Reconnecting theory and practice in a pluralistic organizing context : issues and Aristotelian considerations

The overall purpose of this paper is to contribute to the theory - practice gap debate in organization studies, especially in pluralistic contexts such as project organizing. We briefly outline some of the current debates, i.e. modernist and postmodernist proposals, and the prevalent dichotomous thinking stance assumptions to better move beyond it, anchoring our contribution in the Aristotelian ethical and practical philosophy. We introduce the current state of the debate, part of the broad question of “science that matters”, and the various discourses between practice and academia within social sciences and more specifically organizational studies. We briefly critically summarize some main features of the two main philosophical stances (modernism, postmodernism), before presenting some key aspects, for the purpose of this paper, of the Aristotelian pre-modern practical and ethical philosophy. Then, we build on the foundations above established, discussing propositions to reconnect theory and practice according the Aristotelian ethical and practical philosophy, and some key implications for research notably in the following areas: roles played by practitioners and scholars, emancipatory praxeological style of reasoning, for closing the “phronetic gap” and reconnecting means and ends, facts and values, relation between collective praxis, development of “good practice” (standards), ethics and politics. We conclude highlighting the role of the suggested shift to an Aristotelian emancipatory style of reasoning for reconciling theory and practice.

Validity of the computer science and applications (CSA) activity monitor in children

Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity of the CSA activity monitor as a measure of children's physical activity using energy expenditure (EE) as a criterion measure. Methods Thirty subjects aged 10 to 14 performed three 5-min treadmill bouts at 3, 4, and 6 mph, respectively. While on the treadmill, subjects wore CSA (WAM 7164) activity monitors on the right and left hips. (V) over dot O-2 was monitored continuously by an automated system. EE was determined by multiplying the average (V) over dot O-2 by the caloric equivalent of the mean respiratory exchange ratio. Results Repeated measures ANOVA indicated that both CSA monitors were sensitive to changes in treadmill speed. Mean activity counts from each CSA unit were not significantly different and the intraclass reliability coefficient for the two CSA units across all speeds was 0.87. Activity counts from both CSA units were strongly correlated with EE (r = 0.86 and 0.87, P < 0.001). An EE prediction equation was developed from 20 randomly selected subjects and cross-validated on the remaining 10. The equation predicted mean EE within 0.01 kcal.min(-1). The correlation between actual and predicted values was 0.93 (P < 0.01) and the SEE was 0.93 kcal.min(-1). Conclusion These data indicate that the CSA monitor is a valid and reliable tool for quantifying treadmill walking and running in children.

Towards the development of 1-to-n human machine interfaces for unmanned aerial vehicles

Multi-touch interfaces across a wide range of hardware platforms are becoming pervasive. This is due to the adoption of smart phones and tablets in both the consumer and corporate market place. This paper proposes a human-machine interface to interact with unmanned aerial systems based on the philosophy of multi-touch hardware-independent high-level interaction with multiple systems simultaneously. Our approach incorporates emerging development methods for multi-touch interfaces on mobile platforms. A framework is defined for supporting multiple protocols. An open source solution is presented that demonstrates: architecture supporting different communications hardware; an extensible approach for supporting multiple protocols; and the ability to monitor and interact with multiple UAVs from multiple clients simultaneously. Validation tests were conducted to assess the performance, scalability and impact on packet latency under different client configurations.

Integration of science and monitoring of river ecosystem health to guide investments in catchment protection and rehabilitation

1. Stream ecosystem health monitoring and reporting need to be developed in the context of an adaptive process that is clearly linked to identified values and objectives, is informed by rigorous science, guides management actions and is responsive to changing perceptions and values of stakeholders. To be effective, monitoring programmes also need to be underpinned by an understanding of the probable causal factors that influence the condition or health of important environmental assets and values. This is often difficult in stream and river ecosystems where multiple stressors, acting at different spatial and temporal scales, interact to affect water quality, biodiversity and ecosystem processes. 2. In this article, we describe the development of a freshwater monitoring programme in South East Queensland, Australia, and how this has been used to report on ecosystem health at a regional scale and to guide investments in catchment protection and rehabilitation. We also discuss some of the emerging science needs to identify the appropriate scale and spatial arrangement of rehabilitation to maximise river ecosystem health outcomes and, at the same time, derive other benefits downstream. 3. An objective process was used to identify potential indicators of stream ecosystem health and then test these across a known catchment land-use disturbance gradient. From the 75 indicators initially tested, 22 from five indicator groups (water quality, ecosystem metabolism, nutrient cycling, invertebrates and fish) responded strongly to the disturbance gradient, and 16 were subsequently recommended for inclusion in the monitoring programme. The freshwater monitoring programme was implemented in 2002, funded by local and State government authorities, and currently involves the assessment of over 120 sites, twice per year. This information, together with data from a similar programme on the region's estuarine and coastal marine waters, forms the basis of an annual report card that is presented in a public ceremony to local politicians and the broader community. 4. Several key lessons from the SEQ Healthy Waterways Programme are likely to be transferable to other regional programmes aimed at improving aquatic ecosystem health, including the importance of a shared common vision, the involvement of committed individuals, a cooperative approach, the need for defensible science and effective communication. 5. Thematic implications: this study highlights the use of conceptual models and objective testing of potential indicators against a known disturbance gradient to develop a freshwater ecosystem health monitoring programme that can diagnose the probable causes of degradation from multiple stressors and identify the appropriate spatial scale for rehabilitation or protection. This approach can lead to more targeted management investments in catchment protection and rehabilitation, greater public confidence that limited funds are being well spent and better outcomes for stream and river ecosystem health.

A study of the emotional climate of a science education class for pre-service teachers in Bhutan

This thesis studied the emotional climate (EC) of a pre-service science teachers' class in Bhutan. It examined the types of activities students engaged in and the relationship between the tutor and students whose interactions produced both positive and negative EC in the class. The major finding was that the activities involving students' presentations using video clips and models, group activity, and coteaching valenced the class EC positively. Negative EC was identified when the tutor ignored students' responses, during formal lectures, and when the tutor was uncertain of the subject knowledge. The replication of activities that produce positive EC by other Bhutanese tutors may improve the standard of science education in the country.

Computational science for undergraduate biologists via QUT.Bio.Excel

Molecular biology is a scientific discipline which has changed fundamentally in character over the past decade to rely on large scale datasets – public and locally generated - and their computational analysis and annotation. Undergraduate education of biologists must increasingly couple this domain context with a data-driven computational scientific method. Yet modern programming and scripting languages and rich computational environments such as R and MATLAB present significant barriers to those with limited exposure to computer science, and may require substantial tutorial assistance over an extended period if progress is to be made. In this paper we report our experience of undergraduate bioinformatics education using the familiar, ubiquitous spreadsheet environment of Microsoft Excel. We describe a configurable extension called QUT.Bio.Excel, a custom ribbon, supporting a rich set of data sources, external tools and interactive processing within the spreadsheet, and a range of problems to demonstrate its utility and success in addressing the needs of students over their studies.

The continuing decline of science and mathematics enrolments in Australian high schools

Is there a crisis in Australian science and mathematics education? Declining enrolments in upper secondary Science and Mathematics courses have gained much attention from the media, politicians and high-profile scientists over the last few years, yet there is no consensus amongst stakeholders about either the nature or the magnitude of the changes. We have collected raw enrolment data from the education departments of each of the Australian states and territories from 1992 to 2012 and analysed the trends for Biology, Chemistry, Physics, two composite subject groups (Earth Sciences and Multidisciplinary Sciences), as well as entry, intermediate and advanced Mathematics. The results of these analyses are discussed in terms of participation rates, raw enrolments and gender balance. We have found that the total number of students in Year 12 increased by around 16% from 1992 to 2012 while the participation rates for most Science and Mathematics subjects, as a proportion of the total Year 12 cohort, fell (Biology (-10%), Chemistry (-5%), Physics (-7%), Multidisciplinary Science (-5%), intermediate Mathematics (-11%), advanced Mathematics (-7%) in the same period. There were increased participation rates in Earth Sciences (+0.3%) and entry Mathematics (+11%). In each case the greatest rates of change occurred prior to 2001 and have been slower and steadier since. We propose that the broadening of curriculum offerings, further driven by students' self-perception of ability and perceptions of subject difficulty and usefulness, are the most likely cause of the changes in participation. While these continuing declines may not amount to a crisis, there is undoubtedly serious cause for concern.

Experiences with control of evaporators using extensive vapour bleeding

FOR SUGAR factories with cogeneration plants major changes to the process stations have been undertaken to reduce the consumption of exhaust steam from the turbines and maximise the generated power. In many cases the process steam consumption has been reduced from greater than 52% on cane to ~40% on cane. The main changes have been to install additional evaporation area at the front of the set, operate the pan stages on vapour from No 1 or No 2 effects and undertake juice heating using vapour bleed from evaporators as far down the set as the penultimate stage. Operationally, one of the main challenges has been to develop a control system for the evaporators that addresses the objectives of juice processing rate (throughput) and steam economy, while producing syrup consistently at the required brix and providing an adequate and consistent vapour pressure for the pan stage operations. The cyclic demand for vapour by batch pans causes process disturbances through the evaporator set and these must be regulated in an effective manner to satisfy the above list of objectives for the evaporator station. The impact of the cyclic pan stage vapour demand has been modelled to define the impact on juice rate, steam economy, syrup brix and head space pressures in the evaporators. Experiences with the control schemes used at Pioneer and Rocky Point Mills are discussed. For each factory the paper provides information on (a) the control system used, the philosophy behind the control system and experiences in reaching the current system for control (b) the performance of the control system to handle the disturbances imposed by the pan stage and operate within other constraints of the factory (c) deficiencies in the current system and plans for further improvements. Other processing changes to boost the performance of the evaporators are also discussed.

Surface science of plasma exposed surfaces : a challenge for applied plasma science

This article introduces a deterministic approach to using low-temperature, thermally non-equilibrium plasmas to synthesize delicate low-dimensional nanostructures of a small number of atoms on plasma exposed surfaces. This approach is based on a set of plasma-related strategies to control elementary surface processes, an area traditionally covered by surface science. Major issues related to balanced delivery and consumption of building units, appropriate choice of process conditions, and account of plasma-related electric fields, electric charges and polarization effects are identified and discussed in the quantum dot nanoarray context. Examples of a suitable plasma-aided nanofabrication facility and specific effects of a plasma-based environment on self-organized growth of size- and position-uniform nanodot arrays are shown. These results suggest a very positive outlook for using low-temperature plasma-based nanotools in high-precision nanofabrication of self-assembled nanostructures and elements of nanodevices, one of the areas of continuously rising demand from academia and industry.

Emotional climate and high quality learning experiences in science teacher education

The role of emotion during learning encounters in science teacher education is under-researched and under-theorized. In this case study we explore the emotional climates, that is, the collective states of emotional arousal, of a preservice secondary science education class to illuminate practice for producing and reproducing high quality learning experiences for preservice science teachers. Theories related to the sociology of emotions informed our analyses from data sources such as preservice teachers’ perceptions of the emotional climate of their class, emotional facial expressions, classroom conversations, and cogenerative dialogue. The major outcome from our analyses was that even though preservice teachers reported high positive emotional climate during the professor’s science demonstrations, they also valued the professor’s in the moment reflections on her teaching that were associated with low emotional climate ratings. We co-relate emotional climate data and preservice teachers’ comments during cogenerative dialogue to expand our understanding of high quality experiences and emotional climate in science teacher education. Our study also contributes refinements to research perspectives on emotional climate.

Computational plasma nanoscience : where plasma physics meets surface science

Multiscale hybrid simulations that bridge the nine-order-of-magnitude spatial gap between the macroscopic plasma nanotools and microscopic surface processes on nanostructured solids are described. Two specific examples of carbon nanotip-like and semiconductor quantum dot nanopatterns are considered. These simulations are instrumental in developing physical principles of nanoscale assembly processes on solid surfaces exposed to low-temperature plasmas.

Theorizing in design science research : an abstraction layers framework

For Design Science Research (DSR) to gain wide credence as a research paradigm in Information Systems (IS), it must contribute to theory. “Theory cannot be improved until we improve the theorizing process, and we cannot improve the theorizing process until we describe it more explicitly, operate it more self-consciously, and decouple it from validation more deliberately” (Weick 1989, p. 516). With the aim of improved design science theorizing, we propose a DSR abstraction-layers framework that integrates, interlates, and harmonizes key methodological notions, primary of which are: 1) the Design Science (DS), Design Research (DR), and Routine Design (RD) distinction (Winter 2008); 2) Multi Grounding in IS Design Theory (ISDT) (Goldkuhl & Lind 2010); 3) the Idealized Model for Theory Development (IM4TD) (Fischer & Gregor 2011); and 4) the DSR Theorizing Framework (Lee et al. 2011). Though theorizing, or the abstraction process, has been the subject of healthy discussion in DSR, important questions remain. With most attention to date having focused on theorizing for Design Research (DR), a key stimulus of the layered view was the realization that Design Science (DS) produces abstract knowledge at a higher level of generality. The resultant framework includes four abstraction layers: (i) Design Research (DR) 1st Abstract Layer, (ii) Design Science (DS) 2nd Abstract Layer, (iii) DSR Incubation 3rd Layer, and (iv) Routine Design 4th Layer. Differentiating and inter-relating these layers will aid DSR researchers to discover, position, and amplify their DSR contributions. Additionally, consideration of the four layers can trigger creative perspectives that suggest unplanned outputs. The first abstraction layer, including its alternative patterns of activity, is well recognized in the literature. The other layers, however, are less well recognized; and the integrated representation of layers is novel.

The importance of science fiction and other STEM-related mass media in young people’s decisions to enrol in university STEM courses

This paper presents Australian results from the Interests and Recruitment in Science (IRIS) study with respect to the influence of STEM-related mass media, including science fiction, on students’ decisions to enrol in university STEM courses. The study found that across the full cohort (N=2999), students tended to attribute far greater influence to science-related documentaries/channels such as Life on Earth and the Discovery Channel, etc. than to science-fiction movies or STEM-related TV dramas. Males were more inclined than females to consider science fiction/fantasy books and films and popular science books/magazines as having been important in their decisions. Students taking physics/astronomy tended to rate the importance of science fiction/fantasy books and films higher than students in other courses. The implications of these results for our understanding of influences on STEM enrolments are discussed.

Changes in teachers’ behaviour in secondary science education : implementing a standards-referenced national curriculum

There is substantial attention worldwide to the quality of secondary school teaching in STEM in Education. This paper reports on the use of Outcome Mapping (OM) as an approach to guide and monitor change in teacher practice and a visual tool, shaped as a Star, to benchmark and monitor this behaviour. OM and the visual tool were employed to guide and document three secondary teachers’ behaviour as they planned, implemented and assessed a science unit in the new Australian standards-referenced curriculum. Five key outcome markers in the teachers’ behaviour were identified together with progress markers — cumulative qualitative indicators — leading to these outcomes. The use of a Star to benchmark and track teachers’ behaviours was particularly useful because it showed teacher behaviour on multiple dimensions simultaneously at various points in time. It also highlighted priorities in need of further attention and provided a pathway to achievement. Hence, OM and the Star representation provide both theoretical and pragmatic approaches to enhancing quality in STEM teaching.