300 research outputs found
The qualitative research interview
No full textPurpose - Despite the growing pressure to encourage new ways of thinking about research methodology, only recently have interview methodologists begun to realize that "we cannot lift the results of interviewing out of the contexts in which they were gathered and claim them as objective data with no strings attached". The purpose of this paper is to provide additional insight based on a critical reflection of the interview as a research method drawing upon Alvesson's discussion from the neopositivist, romanticist and localist interview perspectives. Specifically, the authors focus on critical reflections of three broad categories of a continuum of interview methods: structured, semi-structured and unstructured interviews. Design/methodology/approach - The authors adopt a critical and reflexive approach to understanding the literature on interviews to develop alternative insights about the use of interviews as a qualitative research method. Findings - After examining the neopositivist (interview as a "tool") and romanticist (interview as "human encounter") perspectives on the use of the research interview, the authors adopt a localist perspective towards interviews and argue that the localist approach opens up alternative understanding of the interview process and the accounts produced provide additional insights. The insights are used to outline the skills researchers need to develop in applying the localist perspective to interviews. Originality/value - The paper provides an alternative perspective on the practice of conducting interviews, recognizing interviews as complex social and organizational phenomena rather than just a research method
Aeolian sediment transport over sandy gobi: Field studies in the Nanhu gobi along the Hami-Lop Nor Railway
No full textWind-blown sand over sandy gobi with an abundant sediment supply can cause severe sand hazards. However, compared with the study of aeolian transport over gravel gobi with a limited sediment supply, less attention has been devoted to sandy gobi, and thus, our understanding of wind-blown sand movement on sandy gobi is still poor. Here, we report the results of observations of three transport events on a sandy gobi along the Hami-Lop Nor Railway based on high-frequency saltation particle count and horizontal sediment flux measurements coupled with instantaneous wind velocity measurements. The results reveal that, unlike the notably intermittent aeolian saltation over gravel gobi, continuous transport occurred on the sandy gobi. The mean saltation layer height was 0.23 ± 0.07 m, and it was positively related to both the grain size of surface particles and the wind velocity regardless of the gobi type. The sediment transport rates could be expressed as the power function Q = ap/g[u∗ (u∗2-u∗t2)]b, and the scaling parameter (b) reached to 2.5, which is much larger than that of other gobi areas (b = 1). Our findings suggest that the wind-blown sand over sandy gobi is much more severe than that over gravel gobi, and the Nanhu sandy gobi is the major sand source for sand hazards of the Hami-Lop Nor Railway. Sand-fixation measures such as checkerboard sand barriers with enhanced checkerboard size and barrier height should be the main subject of sand control systems for the Hami-Lop Nor Railway in sandy gobi
On the periodic orbits of the fourth-order differential equation u' ' ' ' qu' '-u= F (u,u',u' ',u' ' ')
Get PDFAgraïments: The second author is partially supported by a FAPESP-BRAZIL grant 2007/06896-5. Both authors are supported by the joint project CAPES-MEC grant PHB2009-0025-PC.We provide sufficient conditions for the existence of periodic solutions of the fourth-order differential equation u'''' + qu'' - u = εF(u, u', u'', u'''), where q and ε are real parameters, ε is small and F is a nonlinear function
On the periodic orbits of the fourth-order differential equation u' ' ' ' qu' '−u= F (u,u',u' ',u' ' ')
No full textAgraïments: The second author is partially supported by a FAPESP-BRAZIL grant 2007/06896-5. Both authors are supported by the joint project CAPES-MEC grant PHB2009-0025-PC.We provide sufficient conditions for the existence of periodic solutions of the fourth-order differential equation u'''' + qu'' − u = εF(u, u', u'', u'''), where q and ε are real parameters, ε is small and F is a nonlinear function
Rich, Sturmian, and trapezoidal words
Get PDFIn this paper we explore various interconnections between rich words, Sturmian words, and trapezoidal words. Rich words, first introduced by the second and third authors together with J. Justin and S. Widmer, constitute a new class of finite and infinite words characterized by having the maximal number of palindromic factors. Every finite Sturmian word is rich, but not conversely. Trapezoidal words were first introduced by the first author in studying the behavior of the subword complexity of finite Sturmian words. Unfortunately this property does not characterize finite Sturmian words. In this note we show that the only trapezoidal palindromes are Sturmian. More generally we show that Sturmian palindromes can be characterized either in terms of their subword complexity (the trapezoidal property) or in terms of their palindromic complexity. We also obtain a similar characterization of rich palindromes in terms of a relation between palindromic complexity and subword complexity
The use of graphics in promoting management ideas
No full textPurposeThis paper aims to focus on the role of graphics in the propagation of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) through the persuasive capacity of graphism to “scientize” management ideas. Scientization, through professionalization of knowledge, rationalization of management and the empowerment of human actorhood, is widely seen as an important element in embedding new management concepts and techniques; a determination based on some version of the positivist belief that science offers a privileged access to reality.Design/methodology/approachBased on an analysis of popular literature of the BSC in core business media during 1992 and 2010, the paper focuses on the publications authored by Kaplan and Norton, the creators and authority on this topic.FindingsThe paper argues that the use of graphics has played an important role in promoting the claims made by proponents of the BSC by portraying the technique as both scientific and as descended from a venerable tradition of knowledge. Specifically, it argues that graphics are mobilized to: enable the technique to be portrayed as developing cumulatively towards the present vantage, from flawed measurement to management break‐through; promoters of the BSC to defensibly extend claims about the BSC (i.e. rationalize management through the visual representation of causality and strategic focus); and open up multiple interpretations and iterations of concepts which enable the empowerment of human actorhood (i.e. management).Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the accounting literature relating to diffusion of management innovations, and research examining the generative mechanisms and the processes through which management innovations come about.</jats:sec
Scientization of management ideas: Analyzing the use of diagrams in the legitimization of the balanced scorecard
No full textThe qualitative research interview
No full textPurpose – Despite the growing pressure to encourage new ways of thinking about research methodology, only recently have interview methodologists begun to realize that “we cannot lift the results of interviewing out of the contexts in which they were gathered and claim them as objective data with no strings attached”. The purpose of this paper is to provide additional insight based on a critical reflection of the interview as a research method drawing upon Alvesson's discussion from the neopositivist, romanticist and localist interview perspectives. Specifically, the authors focus on critical reflections of three broad categories of a continuum of interview methods: structured, semi-structured and unstructured interviews. Design/methodology/approach – The authors adopt a critical and reflexive approach to understanding the literature on interviews to develop alternative insights about the use of interviews as a qualitative research method. Findings – After examining the neopositivist (interview as a “tool”) and romanticist (interview as “human encounter”) perspectives on the use of the research interview, the authors adopt a localist perspective towards interviews and argue that the localist approach opens up alternative understanding of the interview process and the accounts produced provide additional insights. The insights are used to outline the skills researchers need to develop in applying the localist perspective to interviews. Originality/value – The paper provides an alternative perspective on the practice of conducting interviews, recognizing interviews as complex social and organizational phenomena rather than just a research method.Management control, Ethnomethodology, Goal congruence, Product development, Uncertainty reduction
Scientization of management ideas: analyzing the use of graphics in the popularization of the balance scorecard
No full textNonlinear analysis of q greater than or similar to 1 non-resonant fishbone modes in tokamak plasmas with weakly reversed magnetic shear
No full textThe nonlinear properties of q greater than or similar to 1 non-resonant fishbone (NRF) instabilities excited by energetic ions are analyzed theoretically for weakly reversed shear in this work. Nonlinear radial displacement of the NRF mode xi(0) is derived by the method of matched asymptotic expansions. It is found that xi(0) depends on the energetic ion beta in a power law of similar to beta(alpha)(h) with alpha = 1/3, alpha = 1/7, and alpha << 1, corresponding to a finite q(s)'', q(s)'' = 0, and an extremely flattened q-profile, respectively. The scaling dependence of xi(0) on the linear growth rate similar to gamma(1/4) is also different from that of similar to gamma in a conventional positive shear configuration. The scaling suggests that xi(0) weakly depends on beta(h) and gamma when the q-profile is flattened. Nonlinear saturation amplitude of the mode for an ITER-like plasma is also estimated by numerical analysis. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.National Natural Science Foundation of China [10935004, 11105045, 11005035, 11261140326]SCI(E)[email protected]
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