A Challenging Conversation on Integral Futures: Embodied Foresight and Trialogues

Practitioner reflection is vital for knowledge frameworks such as Ken Wilber's Integral perspective. Richard Slaughter, Joseph Voros and others have combined Wilber's perspective and Futures Studies to create Integral Futures as a new stance. This paper develops Embodied Foresight as a new approach about the development of new Integral Futures methodologies (or meta-methodologies) and practitioners, with a heightened sensitivity to ethics and specific, local contexts. Three practitioners conduct a 'trialogue' - a three-way deep dialogue - to discuss issues of theory generation, practitioner development, meta-methodologies, institutional limits, knowledge systems, and archetypal pathologies. Personal experiences within the Futures Studies and Integral communities, and in other initiatory and wisdom traditions are explored

In search of meta-knowledge

Development of an Intelligent Information System (IIS) involves application of numerous artificial intelligence (AI) paradigms and advanced technologies. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is interested in an IIS that can automatically collect, classify, store and retrieve data, as well as develop, manipulate and restructure knowledge regarding the data and its application (Campbell et al., 1987, p.3). This interest stems in part from a NASA initiative in support of the interagency Global Change Research program. NASA's space data problems are so large and varied that scientific researchers will find it almost impossible to access the most suitable information from a software system if meta-information (metadata and meta-knowledge) is not embedded in that system. Even if more, faster, larger hardware is used, new innovative software systems will be required to organize, link, maintain, and properly archive the Earth Observing System (EOS) data that is to be stored and distributed by the EOS Data and Information System (EOSDIS) (Dozier, 1990). Although efforts are being made to specify the metadata that will be used in EOSDIS, meta-knowledge specification issues are not clear. With the expectation that EOSDIS might evolve into an IIS, this paper presents certain ideas on the concept of meta-knowledge and demonstrates how meta-knowledge might be represented in a pixel classification problem

Example-driven meta-model development

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10270-013-0392-yThe intensive use of models in model-driven engineering (MDE) raises the need to develop meta-models with different aims, such as the construction of textual and visual modelling languages and the specification of source and target ends of model-to-model transformations. While domain experts have the knowledge about the concepts of the domain, they usually lack the skills to build meta-models. Moreover, meta-models typically need to be tailored according to their future usage and specific implementation platform, which demands knowledge available only to engineers with great expertise in specific MDE platforms. These issues hinder a wider adoption of MDE both by domain experts and software engineers. In order to alleviate this situation, we propose an interactive, iterative approach to meta-model construction, enabling the specification of example model fragments by domain experts, with the possibility of using informal drawing tools like Dia or yED. These fragments can be annotated with hints about the intention or needs for certain elements. A meta-model is then automatically induced, which can be refactored in an interactive way, and then compiled into an implementation meta-model using profiles and patterns for different platforms and purposes. Our approach includes the use of a virtual assistant, which provides suggestions for improving the meta-model based on well-known refactorings, and a validation mode, enabling the validation of the meta-model by means of examples.This work has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity with project “Go Lite” (TIN2011-24139), and by the R&D programme of Madrid Region with project “eMadrid” (S2009/TIC-1650)

Measuring the economic impact of immigration: A scoping paper

This discussion paper has three objectives. Firstly, it provides a brief review of recent international empirical research on the labour market impact of immigration. The synthesis of this literature is facilitated by reference to the results from a recent meta-analysis of the impact of immigration on wages. Secondly, the paper briefly reviews international research on other dimensions of the economic impact of immigration, namely productivity and technical change, trade and international relations, the fiscal impact, socio-economic impacts and externalities, and economy-wide (general equilibrium) effects. The approach adopted in considering each of these impacts is to identify the main issues associated with the particular impact, followed by key international references and, where available, New Zealand references on the particular type of impact. The gaps in NZ research are then identified along with any difficulties with the data available for replicating the international studies in New Zealand. Thirdly, the paper seeks to identify feasible (in terms of data availability) suggestions for further research that would add to our knowledge of the economic impact of immigration in New Zealand

DISKNET – A Platform for the Systematic Accumulation of Knowledge in IS Research

The accumulation of knowledge is key for any discipline, IS being no exception. With the number of publications, theoretical constructs, and empirical findings growing, surging demand for structuring and meta-analysis is foreseeable. We introduce DISKNET, an online platform that enables the extraction, exploration, and aggregation of construct’s definitions, semantic relations, and analytical relations. While these aspects exhibit a rather standardized structure in theory, their practical documentation is non-uniform, highly dispersed, and tricky to seize technically. This has impeded the efficiency and effectiveness of review and meta-analytical processes, and resulted in a fragmented theoretical superstructure. We suggest that tool support for systematic knowledge accumulation is a central step to counteract these issues and to build to a consistent body of knowledge within the IS discipline. The current prototype of DISKNET draws on a large sample of SEM-based studies to demonstrate relevant design principles for a platform for systematic accumulation of knowledge

Vocabulary Acquisition through Viewing Captioned and Subtitled Video: A Scoping Review and Meta-Analysis

As access to video-viewing technology has increased, so has researchers’ interest in understanding how the viewing of captioned and subtitled videos can lead to effective vocabulary learning outcomes. Previously, there has been one meta-analysis on the effects of this type of video-viewing on vocabulary acquisition. However, the variables investigated and types of vocabulary knowledge analyzed were limited. To address these issues, we conducted a mixed review that combined a scoping review and meta-analysis. We identified 139 studies in major databases, of which 34 aligned with our inclusion criteria. Results from the scoping review found that researchers have assessed productive knowledge more than receptive knowledge, and knowledge of form and meaning more than knowledge of use. Participants were given TV series to view more than any other media type. Results from the meta-analysis found that viewing any type of captioned or subtitled videos had a positive effect on vocabulary acquisition. Among all the captioned and subtitled video types, viewing videos with intralingual captions had the largest effect on vocabulary learning outcomes. Furthermore, the viewing of animations had the largest effect on vocabulary learning outcomes compared with all the other types of video viewing investigated. No statistically significant difference between intentional or incidental learning conditions was found, indicating that both conditions are suitable for developing vocabulary learning through video viewing. Additional findings and implications for teaching and research are discussed