Meaning Management: A Framework for Leadership Ontology

Leadership is a multifaceted and complex subject of research and demands a sound ontological stance that guides studies for the development of more integrative leadership theories. In this paper, I propose the leadership ontology PVA (perception formation – value creation – achievement realization) and associate it with the two existing leadership ontologies: TRIPOD (leader – member – shared goals) and DAC (direction – alignment – commitment). The leadership ontology PVA, based on a new theory called “meaning management,” consists of three circularly supporting functions: cognitive function to form perception, creative function to generate value, and communicative function to realize higher levels of achievement. The PVA is an epistemology-laden ontology since the meaning management theory allows one to make propositions that explicitly link its three functions with the leadership outcomes: perception, value, and achievement. Moreover, the PVA leadership ontology transcends and includes both the conventional TRIPOD ontology and the DAC ontology

The Inhuman Overhang: On Differential Heterogenesis and Multi-Scalar Modeling

As a philosophical paradigm, differential heterogenesis offers us a novel descriptive vantage with which to inscribe Deleuze’s virtuality within the terrain of “differential becoming,” conjugating “pure saliences” so as to parse economies, microhistories, insurgencies, and epistemological evolutionary processes that can be conceived of independently from their representational form. Unlike Gestalt theory’s oppositional constructions, the advantage of this aperture is that it posits a dynamic context to both media and its analysis, rendering them functionally tractable and set in relation to other objects, rather than as sedentary identities. Surveying the genealogy of differential heterogenesis with particular interest in the legacy of Lautman’s dialectic, I make the case for a reading of the Deleuzean virtual that departs from an event-oriented approach, galvanizing Sarti and Citti’s dynamic a priori vis-à-vis Deleuze’s philosophy of difference. Specifically, I posit differential heterogenesis as frame with which to examine our contemporaneous epistemic shift as it relates to multi-scalar computational modeling while paying particular attention to neuro-inferential modes of inductive learning and homologous cognitive architecture. Carving a bricolage between Mark Wilson’s work on the “greediness of scales” and Deleuze’s “scales of reality”, this project threads between static ecologies and active externalism vis-à-vis endocentric frames of reference and syntactical scaffolding

Reflexive Learning and Performative Failure

In this paper we emphasize the importance of context for student learning. Based on reflective logs and interview data, we explore how students learn outside of the classroom as they undertake an experiential dissertation project. We identify three different forms of reflexive learning and critique, all triggered by some form of performative failure; scholarly critique, engaged critique and engaged action. Drawing on Butler’s theory of performativity we illustrate how reflexivity is not purely the action of any individual student, rather it is a practice that is co-created within a certain context. As such, we contest individualistic understandings of reflexivity and encourage a careful consideration of the places students and managers are encouraged to be reflexive

Indicators Of Community-Land Grant University Readiness For Engagement From The Community Perspective.

This research examines community partner perceptions regarding levels of readiness for engagement in partnerships with universities. Since its inception the American land grant university has been a cornerstone in preparation of people for the role of university partner and engaged citizen

CONALI ontology. A framework for design and evaluation of constructively aligned courses in higher education: putting in focus the educational goal verbs

An increasing number of Higher Education professionals have embraced the Constructivism theory in contrast with the traditional transmissive pedagogy approach where the focal figure is the teacher. Constructivists emphasizes that the learners acquire, or construct, knowledge through their own activities and previous knowledge. Teacher role is to set up an environment that can provide a good learning experience for the students. In view of this the alignment of the intended learning outcome (ILO) with the teaching and learning activity (TLA) and the assessment task (AT) of the course becomes an important requirement for good learning. The driver of the alignment is the educational goal verb (EGV) that represents the educational goal underling a specific intended learning outcome (ILO). This verb should be elicited by the course’s TLA and be the base for the consequent AT. The convergence of constructivism with this concept generates the constructive alignment pedagogical paradigm. The CONALI ontology answers the requirement for a structured framework to describe the vast body of knowledge developed in such a field. The salient aspects of constructive alignment have been extracted and classified in a comprehensive taxonomy. The following description of the semantic relationships among the different classes resulted in the CONALI ontology. The chosen modelling language is OWL: this provides the possibility to describe in a computer understandable way a higher education courses to an unprecedented level of detail. OWL enables also the creation of a specific knowledge base by populating the model. The knowledge base can then be analysed and interrogated on many important issues concerning the alignment of the instantiated course. The CONALI ontology becomes an important tool to design and synthesize the related domain knowledge. This paper proves the usability of CONALI ontology as tool to represent the courses in an engineering program and evaluate the alignment of their activities. The specific instantiation is based on the Industrial Engineering program at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden

On the Design of Constructively Aligned Educational Unit

Modern pedagogy is moving away from traditional transmissive approaches, and it is extensively embracing constructive theory of learning. A prominent practical embodiment of this paradigm shift is a method called Constructive Alignment (CA). This approach focuses on learners’ actions and starts from a clear communication of the Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) of the focal unit. ILOs are made of content, a context, and an Educational Goal Verb (EGV). According to the Bloom Taxonomy, the EGV is the core of an ILO and refers to the action the learners are expected to be able to master after completing the educational unit. The ILO is then aligned to the course activity using the EGV (i.e., EGVs are enacted through Teaching and Learning Activities (TLAs) and verified through Assessment Tasks (ATs)). Despite the ILO definition being extensively investigated and described, the extant literature has poorly explored how to devise suitable TLAs and ATs, lacking comprehensive contributions that identify and describe the different kinds of TLAs and ATs available to course designers. In view of the above gap, the authors searched and reviewed the literature (scientific papers (i.e., top-down, deductive approach)) and practices in higher education (university websites and blogs (i.e., bottom-up, inductive approach)) to identify all the possible sources of TLA and AT descriptions available. The results propose standardized templates that support the course design process, providing extensive descriptions of TLA and AT based on the best practices identified. The proposed templates include the core dimensions that proved to be suitable for designing traditional and remote-learning activities. Finally, the examples provided in the paper show how to use these templates on a few kinds of selected on-campus and digital TLAs and ATs from the educational units identified in the Erasmus+ MAESTRO project, which is based on Industry 4.0 technological enablers and their application in support of manufacturing sustainability

Think Piece. Exploring Relational Politics in Social Learning: Dilemmas of standing too close to the fire

… a common theme amongst critics (of the dominant educational paradigm) is that problems with human- environment relationships (out there) are intimately linked to ‘inner’ problems, that is, our collective perception and thought processes are impeded by a lack of awareness of our ‘in here’ condition. (adapted from Sterling, 2003:118) Sterling’s (2003) concern was that, because paradigms/worldviews/cultures/discourses function as ideologies that legitimise/justify courses of action, we need to learn how each of us is complicit politically in constructing subtexts by which our actions are judged to be reasonable. Such learning is not neutral and is contingent on processes of participation that engage people in thoughtful social action. One could say, as many environmental educators have for several decades, that at the core of environmental education is a relational view of learning. A purpose of this paper is to explore how such a view of learning is tied intimately to a person’s identity/subjectivity, that is, to explore how what happens ‘out there’ and ‘in here’ are mutually constitutive