Exploratory Piece Of Research Research Articles

Practising cultural identities: British Indians' use of Indian classical dance

AbstractThe Indian diaspora has faced many obstacles including the challenge of navigating their dual identities, in order to belong in the UK. Music and dance are popular ways of practising cultural identities, which could mean that British Indians (BIs) use Indian Classical Dance (ICD) for maintaining cultural continuity and establishing a strong cultural identity. This qualitative study explores the reasons behind ICD practice, the relationship between ICD practice and the cultural identities of BIs, and the role served by themes of cultural continuity in their talk about identity. We conducted semi‐structured interviews with 10 UK‐based, Indian classical dance artists and analysed them using Thematic Analysis to identify the following themes: (1) Dual‐Identity Struggle (Sub‐themes: Confusion and Isolation and Racism and Stereotypes), (2) Parental Influence, (3) Embracing Dual‐Identity (Sub‐themes: Growth with Age and Impact of a Diverse Community), (4) Benefits of ICD (Sub‐themes: Education & Connection to Indian religion and history and Expressing & Understanding Identity) and (5) ICD: Authenticity versus Modernity (Sub‐themes: Authentic ICD in UK and Modernising ICD). The results from this piece of exploratory research have generated further data that improves our understanding of how BIs maintain a sense of collective continuity, and how they practise their Indian identity in daily life. Limitations of this study include the lack of balance between participants of different genders and dance styles. Therefore, further research can be developed including large‐scale studies on the role of ICD between genders, nationalities or generations.

Governance of Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology Projects

Blockchains are the most well-known example of a distributed ledger technology (DLT). Unlike classic databases, the ledger is not maintained by any central authority. The integrity of the ledger is maintained automatically by an algorithmic consensus process whereby nodes vote and agree upon the authoritative version. In effect, the consensus algorithm operates in the manner of a decision-making process within a governance system. The technological characteristics of blockchain systems are well documented (Narayanan, Bonneau, Felton and Miller, 2016). We propose that one of the reasons why it has so far proved very difficult to seed large-scale commercial DLT (blockchain) projects lies in the arena of project ownership and governance. Unlike classic centralised database systems, DLTs have no one central point of “ownership” of any of the system’s infrastructure or data. In this piece of exploratory research, we propose applying theories of club governance to both the technical design and operational development of a range of DLT (blockchain) systems, including (but not necessarily limited to) cryptocurrencies and enterprise applications to explore how they can explain the development of (or lack of development of) sustainable solutions to real business problems. There are many parallels to the governance arrangements observed historically in the origins of complex distributed telecommunications networks.

The Panopticon Effect: the surveillance of police officers

Purpose – Police officers from a police force in Australia were interviewed about the types and level of surveillance they experience in their work, with the recognition of technology contributing to an increased level of such. The concept of the Panopticon and the Looking-Glass Self offer useful frameworks for understanding the experiences of those police officers interviewed. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Based on 14 in-depth unstructured interviews with police officers, this study is an exploratory piece of research. Findings – This study presents findings in which police officers spoke of the surveillance they encounter from the perspective of the police organisation; their own self-surveillance as well as being monitored by other police officers. This paper argues that the Panopticon Effect can negatively impact on individual officers as well as overall police practice. Originality/value – This paper is an exploratory study based on the experiences of rank and file police officers currently in service. The paper considers the surveillance and scrutiny of police officers from within the organisation and recognises the impact of technology.

Governance for sustainability: learning from VSM practice

Purpose – While there is some agreement on the usefulness of systems and complexity approaches to tackle the sustainability challenges facing the organisations and governments in the twenty-first century, less is clear regarding the way such approaches can inspire new ways of governance for sustainability. The purpose of this paper is to progress ongoing research using the Viable System Model (VSM) as a meta-language to facilitate long-term sustainability in business, communities and societies, using the “Methodology to support self-transformation”, by focusing on ways of learning about governance for sustainability. Design/methodology/approach – It summarises core self-governance challenges for long-term sustainability, and the organisational capabilities required to face them, at the “Framework for Assessing Sustainable Governance”. This tool is then used to analyse capabilities for governance for sustainability at three real situations where the mentioned Methodology inspired bottom up processes of self-organisation. It analyses the transformations decided from each organisation, in terms of capabilities for sustainable governance, using the suggested Framework. Findings – Core technical lessons learned from using the framework are discussed, include the usefulness of using a unified language and tool when studying governance for sustainability in differing types and scales of case study organisations. Research limitations/implications – As with other exploratory research, it reckons the convenience for further development and testing of the proposed tools to improve their reliability and robustness. Practical implications – A final conclusion suggests that the suggested tools offer a useful heuristic path to learn about governance for sustainability, from a VSM perspective; the learning from each organisational self-transformation regarding governance for sustainability is insightful for policy and strategy design and evaluation; in particular the possibility of comparing situations from different scales and types of organisations. Originality/value – There is very little coherence in the governance literature and the field of governance for sustainability is an emerging field. This piece of exploratory research is valuable as it presents an effective tool to learn about governance for sustainability, based in the “Methodology for Self-Transformation”; and offers reflexions on applications of the methodology and the tool, that contribute to clarify the meaning of governance for sustainability in practice, in organisations from different scales and types.

Early professional development in the Scottish context: pre-service high school teachers and the management of behaviour in classrooms

This paper gives an account of an exploratory piece of research focused on understanding more fully the nature of pre-service teachers’ developing approaches to classroom behaviour management on a one-year postgraduate teacher education programme in the Scottish context. Drawing on individual and focus group interviews as well as journaling of significant behaviour management moments experienced by student teachers on school placements, key narratives are outlined and the complex tensions and issues arising from the data are discussed. The powerful narratives of control and compliance around young people and the emphasis on social and relational early professional learning as opposed to cognition are explored and discussed.

Development and initial validation of a questionnaire to assess the reading beliefs of undergraduate students: the Cuestionario de Creencias sobre la Lectura

The aim of this research was to develop a new questionnaire for exploring the reading beliefs of undergraduate students, because the only currently available instrument has conceptual and methodological limitations. The paper describes the process of developing the instrument and presents a range of psychometric data obtained from a sample of 558 Spanish undergraduates who were in the first or final year of a degree programme in psychology, language and literature or engineering. The results provide evidence of the psychometric quality of items and reveal a dual structure of two and six factors, both obtained through exploratory and/or confirmatory factor analyses. Adequate reliability based on internal consistency of the factors was also demonstrated. As a measure of criterion validity, differences in reading beliefs by gender, academic year and knowledge area were also explored. The findings support the psychometric adequacy of this new instrument developed through an exploratory piece of research. Overall, the process of constructing the instrument and the results from this study provide a framework for research and intervention, in addition to presenting a tool that both researchers and teaching staff could use in the context of reading and reading comprehension.

Leading Change – Insights Into How Leaders Actually Approach the Challenge of Complexity

In recent years, a multitude of authors have compared and contrasted traditional, episodic approaches to change management with more dynamic and continuous approaches that have emerged from thinking around complexity and complex adaptive systems. This debate has taken place alongside a narrative that suggests that most change interventions are unsuccessful, a claim based on little substantive evidence, and that most change leaders are not deemed to be capable of effectively leading change. This paper outlines the findings of an exploratory piece of research designed to find out what change leaders actually do. The results suggest that many leaders are at least intuitively aware of the limitations of traditional approaches to change and tend not to rely upon traditional change models. Many aspects of emerging change theory were reflected in the stories they recounted about their personal experiences of change. The content of those stories is reflected in the Emerging Change Model, which captures aspects of both rationalist and emergent change theories and which, it is hoped, may prove useful to change practitioners as a reflective device.

Women on the move: the self-initiated expatriate in China

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the under-researched phenomenon of women, who of their own volition, are choosing to live and work in another country, as self-initiated expatriates (SIEs). Design/methodology/approach – Drawing from a career constructivist position, the qualitative framework relied on primary data gathering through semi-structured interviews with 25 western professional SIE women living and working in Beijing. Findings – The findings suggest that the SIE women's motivations for mobility and their career types and patterns are complex and varied. As an initial and tentative step towards developing a framework of female SIEs’ careers the authors introduce a typology of four career patterns. Research limitations/implications – As an exploratory piece of research there is limited generalisability since the findings are presented from the perspective of a particular cohort of women's narratives. Practical implications – There is a need to recognise the potential value of SIEs to MNCs particularly in light of the well-documented concerns regarding human capital. Companies risk losing this potentially valuable employee if the career opportunities, as well as compensation packages, benefits and support on offer, do not match the plans and expectations of the individuals concerned. Originality/value – The study provides new insights into the nature and dynamics of the different career modes and configurations of SIE women. This is an important and appropriate research agenda for several reasons. First, there remains a paucity of research on female SIEs. Second, little is known about their career-related behaviours and expectations and the relationship between mobility and career. Thus, it is hoped that a study such as this will add to the emerging body of knowledge about an under researched yet growing number of the some of the most mobile human capital in the world.

Padre Rolim: O “Anchieta” do Nordeste

The aim of this paper is to analyze the set of pedagogical images identified by historians of Father Inacio de Sousa Rolim. This is a piece of exploratory research with a qualitative approach, having hermeneutic symbolism as its analysis method. As a sample of our findings, we present an analysis of the images linked with the school/farm that started in 1829. Our first considerations are that these images have recourse to ascension symbols. The school/farm became a high school, a house of learning, a place of illumination that provided the light of understanding and wisdom. Its influence reached the states of Piaui, Ceara, Rio Grande do Norte, and Pernambuco.

Multi-criteria vulnerability analysis to earthquake hazard of Bucharest, Romania

The expansive infrastructure, along with the high population density, makes cities highly vulnerable to the severe impacts of natural hazards. In the context of an explosive increase in value of the damage caused by natural disasters, the need for evaluating and visualizing the vulnerability of urban areas becomes a necessity in helping practitioners and stakeholders in their decision-making processes. The paper presented is a piece of exploratory research. The overall aim is to develop a spatial vulnerability approach to address earthquake risk, using a semi-quantitative model. The model uses the analytical framework of a spatial GIS-based multi-criteria analysis. For this approach, we have chosen Bucharest, the capital city of Romania, based on its high vulnerability to earthquakes due to a rapid urban growth and the advanced state of decay of the buildings (most of the building stock were built between 1940 and 1977). The spatial result reveals a circular pattern, pinpointing as hot spots the Bucharest historic centre (located on a meadow and river terrace, and with aged building stock) and peripheral areas (isolated from the emergency centers and defined by precarious social and economic conditions). In a sustainable development perspective, the example of Bucharest shows how spatial patterns shape the “vulnerability profile” of the city, based on which decision makers could develop proper prediction and mitigation strategies and enhance the resilience of cities against the risks resulting from the earthquake hazard.

Abortion procedures provided by law - repercussions for the health service: an exploratory study

Doctoral thesis developed in the Post-graduate in Nursing Program in the University of Brasilia. The main objective is: to describe the working process of a legal abortion service center in a regional hospital, located in Brasilia, Federal District. Methodology: this is a qualitative, descriptive and exploratory piece of research, with semi-structured interviews to collect data, using the technique of thematic content analysis to treat the information acquired

Perceived competitive influences and innovative behaviour

The article looks at how firms' perceptions of competitive influences shape their innovative behaviour as they search for strategic advantage. In this exploratory piece of research, the author shows that firms take notice of a small number of competitors only, their perceived competitive position is very different from that measured “objectively”, and that firms have programs which direct resources into innovative behaviour to meet competitive threats. ∗ ∗ The author would like to acknowledge the constructive comments of Einar Hope, Joseph F Porac and Torger Reve.