Form Of Action Research Research Articles

CASE-mediated organizational and deutero learning at NASA

Deutero learning (DL) involves the use of an organizational learning (OL) strategy for the adoption of learning behavior, or simply `learning to learn.' This article describes the application of an evolutionary prototyping form of action research in a federal government department to address problems stemming from systemic bureaucracy. We developed two approaches, each mediated by computer-aided software engineering (CASE), that are relevant to initiating OL and DL. The first approach, CASE-Mediated Organizational Learning (CMOL), was found to be useful in the initiation, development, and guidance of OL behavior in the research setting. The second approach, named CASE-Mediated Deutero Learning (CMDL), is a guide for generalizing the CMOL approach to other settings. We validate both approaches using criteria drawn from the action research literature. These findings should be useful to managers interested in adopting OL and contributes to several streams of MIS literature.

Cycles of Action through Systems of Activity: Examining an Action Research Model through the Lens of Activity Theory

In this article we offer an extended reading of an action research model in the context of mentored learning in preservice education in Israel. Our reading attends both to how a particular form of action research plays out in participants' constructions of the practice of mentoring and mentored learning and how such constructions can be understood in the wider context of interrelations between activity systems, as offered through the lens of activity theory. Such an embedded reading can illuminate on the gaps and contradictions between different educational practices, directing participants' processes and outcomes of learning, as they actively transform their practice while trying to mediate between these contradictions.

Hearing voices: The promise of participatory action research for animals

This article posits it is possible to extend participatory action research (PAR) beyond human beings to include other-than-human animals. This research method and philosophy offers a radical and revolutionary opportunity for trans-species communication. The goal is to highlight the ethical impetus that undergirds PAR, as a form of action research, and suggest it as an appropriate methodology for gaining an understanding not only of the value of the approach, but also how it can be used as a tool with which to ‘hear’ and consider the conditions of animals’ marginalized voices. If the primary purpose of action research is to ‘produce practical knowledge that is useful to people in the everyday conduct of their lives’ (Reason & Bradbury, 2006, p. 2) can we not also extend this goal to include animals? I argue trans-species psychology, in concert with PAR, is an ethics-based method for attaining this goal. For, as Cheney (2002, p. 91) observes, ‘to articulate an epistemology is to articulate an ethical practice’. Two examples of prototypal PAR research are discussed as practice indicators that set a challenge for researchers to fully envision those who are silenced.

Sociedade, empresa e governo: uma experiência de implementação de um novo paradigma de democracia participativa

As limitações do Estado para fornecer bens e serviços públicos motivam a instauração de programas reformistas adequáveis a diferentes modelos de administração pública. Este artigo apresenta uma experiência de participação de atores da sociedade civil, do Estado e dos setores privados lucrativo e sem fins lucrativos na coprodução de bens e serviços públicos. Os exemplos de uma associação de artesãos de Florianópolis (SC) ilustram o conceito de coprodução, estabelecendo um referencial empírico e teórico para outras iniciativas de participação e articulação da sociedade no suprimento das próprias demandas. O estudo, de natureza qualitativa, foi desenvolvido na forma de pesquisa-ação, como estratégia de pesquisa participativa. Os procedimentos metodológicos utilizados foram a observação participante, reuniões sistemáticas e o acompanhamento dos pesquisadores na implementação das ações. Os resultados demonstraram a possibilidade de reconfigurar a realidade social, propondo a coprodução pelos três setores como alternativa para a criação de um novo modelo institucional de realização conjunta do bem comum.

Tensions related to implementation of postgraduate degree projects in specialist nursing education

In conjunction with the introduction of the Bologna process in Sweden, specialist nursing education programmes were moved up to the second cycle of higher education with the opportunity to take a one-year master's degree, which also meant that students would undertake a degree project carrying 15 ECTS. The purpose of this study was to examine the introduction of postgraduate degree projects on the second-cycle level into Swedish specialist nursing programmes in accordance with the Bologna process. Five universities were involved and the study design took the form of action research. Problem formulation, planning, evaluation and follow-up with reflection led to new actions over a period of 2 1/2 years. Through a review of local curriculum documents, the implementation of a postgraduate degree project was monitored and these reviews, together with field notes, were analysed by means of constant comparative analysis. The results revealed a variety of tensions that arose when postgraduate degree projects were introduced, taking the form of differing views on the relationship between research, clinical development, specific professional objectives and academic objectives. These tensions were reflected in six areas of change. In summary, it can be noted that implementation of the postgraduate degree projects highlighted tensions related to basic views of learning.

Abstract A18: To bank or not to bank: Engaging community members in discussions about biobanking

Abstract Background: Efforts to develop personalized medicine and individualized cancer care must be undertaken with widespread participation in biobanking especially among ethnic/racial populations that disproportionally experience excess burden of cancer incidence and mortality. The concept of biobanks is thought to be a promising way to identify the links between genetic and environmental factors in relation to disease, particularly cancer. Yet there is skepticism among the general public about the purpose of these repositories. If public engagement, understanding, and trust are established, biobanks may serve as an important resource to address issues of limited generalizability that are present in current clinical and genomics research. This research describes a series of community engagement processes and formative research activities (phase I), part of an ARRA pilot project to assess community attitudes, perceptions, beliefs, and informational needs on human biospecimen collection and biobanking. Congruent with the goals of the parent grant, the Tampa Bay Community Cancer Network, an NCI-funded community networks program for tackling health disparities, this project supports the development of collaborative community-academic linkages resulting in tools that limit and/or eliminate barriers to closing the gap on cancer health disparities. Methods: Interactive activities undertaken to engage community members on the topic of biobanking included educational presentations, a biobanking tour, and formation of a Community Advisory Group (CAG). The CAG, comprised of key community stakeholders, provided ongoing feedback on study methods, recruitment strategies, focus group content, educational materials, and offered important community insights about biobanking. It is expected that these activities will add to a growing community level of understanding of biobanking as “opening new pathways for researchers to bring about new treatments.” Currently underway are a series of 12 focus groups and 10 key informant interviews examining community members’ knowledge and attitudes about biospecimen collection; motivations toward research participation; ethical concerns; and learning preferences for the topic. Results: Data gained from this formative research phase will aid in identification of strategies to effectively frame educational messages with deference to health literacy, cultural competency, and encourage informed decision making (phase II). In keeping with a community-based participatory approach, study outputs include: 1) a CAG that could be used to advise future studies and inform policies on biobanking research; 2) a set of educational communication tools for advancing understandings about biomedical technologies in an easy-to-understand manner; and 2) linkages to Minority Biospecimen/Biobanking-Geographic Management Program Regional initiatives (BMap-GMap). Conclusion: Use of community engagement methods to improve communications on biospecimen collection/biobanking is one way to bring constituents’ voices into discussions and influence the way biobanks are implemented. It is expected that public engagement from idea conception to implementation will prove central to mobilizing community participation in biobanking. Future studies are expected to test the efficacy of these tools for decision priming. Citation Information: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2010;19(10 Suppl):A18.

An exploration of the importance of piloting and access as action research

In this article we illustrate how the piloting process has influenced two widely different studies within the educational sciences. These studies differ in design but have as a common denominator that they used piloting methods in their preparatory process. They are also similar in the intention of the main researchers of conducting research with a critical edge. In the first case study described, our solidarity lies with the disadvantaged school children of South Africa. In the second case study, our solidarity lies with a group of teachers who through an action research project wanted to question a school policy that they do not feel benefits all school children in the Norwegian lower secondary school. The two cases are presented separately and explore the change in conceptual and methodological emphasis in the research procedure. We emphasize how important the piloting and access processes are in order to learn from them and reduce mistakes in the main research design. We argue that both piloting and gaining access can be seen as a form of action research, in that the intention is to learn and to change future action; that is, the purpose is to find out how to conduct a project more effectively. A reflective piloting phase is likely to increase the validity of the research results and can in itself be viewed as action research. Through the piloting phase, learning that may prove invaluable for the later research process is likely to take place. As piloting can be of great value for research results, it should also be given much greater attention in the research literature in general. While the best case scenarios are overrepresented in the research literature, the learning from and of flaws and imperfections that are discovered in the piloting stages of research is equally important for the research community as well as for the actual participants in the researching process. Yet this is under utilized and often left under‐reported.

Student Engineers as Agents of Change: Combining Social Inclusion in the Professional Development of Electrical and Computer Engineering Students

Community-based action research helps students link subject matter to everyday life and developing sense of responsibility to their community. While combining research and a development into teaching engineering software which has been vastly conducted in engineering disciplines such as Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) and Computer Science (CS), including inclusive participatory research is yet to be fully developed. We participated in the NGO by providing information technology (IT) and/or assistive technology (AT). This paper examines the practice of action research in service-learning projects that aim to introduce more socially responsible studies in the context of engineering education. It begins by exploring different forms of action research that may benefit engineering disciplines with a focus on action engagement to improve students’ involvement in marginalized communities. The article provides field-based reflections of the action research project and suggests ways in which practice of action research may increase socially responsive value in the professional development of student engineers.

Encounters of the Traditional Kind: Reflections on the In‐Service Teacher Training of Traditional Filipino Arts

AbstractThis article presents the second segment of a qualitative study on the integration of traditional arts in tertiary level art and design education in the Philippines. It is focused on the experience of artist‐teachers as participants in an in‐service teacher training programme that aimed to prepare the teachers for the trial integration of traditional Filipino arts in art and design courses. Taking the view of the participants, journals written by the artist‐teachers were sourced for their reflections about their encounter with traditional Filipino artists during field visits. This phase of the study takes the form of action research as it involves the participants in gathering data that could inform the methods and content of the learning of traditional Filipino arts in the schools of art and design.The findings reveal that artist‐teachers acknowledge the traditional artist as a valuable source of traditional knowledge and expertise. They also recognise their own essential role in the transmission of learning between the traditional artists and the students. The prerequisites of the course take the artist‐teachers beyond teaching in the classroom and extend their tasks to research.

Poverty Pimps in the Academy: A Dialogue About Subjectivity, Reflexivity, and Power in Decolonizing Production of Knowledge

The authors often talk about the moral and ethical predicaments they experience working with marginalized populations. But such conversations, confessions, and verbalized doubts happened in intimate settings, often with out office doors closed or when the hallways are quiet and empty. This is not a whisper of secrecy or conspiracy but one of self-reflexive contemplation about the privilege differential between the authors and the humans they encounter in the streets as they conduct action research or simple walk around as citizen observers. Through this dialogue, the authors attempt to capture some of the conversations they have had about the unspoken internal conflict faced by the scholars, including the authors, doing forms of action research with fellow humans who continue to suffer under the self-righteous ideologies of justified domination. The central force behind this dialogical article is not to offer solutions but to problematize the lack of narrative space and language for the colonialist reenactments every poverty scholar have to live with, even as they aim at decolonizing and empowering scholarship. The authors hope this dialogue is evocative enough to invite others to further explore similar dilemmas of decolonizing scholarship.

Interactive research and joint learning for practical contributions

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine whether universities can find ways to make more practical contributions through collaboration, collective reflection and joint learning.Design/methodology/approachThe approach takes the form of action research and cooperation in three different development networks in Sweden. Data are analyzed by theories on science in society, organizational learning, dialogue and reflection.FindingsResults show that the participants in the networks reduced their insecurity and increased their competence to handle change. The dialogue, exchange of experiences and systematic reflections gave ideas, knowledge and contacts that supported them in their work life and inspired them to take development action.Research limitations/implicationsResearchers can contribute to the development process by acting as facilitators and using interactive methods for joint learning. Coming from different cultures and aiming to collaborate under equal and democratic conditions, all involved actors must have an attitude that is humble and free of an assumed prestige.Practical implicationsExternal development networks with university participation can be a useful tool for internal development.Originality/valueInteractive research is a possible way for universities to make practical contributions at work. All academics who work with applied research should consider this approach.

Pedagogy as human science, bildung and action research: Swedish and Dutch reflections

Action research can be understood as a complex interplay between local circumstances and local research traditions, embedded in their turn in local intellectual–philosophical traditions, national as well as international. Because of this interplay it is questionable whether it would be particularly fruitful to look for ‘typical local forms of action research’. In this article we will reflect on this issue, and we base our reflections on the Nordic tradition of bildung (bildning) and the continental European tradition of pedagogy as human science. As a departure for the reflections, illustrations will be used of what is actually happening with regard to action research in our own countries of the Netherlands and Sweden.

New Symbiosis for Forest Care: A Trial of Forest Action Research in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil

Global forest loss has attracted increasing concern, research, education, and regulation. Conservation, development, and restoration programs have been established, with scattered successes and widespread intensified forest loss. Forest poverty and the inadequacy of forest-based livelihoods have been linked to forest degradation or loss in forest regions worldwide; forest poverty problems have been attacked with energy and creativity. Nevertheless, with few exceptions, forest people have continued to be poor enough to have no apparent alternative to clearing more forest, if there is still more forest; or to consider, in great numbers, moving to city slums. Our forests have continued to be damaged at alarming rates. The question arose in many places: “What could make these forest efforts more effective?” Action research—developed as a group of approaches to solving problems cooperatively, often as collaborations across social, educational, and economic strata, and designed specifically to ground research on the identified needs of communities and to link that research to action—seemed the strongest available resource. Diverse forest organizations had shown a surprising inability to look at strengths and successes; this had weakened them. A recent form of action research, Appreciative Inquiry (AI), had developed in response to overlooked strengths; and AI provided the central organizing structure for the action research described here. This study is intended to modify and evaluate this group of resources for work in forests, in a case study in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil.

The Role of Formative Research in the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance System

The National Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Behavioral Surveillance System (NHBS) is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) newest system for measuring HIV risk behaviors among three adult populations at highest risk for HIV infection in the U.S.: men who have sex with men, injecting drug users, and heterosexuals at risk of HIV infection. The system is implemented by state and local health departments in designated metropolitan statistical areas with the highest HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) prevalence in the U.S. Prior to implementing the behavioral surveillance survey, project sites conduct a series of formative research activities. The data collected during this preparatory phase provide contextual information about HIV risk behaviors within the study population of interest and help project sites make decisions about field operations and other logistical issues. This article describes the activities undertaken in preparation for the first round of NHBS (2003-2007) and how those activities enhanced data collection for each behavioral surveillance cycle.

Participatory Theatre as a Research Methodology: Identity, Performance and Social Action among Refugees

The paper is based on the ESRC research project: ‘Identity, Performance and Social Action: Community Theatre Among Refugees’ which is part of the research programme on ‘Identities and Social Action’. After describing the project, the paper examines the methodological specificities and different stages of Playback and Forum Theatre. The latter includes image work, character building, scenes and interventions. It argues that overall participatory theatre, techniques as sociological research methods, provide different kinds of data and information than other methods – embodied, dialogical and illustrative. The paper ends by examining the circumstances in which the use of these techniques as research methodology are be beneficial. It also calls for an overall wider use of these techniques in sociological research, especially to study narratives of identity of marginalised groups, as well as to illustrate perceptions and experiences of social positionings and power relations in and outside community groupings. Using participatory theatre as a research tool, therefore, can be considered as one form of action research.

Using narrative inquiry to explore mathematics curriculum

Abstract Curriculum can be interpreted broadly to include not only what is taught but how a subject is taught or enacted. Over recent years reflection has become an accepted practice as educators seek to develop their awareness about both what and how they teach. Narrative inquiry is one way in which educators can engage in such reflection. this paper I describe narrative inquiry, briefly outline my own experience of how narrative inquiry supported a deeper exploration of my thinking about mathematics curriculum (the what and how), and propose that narrative inquiry is a valuable means to deepen one's understandings of curricula. Introduction A broad interpretation of curriculum to include not only what is taught but also how it is taught or enacted appears to be embedded in both Mathematics in the New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 1992), and The New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2007). For example, in The New Zealand Curriculum the achievement objectives for each level are prefaced with the statement, In a range of meaningful contexts, students will be engaged in thinking mathematically and statistically. They will solve problems and model situations that require them to: ... This gives a broad outline of how mathematics may be taught in the classroom and is followed by a list of achievement objectives that outline what is to be taught. The what and how of curriculum are intimately linked, and an educator's beliefs and perceptions of what a particular subject area such as mathematics is will influence how they might go about supporting learning in this curriculum area. Narrative inquiry is one way to learn more deeply about one's practice, including beliefs and perceptions, and is regarded as a powerful means by which learners can reflect on and develop their own professional practice (Chambers, 2003; McCormack, 2002; Rushton, 2001). It follows that such inquiry can also be an effective way to reflect on curriculum in the broadest sense. Beattie (1995) makes a particularly strong case for the use of narrative inquiry within educational research, writing, at the heart of meaningful educational reform and change, lie the narratives (p. 66). Recently I engaged in narrative inquiry for a period of approximately 20 months to investigate my professional practice while working with preservice primary teachers in mathematics education. One theme that emerged centred on the use of mathematical investigations as a vehicle for supporting preservice primary teachers to consider what the learning and teaching of mathematics may entail; that is, how the mathematics curriculum might be enacted. As part of this process I personally undertook several mathematical investigations. This combined mathematical and narrative process resulted in significant learning about previously unrecognised beliefs that I held about the nature and learning of mathematics; that is, the what of mathematics. A consequence of this was some changed beliefs and teaching practices; in other words, change in how I envisage mathematics and mathematics education curricula. Narrative inquiry, a form of action research, thus appears to be a way in which educators can become aware of their perceptions about what and how the curriculum can be enacted in their classroom. this article I describe narrative inquiry and then, in order to illustrate the potential of narrative inquiry for education practitioners, I briefly describe my own experiences of how such inquiry supported a deep exploration of mathematics curriculum in the context of preservice primary teacher mathematics education. Narrative inquiry Over the past two decades the practice of reflection has been recognised as a legitimate aspect of action research in education (Adler, 1993; Francis, 1995; Schon, 1983). More recently, narrative inquiry has also become valued (Chambers, 2003; Luwisch, 2001; O'Connell Rust, 1999). …

Carer-driven dementia education for professionals

The pilot project described here took the form of action research, focusing on dementia awareness education for nurses on acute wards and in accident and emergency departments. An essential feature of the educational package was the involvement of four carers, each of whom described specific experiences. Their accounts were recorded on DVD and presented in the education sessions, which the carers also attended to add comments and answer questions. Feedback from the nurses was positive with all of them claiming new awareness and understanding of patient and carer needs. The education sessions are to be continued with other nurses.

Making Implementation More Democratic through Action Implementation Research

Public administration scholars often associate increased public participation in policy implementation with the advancement of democratic values. Likewise, scholars engaged in the various forms of action research (AR) promote their efforts as a means to democratizing the research process or contributing to improved social outcomes. Despite these common interests in participation and democracy, there have been few attempts to apply AR methods to policy implementation problems. Drawing on Matland’s conflict-ambiguity matrix, we develop a framework for matching particular AR methods to specific policy implementation contexts.

Development of ACTION! Wellness Program for Elementary School Personnel

The prevalence of overweight and obesity has increased dramatically in the adult population over the past 2 decades. Almost two-thirds of the adult population works outside the home; thus, interventions implemented at the worksite are viable for obesity reduction. Elementary schools are worksites that have a number of resources that can encourage a healthy lifestyle. The purpose of this paper is to describe the formative research activities and how these were used to design the ACTION! Wellness Program for Elementary School Personnel. Formative data were collected using focus groups, a school survey, and an environmental audit. Focus groups were conducted in three elementary schools, whereas the school survey and environmental audit were collected in 24 elementary schools. The intervention was then tested as a pilot study in one school to determine feasibility and receptivity and refine its components. Participants in the focus groups indicated that most had experience with trying to lose weight, some had positive social support, and most had little free time at school; however, most were very receptive to having a weight control intervention program at their school. Eighteen (75%) of the schools had snack vending machines on the school site, and all had cold drink machines. All 24 schools had at least one indoor site that could be used for physical activity programs. All schools were in neighborhoods conducive for walking. ACTION! will take advantage of the school resources in implementing an environmental intervention to reduce overweight and obesity. This paper describes the progression of events that led to the final trial.

Introduction and Overview of Worksite Studies

The prevalence of obesity has reached epidemic propor-tions in all racial and ethnic groups, with about two-thirds(or 66%) of the U.S. adult population now overweight orobese (1). Among non-Hispanic blacks, the prevalence ofextreme obesity is about 2-fold that of the general popula-tion (1). This increase is likely due to environmental influ-ences that encourage consumption of high portion sizes ofenergy-dense foods, sedentary lifestyle, and limited accessto healthful foods (2,3). Interventions that modify theseinfluences are promising approaches to curtailing the obe-sity epidemic.Worksites are settings for reaching large numbers ofworking adults of varying socioeconomic levels and ethnicbackgrounds. Because studies testing interventions thatmodify the food and physical activity environments forweight control are in their infancy, formative research isuseful in helping to understand the complexities associatedwith changing such environments.This supplement to