Beyond Dualisms in Methodology: An Integrative Design Research Medium "MAPS" and some Reflections

Design research is an academic issue and increasingly an essential success factor for industrial, organizational and social innovation. The fierce rejection of 1st generation design methods in the early 1970s resulted in the postmodernist attitude of "no methods", and subsequently, after more than a decade, in the strong adoption of scientific methods, or "the" scientific method, for design research. The current situation regarding methodology is characterized by unproductive dualisms such as scientific methods vs. designerly methods, normative methods vs. descriptive methods, research vs. design. The potential of the early (1st generation) methods is neglected and the practical usefulness of design research is impeded. The suggestion for 2nd generation methods as discussed by Rittel and others has hardly been taken up in design. The development of a methodological tool / medium for research through design – MAPS – (which is the central part of the paper) presents the cause and catalyst for some reflections about the usability / desirability / usefulness of methodical support for the design (research) process. Keywords: Integrative Design Research Medium, Research Through Design, MAPS, Methodology</p

Reframing Library Student Employment as a High-Impact Practice: Implications from Case Studies

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how academic libraries can directly contribute to campus student success initiatives through student employment programs. Case studies from the perspectives of two supervisors demonstrate how library student employment programs can intentionally incorporate the characteristics of High-Impact Practices. This paper builds upon a previously published systematic review of the academic library literature on student employment, which found a significant gap in the discussion of employment as a mechanism for learning and retention. This paper aims to address this gap by focusing on practical applications for creating more learner-centered student employment programs

Responding to Hate: How National and Local Incidents Sparked Action at the UNLV University Libraries

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe how an academic library at one of the most diverse universities in the country responded to the 2016 election through the newly formed Inclusion and Equity Committee and through student outreach. Design/methodology/approach: This paper details the context of the 2016 election and the role of social justice in librarianship. It offers ideas for how library diversity committees can address professional development, recruitment and retention efforts and cultural humility. It highlights student outreach efforts to support marginalized students, educate communities and promote student activism. Finally, it offers considerations and suggestions for librarians who want to engage in this work. Findings: This paper shows that incorporating social justice, diversity, equity and inclusion requires individuals taking action. If institutions want to focus on any of these issues, they need to formally include them in their mission, vision and values as well as in department goals and individual job descriptions. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas University Libraries fully supports this work, but most of the labor is done by a small number of people. Unsustainable practices can cause employee burnout and turnover resulting in less internal and external efforts to support diversity. Originality/value: Most of the previous literature focuses either on internal activities, such as professional development and committees, or on student-focused activities, such as outreach events, displays and instruction. This paper is one comprehensive review of both kinds of activities

PRELIMINARY STUDY ON THE EFFECT OF VIBRATION AND SURFACTANT ON MALAYSIAN COAL FOR CBM STUDY

Coalbed Methane (CBM) is unconventional gas reservoir. High volume of gas located in bituminous coal rank. Coalbed Methane reservoir is dual porosity which is fracture and matrix porosity, gas or other liquids situated in the matrix porosity and migrate through the continuous fracture called face cleats or through the discontinuous fracture called butt cleats. The extraction or production can be made in term of desorption of gas from coal. Desorption becomes more difficult when water production presents in the coal has not been produced therefore it hinders the methane desorption or methane stuck in the matrix and also less permeability of coal will create an inconvenience for methane to migrate or flow from matrix and the declination of methane production. These are the encountered problems that coalbed methane need to be stimulated. Therefore this project is to investigate the effect of changes in Malaysian coal sample characteristics in accordance with the important parameters i.e., frequency, surfactant and temperature. Coal samples from Balingian coalfield, Sarawak, Malaysia are tested to investigate the effect of surfactant and different frequencies at specified temperatures at which yield the positive maximum effect called optimum condition. The results indicate that the coal characteristics are improved or increased at optimum condition. Surfactant stimulation yields the enlargement of the pore of the coal sample at higher temperature. Vibration stimulation proves the improvement of coal properties at optimum frequency of 50 Hz for both temperatures of 50 °C and 70 °C. Hopefully this project can bring some new changes in study of the coalbed methane in the future

PENGARUH PEMBIASAAN SHALAT DHUHA DALAM UPAYA MENINGKATKAN KECERDASAAN SPIRITUAL (SQ) SISWA: STUDI KASUS DISEKOLAH MENENGAH PERTAMA SMP AR-RISALAH LIRBOYO KEDIRI

Berdasarkan tingkat eksplanasi maka penelitian ini termasuk penelitian asosiatif, yaitu suatu penelitian yang mencari hubungan antara satu variabel dengan variabel yang lain. Dan menurut jenis datanya, penelitian ini menggunakan jenis data kuantitatif yang berbentuk angka atau data kualitatif yang diangkakan. Adapun skala pengukurannya menggunakan skala Likert, Paradigma dalam penelitian ini adalah paradigm sederhana di mana penelitian ini terdiri dari satu variabel independent dan satu variable dependen jadi untuk mencari besarnya hubungan X dengan Y digunakan teknik korelasi sederhana. Dalam penelitian ini, subyek penelitiannya adalah seluruh siswa putra dan putri SMP Ar- Risalah tahun ajaran 2012/2013 yang berjumlah 82 orang. Teknik pengumpulan datanya menggunakan angket yang telah ditry-outkan untuk diuji validitas dan reliabilitas. Sedangkan teknis analisis data yang digunakan adalah teknik analisis statistik product moment korelasi sederhana yang kemudian diuji hipotesis dengan menggunakan uji signifikan korelasi product moment yang dikonsultasikan dengan r tabel pada taraf signifikan 5 persen dan 1 persen untuk memberikan interprestasi bahwa hipotesis alternatif diterima atau ditolak. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa terdapat hubungan yang positif dan signifikan antara pengaruh implementasi shalat dhuha terhadap kecerdasan spiritual siswa SMP Ar-Risalah Lirboyo Kediri

Creating an Outreach Story: Assessment Results, Strategic Planning, and Reflection

Academic library outreach and student engagement initiatives often strive to connect students to learning spaces, resources, and experts. Librarians do this work to raise awareness of services and to remove barriers so students feel more comfortable seeking help. Additionally, these activities promote the academic library as a hub of engagement, innovation, and continual learning to various user groups. Unfortunately, because these learning experiences can often be unique or serendipitous, measuring how these efforts are contributing to the library’s teaching, learning, and research missions can be difficult. This paper focuses on how academic librarians can align their outreach to strategic goals and utilize assessment data to evaluate and share the impact of their work. Case studies from two institutions will provide a structure for other institutions. Additionally, this paper will share examples of qualitative and quantitative assessment, which can be adapted and modified for a variety of uses

DEVELOPING A STRATEGY OF RELATIONS AND COOPERATION OF NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS WITH THE LOCAL COMMUNITY

Stakeholder engagement can be described as an effort to understand the needs of key stakeholders and include them in activities and decision-making process. Managing stakeholders strategically is seen as the means for achieving the ultimate goals of organizations. If the stakeholder engagement concept is handled properly it can have a positive impact on the performance of the organization and provide important guidelines for the development of sustainable marketing strategies and practices. The aim and purpose of this research is to determine whether the concept of relationship marketing and stakeholder approach can be successfully applied in the non-profit sector. The study investigates the influence of the local community on the development of business strategies of non-profit organisations (NPOs) and the importance of building and maintaining relationships with the local community, using the example of the Town of Sinj and the region, the knights’ tournament Sinjska Alka as a cultural phenomenon and tourist attraction, the Chivalric Society of the Alka Sinj, Tourist Board and local population. The assumption of this study is that when identifying stakeholders and defining adequate strategy of engagement, managerial perception of stakeholders as well as characteristics of the participants, their attitudes and willingness to engage, should be taken into account. Finally, it is concluded that the engagement of stakeholders in the activities and operations of non-profit organizations has a positive impact on their operations and that it is important for the sustainable development of marketing strategies and practices. Also, the stakeholder participation strategy should be developed bearing in mind the characteristics of the organization's stakeholders

Developing an assessment protocol to identify the characteristics of ASD using eye-tracking for educational purpose

The understanding of how written social information is processed by individuals with autism spectrum traits is important for the development and implementation of suitable educational interventions. The use of eye-tracking methodology offers us the possibility to analyze how information is being selected and has a great potential to inform our understanding of cognitive processing in individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders. Our main goal is to develop an assessment protocol, which could identify if there are differences in the way individuals with low autism spectrum traits and high autism spectrum traits process written social information. This information helps to specify the development of educational techniques for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. This study provides the necessary steps for the protocol implementation. We propose an experimental design that can clarify if there are some specific visual patterns when processing social information in the context of autism traits. The findings of our work could document future intervention techniques for social skills

Which Loans Do We Take? A Micro-Level Analysis of Croatian Households\u27 Debt Participation

This paper uses a new data set in order to explore micro-level patterns of household borrowing in Croatia. By analyzing cross-section data from the Household Finance and Consumption Survey, conducted for the first time in Croatia in 2017, we present the structure of household debt holdings and identify several household characteristics associated with debt participation in three types of bank debt: secured debt, non-collateralized loans, as well as overdrafts and/ or credit card debt. Our results indicate that: a) households with middle-aged heads tend to participate more and hold larger amounts of all three debt types; b) credit constrained households are more likely to take non-collateralized loans; c) inability to finance consumption and willingness to take risks when making saving and investment decisions contribute to participation in overdrafts and/or credit card debt