Practice In Academia Research Articles

Designing writing/designing reading: Textual ontologies and poetic practice

Abstract Standardized writing and reading practices in academia are well established. The academic book, article, dissertation and the report are all familiar in terms of both form and content. But due to the various forms of standardization it is often hard to challenge the Mandarin diseases of ‘group’ thought and instruction that Universities breed in imposing their own strict writing and reading protocols and forms of pedagogy. (Alongside these things sit all the evaluative forms and kinds of assessment machinery that go with the practice of trying to count and measure everything that academics or students produce.) So if we need to consider new ways to design writing and reading we should think more about the way in which we actually live with text, both virtually and actually. In order to present new semantic challenges for new writers and readers, then, we need might need to look at the ways that other practitioners from different fields and disciplines use and create (and curate) writing and reading – where ‘con’ (with) combines with ‘textere’ (weave/text) so that the text is woven with new meanings. In what follows, then, I will consider how a poetics of textual practice may start to encourage students to engage with richer, and more carefully designed, forms of meaning. More specifically, I wish to draw on various tasks that can be set to encourage student designers to put more meaning into their writing by making challenges to form. The production of writing and reading can be considered as integral to the research and ideational processes of design work. And so how graphic design can engender, unfold and fuse with other creative practices such as poetry may be important in enabling new textual rhythms, harmonies and melodies to develop in the subject of design.

From quality assurance to quality practices: an investigation of strong microcultures in teaching and learning

One of the main beliefs in quality assurance is that this activity – indirectly – will stimulate change in the work practices associated with teaching and learning in higher education. However, few studies have provided empirical evidence of the existence of such a link. Instead, quality assurance has created an unfortunate divide between formal rules and routines, and the daily practices in academia associated with teaching and learning. This article reports a study of ‘quality work’ – concrete practices in academic microcultures with a reputation for being strong in their teaching and learning as well as in their research function. We argue that the relationship between quality assurance and enacted quality practice needs to be understood in the light of how formal organizational structures, as well as cultural characteristics and academic aims, are balanced within working groups in universities.

Communities of practice in academia: Testing a quantitative model

Abstract Up to now, the relationships among the fundamental notions of communities of practice (CoPs), i.e. knowledge, participation, identity, and artifact development have been based mainly on results from qualitative studies; they are not yet sufficiently based on quantitative evidence. Starting from a literature review, we formulate a quantitative, causal model of CoPs that describes these variables in the context of academic communities, and aim to validate this model in two academic CoPs with a total of N = 208 participants. A cluster analysis classifies the participants into clusters that are in line with the core-periphery structure known from previous qualitative studies. A regression analysis provides evidence for the hypothesized model on the basis of quantitative data. Suggested directions for future research are to focus on factors that determine CoP participants' contributions to artifact development and on approaches to automated monitoring of virtual CoPs.

Entering and navigating academic medicine: academic clinician-educators’ experiences

Despite a recognised need for richer narratives about academic medicine, much of the literature is limited to an analysis of the enablers and barriers associated with recruitment and retention, and focuses on analysing the development of research career pathways. We explored academic clinician-educators' experiences of entering into and navigating academic medicine, with a particular focus on those who privilege teaching above research. Data were collected through interviews and focus groups conducted across a medical school at one Australian university. We used socio-cognitive career theory to provide theoretical insight into the factors that influence academic clinician-educators' interests, choice and motivations regarding entering and pursuing a teaching pathway within academic medicine. Framework analysis was used to illustrate key themes in the data. We identified a number of themes related to academic clinician-educators' engagement and performance within an academic medicine career focused on teaching. These include contextual factors associated with how academic medicine is structured as a discipline, cultural perceptions regarding what constitutes legitimate practice in academia, experiential factors associated with the opportunity to develop a professional identity commensurate with being an educator, and socialisation practices. The emphasis on research in academia can engender feelings of marginalisation and lack of credibility for those clinicians who favour teaching over research. The prevailing focus on supporting and socialising clinicians in research will need to change substantially to facilitate the rise of the academic clinician-educator.

Measurement and Simulation of Turbulent Mixing in a Jet in Crossflow

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has an important role in current research. While large eddy simulations (LES) are now common practice in academia, Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) simulations are still very common in the industry. Using RANS allows faster simulations, however, the choice of the turbulence model has a bigger impact on the results. An important influence of the turbulence modeling is the description of turbulent mixing. Experience has shown that often inaccurate simulations of combustion processes originate from an inadequate description of the mixing field. A simple turbulent flow and mixing configuration of major theoretical and practical importance is the jet in crossflow (JIC). Due to its good fuel-air mixing capability over a small distance, JIC is favored by gas turbine manufacturers. As the design of the mixing process is the key to creating stable low NOx combustion systems, reliable predictive tools and detailed understanding of this basic system are still demanded. Therefore, the current study has re-investigated the JIC configuration under engine relevant conditions both experimentally and numerically using the most sophisticated tools available today. The combination of planar particle image velocimetry and laser induced fluorescence was used to measure the turbulent velocity and concentration fields as well as to determine the correlations of the Reynolds stress tensor ui′uj′¯ and the Reynolds flux vector ui′c′¯. Boundary conditions were determined using laser Doppler velocimetry. The comparisons between the measurements and simulation using RANS and LES showed that the mean velocity field was well described using the SST turbulence model. However, the Reynolds stresses and more so, the Reynolds fluxes deviate substantially from the measured data. The systematic variation of the turbulent Schmidt number reveals the limited influence of this parameter indicating that the basic modeling is amiss. The results of the LES simulation using the standard Smagorinsky model were found to provide much better agreement with the experiments also in the description of turbulent mixing.

Mentoring and coaching in promoting publications in the Department of Physiotherapy at a local university in South Africa

A growing shift towards research and evidence based practice in academia is associated with requirements to disseminate research results in the form of publication in peer reviewed journals. Mentoring has been identified as an important component of developing young authors, as it increases confidence and competence, and facilitates professional development. This led to the formation of a support group to stimulate peer-review publication in the physiotherapy department at the University of the Western Cape. The Kirkpatrick Framework of Evaluation was used to evaluate the success of the mentoring process which made use of a participatory action research methodology. The writing group consisted of nine academic members of staff and took place over ten weeks. The programme included writing, giving feedback, discussion and peer review on a weekly basis. Focus group discussions were taped and transcribed in order to evaluate the mentoring process by identifying relationships within the data and categorising key concepts, which were shaped into a thematic framework. The findings indicated that participants experienced a variety of emotions throughout the programme, with an overall feeling of personal growth by the end. In addition, participants also reported improved writing, reviewing and communication skills. Six months following the programme, six participants had submitted at least one article to a peer reviewed journal. It is clear from this study that some academics still find the task of writing and reviewing articles daunting, and that guidance and support in the form of a writing programme can be useful.

Hegemonic practices and knowledge production in the management academy: An English language perspective

This research note investigates the role of the English language as part of tacit, institutionalised practices in academia, specifically in management academe. It is argued that the generation and dissemination of knowledge occur increasingly, almost exclusively, in and through the English language, which is seen as perpetuating particular hegemonic patterns of knowledge production. We report on some empirical works which have begun to explore the processes surrounding knowledge production inclusive of a language perspective and on this basis future directions for research are suggested.

Approaches in researching human measurement

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a model of researching clothing anthropometrics at the Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK (MMU model), to demonstrate steps in devising size charts by analysing raw data, to relate key aspects of size charts to raw data, and to generate debate on such methods that impinge on the disseminated knowledge in this specialised area. Although sizing is important to consumers, retailers and manufacturers, this area has received scarce attention in the literature.Design/methodology/approachThe MMU model presents step‐by‐step processes in generating size charts. Data from 150 women generated descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, percentiles); these were utilised to devise seven sizes of a body measurements table. Correlations were used to determine relationships, resulting in size charts with a defined size range and grading increments that are relatable to utilisation by consumers, retailers and manufacturers.FindingsA step‐by ‐step model of analysing raw data is presented. A verifiable size chart, codes, grading increments and size limits relatable to data are generated. The usefulness of size charts is therefore contextualised.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper discusses only one model of researching clothing anthropometrics and provides a related conceptual framework; this could be the basis for future research and debate in this area.Practical implicationsFor competitiveness, efficient sizing is useful for marketing, especially in creating niches, targeting customers and facilitating consumer satisfaction.Originality/valueThe MMU model provides an initial conceptual framework at one institution, a benchmark for similar practice in academia and industry and subsequent debate in literature.

The Conduct of Concern: Exclusionary discursive practices and subject positions in academia

Drawing on material collected amongst Danish and Australian humanities and social science academics, the article illustrates and problematises a particular and recurring discursive practice amongst academics: ‘the conduct of concern’. Conceptualising the conduct of concern as an exclusionary and de‐legitimising discursive practice, the article offers a (mis)reading of some of the storylines and constructions it could be seen to invoke and reproduce—amongst others, the idea of the autonomous, rational academic subject. The author discusses the conduct of concern, as a particular kind of subject position and positioning, in terms of Donna Haraway's figure ‘the modest witness’. The author suggests that the conduct of concern as a readily available exclusionary discursive practice in academia ‘smuggles in’ and naturalises constructions and positionings associated with the autonomous rational subject, and participates in masking the discourse mobiliser's subjective and political investments. In that way, by appropriating the ubiquitous discursive practice academics might contribute to upholding constructions and practices they otherwise seek to disrupt.

Continuing Professional Development in Higher Education: Debating the Academic Perspective

This paper provides an overview of a research project in progress and the debates it addresses. The three-year project is set within the context of contemporary UK Higher Education (HE) policy. The paper summarises the research which focuses on developing an understanding of the influences on Continuing Professional Development (CPD) practices in academia, in particular exploring how academics interpret their responsibilities for their own lifelong learning and knowledge creation within the learning organisation. This paper provides an overview of the research context, before exploring relevant current debates and issues from the literature. In this way, the author raises some of the contemporary debates and dilemmas in relation to CPD in Higher Education; examples include: the intention and influence of national policy, including analysis of how higher education policy is interpreted, implemented and impacts upon practice; how CPD is defined and understood; collectivity and social learning in academia; and the motivations, intentions and actions of academics in respect of CPD. In the light of the discussion, the research project’s overall purpose, aims, rationale and key questions are detailed. The conceptual and theoretical framework that underpins this work is taken from ‘third generation activity theory’, its principles and assumptions are also elaborated within this paper. The paper therefore raises debates and apparent tensions and dilemmas related to CPD in academia. In view of those debates, the qualitative multi-case study project outlined in the paper, which has a distinct and original focus on the perspective and ‘voices’ of academics, is likely to result in outcomes that are important and significant for a range of stakeholders across the higher education sector.

Reflections on Practicing Student-Staff Collaboration in Academic Research: A Transformative Strategy for Change?

Reflections on Practicing Student-Staff Collaboration in Academic Research: A Transformative Strategy for Change?

Integrating Agile Practices into Software Engineering Courses

Agile software development methodologies are gaining popularity in industry although they comprise a mix of accepted and controversial software engineering practices. It is quite likely that the software industry will find that specific project characteristics will determine the prudence of using an agile or a plan-driven methodology – or a hybrid of the two. Educators must assess the value and applicability of these emerging agile practices and decide what role they have in software engineering curricula. This paper provides a brief overview of several agile methodologies, including a discussion of evaluative research of agile practices in academia. The paper also considers instructional issues related to agile methods and the impact of agile methodologies on existing curricular references such as SWEBOK.

Academic Storytelling: A Critical Race Theory Story of Affirmative Action

The minority (nonwhite) can tell stories about institutional practices in academia that result in unintended benefits for the majority (white). One institutional practice in academia is affirmative action. This article presents a story about a minority applicant for a sociology position and his referral to an affirmative action program for recruiting minority faculty. One reason for telling the story is to illustrate how an affirmative action program can be implemented in a manner that marginalizes minority persons in the faculty recruitment process and results in benefits for majority persons. Another reason for telling the story is to sound an alarm for majority and minority faculty who support affirmative action programs that the programs can fall short of their goals if their implementation is simply treated as a bureaucratic activity in academia.

How Scholarship Defames the Native Voice. .. and Why

he examination of Indian-white relations in America by academics in the disciplines has always been a contentious matter. But for a few brief decades of this century, from 1960 to 1990, there seemed to be an empathetic and mutually supporting relationship between publishers and scholars and Indians who had begun to provoke reassessments in the emerging postcolonial debates. In the midsixties, as an early example of mutual interest and respect, Black Elk Speaks, the story of an Oglala holy man told by a University of Nebraska poet, John Niehardt, became an international bestseller. In the early eighties, I, Rigoberta Menchu: An Indian Woman in Guatemala (London: Verso, 1984), a life story translated by Ann Wright and edited by Elisabeth Burgos (an anthropologist in Paris and the wife of Regis Debray, the French philosopher who popularized Cuban theories of guerilla warfare), also became a best-seller and won a Nobel Peace Prize for its Guatemalan Indian subject. In these years also, a young Kiowa professor of literature from Oklahoma, N. Scott Momaday, won a Pulitzer for his novel about the relocation period of contemporary s 79 American Indian history, House Made of Dawn, and he has been acclaimed ever since as the preeminent literary voice of Native America. These are just a few of the examples of postcolonial work by Indian scholars who during those years began to wage a battle against what they alleged was a practice in academia to disbelieve or to blame or to damage their efforts to become a part of the American intellectual voice.

Mediation and Minority Members of Academe

Focus groups are used to gather information from minorities in a university setting. Minority members of three campus groups (students, staff, and faculty) identified issues that could lead to relational conflicts. Alternative methods of dispute resolution are discussed in terms of their suitability and viability for use by minorities in academe. Mediation is presented as the preferred process for conflict resolution on an increasing number of college and university campuses. Mediation as a form of sociological practice in academia is a wide-open field of opportunity.

Tenure and Other Unusual Personnel Practices in Academia

the problem of specialization as knowledge expands, research obsolescence, and the informational asymmetries between a university and its faculty. This article explores how distinctive features of academia, including peer review, tenure, up or out rules, the negative seniority wage premium, the role of outside offers, and the proliferation of academic journals alleviate these constraints. This article also studies how these issues affect the evolution of the organization of academia in Modem universities and colleges in North America sell (teach) knowledge of social and scientific advances to students. The frontier of knowledge advances and expands stochastically. This fluidity creates three interrelated problems in the market for professors which modem universities and colleges have to solve: specialization, obsolescence, and asymmetric information between the university and its faculty. Due to the expanding knowledge frontier, no professor can keep up with all the new advances in her discipline. Professors have to specialize just to keep up with part of the discipline. At the individual level, since specialization