Toward a reframing of action research for human resource and organization development Moving beyond problem solving and toward dialogue

We propose a framework for viewing action research (AR) by considering the level of criticality and the emphasis on methodological process. Specifically, we propose conventional AR, critical AR, and dialogic AR as three broad categories for considering AR. This framework is explored through discussing the philosophical foundations upon which these approaches rest and providing examples of AR studies and conceptual writings in the organizational change and development literature. This literature appears to be dominated by perspectives and discourses close to the conventional AR paradigm, which does not actively acknowledge value stances. A central point of the article is that dialogic AR, informed by pragmatic philosophy and philosophical hermeneutics, represents an emerging, promising perspective. Dialogic AR’s primary concern is to create understanding and mutual learning in and through dialogue while also leading to practical solutions. Practical implications of dialogic AR are also considered, in particular the conditions that need to be present for critical dialogue to flourish and the organizational realities that prevent such dialogue

05301 Abstracts Collection -- Exact Algorithms and Fixed-Parameter Tractability

From 24.07.05 to 29.07.05, the Dagstuhl Seminar 05301 ``Exact Algorithms and Fixed-Parameter Tractability\u27\u27 was held in the International Conference and Research Center (IBFI), Schloss Dagstuhl. This is a collection of abstracts of the presentations given during the seminar

An empirical attempt at evaluating stress: a failure discovered through cross-validation

Stress remains popular as a psychological construct. Different aspects of stress are emphasized depending upon the environmental issue, target population, and measure used. Existing measures are often confounded between causes of stress and effects of stress and also may emphasize a particular perspective on stress. Here we evaluate the empirical method of item selection as an alternative for developing a stress scale, using salivary cortisol levels as the empirical criterion. Items were adapted from measures of perceived stress, daily hassles, and life events as used in two studies of stress that measured salivary cortisol. Correlations with cortisol levels led to the retention of 75 items of the pool of 535, which were administered to a third sample of 28 medical students. The 75-item scale did not correlate with cortisol levels. Of 15 individual items that did, six correlated in the opposite direction to that predicted. Results illustrate the dangers of empirical item selection methods

A New Merit Function for Evaluating the Flaw Tolerance of Composite Laminates

In a previous paper, a new merit function for determining the strength performance of flawed composite laminates was presented. This previous analysis was restricted to circular hole flaws that were large enough that failure could be predicted using the laminate stress concentration factor. In this paper, the merit function is expanded to include the flaw cases of an arbitrary size circular hole or a center crack. Failure prediction for these cases is determined using the point stress criterion. An example application of the merit function is included for a wide range of graphite/epoxy laminates

A new merit function for evaluating the flaw tolerance of composite laminates

Advanced composite materials are providing notable savings in numerous aerospace and non-aerospace applications by virtue of their uniquely high strength-to-density ratio and high stiffness-to-density ratio. However, their full potential for high performance has yet to be achieved because of the low tolerance of the 'brittle' material to impact, holes, flaws, and localized discontinuities due to relatively low toughness. In the present paper a new and simple merit function is proposed for maximizing the strength performance of flawed composite laminate for different design requirement. This new merit function takes into account the flaw tolerance of a composite laminated as well as its stiffness. After development of the new merit function, an example is presented of its application to a practical laminate family

Polyperiod Analysis of Capital Accumulation and Growth Process of Farm Firms, Rolling Plains of Oklahoma and Texas

Agricultural Economic

LGBT issues in the HRD and adult education literature: Past research and future needs

Issues related to human resource development (HRD) and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people such as workplace inclusion, employee affinity groups, and LGBT-specific diversity initiatives are being addressed in organizations more often now than ever before. This paper explores the existing literature on LGBT issues in HRD and adult education through a systemic review in order to determine what research exists and what future directions are necessary. This review revealed a small core of research related to these issues. Existing work is mainly conceptual, and there is a lack of quantitative work. Topics of focus are related to organizational change and diversity efforts, with very little research on HR policy, career development, and workplace education. Key findings include that HR professionals have primarily served in a reactive role, rather than leading on these issues. Keywords: HRD research; lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT); sexual minorities; diversity Issues related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals in United States (U.S.) workplaces have captured the attention of organizations recently, causing favorable changes in relatively short time periods. The Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index measures an employer’s “commitment to equal treatment of employees, consumers, and investors, irrespective of [an employee’s] sexual orientation or gender identity and expression” (Corporate Equality Index, 2007, p. 12) using a scale of 0-100 percent. The 2010 report noted that 305 businesses received a perfect 100 percent rating. That number was a 45 percent increase over the previous year, and those 305 businesses represent over 9.3 million full-time employees (Corporate Equality Index, 2010). Even in these challenging economic times, “the Corporate Equality Index once again demonstrates that businesses recognize the importance of working with and providing for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender workers and consumers” (Corporate Equality Index, 2010, p. 1). From a research standpoint, however, LGBT workplace issues have not received a great deal of attention. Ragins (2004) notes that they “constitute one of the largest, but least studied, minority groups in the workforce” (p. 35). An examination of LGBT workplace issues is appropriate for HRD researchers. LGBT individuals constitute a sexual minority (Kameny, 1971; Leonard, 2003) that could benefit from conceptual, empirical, and theoretical work connecting the issue of sexual minorities as a distinct group to diversity and other concerns of HRD. Is the lack of research-related attention on this topic related to lack of interest on the part of, or lack of acceptance by, the academic community? In 2008, Githens, Schmidt, Rocco, and Gedro hosted the first preconference on LGBT issues in HRD at the Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD) International Conference. AHRD proved to be slower in its acceptance of the topic. Schmidt and Githens (2010) reported that some reviewers for their preconference felt the topic was extremely important, however, one reviewer wondered whether it was a topic the organization wanted to promote and others questioned the importance of the topic in general. The session went on to become the highest-attended preconference held that year. Feedback from participants of the 2008 LGBT preconference demonstrated a demand for guidelines on evidence-based practice on LGBT issues in HRD. The purpose of this paper is to examine the literature in human resource development and adult education to determine what work has been done related to HRD, identify the topics which were covered, types of papers published, and research methods used and use this information to create a research agenda to address the intersection of LGBT issues and HRD. To do this, we searched the literature asking these questions: What types of articles are published (e.g., conceptual, literature reviews, empirical studies) and what methods are used? To what extent does the literature address the concerns of LGBT people? Do the articles published provide an adequate foundation for future research? What topics, trends, issues should form future research agendas? This review includes research from the fields of adult education and human resource development because of the close-knit and overlapping relationship between the two disciplines. Three of the four authors of this paper are in both fields, some graduate programs house programs of study in both fields, and some HRD programs grew from adult education programs. The search of the adult education literature begins in 1994 just before the first article by Hill (1995) was published on LGBT issues. Work on this topic in adult education spawned the work in HRD where the first article was published by Gedro, Cervero, & Johnson-Bailey (2002). The search of HRD literature begins in 2001 just before that first article appeared in Human Resource Development International. This review is organized as follows: A conceptual framework for diversity and LGBT inclusion will be presented followed by article analysis by content and by research approaches employed. Summary tables regarding article content and research approaches are then presented. Content-related and research approach-related themes will be discussed, followed by a discussion of gaps in current research and recommendations for future research