3,881 research outputs found
Information actors beyond modernity and coloniality in times of climate change:A comparative design ethnography on the making of monitors for sustainable futures in Curaçao and Amsterdam, between 2019-2022
In his dissertation, Mr. Goilo developed a cutting-edge theoretical framework for an Anthropology of Information. This study compares information in the context of modernity in Amsterdam and coloniality in Curaçao through the making process of monitors and develops five ways to understand how information can act towards sustainable futures. The research also discusses how the two contexts, that is modernity and coloniality, have been in informational symbiosis for centuries which is producing negative informational side effects within the age of the Anthropocene. By exploring the modernity-coloniality symbiosis of information, the author explains how scholars, policymakers, and data-analysts can act through historical and structural roots of contemporary global inequities related to the production and distribution of information. Ultimately, the five theses propose conditions towards the collective production of knowledge towards a more sustainable planet
Logical disagreement : an epistemological study
While the epistemic signiïŹcance of disagreement has been a popular topic in epistemology for at least a decade, little attention has been paid to logical disagreement. This monograph is meant as a remedy. The text starts with an extensive literature review of the epistemology of (peer) disagreement and sets the stage for an epistemological study of logical disagreement. The guiding thread for the rest of the work is then three distinct readings of the ambiguous term âlogical disagreementâ. Chapters 1 and 2 focus on the Ad Hoc Reading according to which logical disagreements occur when two subjects take incompatible doxastic attitudes toward a speciïŹc proposition in or about logic. Chapter 2 presents a new counterexample to the widely discussed Uniqueness Thesis. Chapters 3 and 4 focus on the Theory Choice Reading of âlogical disagreementâ. According to this interpretation, logical disagreements occur at the level of entire logical theories rather than individual entailment-claims. Chapter 4 concerns a key question from the philosophy of logic, viz., how we have epistemic justiïŹcation for claims about logical consequence. In Chapters 5 and 6 we turn to the Akrasia Reading. On this reading, logical disagreements occur when there is a mismatch between the deductive strength of oneâs background logic and the logical theory one prefers (oïŹcially). Chapter 6 introduces logical akrasia by analogy to epistemic akrasia and presents a novel dilemma. Chapter 7 revisits the epistemology of peer disagreement and argues that the epistemic signiïŹcance of central principles from the literature are at best deïŹated in the context of logical disagreement. The chapter also develops a simple formal model of deep disagreement in Default Logic, relating this to our general discussion of logical disagreement. The monograph ends in an epilogue with some reïŹections on the potential epistemic signiïŹcance of convergence in logical theorizing
Fostering Graduate Student Creative Problem Solving in a Professional Military Education Context
In military contexts, a tension exists between the need for rapid, unquestioning obedience to orders, especially early in oneâs career, and the need for senior leaders to solve complex problems creatively. For officers in the Marine Corps, a key milestone in their careers is the Marine Corpsâ Command and Staff College, an intermediate-level professional military education masterâs degree program. In 2015, the College, and the wider Marine Corps University community, established a plan to improve student creative problem solving; however, the plan did not meet its outcome goals by 2021.
The purpose of this study is twofold. First, using a convergent parallel mixed methods design, this study examined factors related to creative problem solving and their application to Command and Staff College curriculum. Key results of interviews, surveys, and secondary data analysis included the perceived need for additional time for students to think creatively, and the need to address the tension between authoritarian thinking and the imperative to develop new creative solutions. The second part of this study examined an intervention designed to give students more time to think and to give them structural, metacognitive supports for their thinking. Using a quasi-experimental design, the two key factors of concern for the study were metacognition and creative problem solving.
Improvements in the studentsâ metacognitive abilities were expected to lead to improvements in their creative problem-solving ability. Quantitative results showed no significant improvement in creative problem solving while there was actually a significant decrease in perceived metacognitive ability for both the comparison and intervention groups. According to explanatory interviews, one key factor in these results may have been the use of a perception survey, in which decreases in oneâs perception of oneâs metacognitive ability might mask actual improvements in real metacognitive ability. Another factor that emerged from the explanatory interviews was the need for the intervention to be more fully integrated across the whole curriculum. This study underscores the difficulty of making significant changes to student creative problem solving, especially in a military community. Further study could examine the relationship between perceptions of metacognitive ability and actual metacognitive ability
Climate Change and Critical Agrarian Studies
Climate change is perhaps the greatest threat to humanity today and plays out as a cruel engine of myriad forms of injustice, violence and destruction. The effects of climate change from human-made emissions of greenhouse gases are devastating and accelerating; yet are uncertain and uneven both in terms of geography and socio-economic impacts. Emerging from the dynamics of capitalism since the industrial revolution â as well as industrialisation under state-led socialism â the consequences of climate change are especially profound for the countryside and its inhabitants. The book interrogates the narratives and strategies that frame climate change and examines the institutionalised responses in agrarian settings, highlighting what exclusions and inclusions result. It explores how different people â in relation to class and other co-constituted axes of social difference such as gender, race, ethnicity, age and occupation â are affected by climate change, as well as the climate adaptation and mitigation responses being implemented in rural areas. The book in turn explores how climate change â and the responses to it - affect processes of social differentiation, trajectories of accumulation and in turn agrarian politics. Finally, the book examines what strategies are required to confront climate change, and the underlying political-economic dynamics that cause it, reflecting on what this means for agrarian struggles across the world. The 26 chapters in this volume explore how the relationship between capitalism and climate change plays out in the rural world and, in particular, the way agrarian struggles connect with the huge challenge of climate change. Through a huge variety of case studies alongside more conceptual chapters, the book makes the often-missing connection between climate change and critical agrarian studies. The book argues that making the connection between climate and agrarian justice is crucial
LIPIcs, Volume 251, ITCS 2023, Complete Volume
LIPIcs, Volume 251, ITCS 2023, Complete Volum
Rethink Digital Health Innovation: Understanding Socio-Technical Interoperability as Guiding Concept
Diese Dissertation sucht nach einem theoretischem GrundgerĂŒst, um komplexe, digitale Gesundheitsinnovationen so zu entwickeln, dass sie bessere Erfolgsaussichten haben, auch in der alltĂ€glichen Versorgungspraxis anzukommen. Denn obwohl es weder am Bedarf von noch an Ideen fĂŒr digitale Gesundheitsinnovationen mangelt, bleibt die Flut an erfolgreich in der Praxis etablierten Lösungen leider aus. Dieser unzureichende Diffusionserfolg einer entwickelten Lösung - gern auch als Pilotitis pathologisiert - offenbart sich insbesondere dann, wenn die geplante Innovation mit gröĂeren Ambitionen und KomplexitĂ€t verbunden ist. Dem geĂŒbten Kritiker werden sofort ketzerische Gegenfragen in den Sinn kommen. Beispielsweise was denn unter komplexen, digitalen Gesundheitsinnovationen verstanden werden soll und ob es ĂŒberhaupt möglich ist, eine universale Lösungsformel zu finden, die eine erfolgreiche Diffusion digitaler Gesundheitsinnovationen garantieren kann. Beide Fragen sind nicht nur berechtigt, sondern mĂŒnden letztlich auch in zwei ForschungsstrĂ€nge, welchen ich mich in dieser Dissertation explizit widme.
In einem ersten Block erarbeite ich eine Abgrenzung jener digitalen Gesundheitsinnovationen, welche derzeit in Literatur und Praxis besondere Aufmerksamkeit aufgrund ihres hohen Potentials zur Versorgungsverbesserung und ihrer resultierenden KomplexitĂ€t gewidmet ist. Genauer gesagt untersuche ich dominante Zielstellungen und welche Herausforderung mit ihnen einhergehen. Innerhalb der Arbeiten in diesem Forschungsstrang kristallisieren sich vier Zielstellungen heraus: 1. die UnterstĂŒtzung kontinuierlicher, gemeinschaftlicher Versorgungsprozesse ĂŒber diverse Leistungserbringer (auch als inter-organisationale Versorgungspfade bekannt); 2. die aktive Einbeziehung der Patient:innen in ihre Versorgungsprozesse (auch als Patient Empowerment oder Patient Engagement bekannt); 3. die StĂ€rkung der sektoren-ĂŒbergreifenden Zusammenarbeit zwischen Wissenschaft und Versorgungpraxis bis hin zu lernenden Gesundheitssystemen und 4. die Etablierung daten-zentrierter Wertschöpfung fĂŒr das Gesundheitswesen aufgrund steigender bzgl. VerfĂŒgbarkeit valider Daten, neuen Verarbeitungsmethoden (Stichwort KĂŒnstliche Intelligenz) sowie den zahlreichen Nutzungsmöglichkeiten. Im Fokus dieser Dissertation stehen daher weniger die autarken, klar abgrenzbaren Innovationen (bspw. eine Symptomtagebuch-App zur Beschwerdedokumentation). Vielmehr adressiert diese Doktorarbeit jene Innovationsvorhaben, welche eine oder mehrere der o.g. Zielstellung verfolgen, ein weiteres technologisches Puzzleteil in komplexe Informationssystemlandschaften hinzufĂŒgen und somit im Zusammenspiel mit diversen weiteren IT-Systemen zur Verbesserung der Gesundheitsversorgung und/ oder ihrer Organisation beitragen.
In der Auseinandersetzung mit diesen Zielstellungen und verbundenen Herausforderungen der Systementwicklung rĂŒckte das Problem fragmentierter IT-Systemlandschaften des Gesundheitswesens in den Mittelpunkt. Darunter wird der unerfreuliche Zustand verstanden, dass unterschiedliche Informations- und Anwendungssysteme nicht wie gewĂŒnscht miteinander interagieren können. So kommt es zu Unterbrechungen von InformationsflĂŒssen und Versorgungsprozessen, welche anderweitig durch fehleranfĂ€llige ZusatzaufwĂ€nde (bspw. Doppeldokumentation) aufgefangen werden mĂŒssen. Um diesen EinschrĂ€nkungen der EffektivitĂ€t und Effizienz zu begegnen, mĂŒssen eben jene IT-System-Silos abgebaut werden. Alle o.g. Zielstellungen ordnen sich dieser defragmentierenden Wirkung unter, in dem sie 1. verschiedene Leistungserbringer, 2. Versorgungsteams und Patient:innen, 3. Wissenschaft und Versorgung oder 4. diverse Datenquellen und moderne Auswertungstechnologien zusammenfĂŒhren wollen. Doch nun kommt es zu einem komplexen Ringschluss. Einerseits suchen die in dieser Arbeit thematisierten digitalen Gesundheitsinnovationen Wege zur Defragmentierung der Informationssystemlandschaften.
Andererseits ist ihre eingeschrĂ€nkte Erfolgsquote u.a. in eben jener bestehenden Fragmentierung begrĂŒndet, die sie aufzulösen suchen.
Mit diesem Erkenntnisgewinn eröffnet sich der zweite Forschungsstrang dieser Arbeit, der sich mit der Eigenschaft der 'InteroperabilitĂ€t' intensiv auseinandersetzt. Er untersucht, wie diese Eigenschaft eine zentrale Rolle fĂŒr Innovationsvorhaben in der Digital Health DomĂ€ne einnehmen soll. Denn InteroperabilitĂ€t beschreibt, vereinfacht ausgedrĂŒckt, die FĂ€higkeit von zwei oder mehreren Systemen miteinander gemeinsame Aufgaben zu erfĂŒllen. Sie reprĂ€sentiert somit das Kernanliegen der identifizierten Zielstellungen und ist Dreh- und Angelpunkt, wenn eine entwickelte Lösung in eine konkrete Zielumgebung integriert werden soll. Von einem technisch-dominierten Blickwinkel aus betrachtet, geht es hierbei um die GewĂ€hrleistung von validen, performanten und sicheren Kommunikationsszenarien, sodass die o.g. InformationsflussbrĂŒche zwischen technischen Teilsystemen abgebaut werden. Ein rein technisches InteroperabilitĂ€tsverstĂ€ndnis genĂŒgt jedoch nicht, um die Vielfalt an Diffusionsbarrieren von digitalen Gesundheitsinnovationen zu umfassen. Denn beispielsweise das Fehlen adĂ€quater VergĂŒtungsoptionen innerhalb der gesetzlichen Rahmenbedingungen oder eine mangelhafte PassfĂ€higkeit fĂŒr den bestimmten Versorgungsprozess sind keine rein technischen Probleme. Vielmehr kommt hier eine Grundhaltung der Wirtschaftsinformatik zum Tragen, die Informationssysteme - auch die des Gesundheitswesens - als sozio-technische Systeme begreift und dabei Technologie stets im Zusammenhang mit Menschen, die sie nutzen, von ihr beeinflusst werden oder sie organisieren, betrachtet. Soll eine digitale Gesundheitsinnovation, die einen Mehrwert gemÀà der o.g. Zielstellungen verspricht, in eine existierende Informationssystemlandschaft der Gesundheitsversorgung integriert werden, so muss sie aus technischen sowie nicht-technischen Gesichtspunkten 'interoperabel' sein.
Zwar ist die Notwendigkeit von InteroperabilitĂ€t in der Wissenschaft, Politik und Praxis bekannt und auch positive Bewegungen der DomĂ€ne hin zu mehr InteroperabilitĂ€t sind zu verspĂŒren. Jedoch dominiert dabei einerseits ein technisches VerstĂ€ndnis und andererseits bleibt das Potential dieser Eigenschaft als Leitmotiv fĂŒr das Innovationsmanagement bislang weitestgehend ungenutzt. An genau dieser Stelle knĂŒpft nun der Hauptbeitrag dieser Doktorarbeit an, in dem sie eine sozio-technische Konzeptualisierung und Kontextualisierung von InteroperabilitĂ€t fĂŒr kĂŒnftige digitale Gesundheitsinnovationen vorschlĂ€gt. Literatur- und expertenbasiert wird ein Rahmenwerk erarbeitet - das Digital Health Innovation Interoperability Framework - das insbesondere Innovatoren und Innovationsfördernde dabei unterstĂŒtzen soll, die Diffusionswahrscheinlichkeit in die Praxis zu erhöhen. Nun sind mit diesem Framework viele Erkenntnisse und Botschaften verbunden, die ich fĂŒr diesen Prolog wie folgt zusammenfassen möchte:
1. Um die Entwicklung digitaler Gesundheitsinnovationen bestmöglich auf eine erfolgreiche
Integration in eine bestimmte Zielumgebung auszurichten, sind die Realisierung
eines neuartigen Wertversprechens sowie die GewÀhrleistung sozio-technischer InteroperabilitÀt
die zwei zusammenhÀngenden Hauptaufgaben eines Innovationsprozesses.
2. Die GewÀhrleistung von InteroperabilitÀt ist eine aktiv zu verantwortende Managementaufgabe
und wird durch projektspezifische Bedingungen sowie von externen und internen Dynamiken beeinflusst.
3. Sozio-technische InteroperabilitÀt im Kontext digitaler Gesundheitsinnovationen kann
ĂŒber sieben, interdependente Ebenen definiert werden: Politische und regulatorische Bedingungen;
Vertragsbedingungen; Versorgungs- und GeschÀftsprozesse; Nutzung; Information; Anwendungen; IT-Infrastruktur.
4. Um InteroperabilitÀt auf jeder dieser Ebenen zu gewÀhrleisten, sind Strategien differenziert
zu definieren, welche auf einem Kontinuum zwischen KompatibilitÀtsanforderungen
aufseiten der Innovation und der Motivation von Anpassungen aufseiten der Zielumgebung
verortet werden können.
5. Das Streben nach mehr InteroperabilitÀt fördert sowohl den nachhaltigen Erfolg der einzelnen digitalen
Gesundheitsinnovation als auch die Defragmentierung existierender Informationssystemlandschaften und
trÀgt somit zur Verbesserung des Gesundheitswesens bei.
Zugegeben: die letzte dieser fĂŒnf Botschaften trĂ€gt eher die FĂ€rbung einer Ăberzeugung, als dass sie ein Ergebnis wissenschaftlicher BeweisfĂŒhrung ist. Dennoch empfinde ich diese, wenn auch persönliche Erkenntnis als Maxim der DomĂ€ne, der ich mich zugehörig fĂŒhle - der IT-Systementwicklung des Gesundheitswesens
Mapping the Focal Points of WordPress: A Software and Critical Code Analysis
Programming languages or code can be examined through numerous analytical lenses. This project is a critical analysis of WordPress, a prevalent web content management system, applying four modes of inquiry. The project draws on theoretical perspectives and areas of study in media, software, platforms, code, language, and power structures. The applied research is based on Critical Code Studies, an interdisciplinary field of study that holds the potential as a theoretical lens and methodological toolkit to understand computational code beyond its function. The project begins with a critical code analysis of WordPress, examining its origins and source code and mapping selected vulnerabilities. An examination of the influence of digital and computational thinking follows this. The work also explores the intersection of code patching and vulnerability management and how code shapes our sense of control, trust, and empathy, ultimately arguing that a rhetorical-cultural lens can be used to better understand code\u27s controlling influence. Recurring themes throughout these analyses and observations are the connections to power and vulnerability in WordPress\u27 code and how cultural, processual, rhetorical, and ethical implications can be expressed through its code, creating a particular worldview. Code\u27s emergent properties help illustrate how human values and practices (e.g., empathy, aesthetics, language, and trust) become encoded in software design and how people perceive the software through its worldview. These connected analyses reveal cultural, processual, and vulnerability focal points and the influence these entanglements have concerning WordPress as code, software, and platform. WordPress is a complex sociotechnical platform worthy of further study, as is the interdisciplinary merging of theoretical perspectives and disciplines to critically examine code. Ultimately, this project helps further enrich the field by introducing focal points in code, examining sociocultural phenomena within the code, and offering techniques to apply critical code methods
To make the dominoes fall: A relational-processual approach to societal accountability in the Italian and Spanish anti-corruption arenas
In che modo le organizzazioni della società civile (OSC) contribuiscono alla lotta contro la corruzione? Come possono responsabilizzare i rappresentanti politici? La presente tesi si propone di rispondere a queste a queste domande di ricerca, unendo gli studi sulla lotta alla corruzione a quelli sui movimenti sociali e concentrandosi sul concetto di societal accountability, cioè sui meccanismi di controllo e di sanzione dei rappresentanti pubblici. Negli ultimi anni, gli studiosi della corruzione hanno enfatizzato sempre più il ruolo della società civile come antidoto contro la corruzione, a complemento dei meccanismi di accountability statali ed elettorali. Tuttavia, gli studi empirici sugli effetti anticorruzione degli interventi civici non hanno ancora prodotto risultati coerenti. Questo non dovrebbe sorprendere. Se misurare la corruzione è un compito arduo, valutare se e quanto gli scambi corruttivi vengano impediti grazie alle iniziative della società civile sembra virtualmente impossibile. Per questo motivo, il presente lavoro fa un passo indietro e problematizza lo studio della societal accountability, affrontandola non come un insieme predefinito di meccanismi o pratiche messe in atto da attori civici anticorruzione, ma come il risultato di interazioni sostenute e conflittuali tra più attori, civici e non. Per fare ciò, lo studio si ispira alle teorie dei movimenti sociali e concettualizza la societal accountability come un insieme di conseguenze dell’azione collettiva. Pertanto, questo lavoro mira a capire come e in quali condizioni le iniziative anticorruzione dal basso raggiungano risultati di accountability, quali il passaggio di nuove norme, il miglioramento dell’answerability istituzionale e potenziale sanzionatorio. Con questo obiettivo, la tesi si basa sulle evidenze esistenti negli studi sulla corruzione e sull'accountability e contribuisce ai dibattiti in corso sulle conseguenze dell'azione collettiva. Il quadro teorico si concentra sul concetto di influenza, aderendo a un approccio processuale-relazionale. L'influenza è intesa come un'istanza di causalità relazionale, una forma di potere posizionale che consente a più attori di esercitare un controllo sulle conseguenze dell’azione collettiva. Facendo da ponte tra l'approccio strategico-interazionale e i modelli di mediazione, l'analisi chiarisce le strategie seguite dalle OSC nella ricerca di posizioni di influenza, così come i meccanismi attraverso i quali i modelli relazionali producono cambiamento sociale. Il quadro analitico è applicato alle arene anticorruzione in Italia e in Spagna e si restringe a tre specifiche aree di intervento: l'introduzione di leggi sulla trasparenza, l'approvazione di leggi per la protezione dei whistleblower e lo sviluppo di progetti di monitoraggio civico. Il materiale empirico comprende 37 interviste qualitative semi-strutturate, documenti e dati network. Nel complesso, le evidenze raccolte contribuiscono alla letteratura sulla lotta alla corruzione, dimostrando che le OSC contribuiscono, direttamente e indirettamente, alla lotta contro la corruzione ottenendo cambiamenti nelle politiche, aumentando l’answerability del sistema e innescando sanzioni formali e informali quando necessario. Tuttavia, l’analisi comparata dei casi italiano e spagnolo evidenziano differenze rilevanti. In particolare, l'indagine empirica contribuisce agli attuali dibattiti sullo studio della società della social accountability, dimostrando che l'integrazione con le élite politiche può aumentare la probabilità di ottenere di ottenere un cambiamento delle politiche, mentre l'integrazione orizzontale tra gli attori civici può aumentare il loro potenziale sanzionatorio. In definitiva, questo lavoro dimostra come gli approcci processuali-relazionali possano integrare modelli strategici e di mediazione per comprendere meglio il modo in cui gli attori collettivi influenzano il cambiamento politico e sociale. Le osservazioni conclusive sostengono che le interazioni e le relazioni costruite dagli attori nel corso del tempo e in diverse arene fungono da canali di mediazione a livello micro, meso e macro. Complessivamente, ciò dimostra che i singoli attori, i modelli di relazione nelle e tra le arene e le idee sulle relazioni mediano tra le strategie dei attori collettivi, aumentando o limitando così la loro influenza sulla lotta alla corruzione.How do civil society organizations (CSOs) contribute to the struggle against public corruption? How can they hold their political representatives accountable? This thesis aims to answer these wide-ranging research questions, bridging anti-corruption and social movement studies by focusing on societal accountability, i.e., grassroots mechanisms for controlling and sanctioning powerholders. Over the last few years, corruption scholars have increasingly emphasized the role of civil society as an antidote against corruption, complementing state and electoral accountability mechanisms. However, empirical studies on the anti-corruption effects of civic interventions have yet to yield consistent results. This should hardly come as a surprise. If measuring corruption is a challenging task, assessing the extent to which corrupt deals are prevented due to civil society initiatives appears virtually impossible. Hence, this work takes a step back and problematizes the study of societal accountability, approaching it not as a pre-given set of mechanisms or practices deployed by anti-corruption civic actors but as the result of sustained and contentious interactions between multiple players. To do so, the study draws on social movement theories and conceptualizes societal accountability as a set of consequences of collective action efforts. Therefore, this work aims to understand how and under what conditions bottom-up anti-corruption initiatives achieve accountability results such as legal claim attainments, answerability, and sanctioning potential. With this goal in mind, the thesis builds upon existing evidence from corruption and accountability studies and contributes to ongoing debates on the consequences of collective action. The theoretical framework focuses on the concept of influence, subscribing to a processual-relational approach. It understands influence as a relationally emergent instance of causality, a form of positional power that enables multiple players to exert control over the consequences of collective struggles. By bridging the strategic-interaction approach and mediation models; the analysis elucidates the strategies followed by CSOs in seeking positions of influence, as well as the mechanisms through which relational patterns produce social change. The analytical framework is applied to the anti-corruption arenas in Italy and Spain and is narrowed down by focusing on three specific campaigns in each country: introducing transparency laws, passing whistleblowers' protection acts, and developing civic monitoring projects. The empirical material comprises 37 semi-structured qualitative interviews, documents, and network data retrieved through Action Organization Analysis. The corpus of data is analyzed by combining thematic analysis, frame analysis, and a theory-building process tracing through a qualitative network approach. Overall, the evidence collected contributes to the literature on anti-corruption, demonstrating that CSOs, directly and indirectly, contribute to the anti-corruption struggle by achieving policy change, increasing the system's answerability, and triggering formal and informal sanctions when necessary. However, the Italian and Spanish cases' comparative accounts highlight relevant differences. In particular, the empirical investigation contributes to current debates on the study of societal accountability, showing that integration with political elites may increase the likelihood of obtaining policy change, whereas horizontal integration among civic actors may enhance their sanctioning potential. Ultimately, this work shows how processual-relational approaches can help integrate strategic and mediation models to understand better how change-oriented collective actors influence political and social change. The concluding remarks maintain that the interactions and relations built by players over time and across different arenas serve as mediation channels at the micro-, meso-, and macro-levels. Overall, this demonstrates that individual players, patterns of relations in and across arenas, and ideas about relationships mediate between players' strategies, resources, or frames and their contextual conditions, thereby increasing or constraining their influence over the anti-corruption struggl
Bringing Back the Love. The Emotional Connection of Growth and Change through Multi-Community Local Area Planning in Calgary, AB.
This study examines the complexities of community planning and the significant role of human emotion in the process. Using a practice-based approach, the study explored an innovative codesign strategy as implemented in the Local Area Planning Program (LAP) of The City of Calgary to address these challenges. The LAPs embody a community-led approach to policy and growth planning in established areas, prioritizing emotional co-authorship and the integration of community-specific knowledge in planning. Using a series of semi-structured interviews, six distinguished practitioners provided their diverse perspectives and approaches, with the goal of generating new considerations, tools, and recommendations to integrate into my practice. Applying the LAPs as working models of community connection, this study employed a design science methodology to collect information, reflect, and obtain expert feedback on both practice and design. The aim was to curate a contemporary collection of practice-based tools, strategies, and insights that contribute to The Handbook for Community Connection, a practitioner's guide for fostering emotional connections between communities and the redevelopment process. The Handbook offers a range of practical tools that can fit into a variety of contexts, scales, and available resources, enabling a
redefinition of planning processes. The study concludes that by prioritizing empathy and building relationships, redefining planning processes becomes more habitual in practice. Furthermore, continually reflecting on your practice is key to facilitating meaningful connections within community. Relying solely on policy to address societal issues yields limited results; the profession needs a more nuanced and holistic approach. Ultimately, with the study in mind, community planning can be an act of of caring, one that helps to build stronger, more connected, and loving communities
Reaching New Heights: A Pathway to Pedagogical Equity for English Language Learners
Abstract
During the past decade, classrooms in the province of Alberta, Canada, have become more culturally and linguistically diverse. Despite having a strong desire to meet the academic needs of their students, most teachers do not have a well-developed understanding of pedagogy specific to teaching English as an additional language. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) presents educators in the Central School District of Alberta (a pseudonym) with a pedagogical framework that promotes the development of more equitable and democratic classrooms for English language learners (ELLs). Sociotransformative constructivism (STC)âa union of social constructivism and critical cross-cultural educationâlays the theoretical groundwork for the OIP through its four key tenets: authentic activity, reflexivity, metacognition, and dialogic communication. The STC paradigm demands that educators teach not only for understanding, but for diversity as well. Through collaborative-transformative leadership, school-based teaching staff are invited to grow in their knowledge and skills in the areas of student engagement, culturally responsive practices, adaptive expertise, and oracy instruction. A dialogic change model and adaptive expertise model of professional learning (PL) guide the change implementation process. Students and families are invited to contribute to the pedagogical shift through personal narratives and the sharing of diverse worldviews. The adoption of the proposed framework and its accompanying PL opportunities results in pedagogical practices that elevate ELL voice, status, and academic achievement in the context of a more democratic and culturally affirming school experience.
Keywords: English language learners, sociotransformative constructivism, dialogic change model, adaptive expertise, culturally responsive practices, orac
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