Origins and early development of human body knowledge

As a knowable object, the human body is highly complex. Evidence from several converging lines of research, including psychological studies, neuroimaging and clinical neuropsychology, indicates that human body knowledge is widely distributed in the adult brain, and is instantiated in at least three partially independent levels of representation. Sensori-motor body knowledge is responsible for on-line control and movement of one's own body and may also contribute to the perception of others' moving bodies; visuo-spatial body knowledge specifies detailed structural descriptions of the spatial attributes of the human body; and lexical-semantic body knowledge contains language-based knowledge about the human body. In the first chapter of this Monograph, we outline the evidence for these three hypothesized levels of human body knowledge, then review relevant literature on infants' and young children's human body knowledge in terms of the three-level framework. In Chapters II and III, we report two complimentary series of studies that specifically investigate the emergence of visuospatial body knowledge in infancy. Our technique is to compare infants' responses to typical and scrambled human bodies, in order to evaluate when and how infants acquire knowledge about the canonical spatial layout of the human body. Data from a series of visual habituation studies indicate that infants first discriminate scrambled from typical human body pictures at 15 to 18 months of age. Data from object examination studies similarly indicate that infants are sensitive to violations of three-dimensional human body stimuli starting at 15-18 months of age. The overall pattern of data supports several conclusions about the early development of human body knowledge: (a) detailed visuo-spatial knowledge about the human body is first evident in the second year of life, (b) visuo-spatial knowledge of human faces and human bodies are at least partially independent in infancy and (c) infants' initial visuo-spatial human body representations appear to be highly schematic, becoming more detailed and specific with development. In the final chapter, we explore these conclusions and discuss how levels of body knowledge may interact in early development.

On systems thinking, systems biology and the in Silico Plant

The recent summary report of a Department of Energy Workshop on Plant Systems Biology (P.V. Minorsky [2003] Plant Physiol 132: 404-409) offered a welcomed advocacy for systems analysis as essential in understanding plant development, growth, and production. The goal of the Workshop was to consider methods for relating the results of molecular research to real-world challenges in plant production for increased food supplies, alternative energy sources, and environmental improvement. The rather surprising feature of this report, however, was that the Workshop largely overlooked the rich history of plant systems analysis extending over nearly 40 years (Sinclair and Seligman, 1996) that has considered exactly those challenges targeted by the Workshop. Past systems research has explored and incorporated biochemical and physiological knowledge into plant simulation models from a number of perspectives. The research has resulted in considerable understanding and insight about how to simulate plant systems and the relative contribution of various factors in influencing plant production. These past activities have contributed directly to research focused on solving the problems of increasing biomass production and crop yields. These modeling approaches are also now providing an avenue to enhance integration of molecular genetic technologies in plant improvement (Hammer et al., 2002).

Should the knowledge-based economy be a savant or a sage? Wisdom and socially intelligent innovation

Discourse about knowledge-based economies rarely moves beyond the commercialization of science and engineering, and is locked in the discursive limits of functionalism. We argue that these discourses limit the scope of what knowledge-based economies might achieve because they are uninformed by an adequate conception of knowledge. In particular, knowledge management and knowledge-based economy discourse has not included the axiological dimension of knowledge that leads to wisdom. Taking an axiological perspective, we can discuss policy frameworks aimed at producing the social structures needed to bring fully formed and fully functioning knowledge societies into being. We argue that while the dominant discourse of industrial modernity remains rationalist, functionalist, utilitarian and technocratic, knowledge-based economies will resemble a savant rather than a sage. A wisdom-based renaissance of humanistic epistemology is needed to avoid increasing social dysfunction and a lack of wisdom in complex technological societies.

Tradition, myth and the dilemma of Australian foreign policy

For a middle power with a relatively short history of framing a self determined foreign policy, Australia has actively sought to engage with both its immediate region and the wider world. Elite agreement on this external orientation, however, has by no means entailed consensus on what this orientation might involve in terms of policy. Consequently, two, often conflicting, traditions and their associated myths have informed Australian foreign policy-making. The most enduring tradition shaping foreign policy views Australia as a somewhat isolated bastion of Western civilisation. In this mode Australia's myth is pragmatic, but uncertain and sees Asia as both an opportunity and a potential threat which requires the support and counsel of culturally similar external powers engaged in the region to ensure stability. Against this, an alternative and historically later tradition crafted a foreign policy that advanced Australian independence through engagement with a seemingly monolithic and increasingly prosperous Asia. This paper explores the evolution and limitations of these foreign policy traditions and the myths that sustain them. It further considers what features of these traditions continue to have resonance in a region that has become more fluid and heterogeneous than it was during the Cold War and which requires a foreign policy flexibility that can address this complex and strategically uncertain environment.

Patterns in complex systems modeling

The design, development, and use of complex systems models raises a unique class of challenges and potential pitfalls, many of which are commonly recurring problems. Over time, researchers gain experience in this form of modeling, choosing algorithms, techniques, and frameworks that improve the quality, confidence level, and speed of development of their models. This increasing collective experience of complex systems modellers is a resource that should be captured. Fields such as software engineering and architecture have benefited from the development of generic solutions to recurring problems, called patterns. Using pattern development techniques from these fields, insights from communities such as learning and information processing, data mining, bioinformatics, and agent-based modeling can be identified and captured. Collections of such 'pattern languages' would allow knowledge gained through experience to be readily accessible to less-experienced practitioners and to other domains. This paper proposes a methodology for capturing the wisdom of computational modelers by introducing example visualization patterns, and a pattern classification system for analyzing the relationship between micro and macro behaviour in complex systems models. We anticipate that a new field of complex systems patterns will provide an invaluable resource for both practicing and future generations of modelers.

CONSOLIDAÇÃO OU MUDANÇA? UMA ANÁLISE FEMINISTA DA PASTORAL DA CRIANÇA

O objetivo central desta tese é investigar o potencial de transformação social da organização não-governamental, ligada a CNBB(Confederação Nacional dos Bispos do Brasil).- Pastoral da Criança - para a libertação de mulheres que lá atuam, das relações de dominação e opressões inerentes ao contexto kyriarchal. Esta pesquisa procura considerar o espaço religioso subjacente à organização em decorrência das influências das CEBs (Comunidades Eclesiais de Base) e do MRCC (Movimento de Renovação Católica Carismática). É feita pesquisa de campo na região de Curitiba com observações e entrevistas semi-estruturadas com doze mulheres atuando na Pastoral da Criança, valorizando-se a relação intersubjetiva entre pesquisadora e pessoas envolvidas na pesquisa. A análise qualitativa de dados em relação ao marco teórico feminista desenvolvido em Ciências Sociais pela sociologia, psicanálise e também a teologia, mostra o discurso das representações sociais das mulheres envolvidas, a percepção de suas próprias identidades e a importância da organização na construção de suas vidas. Nos traz a conclusão que a organização reproduz o perfil tradicional de mulheres na função materna e facilita a formação de redes comunitárias. Averigua-se que a Pastoral da Criança está vinculada ao sistema neoliberal de pensamento que reproduz os discursos de dominação do sistema kyriarchal da hierarquia da Igreja Católica e da medicina higienista. Essas instituições de apropriam da vida e dos corpos das mulheres e os reduzem às suas funções meramente biológicas, reprodutivas e de cuidados. A Pastoral da Criança é caracterizada por atividades que não consideram as causas estruturais da pobreza, mas apenas tentam amenizar os seus efeitos e conseqüências. Em suas capacitações, a organização usa a forma bancária de educação que reproduz as relações de dominação e dependência de mulheres pobres. A organização, mesmo com a estrutura da ideologia religiosa analisada, não está vinculada sistematicamente em um espaço religioso. Sugere-se em relação à situação da organização, a abertura das idéias e valores feministas nos campos da saúde e religião a fim de promover a libertação e empoderamento reais de mulheres pobres. Esta recomendação está ligada com a abertura, a necessidade de reflexão e de conhecimento, mostradas pelas mulheres entrevistadas durante a pesquisa de campo. Considera-se como limitação aos resultados da pesquisa, o local pesquisado por não ter influências de movimentos sociais.(AU)

Corpos Enlutados: Por um cuidado espiritual terapêutico em situações de luto

Esta tese tem como objetivo compreender o fenômeno do luto por morte a partir da fenomenologia, por meio das experiências de membros da Igreja Metodista no Grande ABC. Para alcançar o objetivo geral, tem como objetivos específicos: dialogar com teóricos do luto nas áreas da teologia e da psicologia; conhecer a fenomenologia do corpo existencial de Maurice Merleau-Ponty como parâmetro para a compreensão do estudo do luto por morte; contribuir para as pesquisas de Cuidado Espiritual em situações de luto por morte. A trajetória teórico-metodológica tem como lócus da pesquisa o relato oral de dez pessoas, que trazem sua vivência do luto a partir da pergunta norteadora: como você viveu a sua experiência do luto? Depois de transcritos e literalizados, esses relatos permitiram levantar as unidades de significado e estabelecer as categorias analíticas: dor, tipo de perda, desorganização do ser, corpo existencial, cuidado, fé, luto por morte como ordem natural, processo relacional, racionalização, saudade, luto antecipatório, dimensão material do viver, culpa, memória e serenidade. A partir dessas categorias, fenomenologicamente interpretadas, a construção de uma tabela nomotética tornou possível a identificação das convergências e divergências entre os relatos, bem como das idiossincrasias. No percurso em direção à compreensão da experiência do luto, os relatos foram submetidos à análise ideográfica, que é a tentativa de alcançar a psicologia individual dos sujeitos da pesquisa. A síntese de um pensar, como a expressão da fenomenologia do luto, desvela nuanças da práxis pastoral. Resultantes da construção desse novo saber em torno da vivência do luto por morte, foram significativas algumas percepções: o processo do luto no contexto religioso institucionalizado é similar ao de um contexto não-religioso; a teologia cristã tem espaço para a ressignificação da morte, por meio da criação de uma espiritualidade para o processo do morrer e, para que isso seja possível, destaca-se a necessidade, no interior das comunidades religiosas, de uma teologia da perda, que possibilite uma educação cristã voltada para o enfrentamento do luto, ou seja, de uma teologia de valorização da vida em meio às perdas; o corpo foi a linguagem mais presente na vivência do luto e, no entanto, o corpo enlutado é um paradoxo na igreja cristã, na medida em que esta se tem debruçado sobre o tema da corpo de forma tímida, no que se refere à educação da fé. Ficou patente a percepção da necessidade de fomentar um cuidado espiritual terapêutico abrangente e continuado em situações de luto, de forma a alcançar não apenas o indivíduo em situação de enlutamento, mas também de alcance comunitário, como parte do conjunto de ações públicas que acolham essa questão.(AU)

INTELIGÊNCIAS EMOCIONAIS E ENSINO SUPERIOR: uma leitura a partir da percepção de professores de um curso de administração.

As Inteligências Emocionais (IEs) têm sido objeto de estudo e discussão nos últimos quinze anos. Todavia, escassos são os estudos científicos, sobremaneira no campo da educação, voltados para o entendimento dos desafios e possibilidades das IEs no cenário do ensino superior. O modelo newtoniano-cartesiano, assumido por setores dominantes de nossa cultura de forma racionalista e reducionista, vem se estabelecendo desde tempos remotos, mais especificamente a partir do século XVI, avançando até os tempos atuais e trazendo muitas marcas para os diferentes campos da cultura ocidental, inclusive para a educação. Como características deste modelo, passíveis de crítica, estão a fragmentação do conhecimento, o foco na especialização e, a instituição de uma relação pedagógica dominadora e não dialogal que negligencia as múltiplas inteligências desenvolvidas e presentes nos indivíduos. Essas características contribuíram para o estabelecimento de uma sociedade de conhecimentos parcelares, para a disjunção entre sujeito e objeto, o descuido nas relações do homem para consigo mesmo, dele para com os demais homens e, dele para com os demais seres vivos que cohabitam o planeta, culminando numa intensa crise planetária. Urge discutir e rever o paradigma newtoniano-cartesiano, dado ao fato de que os resultados colhidos nestes últimos quinhentos anos, se por um lado nos beneficiaram do ponto de vista científico e tecnológico, não mais respondem aos problemas e necessidades com os quais nos deparamos, de modo especial na educação. Delimito esta pesquisa no âmbito do Ensino Superior e, no interior deste, no campo dos estudos de graduação em Administração. As perguntas que motivam o meu trabalho são: 1. Os professores do Curso de Administração consideram as dimensões emocionais em seu trabalho docente? 2. Eles sabem o que são IEs? 3. Que dificuldades eles vêem para desenvolver um trabalho com as dimensões emocionais? 4. Eles vêem possibilidades positivas no trabalho com as IEs? 5. Que pistas as respostas às perguntas acima sugerem à formação continuada de professores no campo da Administração? 6. Ao planejar e organizar suas aulas o professor tem vista o trabalho com a dimensão afetiva? Para fazer a crítica da educação construída na perspectiva newtoniano-cartesiana assumi como referências principais Morin (1995, 2000), Santos (1988) e Moraes (1997). Para estudar a construção do conhecimento considerando as IEs tomei como referências para esta pesquisa Gardner (1995), Izquierdo (2002) e Valle (2003). Foi realizada uma pesquisa de campo com seis (6) professores de um Curso de Administração, mediante um questionário estruturado. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi identificar as principais dificuldades dos docentes quando se pensa num trabalho pedagógico sensível às inteligências emocionais e, estudando estas dificuldades à luz dos teóricos por mim trazidos, construírem possíveis pistas para uma ação formativa, na perspectiva da formação continuada, que considere também o determinante das inteligências emocionais.(AU)

CONCEPÇÕES FUNDANTES NO DISCURSO DOS PROFESSORES E CONSTRUÇÃO DE VALORES PEDAGÓGICOS NUM CURSO DE PEDAGOGIA

Esta pesquisa surge da minha preocupação sobre os valores pedagógicos no ensino superior: quais são, quais os seus fundamentos filosóficos, como são concebidos e aplicados na prática docente e especificamente na formação de professores em um curso de Pedagogia. Os conhecimentos, saber-fazer, métodos e habilidades que são mobilizados diariamente, nas salas de aula, com o fim de formar outros professores, também são partes desta busca. O referencial fundamenta-se nas concepções de Paulo Freire sobre valores pedagógicos e sobre educação, a partir da sua visão antropológica, gnosiológica e política do ser humano e de uma sociedade mais justa e equilibrada. O objetivo freiriano é uma educação libertadora que supere as contradições entre opressores e oprimidos, para evitar, por meio da educação, que elas sejam mantidas ou resolvidas a partir de uma solução individual ou por meios violentos. Somente um conjunto de valores pedagógicos bem assimilados e praticados, por parte dos docentes e daqueles que participam do processo educativo, permitem a superação da opressão: diálogo, humildade, fé nos homens, pensar crítico, ética, amor. A aceitação e realização desses valores permitirão não somente melhorar a educação em si, mas a sociedade como um todo. A pesquisa inclui reflexões sobre o ensino brasileiro e a qualidade dos professores com relação ao agir na formação e na sua própria transformação individual como seres críticos, ao usar os valores pedagógicos objeto do pensamento de Freire. Como instrumentos metodológicos, foram utilizados: leitura de textos e artigos de Paulo Freire e de outros comentadores e educadores brasileiros e estrangeiros; questionários fechados que permitiram coletar dados sobre o clima e a cultura organizacional e verificar que a educação nacional ainda está presa a estruturas históricas tradicionais, as quais se manifestam em conteúdos e metodologias que não resolvem a crise educacional do nosso país. Esses questionários foram aplicados a alguns professores, escolhidos por amostragem, do curso de Pedagogia de uma instituição superior em São Paulo. Os resultados desta pesquisa apontam que as opiniões dos professores entrevistados revelam um enfoque pouco participativo. Em alguns aspectos, eles demonstram que não há o hábito de diálogo sobre os problemas educacionais, como também não há abertura para medidas inovadoras que poderiam contribuir para com a qualidade do ensino e aprendizado. Isso demonstra o abismo entre o discurso e a prática docente colaborando para a falta de inspiração e de consciência crítica que todo profissional deve possuir, como valor pedagógico.(AU)

The future of manufacturing

Anyone who looks at the title of this special issue will agree that the intent behind the preparation of this volume was ambitious: to predict and discuss “The Future of Manufacturing”. Will manufacturing be important in the future? Even though some sceptics might say not, and put on the table some old familiar arguments, we would strongly disagree. To bring subsidies for the argument we issued the call-for-papers for this special issue of Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, fully aware of the size of the challenge in our hands. But we strongly believed that the enterprise would be worthwhile. The point of departure is the ongoing debate concerning the meaning and content of manufacturing. The easily visualised internal activity of using tangible resources to make physical products in factories is no longer a viable way to characterise manufacturing. It is now a more loosely defined concept concerning the organisation and management of open, interdependent, systems for delivering goods and services, tangible and intangible, to diverse types of markets. Interestingly, Wickham Skinner is the most cited author in this special issue of JMTM. He provides the departure point of several articles because his vision and insights have guided and inspired researchers in production and operations management from the late 1960s until today. However, the picture that we draw after looking at the contributions in this special issue is intrinsically distinct, much more dynamic, and complex. Seven articles address the following research themes: 1.new patterns of organisation, where the boundaries of firms become blurred and the role of the firm in the production system as well as that of manufacturing within the firm become contingent; 2.new approaches to strategic decision-making in markets characterised by turbulence and weak signals at the customer interface; 3.new challenges in strategic and operational decisions due to changes in the profile of the workforce; 4.new global players, especially China, modifying the manufacturing landscape; and 5.new techniques, methods and tools that are being made feasible through progress in new technological domains. Of course, many other important dimensions could be studied, but these themes are representative of current changes and future challenges. Three articles look at the first theme: organisational evolution of production and operations in firms and networks. Karlsson's and Skold's article represent one further step in their efforts to characterise “the extraprise”. In the article, they advance the construction of a new framework, based on “the network perspective” by defining the formal elements which compose it and exploring the meaning of different types of relationships. The way in which “actors, resources and activities” are conceptualised extends the existing boundaries of analytical thinking in operations management and open new avenues for research, teaching and practice. The higher level of abstraction, an intrinsic feature of the framework, is associated to the increasing degree of complexity that characterises decisions related to strategy and implementation in the manufacturing and operations area, a feature that is expected to become more and more pervasive as time proceeds. Riis, Johansen, Englyst and Sorensen have also based their article on their previous work, which in this case is on “the interactive firm”. They advance new propositions on strategic roles of manufacturing and discuss why the configuration of strategic manufacturing roles, at the level of the network, will become a key issue and how the indirect strategic roles of manufacturing will become increasingly important. Additionally, by considering that value chains will become value webs, they predict that shifts in strategic manufacturing roles will look like a sequence of moves similar to a game of chess. Then, lastly under the first theme, Fleury and Fleury develop a conceptual framework for the study of production systems in general derived from field research in the telecommunications industry, here considered a prototype of the coming information society and knowledge economy. They propose a new typology of firms which, on certain dimensions, complements the propositions found in the other two articles. Their telecoms-based framework (TbF) comprises six types of companies characterised by distinct profiles of organisational competences, which interact according to specific patterns of relationships, thus creating distinct configurations of production networks. The second theme is addressed by Kyläheiko and SandstroÍm in their article “Strategic options based framework for management of dynamic capabilities in manufacturing firms”. They propose a new approach to strategic decision-making in markets characterised by turbulence and weak signals at the customer interface. Their framework for a manufacturing firm in the digital age leads to active asset selection (strategic investments in both tangible and intangible assets) and efficient orchestrating of the global value net in “thin” intangible asset markets. The framework consists of five steps based on Porter's five-forces model, the resources-based view, complemented by means of the concepts of strategic options and related flexibility issues. Thun, GroÍssler and Miczka's contribution to the third theme brings the human dimension to the debate regarding the future of manufacturing. Their article focuses on the challenges brought to management by the ageing of workers in Germany but, in the arguments that are raised, the future challenges associated to workers and work organisation in every production system become visible and relevant. An interesting point in the approach adopted by the authors is that not only the factual problems and solutions are taken into account but the perception of the managers is brought into the picture. China cannot be absent in the discussion of the future of manufacturing. Therefore, within the fourth theme, Vaidya, Bennett and Liu provide the evidence of the gradual improvement of Chinese companies in the medium and high-tech sectors, by using the revealed comparative advantage (RCA) analysis. The Chinese evolution is shown to be based on capabilities developed through combining international technology transfer and indigenous learning. The main implication for the Western companies is the need to take account of the accelerated rhythm of capability development in China. For other developing countries China's case provides lessons of great importance. Finally, under the fifth theme, Kuehnle's article: “Post mass production paradigm (PMPP) trajectories” provides a futuristic scenario of what is already around us and might become prevalent in the future. It takes a very intensive look at a whole set of dimensions that are affecting manufacturing now, and will influence manufacturing in the future, ranging from the application of ICT to the need for social transparency. In summary, this special issue of JMTM presents a brief, but undisputable, demonstration of the possible richness of manufacturing in the future. Indeed, we could even say that manufacturing has no future if we only stick to the past perspectives. Embracing the new is not easy. The new configurations of production systems, the distributed and complementary roles to be performed by distinct types of companies in diversified networked structures, leveraged by the new emergent technologies and associated the new challenges for managing people, are all themes that are carriers of the future. The Guest Editors of this special issue on the future of manufacturing are strongly convinced that their undertaking has been worthwhile.

Organisational learning - a critical systems thinking discipline

Original Paper European Journal of Information Systems (2001) 10, 135–146; doi:10.1057/palgrave.ejis.3000394 Organisational learning—a critical systems thinking discipline P Panagiotidis1,3 and J S Edwards2,4 1Deloitte and Touche, Athens, Greece 2Aston Business School, Aston University, Aston Triangle, Birmingham, B4 7ET, UK Correspondence: Dr J S Edwards, Aston Business School, Aston University, Aston Triangle, Birmingham, B4 7ET, UK. E-mail: j.s.edwards@aston.ac.uk 3Petros Panagiotidis is Manager responsible for the Process and Systems Integrity Services of Deloitte and Touche in Athens, Greece. He has a BSc in Business Administration and an MSc in Management Information Systems from Western International University, Phoenix, Arizona, USA; an MSc in Business Systems Analysis and Design from City University, London, UK; and a PhD degree from Aston University, Birmingham, UK. His doctorate was in Business Systems Analysis and Design. His principal interests now are in the ERP/DSS field, where he serves as project leader and project risk managment leader in the implementation of SAP and JD Edwards/Cognos in various major clients in the telecommunications and manufacturing sectors. In addition, he is responsible for the development and application of knowledge management systems and activity-based costing systems. 4John S Edwards is Senior Lecturer in Operational Research and Systems at Aston Business School, Birmingham, UK. He holds MA and PhD degrees (in mathematics and operational research respectively) from Cambridge University. His principal research interests are in knowledge management and decision support, especially methods and processes for system development. He has written more than 30 research papers on these topics, and two books, Building Knowledge-based Systems and Decision Making with Computers, both published by Pitman. Current research work includes the effect of scale of operations on knowledge management, interfacing expert systems with simulation models, process modelling in law and legal services, and a study of the use of artifical intelligence techniques in management accounting. Top of pageAbstract This paper deals with the application of critical systems thinking in the domain of organisational learning and knowledge management. Its viewpoint is that deep organisational learning only takes place when the business systems' stakeholders reflect on their actions and thus inquire about their purpose(s) in relation to the business system and the other stakeholders they perceive to exist. This is done by reflecting both on the sources of motivation and/or deception that are contained in their purpose, and also on the sources of collective motivation and/or deception that are contained in the business system's purpose. The development of an organisational information system that captures, manages and institutionalises meaningful information—a knowledge management system—cannot be separated from organisational learning practices, since it should be the result of these very practices. Although Senge's five disciplines provide a useful starting-point in looking at organisational learning, we argue for a critical systems approach, instead of an uncritical Systems Dynamics one that concentrates only on the organisational learning practices. We proceed to outline a methodology called Business Systems Purpose Analysis (BSPA) that offers a participatory structure for team and organisational learning, upon which the stakeholders can take legitimate action that is based on the force of the better argument. In addition, the organisational learning process in BSPA leads to the development of an intrinsically motivated information organisational system that allows for the institutionalisation of the learning process itself in the form of an organisational knowledge management system. This could be a specific application, or something as wide-ranging as an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation. Examples of the use of BSPA in two ERP implementations are presented.

The primacy of theory

Purpose – The purpose of this editorial is to provide indicative guidance to prospective EJM contributors of the importance of theoretical development to the success of submissions. Design/methodology/approach – The authors use a combination of conceptual thinking and theoretical literature to present key concepts of theory and its relevance to a manuscript's contribution to knowledge. Findings – The authors propose some guidelines for researchers who wish to publish the results of their work in EJM, and these also have relevance to other top academic journals. Research limitations/implications – The topic of theoretical conceptualisation and development is a complex one. Because of space constraints, the coverage of many issues is necessarily brief in this article. Practical implications – Scholars should find the thoughts contained in this article to be of significant benefit to their publication efforts in EJM and other top journals. Originality/value – While other top marketing journals have in the past provided similar guideline-style pieces, this is one of the few to be written from an inclusive perspective, with the explicit focus on the theoretical development stage.

Methodology choices and the construction of facts:some implications from the sociology of scientific knowledge

This paper has two objectives: first, to provide a brief review of developments in the sociology of scientific knowledge (SSK); second to apply an aspect of SSK theorising which is concerned with the construction of scientific knowledge. The paper offers a review of the streams of thought which can be identified within SSK and then proceeds to illustrate the theoretic constructs introduced in the earlier discussion by analysing a particular contribution to the literature on research methodology in accounting and organisations studies. The paper chosen for analysis is titled “Middle Range Thinking”. The objective of this paper is not to argue that the approach used in this paper is invalid, but to seek to expose the rhetorical nature of the argumentation which is used by the author of the paper.

WASOP, a qualitative methodology for waste minimization: systems thinking, HAZOP principles and nuclear waste

Purpose – The international nuclear community continues to face the challenge of managing both the legacy waste and the new wastes that emerge from ongoing energy production. The UK is in the early stages of proposing a new convention for its nuclear industry, that is: waste minimisation through closely managing the radioactive source which creates the waste. This paper proposes a new technique (called waste and source material operability study (WASOP)) to qualitatively analyse a complex, waste-producing system to minimise avoidable waste and thus increase the protection to the public and the environment. Design/methodology/approach – WASOP critically considers the systemic impact of up and downstream facilities on the minimisation of nuclear waste in a facility. Based on the principles of HAZOP, the technique structures managers' thinking on the impact of mal-operations in interlinking facilities in order to identify preventative actions to reduce the impact on waste production of those mal-operations.' Findings – WASOP was tested with a small group of experienced nuclear regulators and was found to support their qualitative examination of waste minimisation and help them to work towards developing a plan of action. Originality/value – Given the newness of this convention, the wider methodology in which WASOP sits is still in development. However, this paper communicates the latest thinking from nuclear regulators on decision-making methodology for supporting waste minimisation and is hoped to form part of future regulatory guidance. WASOP is believed to have widespread potential application to the minimisation of many other forms of waste, including that from other energy sectors and household/general waste.