Teaching research methods: Introducing a psychogeographical approach

This paper explores teaching business students research methods using a psychogeographical approach, specifically the technique of dérive. It responds to calls for new ways of teaching in higher education and addresses the dearth of literature on teaching undergraduate business students qualitative research methods. Psychogeography challenges the dominance of questionnaires and interviews, introduces students to data variety, problematizes notions of success and illuminates the importance of observation and location. Using two studies with undergraduate students, the authors emphasize place and setting, the perception of purpose, the choice of data, criteria of success and the value of guided reflection and self-reflection in students’ learning. Additionally the data reflect on the way students perceive research about management and the nature of management itself. The paper concludes that the deployment of psychogeography to teach business research methods although complex and fraught with difficulty is nevertheless viable, educationally productive and worthy of further research

Crisis as a plague on organisation: Defoe and A Journal of the Plague Year

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to enrich the understanding of current models of organisational response to crises and offer additional perspectives on some of these models. It is also intended to confirm the value of fiction as a truth-seeking and hermeneutic device for enriching the imagination. Design/methodology/approach – The study uses Daniel Defoe’s 1722 novel A Journal of the Plague Year to draw parallels between his portrayal of the London Great Plague of 1665 and the management of modern-day crises. Defoe uses London’s ordeal of the Great Plague to advise those subjected to future crises. Through his representation of plague-ridden streets, Defoe shows stakeholders acting in ways described in current crisis management literature. Findings – The authors note how the management of the Plague crisis was unsuccessful and they challenge the very idea of managing a true crisis. The authors are able to illustrate and offer refinements to the Pearson and Clair (1998) and Janes (2010) models of crisis management as well as confirming the value of their constructs across a lapse of centuries. Research limitations/implications – Although it is an examination of a single novel, the findings suggest value in conceptualising organisational crises in innovative and more imaginative ways. Originality/value – It confirms the heuristic value of using fiction to understand organisational change and adds value to current model

What Practical use is Made of Student Evaluations of Teaching?

Student evaluations of teaching (SETs) are an accepted method of investigating the impact of lecturers’ work with students. Although research generally shows that student evaluations are a positive development, conflicting research on the reliability and validity of the methods used leads to our overall research objective of discovering what practical use is made of the evaluation data by lecturers. Particular focus is placed on the lecturers’ attitude to the use of quantitative and qualitative questions and the reliability of the evaluations as an effective tool. Considerations include the halo effect, students’ ability to accurately assess course content, the influence of assessment grading, and fundamentally the fitness of this instrument for the purpose of acquiring useful, objective data. In a global context SETs may be used by institutions for recruitment or promotion purposes. However, in Europe they tend to be regarded as confidential documents seen only by individual course leaders and senior management at faculty level. They are therefore more commonly expected to be used by the lecturers themselves as evidence of particular necessary steps that would improve course quality and student satisfaction. With regard to the use to which the evaluation results may be put, a certain cynicism is evident among lecturers who perhaps shrink from a perceived obligation to cater to the demands of the student in the role of consumer. Such evaluations include both quantitative and qualitative measurements, generally concentrating on the quantitative as a useful tool to produce statistically comparable data. This initial study uses interviews with lecturers and senior faculty staff at a German private business school and examines their perceptions of the procedures, including their assessment of the effectiveness and use of the results of SETs of their undergraduate students. The data analysis shows a diverse attitude to the evaluations and the call for more open debate and agreement on the format, reliability and use of these evaluations

Effects of ultrasound on the growth and function of bone and periodontal ligament cells <i>in vitro</i>

The effects of therapeutic ultrasound (US) on tissue healing processes in vivo are likely to involve US-induced changes in key cellular functions. However, these have not yet been clearly delineated and the present study has, therefore, examined the effects of a single 5-min CW exposure of 3.00-MHz US on the growth and functional activity of a human osteoblast-like cell line (MG63 cells) and human periodontal ligament (PDL) cells in vitro. Although cell proliferation was found to be largely unaffected by spatial average intensity (ISA) values of between 140–990 mW/cm2, flow cytometry (FCM) analysis showed that there were pronounced and differential effects on cell function. Thus, bone-associated proteins were down-regulated, whereas collagen type I (COL I) was unaffected and fibronectin (FN) was up-regulated at low intensities in MG63 cells. In contrast, bone protein expression was found to be dose-dependent, and FN and COL I were down-regulated in PDL cells. These results show that US has potentially important effects on the functional activities of connective tissue cells in vitro, which could markedly influence tissue repair and regeneration processes in vivo

Introduction to the fundamentals of chemistry

This thesis designs a curriculum to fulfill the charter of the Community college in providing an opportunity for an individual student whether traditional or non-traditional to prepare to become more proficient in chemical understanding and be able to apply the concepts and knowledge taught to a career or advanced study. The curriculum should benefit those individuals who either lack or have a poor background in chemistry and strengthen their reasoning ability. This paper presents a comprehensive comparison of textbooks currently being published for introductory chemistry. Texts reviewed were readily found on library shelves and supplied through major distributors; chemical journals were also included in the review. The curricula that this project presents is aimed toward a first semester freshman college level chemistry class. The topics to be discussed and compared in this curricula include a broad overview of science, chemistry, the five subfields of chemistry, measurement, matter, energy, atomic structure, the periodic table, inorganic and organic nomenclature, balancing of equations, stoichiometry, the states of matter, an introduction to organic classification and reaction mechanisms, and biochemistry

Management by objectives: a case study

Management by objectives is a relatively new phrase in the management literature and this report investigated some of the characteristics and implications of this approach to management.The literature on this topic was reviewed where it was found that management by objectives was concerned with the identification 'of the important areas in which objectives need to be set, the specification of the relevant objectives within these areas, and the derivation of adequate plans to ensure that the objectives will be achieved. It was advocated that there should be a broad range of objectives established in every area affecting the survival of the organisation.The review of literature was followed by a case study in which management by objectives was introduced into an industrial organisation,, Field conditions that need to be satisfied if action research of this kind is to be conducted were carefully examined.Working according to the principle of management by objectives involved several phases of operations. The first dealt with establishing objectives and corresponding levels of performance or targets. Next was the period in which corrective action was taken if accomplishment looked like falling short of expectation. At the end of this period a work review session was held in which variances were examined, and factors preventing the achievement of the objectives identified. This led to the establishing of revised objectives and targets for the new period of operation.It was found that establishing and working towards the achievement of objectives had implications for other management practices, It provided a means of readily identifying the training needs within an organisation, and could offer a rationale for formal appraisal concerning questions of promotion and possibly aspects of salary administration.These practical aspects of the research were supplemented by an analytical study involving the assessment of organisational effectiveness. It was found that the organisational units examined in this study could be placed on a scale of effectiveness, so that those units that were "effective" were so over a range of ten organisational criteria, while those units at the other end of the scale were rated poorly with respect to most of the criteria.It was also hoped, to use the same kind of criteria to assess the change in effectiveness resulting from the introduction of management by objectives. It was found, however, that the period of 13 months over which the research was conducted was too short for there to be fundamental changes brought about in some of the organisational variables used in the above analysis

Psychogeography for Student Researchers: a case for the dérive

This paper explores the value of using the dérive and psychogeography as a means of teaching research methods to business students. It draws on the experience and reflections of undergraduate students who carried out a derive in a research methods course. It makes a novel contribution to qualitative research practices in business by applying a methodology established in literary circles and sociology to business. Using the dérive illuminates the importance of several issues such as the dominance of the visual and the importance of location. The paper also considers whether certain people are more open to dérives, whether first-year undergraduates are mature enough for such an activity, and whether undergraduates are able to deal with such an informal practice. It considers how early in their education and to what effect students should be exposed to fundamental issues of epistemology and the challenges to orthodoxy. The findings suggest that the setting of the project is consequential and that reflection is an important element in students’ learning from the experience. We may conclude that the deployment of dérive related to psychogeography in teaching research methods in business is viable and productive

Electromagnetic emission experiences using electric propulsion systems: A survey

As electric propulsion systems become ready to integrate with spacecraft systems, the impact of propulsion system radiated emissions are of significant interest. Radiated emissions from electromagnetic, electrostatic, and electrothermal systems have been characterized and results synopsized from the literature describing 21 space flight programs. Electromagnetic radiated emission results from ground tests and flight experiences are presented with particular attention paid to the performance of spacecraft subsystems and payloads during thruster operations. The impacts to transmission of radio frequency signals through plasma plumes are also reviewed

A bifurcation study to guide the design of a landing gear with a combined uplock/downlock mechanism

This paper discusses the insights that a bifurcation analysis can provide when designing mechanisms. A model, in the form of a set of coupled steady-state equations, can be derived to describe the mechanism. Solutions to this model can be traced through the mechanism's state versus parameter space via numerical continuation, under the simultaneous variation of one or more parameters. With this approach, crucial features in the response surface, such as bifurcation points, can be identified. By numerically continuing these points in the appropriate parameter space, the resulting bifurcation diagram can be used to guide parameter selection and optimization. In this paper, we demonstrate the potential of this technique by considering an aircraft nose landing gear, with a novel locking strategy that uses a combined uplock/downlock mechanism. The landing gear is locked when in the retracted or deployed states. Transitions between these locked states and the unlocked state (where the landing gear is a mechanism) are shown to depend upon the positions of two fold point bifurcations. By performing a two-parameter continuation, the critical points are traced to identify operational boundaries. Following the variation of the fold points through parameter space, a minimum spring stiffness is identified that enables the landing gear to be locked in the retracted state. The bifurcation analysis also shows that the unlocking of a retracted landing gear should use an unlock force measure, rather than a position indicator, to de-couple the effects of the retraction and locking actuators. Overall, the study demonstrates that bifurcation analysis can enhance the understanding of the influence of design choices over a wide operating range where nonlinearity is significant