scholarly journals Focus Groups as a Tool for Conducting Participatory Research: A Case Study of Small-Scale Forest Management in Slovenia

2019 ◽  
pp. 207-220
Author(s):  
Peter Kumer ◽  
Mimi Urbanc
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Participatory Research ◽  
Small Scale

Developing design literacy through brand-based artefacts

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Catarina LELIS
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Study ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Basic Design ◽  
Willingness To Participate ◽  
Socially Responsible ◽  
Interaction Structure ◽  
Functional Prototype ◽  
High Willingness

The brand is a powerful representational and identification-led asset that can be used to engage staff in creative, sustainable and developmental activities. Being a brand the result of, foremost, a design exercise, it is fair to suppose that it can be a relevant resource for the advancement of design literacy within organisational contexts. The main objective of this paper was to test and validate an interaction structure for an informed co-design process on visual brand artefacts. To carry on the empirical study, a university was chosen as case study as these contexts are generally rich in employee diversity. A non-functional prototype was designed, and walkthroughs were performed in five focus groups held with staff. The latter evidenced a need/wish to engage with basic design principles and high willingness to participate in the creation of brand design artefacts, mostly with the purposeof increasing its consistent use and innovate in its representation possibilities, whilst augmenting the brand’s socially responsible values.

Multilingualism in eastern Indonesia: linguistic evidence of a shift from symmetric to asymmetric multilingualism

2021 ◽  
pp. 136700692110231
Author(s):  
Francesca Romana Moro
Keyword(s):  
Language Contact ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Modelling Language ◽  
Apparent Paradox ◽  
Eastern Indonesia ◽  
Communicative Strategies ◽  
Linguistic Evidence ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Bilingual Communities

Aims and Objectives/Purpose/Research Questions: The Alorese in eastern Indonesia are an Austronesian community who have inhabited two Papuan-speaking islands for approximately 600 years. Their language presents a paradox: contact with the neighbouring Papuan languages has led to both complexification and simplification. This article argues that these opposite outcomes of contact result from two distinct scenarios, and formulates a hypothesis about a shift in multilingual patterns in Alorese history. Design/Methodology/Approach: To formulate a hypothesis about the discontinuity of multilingual patterns, this article first sketches the past and present multilingual patterns of the Alorese by modelling language contact outcomes in terms of bilingual optimisation strategies. This is followed by a comparison of the two scenarios to pinpoint similarities and differences. Data and Analysis: Previous research shows that two types of contact phenomena are attested in Alorese: (a) complexification arising from grammatical borrowings from Papuan languages, and (b) morphological simplification. The first change is associated with prolonged child bilingualism and is the result of Papuan-oriented bilingual strategies, while the latter change is associated with adult second language (L2) learning and is the result of universal communicative strategies. Findings/Conclusions Complexification and simplification are the results of two different layers of contact. Alorese was first used in small-scale bilingual communities, with widespread symmetric multilingualism. Later, multilingualism became more asymmetric, and the language started to undergo a simplification process due to the considerable number of L2 speakers. Originality: This article is innovative in providing a clear case study showing discontinuity of multilingual patterns, supported by linguistic and non-linguistic evidence. Significance/Implications: This article provides a plausible explanation for the apparent paradox found in Alorese, by showing that different outcomes of contact in the same language are due to different patterns of acquisition and socialisation. This discontinuity should be taken into account by models of language contact.

scholarly journals Photovoltaics Enabling Sustainable Energy Communities: Technological Drivers and Emerging Markets

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 1862
Author(s):  
Alexandros-Georgios Chronis ◽  
Foivos Palaiogiannis ◽  
Iasonas Kouveliotis-Lysikatos ◽  
Panos Kotsampopoulos ◽  
Nikos Hatziargyriou
Keyword(s):  
State Of The Art ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Energy Market ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Local Energy ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Open Research ◽  
Energy Community

In this paper, we investigate the economic benefits of an energy community investing in small-scale photovoltaics (PVs) when local energy trading is operated amongst the community members. The motivation stems from the open research question on whether a community-operated local energy market can enhance the investment feasibility of behind-the-meter small-scale PVs installed by energy community members. Firstly, a review of the models, mechanisms and concepts required for framing the relevant concepts is conducted, while a clarification of nuances at important terms is attempted. Next, a tool for the investigation of the economic benefits of operating a local energy market in the context of an energy community is developed. We design the local energy market using state-of-the-art formulations, modified according to the requirements of the case study. The model is applied to an energy community that is currently under formation in a Greek municipality. From the various simulations that were conducted, a series of generalizable conclusions are extracted.

scholarly journals Roles, relationships and emotions: Student teachers’ understanding of feedback as interpersonal

2021 ◽  
pp. 003452372198937
Author(s):  
Caroline Elbra-Ramsay
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
First Year ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
Study Methodology ◽  
Undergraduate Programme ◽  
Phenomenological Case Study ◽  
International Teacher

This paper reports the findings of a small-scale study seeking to investigate how student teachers, within a three-year undergraduate programme, understand feedback. Feedback has been central to debates and discussion in the assessment literature in recent years. Hence, in this paper, feedback is positioned within the often-contradictory discourses of assessment, including perspectives on student and teacher feedback. The study focused on two first year undergraduate student teachers at a small university in England and considered the relationships between their understanding of feedback as a student, their understanding of feedback as an emerging teacher, and the key influences shaping these understandings. A phenomenological case study methodology was employed with interviews as the prime method of data collection. Themes emerged as part of an Nvivo analysis, including emotional responses, relationships and dialogue, all of which appear to have impacted on the students’ conceptual understanding of feedback as indelibly shaped by its interpersonal and affective, rather than purely cognitive or ideational, dimensions. The paper therefore seeks to contribute to the wider feedback discourse by offering an analysis of empirical data. Although situated within English teacher education, there are tentative conclusions that are applicable to international teacher education and as well as higher education more generally.

scholarly journals Conducting Web-Based Focus Groups With Adolescents and Young Adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 160940692199687
Author(s):  
Courtney A. Brown ◽  
Anna C. Revette ◽  
Sarah D. de Ferranti ◽  
Holly B. Fontenot ◽  
Holly C. Gooding
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Clinical Sample ◽  
Adolescents And Young Adults ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Disease Awareness ◽  
Sex With Men ◽  
Technical Platform

This methodologic paper aims to update researchers working with adolescents and young adults on the potentials and pitfalls associated with web-based qualitative research. We present a case study of synchronous web-based focus groups with 35 adolescents and young women ages 15–24 years old recruited from a clinical sample for a mixed methods study of heart disease awareness. We contrast this with two other studies, one using asynchronous web-based focus groups with 30 transgender youth ages 13 to 24 years old and another using synchronous web-based focus groups with 48 young men who have sex with men ages 18 to 26 years old, both recruited via social media. We describe general and logistical considerations, technical platform considerations, and ethical, regulatory, and research considerations associated with web-based qualitative research. In an era of technology ubiquity and dependence, researchers should consider web-based focus groups a potential qualitative research tool, especially when working with youth.

scholarly journals An Evaluation of the Formative Experiences of Students Enrolled in Postgraduate Studies in Education: Case Study in Northern Mexico

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4790
Author(s):  
Brenda Imelda Boroel Cervantes ◽  
José Alfonso Jiménez Moreno ◽  
Salvador Ponce Ceballos ◽  
José Sánchez Santamaría
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Training Context ◽  
Northern Mexico ◽  
Postgraduate Studies ◽  
Successful Design ◽  
Formative Experiences

The educational journey in postgraduate programs is linked to the actors, processes and results, setting the tone for different approaches from the perspective of characterization, development and evaluation. It is summarized in a sequential manner in four stages: entry to the program, progress within the program, and the final educational stretch, where the instructor/tutor plays an important part and obtaining the diploma or degree. The goal of this research was to evaluate, using the students’ perceptions, formative experiences as a result of their academic journey in postgraduate programs within education in Northern Mexico. We have used a case study based on the focus groups technique, applied to a sample of cases comprised of students enrolled in their final educational stage. The information was analyzed using inductive data analysis. The main results were grouped into three meta categories: (1) development of professional skills for the successful design of the intervention proposal, which unfolded into four categories; (2) the role of the tutor during the formative process, consisting of four analysis categories and (3) contributions of the teaching staff in their profession, consisting of two categories. These trends also evidence the formative abundance in the personal, academic and social training context of the students.

scholarly journals Land Use Spatial Optimization for Sustainable Wood Utilization at the Regional Level: A Case Study from Vietnam

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 245
Author(s):  
Nguyen Dang Cuong ◽  
Köhl Michael ◽  
Mues Volker
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Forest Management ◽  
Forest Plantations ◽  
Land Resource ◽  
Forest Landscape ◽  
Timber Supply ◽  
Landscape Restoration ◽  
Forest Landscape Restoration ◽  
Wood Utilization

Forest landscape restoration is a widely accepted approach to sustainable forest management. In addition to revitalizing degraded sites, forest landscape restoration can increase the supply of sustainable timber and thereby reduce logging in natural forests. The current study presents a spatial land use optimization model and utilizes a linear programming algorithm that integrates timber production and timber processing chains to meet timber demand trade-offs and timber supply. The objective is to maximize yield and profit from forest plantations under volatile timber demands. The model was parameterized for a case study in Thai Nguyen Province, Vietnam, where most forest plantations grow Acacia mangium (A. mangium). Data were obtained from field surveys on tree growth, as well as from questionnaires to collect social-economic information and determine the timber demand of local wood processing mills. The integration of land use and wood utilization approaches reduces the amount of land needed to maintain a sustainable timber supply and simultaneously leads to higher yields and profits from forest plantations. This forest management solution combines economic and timber yield aspects and promotes measures focused on economic sustainability and land resource efficiency.

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