Inductive Praxis and Management Research: Towards a Reflexive Framework

This paper examines how induction legitimately varies according to the impact of different knowledge constituting philosophical assumptions. As a result of its prevalence in qualitative management research, the paper focuses on grounded theory and uses this as a vehicle to explore the key parameters of the philosophical diversity articulated in judgements around neutrality, description and theorization. A reflexive framework of inductive praxis is offered as a heuristic device for interrogating the choices evidently at play in the variable constitution of inductive management research. We indicate how there are multiple modes of engagement, each of which is legitimate within its own philosophical commitments. This implies the need for a more tolerant pluralistic stance in the evaluation of qualitative management research

Bringing the heart and soul back in: collaborative inquiry and the DBA

Waddock and Lozano (2013) propose that there is an urgent need to bring the 'heart and soul' back into management education. Indeed, its absence has also been implicated in the plethora of recent scandals and the global financial crisis. We suggest that, in part, such issues are attributable to a continued over reliance on a scientific and detached form of knowing which displaces particular 'human characteristics' and in so doing, downplays our inherent connections to others. In contrast, we identify the importance of embracing a supplementary form of knowing- collaborative inquiry which potentially restores our connections to others in ways which provide opportunities for a more heartfelt and soulful management practice. Specifically, we extend Van de Ven and Johnson’s (2006) notion of collaborative inquiry to consider how it is mobilized in the context of a UK DBA program and in turn examine the impact this move accomplishes. Drawing upon a detailed analysis of twenty students’ reflective journals, we illustrate the ways in which they develop a form of empathy. Crucially, we found that this was one important means for (re)-connecting to others and in ways which begin to bring in a sense of heart and soul back into management education

Custom FPGA Data Acquisition for Experimental Astrophysics

Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technology is becoming more advanced and commercially accessible with many off-the-shelf options available for a variety of applications ranging from the casual hobbyist to leading edge hardware development research requiring precision real-time operation. FPGAs allow for task-configurable, customizable designs, which can be highly optimized for specific applications. FPGAs are also very easily reconfigurable for other appications via software modification, and are thus very useful for use in an experimental physics laboratory. The Digilent Cmod A7 available for ~$90 USD was selected as an ideal solution for an application requiring 43 digital I/O pins, sub-microsecond level timing accuracy, and a state-machine cycle rates in excess of 100 kHz. This work presents the use of the CmodA7 FPGA module as part of a custom electronic data acquisition system for a laboratory-based interferometry testbed supporting the development of instrument concepts and techniques for experimental astrophysics. Using serial communication over a custom Universal Asynchronous Receiver- Transmitter (UART) designed in the Verilog hardware descriptive language, we demonstrated non-standard serial baud rates up to 4 Mbps, allowing for serial transmission rates over 2 Mbps. This work presents the validation of this data acquisition (DAQ) system, and identification of the barriers to higher data rates through the UART interface. We also present preliminary results from other FPGA interface options using USB and ethernet communication which all significantly higher data rates, at the cost of increased complexity in FPGA design and the associated development and validation cycle(s). *Indicates presente

The effect of hyperbaric oxygen preconditioning on heat shock protein 72 expression following in vitro stress in human monocytes

Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) is thought to confer protection to cells via a cellular response to free radicals. This process may involve increased expression of heat shock proteins, in particular the highly inducible heat shock protein 72 (Hsp72). Healthy male volunteers (n = 16) were subjected to HBO for 1 h at 2.8 ATA. Inducible Hsp72 expression was measured by flow cytometry pre-, post- and 4 h-post HBO. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were isolated from whole blood via density centrifugation pre-, post- and 4 h post-HBO. PBMC were then subjected to an in vitro heat shock at 40°C or hypoxia at 37°C (5% O2) with a control at 37°C. Cells were then analysed for Hsp72 expression by flow cytometry. Monocytes showed no significant changes in Hsp72 expression following HBO. No detectable Hsp72 was seen in lymphocytes or neutrophils. Following in vitro hypoxic exposure, a significant increase in Hsp72 expression was observed in monocytes isolated immediately post- (p = 0.006) and 4 h post-HBO (p = 0.010) in comparison to control values. HBO does not induce Hsp72 expression in PBMC. The reported benefits of HBO in terms of pre-conditioning are not due to inducement of Hsp72 expression in circulating blood cells, but may involve an enhancement of the stress response

Getting that certain feeling: The role of emotions in the meaning, construction and enactment of doctor managers' identities

Although identity research in organizations has increased in recent years, none of the current perspectives has examined the role of emotion for understanding how individuals construct and enact professional identity. In this paper we examine how emotions affect the development, conduct and meanings of professional identity among a sample of 20 doctor managers from two Spanish hospitals. While not excluding other approaches, we found that a social identity approach was especially useful. The contribution of this paper is threefold. First, our results provide new insights about how, in a work setting, emotions prioritize awareness of identity issues that need attention. Second, we discuss the role of emotions for understanding complex role identities by reference to the enactment of different sides of doctor managers' identities. Third, we show how our analysis of the findings may be used to embellish the social identity approach

The effect of acute hypoxia on heat shock protein 72 expression and oxidative stress in vivo

The inducible human stress protein HSP72 performs vital roles within the body at rest and during periods of stress. Recently, a previously disclosed quadratic trend in basal HSP72 expression was shown to be reliable and repeatable. The notion of a physiological stressor such as hypoxia disrupting this basal quadratic trend is an interesting one. Monocyte-expressed HSP72 and TBARS were determined every 3 h, over a 12-h period in 12 healthy male subjects on two separate days, with trial day one ascertaining control values. A hypoxic intervention consisting of 75 min at a simulated altitude of 2,980 m, commencing and ceasing at 0930 and 1045, respectively, was incorporated on trail day 2. The hypoxic condition induced significantly (elevated) HSP72 values at 1100 (P = 0.002), 1400 (P < 0.001), 1700 (P = 0.034) and 2000 (P = 0.041) compared to control. Significant increases in plasma TBARS were seen in the hypoxic condition compared to control at 1100 (P = 0.006) and 1400 (P = 0.032). The results demonstrate that a 75-min bout of normobaric hypoxia is sufficient to induce significant increases in HSP72 expression, which disrupts the basal quadratic trend shown by others and here in the control condition. This increase may be linked to the observed changes in oxidative stress. These results may provide a tool for manipulating basal monocyte HSP72 expression within human heat acclimation exercise protocols

Daily quadratic trend in basal monocyte expressed HSP72 in healthy human subjects

The inducible human stress protein heat shock protein 72 (HSP72) performs vital roles within the body at rest and during periods of stress. Recently it was shown over a 24 hour period that basal HSP72 followed a diurnal variation. However, these results and previous literature demonstrate noticeable inter-subject variation in basal HSP72 expression. The notion of intra/inter-day variation in basal HSP72 expression has not been explored in detail. Basal monocyte expressed HSP72 was determined every 3 hours, over a 9 hour period in 12 healthy male subjects (20.2 +/- 1.9 years, 178.7 +/- 5.6 cm, 75.1 +/- 6.0 kg) within a temperature controlled laboratory. A significant quadratic trend was observed for time (F = 26.0, P = 0.001, partial eta(2) = 0.74), where HSP72 decreased between 0800 and 1100 hours (P < 0.001) and then increased between 1100 and 1400 hours (P = 0.015). The main effect for day (F = 2.6, P = 0.14) and the day x time interaction effect (F = 3.9, P = 0.08) were not significant. There was no correlation between serum and monocyte expressed HSP72, with no significant effect for time (F = 2.0, P = 0.21) in serum HSP72 expression. The results support findings by others that basal monocyte expressed HSP72 follows a diurnal variation which incorporates a quadratic trend, which is not compromised by any significant daily variation and that serum HSP72 expression has no endogenous circadian rhythm. The significant quadratic trend in basal monocyte HSP72 expression shown here highlights the need to tightly control variables, such as timing of sample collection, as it is known basal values influence the magnitude of HSP72 expression post-stressor/intervention