Practitioner Research Research Articles

Igniting the Fire Within: Culturally Relevant Expository Writing

This article presents the findings of an action research study that explored the impact of culturally relevant writing instruction in an English classroom. Research practitioners have used terms such as real-life (Moore-Hart, 2005), innovative (Kinloch, 2009), and culturally relevant writing pedagogy (Winn & Johnson, 2011) to denote the type of experiential and relevant writing instruction that should be occurring in classrooms. These terms are synonymous because they require students to leverage their culture, perspectives, interests, and personal experiences as inspiration for writing. The discussion begins by presenting the literature on culturally relevant literacy instruction. Then, the author discusses the steps for implementing this pedagogical approach and provides key insights on the subject matter.

Understanding Students’ English-Speaking Difficulties: An Exploratory Practice Approach with Web 2.0

Education literature has advocated the adoption of Exploratory Practice, a form of practitioner research developed for teachers and students to work on local puzzles (what puzzles them in their teaching and learning) for understanding. Despite the popularity of Exploratory Practice in different contexts, there has been little exploration of how Web 2.0 can be employed in Exploratory Practice to enhance language learning and teaching, considering the reality of a digital world for both language teachers and learners. This article bridges this gap by introducing Exploratory Practice with Web 2.0 to a Chinese high school English class, prompted by a teacher's puzzle regarding her students’ English-speaking difficulties. Normal classroom activities were used as data-collection tools. This innovation was found effective in boosting students’ confidence and comfort in speaking English in class and in enhancing teaching and learning experiences. The innovation, therefore, affirms Exploratory Practice as a viable research proposal for practitioners and the value of integrating Web 2.0 with Exploratory Practice to explore issues in language classrooms.

Precision healthcare: A deep dive into machine learning algorithms and feature selection strategies for accurate heart disease prediction

This paper presents a comprehensive exploration of machine learning algorithms (MLAs) and feature selection techniques for accurate heart disease prediction (HDP) in modern healthcare. By focusing on diverse datasets encompassing various challenges, the research sheds light on optimal strategies for early detection. MLAs such as Decision Trees (DT), Random Forests (RF), Support Vector Machines (SVM), Gaussian Naive Bayes (NB), and others were studied, with precision and recall metrics emphasized for robust predictions. Our study addresses challenges in real-world data through data cleaning and one-hot encoding, enhancing the integrity of our predictive models. Feature extraction techniques—Recursive Feature Extraction (RFE), Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and univariate feature selection—play a crucial role in identifying relevant features and reducing data dimensionality. Our findings showcase the impact of these techniques on improving prediction accuracy. Optimized models for each dataset have been achieved through grid search hyperparameter tuning, with configurations meticulously outlined. Notably, a remarkable 99.12 % accuracy was achieved on the first Kaggle dataset, showcasing the potential for accurate HDP. Model robustness across diverse datasets was highlighted, with caution against overfitting. The study emphasizes the need for validation of unseen data and encourages ongoing research for generalizability. Serving as a practical guide, this research aids researchers and practitioners in HDP model development, influencing clinical decisions and healthcare resource allocation. By providing insights into effective algorithms and techniques, the paper contributes to reducing heart disease-related morbidity and mortality, supporting the healthcare community's ongoing efforts.

Global trends in applying decision science in mangrove restoration: are we missing some dimensions?

Mangrove restoration involves complex decision-making processes and can often lack adequate stakeholder engagement and empowerment to inform effective restoration outcomes. Decision science has the potential to overcome such challenges by facilitating structured approaches to make informed, participatory, and defensible decisions through the use of decision-support frameworks and tools. In this paper, we conduct a bibliometric and scoping review of peer-reviewed scientific literature to identify how decision science has been applied to advise mangrove restoration efforts and the extent to which social, economic, and ecological variables have been used to inform these studies. We find a steady increase in the number of mangrove restoration studies that employ decision science from 1990 to 2022, with an annual growth rate of 4.4%. We identified over 300 decision support tools used in mangrove restoration literature. Spatial data was the most documented tool to support mangrove studies. We also find that most papers focused on ecological variables (85.5%), while social (27.2%) and economic (15.1%) variables received less attention. Studies that used decision support frameworks were also sparse, where the most featured framework was Systematic Conservation Planning. The number of studies explicitly incorporating social and economic variables was limited, and there was also a scarcity of studies incorporating variables associated with governance. Regardless of the dominance of ecological variables, this review highlights a shift towards incorporating social dimensions into decision tools, emphasizing concepts like vulnerability to climate change, ecosystem services, and social benefits. Collaboration among countries, scientists, and practitioners is crucial to operationalise a socio-ecological framework within decision science. Enhancing the utility of scientific research for practitioners remains a critical goal in addressing the challenges faced by mangrove restoration projects globally.

The Role of Souvenirs in Enhancing Local Cultural Sustainability: A Systematic Literature Review

Souvenirs can facilitate the dissemination and promotion of culture, and culture gives souvenirs unique characteristics and cultural connotations. With the increasingly competitive academic environment, an in-depth understanding of the relationship between souvenirs and local culture is crucial to the theory and practice of souvenir and local culture-development research. The main purpose of this study is to review the previous literature that articulates the dynamic relationship of interdependence and development between souvenirs and local culture. Based on a systematic literature review, the data for this study came from a review of 35 documents between 2019 and 2024. The documents were then analysed individually using the ATLAS.ti 24 program. The analysis revealed five central themes: (1) sustainability and innovation; (2) authenticity and experience; (3) economic and community impact; (4) cultural identity expression; and (5) consumer behaviour and technology. These themes illuminate that souvenirs are not only cultural ambassadors, but also play a critical role in economic development, cultural preservation, and consumer engagement. The findings provide new directions for future research and actionable insights for practitioners, researchers, and designers who enhance the sustainability of local culture through souvenirs. This review contributes to a deeper understanding of the dynamic interactions between souvenirs and local cultures and proposes a framework for the sustainable development of souvenirs.

Talent management and employees with disabilities: a systematic literature review in the context of COVID-19

PurposeThe purpose of this literature review is, first, to understand how employees with disabilities in the context of COVID-19 have been studied under the talent management (TM) approach; second, to explore what we know about the predictors and outcomes that have been linked to TM practices in that area; and third, to identify gaps in our understanding and provide insights for future research.Design/methodology/approachThis paper presents a systematic literature review (SLR) based on 38 academic sources published in high-impact indexes from 2020 to 2023.FindingsThe existing research shows COVID-19 as a crucial context that led organizations to more precarious and segmented TM practices, which had negative consequences for employees with disabilities, both at the individual level (reduced satisfaction and income, and increased health issues) and the organizational level (increased unemployment, turnover and discrimination as well as declining performance and productivity).Originality/valueThis paper provides essential contributions to the field of TM in the relatively unexplored context of employees with disabilities since the emergence of COVID-19. Our literature review suggests there is significant room for developing and implementing adjusted TM strategies and practices to foster effective inclusiveness, accommodations and supportive work environments for employees with disabilities. From this evidence, a number of key avenues for future research and key implications for academics and practitioners are provided.

Redefining Student Learning Identities

This paper presents a focused examination of a practitioner research case study, honing in on twelve college students in a class of thirty-seven, enrolled in a chemistry course within a blended learning framework. Over the course of two years, the research aimed to delve deeply into the impact of networked learning experiences on the learning identities of these students. Through meticulous exploration using in-depth interviews, significant positive transformations in the learning identities of these twelve students were unearthed. The research question guiding this work was to understand how the blended learning approach, which included an online networked learning component supplementing face-to-face learning, brought about a change in student learning. The study investigated the impact of online participation on the learning identities of the students and how, in turn, the class was generally affected by the transformation of student identities. By examining the interplay between online and face-to-face learning modalities, this research sheds light on the complex dynamics shaping the learning experiences and identities of college students in blended learning environments. Distinctly, the investigation identified two main components of the student learning identity. These are the academic and positional sub-identities. The academic identity transformation was particularly noteworthy, revealing an emergent sense of control, agency, empowerment, and competence as a result of the students embracing online collaborative learning. Simultaneously, the research brought to light changes in the positional identity, encompassing persona-related, acted, and relational identities. The interplay of these identities within the class fostered a profound sense of belonging, of being valued, and connectedness among the students, extending its influence into the face-to-face learning contexts.The findings emphasize that networked learning collaborative skills not only enhance traditional educational practices but also play a key role in effecting positive changes in students' learning identities. The integration of online collaborative learning within traditional educational settings emerged as a catalyst for fundamental transformations in how students perceive and engage with their learning processes. The research contributes to knowledge on the impact of digital pedagogies on learning identities and suggests that educators can use online collaborative learning experiences to cultivate a more profound impact on students' learning identities and engagement, thereby enriching both theory and practice in education. It offers valuable insights on fostering dynamic and empowered learning environments to educators.

Research Experiences for Undergraduates Through Extracurricular Practitioner Inquiry: Exploring the Experiences of Preservice Elementary Teachers

ABSTRACT Bridging the theory-practice gap remains a challenge in preparing preservice elementary teachers for science teaching. Research experiences for undergraduates (REU) offer a potential way to help preservice elementary teachers (PSTs) come to value and implement research-based science teaching. REUs come in many forms but often take the form of either extracurricular research with a practicing scientist. Alternatively, practitioner inquiries are often used as part of a teacher preparation course or practicum but often are limited in time and scope. In this study, we report on a novel approach to an REU that combined the features of a traditional REU and practitioner inquiry, which we refer to as Extracurricular Practitioner Inquiry (EPI). PSTs collaboratively developed, tested, and prepared curricular units for publication as part of an extracurricular, funded project. A mixed-methods approach, including nonrandom matched pairs and semi-structured interviews, was used to investigate the impact of the EPI experience on PSTs’ knowledge and beliefs about science teaching. As a result of their participation in the novel EPI, when compared with a control group, the PST participants developed beliefs more consistent with research-based science teaching. Support from collaborators, shifts in self-perception, and improved understanding of the research-practice relationship seem to have mediated changes in the PSTs’ knowledge and beliefs about science teaching.

Child sexual exploitation and abuse disclosure and help‐seeking: A glimpse of global South data

AbstractOver decades, research practitioners have highlighted how survivors of sexual abuse in childhood face strong forms of stigma including victim‐blaming, shame and social isolation. However, the data and evidence are disproportionately slanted towards the global North. Shifting the focus to the global South, this reflective piece draws on two substantial multicountry research projects to highlight the expectations and experiences of young survivors of child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) in their quest for support. By applying a socio‐ecological analysis, it demonstrates how societal stigma—from both professionals and young people themselves—compounds the help‐seeking process. The findings support the well‐documented concept that disclosing sexual violence is an ongoing—not singular—process that depends on a series of interactions at the individual, interpersonal and institutional levels of the ecosystem. Building better trauma‐informed responses is likely to help; however, a focus only on services falls short, especially in countries where child protection systems struggle to thrive. A concurrent transformative shift in both social and gender norms across the ecosystem is essential to address the seemingly intractable challenges to child sexual exploitation and abuse prevention and response.

Metaverse Technology Research in Tourism and Hospitality Marketing in Indonesian Context: A Systematic Review

This article urgently examines the pressing need for research on metaverse technology (MT) within the tourism and hospitality marketing (THMK) context in Indonesia. Despite its potential, the current state-of-art-of MT research in THMK remains underexplored and limited particularly within tourism and hospitality marketing landscape. Through a systematic literature review (SLR) using the PRISMA Protocol and focusing on ProQuest database articles from 2012-2022, this study vigorously assessed 313 articles narrowing down to 34 relevant ones. These articles were meticulously analyzed to unveil the current state of MT within THMK context for the past decade. The study findings revealed that the current state of art of MT Research in THMK is substantially increasing although there were relatively limited studies in hospitality setting with very narrow and limited range of theoretical and methodical perspectives. Six dimensions of MT in THMK were identified, namely big data analytics, 3-D virtual representation, and augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), smart, Internet of Things and blockchain technology. Using SLR provides an empirical foundation for understanding the current landscape of MT research in THMK within Indonesia, highlighting the need for further exploration and development. By addressing this urgent research gap, scholars and practitioners can unlock the full potential of MT in transforming THMK practices in Indonesia.

Analysis of the effects of urban micro-scale vulnerabilities on tsunami evacuation using an agent-based model – case study in the city of Iquique, Chile

Abstract. The occurrence of mega-tsunamis over the last couple of decades has greatly increased the efforts of the research community and practitioners to work hand in hand to reduce risks from these highly destructive threats. Protecting the population through evacuation is the best alternative for avoiding loss of life in the wake of the occurrence of a tsunamigenic earthquake. Therefore, guaranteeing the proper state of evacuation routes is very important to ensuring appropriate movement to the safe zones. This study carries out a detailed analysis of possible evacuation scenarios, considering the actual state of the escape routes of Iquique, a Chilean city prone to tsunamis, with a substantial number of urban micro-scale vulnerabilities, i.e., elements that obstruct or complicate pedestrian flow. The quantification of the delay in evacuation processes resulting from the presence of urban micro-vulnerabilities is carried out through micro-scale agent-based model (ABM) simulations. In addition, these results are integrated with high-resolution tsunami inundation simulations, allowing for an estimation of the potential number of people that the tsunami may reach under different scenarios by emulating the dynamics and behavior of the population and the decision-making regarding the starting time of the evacuation.

Reading and (re)writing democracy: Asian American girls claim civic space through literary inquiry

PurposeThis paper aims to trace how Asian American girls engaged with civic learning in a virtual out-of-school literacy community featuring a curriculum of diverse literary texts.Design/methodology/approachThe researcher used practitioner inquiry to construct a virtual literacy education community dedicated to the civic learning of Asian American girls.FindingsThe paper explores how participants mobilized critical practices of textual consumption and production rooted in their intersectional identities and embodied experiences to make meaning of the civic constraints and affordances of marginalized identities and to read and (re)design author choices for civic purposes. These findings – examples of youths’ critical civic meaning-making – indicate how they claimed space for Asian American civic girlhoods in literacy education.Originality/valueThis paper foregrounds how Asian American girls mobilize critical processes of text consumption and production to assert civic identities in literacy education – a significantly under-examined topic in literacy studies. This work has implications for how literacy practitioners and scholars can prioritize Asian American civic girlhoods through pedagogy and research.

How cAN we grow research in community-baseD NHS and SociaL CarE Services (HANDLE)?

Background Community-based NHS and social care services offer a wide range of health and social care services, including General Practice, care homes, hospices, community pharmacies, district and community nursing, and mental health services, which provide care from birth to the end of life. However, despite being fundamental to plans for health and critical social care, community-based NHS health services are poorly understood compared to hospital-based services. A scoping exercise failed to identify any specific research examining the barriers and facilitators of community-based NHS and social care services. Objectives 1) To develop a qualitative framework using semi-structured interviews to explore the perspectives and experiences of the research staff and practitioners. 2) To explore how we can build research on community-based NHS and Social Care services using the perspectives and experiences of the research participants. 3) To make recommendations to clinicians, practitioners, policymakers, and funding organizations on how to build research in community-based NHS and Social Care Services. Methods With reference to the literature and input from the project team and key stakeholders, interviews will be conducted using a semi-structured topic guide. The interview guide will identify barriers and facilitators to researching community-based NHS health and social services. Outcomes The intended outcomes of this study could help in understanding and developing strategies to address workforce needs to increase the capacity and capability of research delivery. Further, to embed a research culture in community-based NHS and social care services by supporting collaborative work between primary, secondary, community, and social care to build research capacity and capability; reach underserved communities and increase local engagement and participation in research; and increase equality, diversity, and inclusion by adding research in community-based NHS and social care services where everyone lives.

Key driver analysis with relative weight analysis: A two-step approach

Key driver analysis (statistically inferred importance analysis) is commonly implemented to understand what customer satisfaction attributes are most important in driving overall customer satisfaction. Building on prior research, this article suggests that dominance analysis and relative weight analysis are the most appropriate statistical techniques for conducting key driver analysis, yet relative weight analysis is the more feasible choice. A process is put forth so that research practitioners can conduct key driver analysis with relative weight analysis implementing a two-step approach. The two-step approach should be used when the key driver analysis contains a large number of attributes, which are theoretically redundant and highly correlated.

Practitioner research as a pathway to educational leadership

ABSTRACT ‘Educational Leadership’ is embedded in [country] early childhood policy. What the role is, who should do it and why educators are hesitant about becoming leaders however, remains ambiguous. According to the national curriculum framework and teacher standards, more research about the work of educators is needed. The reported research aimed to investigate whether long-term, enquiry-based professional learning, utilizing practitioner research, could lead to quality improvement. Practitioner Research engaged educators in investigating and improving practice in a continuous process of quality improvement. Research topics were pedagogical in nature, designed to be enabling of ‘educational leadership’ for quality improvement. Action Research was used by practitioner researchers to investigate ways to improve pedagogical quality. University researchers also used meta-research to investigate the action research processes. Focus groups and mentor statements revealed unexpectedly that the Educational Leader role was pivotal in the relationship between professional learning, practitioner research and quality. Strengthened Educational Leader identities emerged as participants gained research skills and evidence for designing and implementing pedagogical change. Knowledge building facilitated strengthened engagement of educator teams. This was transformational, informing the case for change and further exploration of practitioner research as a workforce strategy for quality improvement and staff retention.

A Study on the Effect of OTT Service Attributes on OTT Consumption Behavior; Focusing on 20’s

In media and content research, if research was mainly conducted from the perspective of "viewing" in the existing legacy media market, it is time to study from the perspective of "consumption" of purchasing and consuming OTT services as the global market expands after COVID-19. Therefore, through this study it is intended to be the starting point and catalyst for establishing a consumer behavior model in the media and content fields. In addition, we would like to provide implications for domestic OTT service research and OTT service practitioners by grasping the OTT consumption behavior of the generation through OTT service attributes in their 20s, which are emerging as the main consumption in the era of globalization.

The Practical Epistemologies of Design and Artificial Intelligence

AbstractThis article explores the epistemological trade-offs that practical and technology design fields make by exploring past philosophical discussions of design, practitioner research, and pragmatism. It argues that as technologists apply Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to more domains, the technology brings this same set of epistemological trade-offs with it. The basis of the technology becomes the basis of what it finds. There are correlations between questions that designers face in sampling and gathering data that is rich with context, and those that large-scale machine learning faces in how it approaches the rich context and subjectivity within its training data. AI, however, processes enormous amounts of data and produces models that can be explored. This makes its form of pragmatic inquiry that is amenable to optimisation. Finally, the paper explores implications for education that stem from how we apply AI to pedagogy and explanation, suggesting that the availability of AI-generated explanations and materials may also push pedagogy in directions of pragmatism: the evidence that explanations are effective may precede explorations of why they should be.

Children and Practitioners as Truth Seekers and Truth Tellers: Innovative, Counter-Hegemonic Approaches to Evaluating National Inclusion Policies

This paper describes and defends the counter-hegemonic methods applied to the investigation of a high-profile national policy for Early Education and Care (ECCE) in Ireland. The policy, the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) seeks to ensure the full inclusion and meaningful participation of children with disabilities in mainstream, state funded ECCE. It makes a significant contribution to data and debate on how research about inclusion can become inclusion in the context of policy evaluation. The design of the policy evaluation included surveys, in depth interviews and qualitative case studies of pre-schools and children supported by AIM which were deliberately designed to be counter-hegemonic through the recruitment of practitioners as co-researchers (as expert representatives within a feminised workforce), and the use of a participative method of elicitation that sough the perspectives and lived experiences of inclusion among fourteen children supported by AIM. This method was multi-modal mapping. With a focus on these counter-hegemonic elements, the paper poses questions about how the approach was counterhegemonic in terms of its theoretical underpinning, practical approach, and outcomes. Thematic analysis of the data collected by practitioner researchers for the child case studies showed that the approach did achieve counter-hegemony through the achievement of redistribution, representation, and recognition in both the enactment of the research, and in the reporting of children’s lived experience in the study as a whole. However, the extent of counter-hegemony achieved was limited when practitioner researchers were unable to deploy the multi-modal mapping method because of limited time, or because the child was not a speaker of English or was as yet, non-speaking. In a context where policy makers have a preference for positivist and rationalist approaches to evaluating the impact of policies, we assert that research about policies for inclusion, should be enacted as inclusion and social justice through the deliberate deployment of participatory and counter-hegemonic methods. We also assert that multi-modal mapping holds particular promise for researching the lived experience of inclusion and participation from the perspective of children and argue that more work needs to be done on developing these methods so that they are effective with all children, including those who are non-speaking. Finally, we posit that Fraser’s triune model of social justice can be applied as a benchmark for designing and evaluating counter-hegemonic modii and outcomes.

Impact of Social Media Marketing on Brand Loyalty, through the mediating role of customer experience: An Applied Study in the Egyptian Private Hospitals

Social media marketing has developed rapidly in the world's contemporary highly competitive business environment in order to gain patient loyalty and competitive advantage by providing prompt services. For research scholars and practitioners, the marketing strategy that incorporates technological advancements has taken center stage. Effective communication and interaction between stakeholders are crucial to the success of a business, and social media platforms provide the venue for such communication and interaction. Thus, the benefits and risks of scientific communication on social media during COVID-19 are understood, and social media may be employed in such emergency scenarios. The purpose of this research is to empirically investigate the impact of social media marketing on brand loyalty with mediation role of customer experience in the Egyptian private hospitals. A questionnaire tool was employed to gather required data from a convienacne sample of 416 Customer of Egyptian private hospitals and structural equation modelling technique (SEM) was utilized for analysis using Spss 28 & AMOS26 software. The main conclusions drawn from this study are the direct effect between social media marketing and Brand Loyalty is statistically significant, the direct effect between Social Media Marketing and customer experience is statistically significant. The direct effect between customer experience and brand loyalty is statistically significant. Finally, the study found that there is partial mediation effect of the customer experience between the relationship of social media marketing and brand loyalty in the Egyptian private hospitals.

A pilot study: Exploring suicidal ideation among non-offending adults with sexual attraction to minors, through their online forum posts

Summary An emerging field of research seeks to understand the experiences of non-offending adults who experience sexual attraction towards children. Research indicates that this largely hidden population can experience significant mental ill health and suicidal ideation, yet are reluctant to seek professional mental health support. Furthermore, mental ill health has been identified as a factor that can increase the likelihood of offending. This study, undertaken by a social work practitioner researcher, aimed to assist in understanding suicidality factors within this population, and to identify how statutory mental health services could be developed for this client group, thus contributing to child protection and suicide prevention agendas. A qualitative analysis was undertaken of data gathered from an online forum used by adults who have sexual attraction towards children, and are committed to non-offending. The data related to forum members’ experiences of suicidality, and key themes were identified through thematic analysis. Findings The study found that a pattern of suicidal ideation commonly appears to manifest and identified risk and protective factors that can influence suicidality. The benefits of peer support and the strengths and limitations of professional support were also identified. Applications The findings from this study contribute to an improved understanding of this client group for mental health practitioners. The findings also lay the foundation for further investigations, to inform the development of mental health services to facilitate improved outcomes for this client group, and for child protection.