper concludes by digging deeply into an advanced positive construct for organizations, psychological capital, substantiating that it is a greatly developed, well-studied topic acceptable for organizational application. Psychological capital will be presented as a model representing the conclusions reached in this paper regarding the state of positive psychology applications in organizations

    The field of inter-organizational relations : a jungle or an Italian garden?

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    Each chapter in this Handbook contains an explicit assessment of priorities for future research that would extend and deepen an understanding of IOR. Given the diversity of contributions to this volume, it is perhaps not surprising that recommendations for future research are varied. And because the three sets of contributions start from different points-empirical manifestations, theoretical and disciplinary perspectives, and thematic interests-so the recommendations, too, might be expected to lead along different paths, 'cutting' and framing future research topics in different ways. Nevertheless, as others have suggested (Brass et al. 2005) it is possible to see some points of convergence across all three parts of the Handbook. We begin our discussion of the contributions and suggestions for the future by focusing on these points of convergence. We then look in turn at the specific ideas that emerge from, and relate to, the specific framings of each of the parts. Finally, we draw together insights about methodological issues

    Concept, Principles and Research Methods of African Environmental Ethics

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    [English] This paper aims to discuss ten traditional and contemporary methodological paradigms in African philosophy, and demonstrates how they may apply to African environmental ethics research. The methods include: Ethno-philosophy, Sage Philosophy, Conversational Philosophy, Conceptual Mandelanization, Eco-Afrocentricism, Indigenous Language Analysis, Eco-Afro-feminism, Conceptual Decolonization, Storytelling Philosophy, and Cultural Adaptationism. The significance and limitations of the methodologies are highlighted. The concept and principles of African environmental ethics are analyzed and discussed to facilitate an understanding of the conceptual frameworks that underpin the methodologies. In conclusion, the discourse demonstrates that environmental ethics research in Africa should be based on African philosophical methodologies so as to facilitate production of research that will be relevant in African contexts. [Annang] N̄wed nduongo ami ayem ibene nwọ́d mme n̄kaan nne mfa usung unam nduongo ke vilọsọvi Afrịke , nne nte amọ ekeme iwam unam nduongo mbanga ido ukpeme nkan-nkuk ke Afrịke. Mme usung unam nduongo ami nsehe ade ami: vilọsọvi mben ufọk, vilọsọvi n̄kan ideen, vilọsọvi nneme, vilọsọvi Mandela, “Eco-Afrocentricism”, nduongore usem utiit ajid, vilọsọvi ibaan Afrịke, vilọsọvi mkpọk-nyak, vilọsọvi n̄ke, nne ukpep ido idung agwo. N̄wed ami abene awọd mme ikek nne nde mem idem usung nduongo ami. N̄wed ami atang mkpọ abanga se ido ukpeme nkan-nkuk ke Afrịke anwongo nne mme itai amọ, nne nte amọ ewam mbon nduongo ediọhọ nnanga ekpekakpa ibọrọ nduongo amọ. Ke n̄suuk ikọ, ukpep ami mkpọ abene awọd ate ke ekpena ekama usung nduongo vilọsọvi Afrịke enam nduongo ebanga ido ukpeme nkan-nkuk ke Afrịke man ibọrọ nduongo asanga akekem nne se adiiwam Afrịke

    The virtue of curiosity

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    ABSTRACTA thriving project in contemporary epistemology concerns identifying and explicating the epistemic virtues. Although there is little sustained argument for this claim, a number of prominent sources suggest that curiosity is an epistemic virtue. In this paper, I provide an account of the virtue of curiosity. After arguing that virtuous curiosity must be appropriately discerning, timely and exacting, I then situate my account in relation to two broader questions for virtue responsibilists: What sort of motivations are required for epistemic virtue? And do epistemic virtues need to be reliable? I will sketch an account on which curiosity is only virtuous when rooted in a non-instrumental appreciation of epistemic goods, before arguing that curiosity can exhibit intellectual virtue irrespective of whether one is reliable in satisfying it

    Self-Study in Elementary and Secondary Teaching: A Living Theory Approach

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    In this chapter we present examples of Living Theory research, a form of Self-Study, which show teachers, teacher educators and administrators researching to improve their teaching and the educational experience of students and contributing the knowledge they create in the process to a professional educational knowledge base. We clarify the relationship between education and educational research and show how Living Theory is distinguished within other forms of Self-Study research. Consideration is given to the opportunities and challenges of promoting this approach, and other forms of Self-Study research, as ways to improve practice in schools. We show the development of ideas since Whitehead’s contribution 14 years ago, in 2004, to the first International Handbook of Self Study on, ‘What counts as evidence in self-studies of teacher education practices?’. Our emphasis in this chapter is on practising educators, their professional development and gaining academic recognition for the embodied knowledges of master and doctor educators

    Management as a Design Science Mindful of Art and Surprise A Conversation Between Anne Huff, David Tranfield, and Joan Ernst van Aken

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    Huff: Management is a relatively young profession and a young field of study. For some time, there has been an interest in "design" as a primary descriptor of management practice. Herbert Simon described management as a "design science" in The Sciences of the Artificial, first published in 1969 and reissued in a third edition in 1996, yet the specifics of design have not been clear to me, especially as the basis for action. My interest in design was recently piqued by David Tranfield, professor of management at Cranfield School of Management, who then introduced me to the work of Joan (pronounced "Johan" for those of you not familiar with names from the Netherlands) van Aken, professor of organization and management at Eindhoven University of Technology. van Aken’s work was very interesting, but I wasn’t initially convinced that management conceived as design could incorporate two metaphors for management that I have been more inclined to use: an "artful" blend of resources and action and the "capacity to respond to surprise." The following conversation with David and Joan provided a convincing positive answer. We discuss the definition of design, its importance, the art of design, its capacity to deal with surprise, inevitable limitations, how theory is involved, and a vision of the future. I hope that readers will find the basic idea as significant as I do
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