Practitioner Research Research Articles

Neocolonialism and science diplomacy: lessons learned from the field and the way forward

To level the playing field in the production of global knowledge, we need to understand the practical implications of colonial heritage and how it has disproportionately affected scientific discourse and the generation and utilization of scientific knowledge from and about the Global South. This article explores how research practitioners can level the playing field. We must think about how we can collectively change the narrative so that every emerging scientist from the Global South can flourish and have an equal opportunity to conduct research that is meaningful to them and their societies. We argue the time has come for innovative and flexible models allowing science diplomacy to integrate features of reflexive and inclusive governance in its very core structures.

What puzzles L2 learners about German grammar? Using practitioner research to explore threshold concepts in language curricula

Taking the perspective of a language program director (LPD), this practitioner research (PR) study describes how analysis of learners’ reflections written for an advanced undergraduate German course in the United States helped an LPD see how students had experienced learning grammar in lower-level instruction. The study analyses a semester-long project based on the PR framework of exploratory practice (EP), in which students ( n = 30) pursued individual questions (‘puzzles’) about German grammar that would be most meaningful to them in their language learning journey. Initial analysis of the students’ questions revealed a general preference among learners to investigate grammar topics previously covered in the lower-division curriculum. In-depth case studies, focused on two learners’ experiences with EP, show how the project allowed students to investigate their grammar puzzles using resources across the entire curriculum, including dialoguing with teachers and students in other courses. The study looks to threshold concept theory to theorize students’ learning experiences vis-à-vis L2 grammar (specifically inflectional morphology, i.e. case markings) and argues that the flexibility of the EP framework and its core tenets of working towards understanding and involving others supported the LPD in seeing how learners understood and felt about German grammar and grammar instruction across the larger curriculum.

Challenges and Opportunities for Tool Adoption in Industrial UX Research Collaborations

UX research practitioners analyze qualitative data to comprehend users' needs and synthesize design implications for software systems. Collaborating with multiple stakeholders is inevitable for these professionals and adds additional pressure to their already laborious data analysis tasks. In this paper, we investigate how these practitioners' multi-stakeholder collaboration affects their data analysis practices. Specifically, we investigate the challenges qualitative UX research (QUXR) practitioners face, limitations of the current qualitative data analysis (QDA) support tools they use, and design implications for future QDA tools to address the limitations. Through semi-structured interviews combined with diagramming activities with thirteen industry QUXR practitioners, we have revealed that collaboration becomes a bigger challenge than data analysis and that it often leads to (1) preferring simple tools despite the QDA specialized tools' beneficial features and (2) wanting to triangulate their work to convince stakeholders. Finally, we have synthesized these results and suggest design implications for QDA support tools.

“A New Way of Teaching and a New Way of Reaching Students”: Building Critical Awareness About Technology Through a Practitioner Inquiry Community

The growing presence of technology in Adult Foundational Education (AFE) represents affordances as well as challenges for marginalized student populations. Utilizing technologies in ways that foster and support AFE students’ agency requires opportunities for practitioners to reflect on problems of practice in their classrooms and make connections to broader structural issues in the field. This qualitative study explored the experiences of AFE practitioners from a large Northeast U.S. city during an 18-month professional development initiative focused on technology integration. Findings explore the practitioners’ range of social practices during the project, including adaptiveness and vulnerability, re-framing students’ digital literacies, and questioning normative assumptions about technology platforms. Understanding how these social practices emerged over time can spark efforts in AFE and other adult education contexts to engage in critically oriented explorations of students’ engagements with technology, ultimately supporting more asset-based approaches to using digital platforms.

Determinants Of Reputable Underwriters In Green Bond Offering

This research paper delves into the process by which industrial companies issuing green bonds can secure certification from reputable underwriters. By analyzing data from international green corporate bond offerings from the period between 2014 and 2022, the study aims to unravel the factors that influence underwriter selection decisions. Using a logit model to address the potential biases, the research reveals specific firm and bond characteristics that significantly impact the likelihood of collaborating with reputable underwriters. The findings indicate that reputable underwriters exhibit a preference for larger firms demonstrating strong financial performance, dealing with larger bond sizes, and possessing distinct bond features such as callability and involvement in private placements. Additionally, variables like maturity periods, involvement in finance vehicles, credit ratings, and syndicate size emerge as crucial factors in underwriter selection processes. These insights highlight the critical factors that issuers must thoroughly assess when selecting underwriters with strong reputations. The significance role of underwriter credibility, capabilities, and reliability in shaping the landscape of green bond underwriting is emphasized. This analysis holds relevance for both academic research and industry practitioners within the realm of sustainable finance.

BREAK FREE and Fly: A CBT School Counseling Group Curriculum for Anxiety

A junior/senior high school counselor used an innovative psychoeducational group counseling curriculum based on cognitive behavioral therapy to meet the social/emotional needs of identified students. This article provides a summary and evaluation of the small group plan conducted via practitioner research. Results indicated that, although participants’ overall feelings of anxiety did not significantly improve, the curriculum enabled study participants to meet defined learning objectives. We discuss implications for school counselors.

The Influence Of Originality, Quality, And Quantity On, Intention To Follow The Advice, Through Hedonic Experience, Opinion Leadership, And Perceived Aesthetics

Factors that determine the success of influencer marketing focusing on TikTok social network users This study examines the influence of influencer account characteristics (Perceived Originality Perceived Quantity, Perceived Quality), through Hedonic Experience, Opinion Leadership and Perceived Aesthetics and how this impacts their intention to Intention to Follow The Advice, if users feel that the content presented by an influencer is originality and has a large variety of content, they will tend to view the influencer as opinion leadership and, as a result are likely to follow the advice and recommendations of the influencer. The purpose of this study is to identify the determinants of influencer marketing success on TikTok and identify the characteristics that are most effective in attracting users on TikTok. This study was designed using purposive sampling method involving TikToker users and followers across Indonesia. quantitative research using partial least squares path modeling method (PLS-SEM). Some of the findings in this study are that there is no significant relationship between perceived aesthetics and intention to follow the advice and perceived originality has an indirect effect on opinion leadership. The managerial implication of this research for industry practitioners and researchers is that companies can design more targeted and effective marketing campaigns by understanding how perceived originality, quantity, and quality factors affect intention to follow the advice through hedonic experience. A thorough analysis with user preferences and an opportunity to build stronger and sustainable partnerships with the company's influencers and expand the reach of their campaigns, increasing the company's brand awareness.

Humanist Proselytizing in Distruptive Era Based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s)

Aim/Purpose: The disruptive era is an uncertain condition in social, political, and religious life that creates a new trend regarding monolithic religious understanding. A suitable proselytizing approach based on sustainable development goals is needed to improve the dignity of human life. Background: Social media plays an important role in the spread of a more monolithic religion. This triggered a significant conflict, so efforts are needed to improve religious understanding and experience, one of the fields affected by the disruptive era. Methodology: Various scientific research materials are reviewed to understand how proselytizing strategies are used in the disruptive era. Secondary data analysis was carried out for this qualitative and descriptive study. Contribution: This paper helps understand the right proselytizing strategy to minimize conflicts in the disruptive era by utilizing social media. Findings: The practice of humanist proselytizing through religious moderation and the strengthening of preachers is fundamental to strengthening literal religious understanding in the disruptive era. This study finding helps us understand how to apply proselytizing appropriately in this era of uncertainty. Recommendation for Practitioners: Implementing humanist proselytizing through religious moderation can reduce the monolithic understanding of society due to one of the negative impacts of social media. Recommendation for Researcher: To ensure the relevance of research studies, practitioners and researchers must maintain a collaborative approach with research insights to apply relevant proselytizing strategies in the disruptive era . Impact on Society: Analyze how the proselytizing approach is relevant to society in a disruptive era due to the dark side of social media in the religious. Technology evolves, so society must proactively address this problem with more literacy. In addition, the role of government policymakers, clerics, and ulama is important to reduce the monolithic understanding and cause conflict. Future Research: The study's scope will be better if it can determine the effectiveness of humanist proselytizing through religious moderation with a quantitative approach. In general, this study discusses the best proselytizing strategy in the disruptive era. The significant role of the media can be analyzed to dive deep. Similar studies could be conducted on other religious issues because of technological advancements.

A small lens on timescales and multimodality in classroom language learning emotions

AbstractEmpirical work exploring additional language (L+) learning emotions has both proliferated and expanded its focus over the past 15 years. The current article explores one possibility for responding to the challenge of capturing and describing emotions in order to furnish a more contextualized, multidimensional picture of emotions in L+ learning: the small‐lens approach. From the perspective of the author as a practitioner–researcher, this article draws on data from an L+ discussion activity. Via the activity, the practitioner–researcher identified an emotional outcome of interest and examined the historical buildup to this phenomenon. A narrative of the research process applied aims to illustrate the ways in which multimodal analysis and interrogation of psychological timescales might illuminate intersections between the social and individual. Rather than delineating a complete description of the research, the article strives to intimate possibilities and stimulate more nuanced, situated, and dynamic empirical work into the emergence of emotions in instructed L+ learning. While not the primary focus, some of the teleological (functional) aspects of emotions and emotional expression are also unearthed.

Using Theory and Practice to Develop Lottery Ticket Warning Messages as a Means of Promoting More Responsible Gambling

Background Playing the lottery is considered a public health concern in many countries due to financial losses associated with it, but also due to other harmful health and social problems. Focus of the article Informed by both theory and practice, this article focuses on developing lottery ticket warning messages targeting players harmed by excessive spending to promote sustainable behavior change. Research Question What should be communicated in lottery ticket warning messages targeting people at risk to facilitate behavior change and maintain it? Approach We bridge the gap between theory and practice and illustrate how theoretical models and current communications can shape messages. Specifically, we identify and examine lottery ticket warning messages and analyze their relative congruence to prevailing theories to assess the potential effectiveness of the messages and to recommend warning labels for lottery tickets. In addition, we incorporate knowledge used by cognitive psychologists in counselling to create warnings more likely to motivate and sustain behavior change. Importance to the Social Marketing Field Merging academic theory with existent communications ensures better knowledge translation and potentially better outcomes. Introducing verified techniques from Cognitive Behavior Therapy into social marketing initiatives could be a step forward into triggering behavior change. Methods A literature review was conducted to identify and select theoretical models appropriate to guide communications for lottery tickets harmful consumption. Searches were conducted to identify initiatives aiming at persuading and helping at-risk individuals to change their behavior in a healthy manner. Social marketing campaign messages were then compared with theoretical paradigms to identify ways in which campaign messages could be improved. Results Results show campaign messages were relatively consistent with some aspects of the theoretical models. Warning messages provide information that is relevant to the target audience and describe the severity and vulnerability of irresponsible consumption. They also attempt to decrease perceived costs and increase perceived self-efficacy in a variety of ways. Some also attempt to modify cognitive distortions the audience has in respect to chances of winning. However, initiatives should also increase consumers’ perceptions of the response-efficacy by emphasizing their agency, and further enhance individuals’ perception of self-efficacy by incorporating strategies from the Cognitive Model. Recommendations for Research and Practice Academics and practitioners can build on each other’s knowledge on an ongoing basis. By making it default to always consider both theory and practice, initiatives are likely to become more effective. Managers responsible for developing warning messages and implementing social marketing campaigns can experiment with the various theoretical approaches to determine which are comparatively more effective for their situations. Limitations Future research is needed to test the comparative effectiveness of these theories as a basis of creating persuasive warning messages.

Using health evidence to influence healthier urban development: a qualitative evaluation of a researcher–practitioner collaboration

ABSTRACT Despite evidence showing health impacts associated with environmental features such as housing, air quality, transport, and greenspaces, urban development decisions often result in less healthy environments. To address research-practice gaps we explore a collaboration involving an embedded researcher who bridged between urban development practitioners and researchers on a UK local government-led regeneration project. This facilitated development and implementation of a new health economic model that demonstrated the health impacts of changes to the built environment. We shared evidence at multiple timepoints to influence decision-making for a regeneration framework. Evaluation of this approach involved analysis of semi-structured interviews with key practitioners, alongside project meeting notes and embedded researcher field notes. We found that the academic-practitioner partnership, enabled by the embedded researcher, helped academics understand a complex system, and provided contextually relevant evidence for practitioners to highlight problems; support good/aspirational solutions; and consider trade-offs. Academic-practitioner collaborations can help develop and implement impactful interventions to tackle important, and complex, health challenges associated with the built environment. Understanding how evidence may be useful for different purposes can help to implement its use more effectively, and translate it for different audiences.

Quantifying the impact of ASR-based instruction: What does the iSpraak platform learner data show?

Computer-assisted Pronunciation Training (CAPT) tools have become increasingly dependent on Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) technology to provide automated corrective pronunciation feedback to learners. The extent to which ASR-based tools measurably improve second language (L2) pronunciation is of great interest to language educators globally, and Computer-assisted Language Learning (CALL) researchers. Studies to date have largely been conducted by research practitioners with small-to-medium sized samples at single institutions. The findings and conclusions drawn from such small-scale data collection might be significantly bolstered by analysing the vast stores of learner data from large CAPT platforms. This study is informed by a sizable eight-year dataset from iSpraak, an open-source pronunciation tool designed to model and evaluate L2 speech. Quantitative analysis of anonymised learner interactions with this application reveals significant gains in intelligibility measures across multiple languages. Results also suggest that the extent of ASR’s ability to improve learner pronunciation may be L2 dependent.

Yo! Chisme Is Good! Latina/x Girls’ Cultivando Confianza in an After-School Program

Background or Context: Middle-school Girls of Color experience complex systems of relationships, structures, and situations in and out of school spaces. Their experiences, however, are often at the margins or excluded from middle school curricula and after-school programming. In this article, we focus on how young women engage with chisme to liberate themselves from social and academic pressures placed upon them. Purpose and Research Questions: Our study seeks to center and explore the ways of knowing and being of Latina/x middle school girls with particular attention to the role of chisme. We draw on Chicana/Latina feminist perspectives to address the following research questions: (1) How do middle school Latina/x girls define chisme? (2) How and why was chisme enacted or leveraged to co-create a trusting space in an after-school program for middle school Latina/x girls? Research Design: We employed a practitioner research inquiry design to explore chisme as a literacy practice of Latina/x middle-school girls in an after-school program. The after-school program, Latina/x Girlhood Narratives, was implemented in a middle school in a mid-sized, urban city in the Midwest region of the United States. Analytically, we engaged in video data analysis and qualitative coding analysis to examine the data. Results and Conclusions: Three main findings emerged from the study: (1) shared understandings: chismes, rumors, and snitching; (2) todo or la mitad del chisme: a process and product of confianza; and (3) from chismes to liberatory literacy practices of desahogamiento. Our study demonstrates how chisme, in particular, not only was vital to building and deepening confianza, but also allowed access to the girls’ ideas for activities and pedagogies. The field of education must continue to work to make visible the ways in which Latina/x girls engage with themselves and the world in order to sustain better relationships with and for them, and to build pathways for Latina/x girls to see themselves as successful in schools and in society.

Using living experience and practitioner research to create unique programmes providing help for caregivers, professionals and students to increase support for children living with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

Using living experience and practitioner research to create unique programmes providing help for caregivers, professionals and students to increase support for children living with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

Co-design practice in higher education: practice theory insights into collaborative curriculum development

ABSTRACT Higher education curricula require regular renewal. Varied expertise is needed to meet the multi-faceted challenges of curriculum development, hence the importance of collaborative approaches. Co-design is one approach to curriculum making as a relational practice, with evidence showing it can improve pedagogical quality and stakeholder involvement via a collaborative ethos that breaks through constraints of individual imagination and assumptions. The actual doing of co-design in higher education remains largely undocumented, limiting our understanding of this crucial feature of contemporary pedagogical innovation and development. This paper combines the theory of practice architectures with practitioner inquiry to explore three co-design projects within a large curriculum transformation initiative at an Australian university. Each involved a course coordinator, educational developer and learning designer working with tutors, students, industry representatives and media producers. Analysis focuses on how co-design team members connected their own actions to those of others, and how they collectively accomplished things that could not have been achieved alone. Identifying these highlights co-design as a process of learning, coming to practise differently, shaped by the site at which it unfolds, but also reshaping this wider context. This analysis sheds new conceptual light on the black box of co-design as enacted in higher education.

The Role of Curiosity in Virtual Environments: A Conceptual Integration.

Brands need to have a digital strategy. Yet, it is difficult to grab consumers' attention in virtual environments. We present the Curiosity in Virtual Environment (CVE) model, which integrates empirical and conceptual work on virtual environments, goal content, and curiosity. The model seeks to serve as a guiding framework and tool for research scholars and practitioners working in virtual environments who want to communicate with consumers. To elaborate and present the CVE, we first discuss the main characteristics of virtual environments and types of goal contents, followed by a brief introduction to the theoretical developments of curiosity. The model is then introduced, showing four quadrants in which practitioners should have an easier (more difficult) time grabbing consumers' attention. We then conduct a selective review of experimental studies on curiosity and consumption, identifying three voids in the field. We finish the article by suggesting directions for future research and acknowledging the limitations of the CVE model.

Editorial

E ngā kaipānui o Set: Research Information for Teachers, kia ora, kia kaha, kia māia. Ko tēnei te wā o Whiringa-ā-Nuku. The sun is trying its best to warm the ground, still with a chill in the air. This issue aims to provide some warm support to teachers who have received crisp directions over the winter months on how to structure teaching and learning. Two commissioned supporting articles provide the bookends. For Q&A I asked the lead developer of social and emotional learning resources for teachers, Aha and Oto, to share her wisdom. Cat Lunjevich explains how collaborating with researchers, schools, and their communities influenced the design of the cards and the support they provide for teachers to foster social and emotional learning. For Assessment News I asked the Progressive Achievement Tests’ (PAT) Assessment Services and Education Advisory team to explain how they will support schools to manage the Ministry of Education’s new assessment requirements. Ben Gardiner and advisers draw on the concept of wayfinding to understand each school’s starting point and guide them toward their preferred destination. The article follows up the previous edition of Assessment News, which outlined the position of the New Zealand Council of Educational Research (Darr and Cosslett, 2024) on potential policy directions prior to the Ministry’s July announcement. Between the two bookends readers will find articles across Practitioner Inquiry, He Rangahau Whakarāpopoto, and He Whakaaro Anō.

Sustainable crowdfunding and cultural contexts: Evidence from a longitudinal multi-country analysis

Crowdfunding platforms are increasingly sensitive to sustainable practices. However, the connections between these platforms and sustainability remain under-researched. This study examines how the sustainability orientation of equity crowdfunding platforms influences their performance. Conducting a longitudinal analysis based on 573 platforms in 37 OECD countries over the 2008–2023 period, we document that social-oriented platforms outperform their counterparts. Platforms operating in countries with a more individualist and masculine culture gain less from their social orientation. We contribute to research and inform practitioners by showing that crowdfunding platforms benefit from engaging with sustainability issues and that cultural contexts matter for promoting sustainable crowdfunding.

Life cycle inventories for aviation: Background data, shortcomings, and improvements

In the context of growing environmental awareness and a drive towards sustainable aviation, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) emerges as a pivotal tool for evaluating the environmental impacts of current and novel technologies. This paper focuses on Life Cycle Assessment within the aviation sector, with a specific emphasis on Life Cycle Inventories (LCIs) and databases. Recognizing a relevant data gap in existing databases regarding aircraft maintenance, our study seeks to address this limitation. A maintenance, repair and overhaul use-case is proposed as an illustrative example to enrich underrepresented data in LCIs. Our methodology considers the entire service life of aircraft, building a cumulative life cycle inventory in a cradle-to-gate approach. Geographical representativeness is ensured for maintenance activities conducted in Germany, with extrapolation applied across Europe where necessary. Our findings underscore the need to differentiate maintenance activities between aircraft components and engines, as well as the importance of considering various flight scenarios, ranging from short to long haul. This paper contributes to the advancement of LCA in aviation by providing insights into improving data accuracy and completeness. It also delves into how and why data generation is possible and what are the necessary data improvements within the topic. This paper is aimed at LCA practitioners in both research and industry, thus fostering sustainable practices in aviation.

Evaluating the impact of digital and financial literacy on MSME performance

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to determine the critical success factors that contribute to the performance of micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the context of digital and financial literacy. This study employed the total interpretive structural modeling approach to construct a hierarchical model of important success elements and analyze their direct and indirect interconnections. This article specifies six success factors that impact the performance of MSMEs, with the consideration of their effects and value generation leading to enhanced performance. The results indicate that entrepreneurial orientation and digital literacy are the primary components of the developed model, with all factors collectively contributing to overall performance. By identifying and categorizing key components within the strategic model, the study provides MSME founders with a systematic way to enhance business competency, which has significant consequences for business growth and success. The hierarchical model developed in this research assists policy makers and practitioners in improving the performance of MSMEs.