Action-based Model Research Articles

Beyond the mirror: an action-based model of knowing through reflection

Beyond the mirror: an action-based model of knowing through reflection

Handling conflict situations in psychosis inpatient care: Nursing staff experiences of the Interactive Approach model.

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: In inpatient wards, there is a risk that conflicts occur when nursing staff interact with psychotic patients. The Interactive Approach (IA) model is an action-based model, used in psychiatric settings, to manage conflict situations. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: The IA model can be used to improve communication between nursing staff and patients in numerous critical situations. Using a structured risk scale to evaluate a conflict can be an effective way to guide action and sort out the different aspects of communication between nursing staff and psychotic patients. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: The clarity of an action-based model will help sort out which interventions are most likely to succeed in each conflict situation. The IA model highlights the importance of understanding and strengthening the patient's perspective, being flexible for each individual patient, and providing the patient with clear information about the situation. ABSTRACT: Introduction The Interactive Approach (IA) model is a structured management tool used to improve communication between caregivers and patients in psychiatric care settings. Aim/Question To examine the nursing staff's experiences of the IA model. How do they use the interventions in conflict situations with psychotic patients? Method A sample of nursing staff (n = 11) was recruited from three psychosis inpatient care units. Semi-structured questions covered staff experiences of working with the problem-solving interventions in the IA model. Transcribed data were analysed by qualitative content analysis. Results Three categories were defined: (1) 'To apply a flexible approach' describes how staff tried to adapt to each patient and situation; (2) 'Try to understand the person's inner world' describes the importance of active listening and exploring the patient's concerns; and (3) 'To communicate clearly' relates to experiences of clear communication and the setting up of boundaries. Discussion The risk scale and training in communication skills helped the interaction between staff and patients in conflict situations. Different interventions were used with a focus on maintaining patient alliance. Implications for Practice The findings highlight the importance of educational efforts and practical training, to prevent violence and the use of coercive measures.

Party Realignment: Ethnic Identity versus Egocentrism among Malaysian Voters

This study investigates the dynamics of voting intention concerning party realignment among voters in Malaysia using a Theory of Reasoned Action-based model. It delves into the roles of attitudes and subjective norms in shaping party preferences and aligns with quantitative methodology. A comprehensive self-administered survey questionnaire engaged 450 participants from diverse ethnic backgrounds in the Batang Kali State Constituency to elucidate party realignment complexities. They are chosen using stratified random sampling, based on a race proportion of 5:1:1. The findings reveal that voter attitudes wielded a more significant impact than subjective norms associated with ethnic identity. This outcome underscores the pivotal role of attitudes in influencing decision-making, while the influence of subjective norms remains limited. The research highlights the subjective norm's role in a multicultural context, clarifying that it is not the primary catalyst for party realignment. Instead, personal beliefs (people's egocentric behaviour) play a substantial role in shaping voter attitudes. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the interplay between subjective norms (ethnic identity), attitudes (egocentrism), and party realignment within Malaysia's diverse social landscape. Moreover, they hold significant implications for formulating effective political strategies and government policies within a multicultural society.

Increasing pro-environmental behavior in the home and work contexts through cognitive dissonance and autonomy.

The aim of this study was to develop a novel cognitive dissonance intervention founded on the action-based model for enhancing pro-environmental behavior. Based on intraindividual feedback on the expression of personal pro-environmental attitudes and behavior the study confirms the effect of cognitive dissonance intervention to foster pro-environmental behavior. The effect of this intervention could be demonstrated for the home as well as for the work context, although the effects for the work domain were lower. This can be explained by specific situational conditions of the work domain. Autonomy for pro-environmental behavior is significantly lower in the work context than in the home context and significantly moderates the effect of the cognitive dissonance intervention. The present work provides information on how pro-environmental behavior can be influenced in different contexts as well as the significance of situational framework conditions for the effect of behavior-changing interventions.

Criminalization of Asylum Seekers in Israel: Toward an Agentic Research Perspective that Opposes Othering and Estrangement.

At the start of the millennium, asylum seekers (ASs) from Eritrea and South Sudan began arriving in Israel as a consequence of armed conflicts in their countries. In their first months of stay, their civil status was not regulated. Later on, the state regulated it based on the Prevention of Infiltration Law (1954), originally designed to prevent Palestinian-Arab refugees from returning to the country. The African ASs represent less than one-third of the undocumented immigrants in Israel but their skin color highlights their alienness thus they are prone to both official and unofficial criminalization. This paper deals with state violence directed at the African ASs through practices of criminalization and othering as applied by Israeli politics and the justice system towards undocumented African migrants in Israel as dangerous and undesirable others. The discussion presents implications for an agentic human rights action-based model for further inquiry and practice that resists othering.

Individual differences in dissonance arousal/reduction relate to physical exercise: Testing the action-based model.

IntroductionThe present research was designed to test predictions derived from the action-based model of cognitive dissonance theory. These predictions were that dissonance arousal would be negatively related to effective behavior, and that dissonance reduction would be positively related to effective behavior.MethodDissonance arousal and reduction were measured using an individual differences questionnaire. Effective behavior was measured as amount of physical exercise obtained from an exercise app that measures exercise using GPS (cycling kilometers over one year; Study 1) and from self-reports (number of days during the previous week; Study 2–3).ResultsResults suggested that individual differences in dissonance arousal relate to less exercise and that individual differences in dissonance reduction relate to more exercise. Statistically controlling for trait approach and avoidance motivation as well as satisfaction with life revealed that dissonance processes predicted exercise behavior over these traits. This pattern of results was generally consistent across the three studies. Moreover, results from Studies 2–3 suggested possible statistical mediators from the exercise commitment literature of the relationship between trait dissonance arousal/reduction and exercise behavior.Discussion and conclusionThese results highlight the importance of considering dissonance processes as adaptive ones, and they suggest possible ways of increasing exercise behavior.

Effective Hospital Care Delivery Model for Older People in Nigeria with Multimorbidity: Recommendations for Practice.

The importance of developing an effective action-based model of care for multimorbid patients has become common knowledge, but it remains unclear why researchers in Nigeria have not paid attention to the issue. Hence, this study assessed the quality of health services using the Donabedian model and aimed to recommend an effective hospital care delivery model for older people in Nigeria with multimorbidity. A cross-sectional study using face-to-face data was conducted between October 2021 and February 2022. The reported data were collated, checked, coded, and entered into JISC online survey software and then exported to IBM Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 27 for analysis, sourced from the University of West London, London, United Kingdom. The data were collected from the outpatient department of four high-volume public secondary hospitals in Niger State (the largest hospital in the three senatorial zones and that of the state capital). Systematic random sampling was used to select 734 patients with two or more chronic diseases (multimorbidity) aged 60 years and above who presented for routine ambulatory outpatient and consented to participate in the study. A Service Availability and Readiness Assessment (SARA) tool was used to assess the structure, and the process quality was assessed by the patients’ experiences as they navigated the care pathway, whereas the outcome was measured using the patients’ overall satisfaction. Using Spearman’s correlation, no statistically significant association was observed between satisfaction level with the healthcare that was received and the five domains of health facility readiness (Total score Basic Amenities, Total score Basic Equipment, Total score infection control, Total score diagnostic capacity, Total score essential drugs), and the general facility readiness. Finally, the process component superseded the structure as the determinant of the quality of healthcare among multimorbid patients in Niger State. The emphasis of the process should be on improving access to quality of care, improving patient–physician relationships and timing, reducing the financial burden of medical care, and building confidence and trust in medical care. Therefore, these factors should be incorporated into designing the healthcare model for multimorbid patients in Nigeria.

Investigating cognitive ability using action-based models of structural brain networks

Abstract Recent developments in network neuroscience have highlighted the importance of developing techniques for analysing and modelling brain networks. A particularly powerful approach for studying complex neural systems is to formulate generative models that use wiring rules to synthesize networks closely resembling the topology of a given connectome. Successful models can highlight the principles by which a network is organized (identify structural features that arise from wiring rules versus those that emerge) and potentially uncover the mechanisms by which it grows and develops. Previous research has shown that such models can validate the effectiveness of spatial embedding and other (non-spatial) wiring rules in shaping the network topology of the human connectome. In this research, we propose variants of the action-based model that combine a variety of generative factors capable of explaining the topology of the human connectome. We test the descriptive validity of our models by evaluating their ability to explain between-subject variability. Our analysis provides evidence that geometric constraints are vital for connectivity between brain regions, and an action-based model relying on both topological and geometric properties can account for between-subject variability in structural network properties. Further, we test correlations between parameters of subject-optimized models and various measures of cognitive ability and find that higher cognitive ability is associated with an individual’s tendency to form long-range or non-local connections.

An Action-based Model to Identify Human Competencies through the Trace of Actions: Case of a Building Energy Engineering Company

The digital transformation of organizations, in the era of Industry 4.0, has profoundly renewed industrial work including design, production and distribution. With such an evolution, actors would learn a lot and redefine many formal (operating methods, procedures, processes, methods) and informal (corrections/remedies, local regulations, skills, etc.) working practices. Competencies are at the heart of these learnings and practices. Sociologists, psychologists, ergonomists and engineers have tried to define and characterize “competency” for its better identification and evaluation. Most of these researchers agree that competencies are difficult to identify but could be determined by inferring them through observation and traceability of human actions – those being more or less representative of reality. However, this identification process requires upstream relevant competency modeling in order to better interpret the collected competencies’ traces and then confront them with peers to access the judgment on competencies. The authors of this paper rely on a presentation of concepts from different disciplines to define competency, emphasize its link to action and propose an action-based competency model. An example observed in a Company is detailed to validate the proposed model. At the end of the paper, we identify six situational mechanisms of articulation between material, immaterial and the actor's personal resources, necessary for competencies deployment and construction.

Integrated Strategies for Household Food Waste Reduction in Bangkok

Urban food waste issues in developing economies have recently attracted the attention of policymakers, practitioners, and academics in the course of implementing the Paris Agreement and the SDGs. In our case study city of Bangkok, Thailand, household food waste generation doubled from 2003 to 2018, with a similar increase in per capita amounts. Using an extensive literature review, statistical models, and a questionnaire survey, the authors clarified factors influencing food waste generation and separation before disposal, and reuse/recycling activity in urban households. Results showed that pre-purchase checks can not only prevent food waste but can also increase the reuse/recycling of food waste. Citizens with higher levels of education and those showing more concern about social issues and global warming are more likely to separate food waste before disposal and to participate in reuse/recycling activities. Finally, this paper proposes a seven-stage action-based model of integrated strategies for improving household food and food waste management to prevent/reduce food waste generation as well as remedy existing policy gaps in Bangkok.

Academics’ Knowledge Sharing Intentions and Behaviours: The Influence of Espoused Culture, Social Norm, and Attitude

Knowledge sharing (KS) is a social phenomenon, and whether or not academics practise KS depends mostly on their individual and social characteristics. Although KS is informed by culture, the external validity of the empirical results of most of the research investigating the influence of culture, defined and operationalised at the macro (national or organisational) level, on KS is problematic since the cultural orientation of individuals in a particular society or organisation may not be homogeneous. This study adopted a Theory of Reasoned Action-based model to analyze the influence of espoused individualism–collectivism (IC), espoused uncertainty avoidance (UCA), social norm (SN), and attitude (ATT) on academics’ KS intentions and behaviours. The results are derived using a data set from a large public Arabian University. SN, ATT, and intention positively influence KS behaviour. Collectivism positively influences SN, ATT, intention, and behaviour. Unexpectedly, uncertainty tolerance positively influences ATT and intention. These results provide significant statistical support for the explanatory power of the model. They also put forward empirically based evidence that adds much-needed nuance to the current discourse on KS intention and behaviour and informs policies and strategies that enhance KS in the academe.

Linearizing a non-linear formulation for general relativistic dissipative fluids

Fully non-linear equations of motion for dissipative general relativistic multi-fluids can be obtained from an action principle involving the explicit use of lower dimensional matter spaces. More traditional strategies for incorporating dissipation—like the famous Müller–Israel–Stewart model—are based on expansions away from equilibrium defined, in part, by the laws of thermodynamics. The goal here is to build a formalism to facilitate comparison of the action-based results with those based on the traditional approach. The first step of the process is to use the action-based approach itself to construct self-consistent notions of equilibrium. Next, first-order deviations are developed directly on the matter spaces, which motivates the latter as the natural arena for the underlying thermodynamics. Finally, we identify the dissipation terms of the action-based model with first-order ‛thermodynamical’ fluxes, on which the traditional models are built. The description is developed in a general setting so that the formalism can be used to describe multi-fluid systems, for which causal and stable models are not yet available. As an illustration of the approach, a simple application of a single viscous fluid is considered and, even though the expansion is halted at first order, we sketch how a causal response can be implemented through Cattaneo-type equations.

Executing Learning Activities and Autonomy-Supportive Instructions Enhance Autonomous Motivation.

This study investigated situational changes in learners’ degree of autonomous regulation during other-initiated learning activities and examined the influence of the instructional style on such changes. To this end, relative autonomous motivation of 172 fifth to seventh grade students was measured before, during and after execution of a musical learning activity. It was experimentally manipulated whether students were instructed in an autonomy-supportive or a controlling style. As expected based on self-determination theory and the action-based model of cognitive dissonance, relative autonomous motivation increased in the course of the execution of the learning activity. Unexpectedly, this increase was only statistically significant when students were instructed in a controlling style. At all times though, students instructed in an autonomy-supportive style were more autonomously motivated than students instructed in a controlling style. Furthermore, results showed a positive effect of an autonomy-supportive instructional style on students’ functional state and their interest in continuing with the learning activity. The pattern of changes in relative autonomous motivation might indicate that in controlling conditions a reduction of dissonance is of functional importance, which is why relative autonomous motivation increased under controlling conditions but not under autonomy-supportive conditions. In an applied perspective, the study demonstrates that executing an activity might be beneficial for fostering autonomous motivation and it corroborates findings that indicate positive effects of an autonomy-supportive instructional style on students’ motivation and functional state.

Child Protective Services and University-Based Partnerships: A Participatory Action-Based Model for Creating and Sharing Knowledge

This paper presents one model for building and sustaining a research partnership between researchers and professional staff in child protection (CPS) agencies. The Maltreatment and Adolescent Pathways (MAP) study was designed to assess the health and well-being of the population of adolescents involved in the child welfare system of a major urban area. The study involved the collaboration between university based researchers and a range of child welfare staff, from administration to front-line workers. A key factor supporting collaboration was reciprocity with expertise, with CPS practitioner knowledge yielding intervention-relevant study queries and constructs, and researcher knowledge on health content and best practices yielding tailored training opportunities and increased climate for knowledge uptake. The MAP study combined a Participatory Action Research (PAR) model with a traditional, scientific positivist model, including the scientific elements of standardized measures, explicit evaluation of the participatory process, and research impact on the community members. This study: 1) provides information on the process of creating effective researcher-CPC agency partnerships, 2) considers key ethics issues, such as the participant’s reactivity to research of child welfare- involved clients, and 3) examines the implications of implanting a PAR approach in research with Aboriginal CPS agencies, as per the required use of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Guidelines for Health Research Involving Aboriginal People for future community- university partnerships.

Cognitive dissonance processes serve an action-oriented adaptive function.

The action-based model of cognitive dissonance proposes an adaptive function for rationalization that differs from the one offered by Cushman. The one proposed by Cushman is concerned more with the cold construction of cognitions, whereas the one proposed by the action-based model is a motivated protection of a strongly held cognition.

Ansprüche und Klagen im Verwaltungsrecht

Claims and Actions in Administrative Law It is beyond dispute that administrative courts protect the rights of individuals. Yet how does this protection actually operate? In his recently published monograph “Actio, Anspruch, subjektives Recht” (2017), Johannes Buchheim suggests a fresh account of legal protection in administrative law issues. Buchheim develops an action-based model concerning the reconstruction of administrative law. The project questions the prevalent approach towards administrative law, labelled as the claim-based model. The claim-based model focusses on substantive claims, which may originate from a violation of an individual right or which may be established directly by a statute, a contract or anadministrative act. It conceives judicial actions as being strictly dependent on such substantive claims. The action-based model denies such a dependence. Instead, it assumes that the courts follow an autonomous logic of decision-making, perceiving the violation of a right only as the initial reference point. This article aspires, firstly, to identify Buchheim’s main objections, secondly, to clarify and to confine the claim-based model in some respects, and lastly, to examine the objections raised by Buchheim in detail. While the book offers a plethora of inspiring ideas, it finally does not succeed in establishing the action-based model. Judicial review is based on claims, not only on (violation of) rights.

Information-Based Social Coordination Between Players of Different Skill in Doubles Pong.

We studied how teams of two players of different skill level intercepted approaching balls in the doubles-pong task. In this task, the two players moved their on-screen paddles along a shared interception axis, so that the approaching ball was intercepted by one of the paddles and that the paddles did not collide. Earlier work revealed the presence of a fuzzy division of interception space, with a boundary between interception domains located in the space between the two initial paddle positions. In the present study, using the performance of the players in their individual training sessions, we formed teams of players of varying skill level. We considered two accounts of how this boundary should be understood. In a first account, the players have shared knowledge of this boundary. Based on the side of the boundary at which the approaching ball will cross the interception axis, the players would decide whose paddle is to make the interception. Under this account, we expected that a better-skilled player would take responsibility for a larger interception domain, leading to a boundary closer to the lesser-skilled player. However, our analyses did not reveal any systematic effect of skill difference on the location (or degree of fuzziness) of the boundary: location of boundaries and overlap of interception domains varied over teams but were not systematically related to skill differences between team members. We did find effects of ball speed and approach angle. In a second account, the boundary emerges from (information-driven) player–player–ball interactions. An action-based model consistent with this account was able to capture all the patterns in boundary positions and overlaps that we observed. We conclude that the interception patterns that players demonstrate in the doubles-pong task are best understood as emerging from the unfolding of the dynamics of the system of the two players and the ball, coupled through information.

Modeling topologically resilient supply chain networks

The ubiquity of supply chains along with their increasingly interconnected structure has ignited interest in studying supply chain networks through the lens of complex adaptive systems. A particularly important characteristic of supply chains is the desirable goal of sustaining their operation when exposed to unexpected perturbations. Applied network science methods can be used to analyze topological properties of supply chains and propose models for their growth. Network models focusing on the critical aspect of supply chain resilience may provide insights into the design of supply networks that may quickly recover from disruptions. This is vital for understanding both static and dynamic structures of complex supply networks, and enabling management to make informed decisions and prioritizing particular operations. This paper proposes an action-based perspective for creating a compact probabilistic model for a given real-world supply network. The action-based model consists of a set of rules (actions) that a firm may use to connect with other firms, such that the synthesized networks are topologically resilient. Additionally, it captures the heterogeneous roles of different firms by incorporating domain specific constraints. Results analyzing the resilience of networks subjected to node disruptions show that networks synthesized using the proposed model can generally outperform its real-world counterpart.

The thinking behind the action (learning)

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report on an action learning (AL) approach to curriculum design and delivery of a two-year part-time executive masters program, facilitated in part through a longitudinal work-based action research project. Program participants were a mix of mid- to senior managers operating in both the public and private sector and business owners, and all were in full-time employment. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents findings relating to participant and tutor perspectives of the program design, structure, and content. It also chronicles an AL tutor initiative run in conjunction with the inaugural program delivery, established to provide a collegial approach to learner facilitation, and to enable a research informed model of practice. Findings Findings suggest that the program allowed for greater action-reflection among and across all contributors (students, tutors, and program managers), and facilitated cross-pollination of AL perspectives, thus strengthening the interaction between practitioner and academic, and among academics themselves. Furthermore, the early involvement of tutors informed the work-based research project and larger AL program, and facilitated a matching of research interests between practitioner and tutor. Originality/value These findings suggest that an action-based model of knowledge transfer and development offers significant learning benefits to those partaking in an executive development program, resulting in the following insights: executive needs better served using a learner-centric approach; problem-oriented work-based assessment affords theory–practice balance; there is evidence of action-reflection “contagion” among all contributors; and the presented AL cycle has potential value in the conceptualization of reflective action.

Critical Criminology as a Guardian of Human Rights: An Action-Based Model

Too often, human rights are treated as an unconditional good and thus beyond politics. Yet human rights have always existed within an identified political context. Today, this context is neoliberalism. However, while criminologists often allude to various shortcomings of international human rights and humanitarian law, little consideration has been given to the neoliberal undercurrents of contemporary human rights discourse and practice. This article argues that neoliberalism and the human rights movement exist in a symbiotic, co-constitutive relationship. Against the neoliberal hold on human rights, the article points to an alternative political foundation, Action-Based Human Rights. The action-based model aims to be a platform for resistance and to root human rights in action and opportunities for agency and self-representation. The article suggests a preliminary path to how criminologists can begin to advance this alternative.