scholarly journals A rapid prototyping approach for intensive field courses to build scientific and professional skills

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrienne B. Nicotra ◽  
Sonya R. Geange ◽  
Nur H. A. Bahar ◽  
Hannah Carle ◽  
Alexandra Catling ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rapid Prototyping ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Iterative Refinement ◽  
Functional Ecology ◽  
Course Structure ◽  
Core Content ◽  
Extensive Evaluation ◽  
Nuanced Understanding ◽  
Constituent Elements

AbstractThis paper reports on the design and evaluation of Field Studies in Functional Ecology (FSFE), a two-week intensive residential field course that engages students to master core content in functional ecology alongside skills that facilitate their transition from ‘student’ to ‘scientist’. This paper provides an overview of the course structure, showing how the constituent elements have been designed and refined over successive iterations of the course. We detail how FSFE students are guided first to develop their own research questions (Field Problems), and then through a structured reflective approach of rapid prototyping and iterative refinement of each stage of the research process. Using extensive evaluation data, we show how, coached by experts within a cognitive apprenticeship framework, FSFE students develop a coherent and nuanced understanding of how to approach and execute ecological studies. The sophisticated knowledge and skills as ecology researchers that they develop during the course is highlighted through high quality presentations and peer-reviewed publications in a student-led journal. We illustrate how field course elements can be used to provide cognitive, affective and reflective tools that allow students to gain maximum value from their educational journey, and the confidence to consider research in their future careers.

The VEOS Project

1994 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Bricken ◽  
Geoffrey Coco
Keyword(s):  
Rapid Prototyping ◽  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Object Oriented ◽  
Organization Structure ◽  
Object Oriented Programming ◽  
Iterative Refinement ◽  
Software Infrastructure ◽  
Human Interface ◽  
Heterogeneous Distributed Computing

The Virtual Environment Operating Shell (veos) was developed at University of Washington's Human Interface Technology Laboratory as software infrastructure for the lab's research in virtual environments. veos was designed from scratch to provide a comprehensive and unified management facility to support generation of, interaction with, and maintenance of virtual environments. VEOS emphasizes rapid prototyping, heterogeneous distributed computing, and portability. We discuss the design, philosophy and implementation of veos in depth. Within the Kernel, the shared database transformations are pattern-directed, communications are asynchronous, and the programmer's interface is LISP. An entity-based metaphor extends object-oriented programming to systems-oriented programming. Entities provide first-class environments and biological programming constructs such as perceive, react, and persist. The organization, structure, and programming of entities are discussed in detail. The article concludes with a description of the applications that have contributed to the iterative refinement of the VEOS software.

Pre-Flood Design Assessment Based on the Needs of the Jambi Community (Case Study of Three Districts / Cities)

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 404-420
Author(s):  
Andy Subandi ◽  
Dwi Noerjoedianto ◽  
Andy Amir
Keyword(s):  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Planning System ◽  
Literature Study ◽  
Emergency Plan ◽  
Disaster Plan ◽  
Design Assessment ◽  
Community Needs

The community's role during a disaster within the first 24 - 72 hours before having government's aid is crucial in making the condition under control in a timely manner, disaster management institution, especially at local level, has not had any models for preparedness training through participative approach based on the local wisdom of Jambi community to reduce disaster risks. The research process is carried out in three stages, (1) the first part is a literature study conducted to obtain information about how to deal with natural disasters, (2) Field studies conducted in several areas related to floods in Jambi Province, (3) ) Analysis Community needs are carried out by reviewing the design of the pre-disaster disaster planning system and the needs of the Flood Preparedness Community in three districts of Jambi province. A sample of 1000 people was divided into 3 groups. Each group will be completed in accordance with the pre-response system and community needs, then analyzed qualitatively. Meanwhile, to find out the management system design. Obtained preparedness data in the three villages with a total subject of 1000 people that 52.33% did not get information about the disaster or disaster preparedness, 64.6% never made an emergency plan for the family when there was a disaster, 68.67% never prepared emergency equipment (food, water, or emergency supplies), 68.27% had not attended disaster preparedness training in the past year, but only 6.2% had never discussed with neighbors about what to do in the event of a disaster. Based on the results of the research, several stages can be planned in the making of the pre-disaster assessment design as an alternative to minimize losses from disasters, which can then be developed as a disaster plan process and making mitigation in accordance with the needs of each district..

scholarly journals Can Digital Research be an Alternative Method during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Indonesia?

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-91
Author(s):  
Bahtiar Rifai ◽  
Meilinda Sari Yayusman ◽  
Vera Bararah Barid
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Alternative Method ◽  
Study Results ◽  
The Developed Countries ◽  
Digital Research

Unprecedented COVID-19 global pandemic entails uncertain conditions, which lead people to seek alternative solutions to make activities running accordingly. Limited movements due to travel restriction and health protection confine people’s activities, including the research process. Postponing research activities is arguably not the best solution for scholars, mainly while conducting data collection. In social and humanities research, researchers mostly undertake data collection through field studies and face-to-face communications prior to the pandemic. Social distancing procedures, however, encourage people to avoid close contacts and cancel visit plans. Thus, researchers are necessary to find an alternative method during uncertainty situation. Digital research method (DRM) seems to be a plausible way to keep research ongoing, although the implementation of that method in the developing countries’ research activities, compared to the developed countries, remains lagging behind. This research aims to position DRM amidst the pandemic situation and show possibilities in using this method as an alternative in the developing countries by taking Indonesia as a case study. Results show that to make DRM works in Indonesia, some requirements need to be fulfilled to meet academic standards, and whether relevant or not the research topic applies to be processed utilizing digital method are also essential to be considered.

scholarly journals Self-employment, the informal economy and the marginalisation thesis

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 224-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin C Williams ◽  
Ioana Alexandra Horodnic
Keyword(s):  
Informal Economy ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
The Self ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Extensive Evaluation ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
Nuanced Understanding ◽  
Do So

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate which groups of the self-employed engage in the informal economy. Until now, self-employed people participating in the informal economy have been predominantly viewed as marginalised populations such as those on a lower income and living in deprived regions (i.e. the “marginalisation thesis”). However, an alternative emergent “reinforcement thesis” conversely views the marginalised self-employed as less likely to do so. Until now, no known studies have evaluated these competing perspectives. Design/methodology/approach – To do this, the author report a 2013 survey conducted across 28 countries involving 1,969 face-to-face interviews with the self-employed about their participation in the informal economy. Findings – Using multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression analysis, the finding is that the marginalisation thesis applies when examining characteristics such as the age, marital status, tax morality, occupation and household financial circumstances of the self-employed engaged in the informal economy. However, when gender and regional variations are analysed, the reinforcement thesis is valid. When characteristics such as the urban-rural divide and educational level are analysed, no evidence is found to support either the marginalisation or reinforcement thesis. Research limitations/implications – The outcome is a call for a more nuanced understanding of the marginalisation thesis that the self-employed participating in the informal economy are largely marginalised populations. Originality/value – This is the first extensive evaluation of which self-employed groups participate in the informal economy.

scholarly journals Not just “implementation”: the synergy of research and practice in an engineering research approach to educational design and development

ZDM ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugh Burkhardt ◽  
Alan Schoenfeld
Keyword(s):  
Rapid Prototyping ◽  
Great Majority ◽  
Iterative Refinement ◽  
Instructional Materials ◽  
Engineering Practice ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Educational Design ◽  
Engineering Research ◽  
Development Processes

AbstractThis paper builds on a range of traditions in educational research and design to argue, with empirical evidence, that constructing powerful instructional materials and approaches that work at scale requires a grounding in theory and a commitment to engineering practice, including rapid prototyping and multiple development cycles. Specifically, we claim that improving practice within a reasonable timescale requires replicable materials that integrate: (1) grounding in robust aspects of theory from prior research, (2) design tactics that combine these core ideas with a design team’s creativity, along with (3) flexibility in the draft materials that affords adaptation across contexts, (4) rapid prototyping, followed by iterative refinement cycles in increasingly realistic circumstances, with (5) feedback from each round of trials that is rich and detailed enough to inform revision, and (6) continued refinement on the basis of post-implementation feedback ‘from the field’. Examples of successful implementation are analysed and related to the various roles that research-based theory and programmatic research-based methods of development can and should play in the complex process of turning insights from research into improvements in practice. In contrast, we shall argue that materials which are written and published without the development processes (4) to (6)—still the great majority—lack research validity for use at scale.

scholarly journals Exploring Multiple Religious Identities through Mixed Qualitative Methods

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine King ◽  
Peter Hemming
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Religious Identity ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Social Environments ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Research Activity ◽  
Religious Identities ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
Nuanced Understanding ◽  
Role Of Religion

This article offers a reflexive account of the process of researching religious identity with young people, and considers how combining methods may enable young people to explore their own identities in different ways. Drawing upon three participant case studies it explores the public–private spectrum produced as part of discussion groups, semi-structured interviews and an innovative online e-Journal research activity. As participants moved through each stage of the research process, the way in which they represented their religious identities shifted as they encountered differing social environments, became more practised at telling their own lives, or had evolved their own perspectives over time. Employing mixed methods contributes a more nuanced understanding of the role of religion in young people’s lives yet also raises important ethical implications surrounding participant confidentiality in research.

scholarly journals Software prototyping

2016 ◽  
Vol 07 (01) ◽  
pp. 22-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guilherme Del Fiol ◽  
Haley Hanseler ◽  
Barbara Crouch ◽  
Mollie Cummins ◽  
Scott Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Rapid Prototyping ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Iterative Refinement ◽  
Case Vignette ◽  
Design Stage ◽  
Poison Control ◽  
User Requirements ◽  
User Centered Design ◽  
Usability Tests ◽  
System Usability Scale

SummaryHealth information exchange (HIE) between Poison Control Centers (PCCs) and Emergency Departments (EDs) could improve care of poisoned patients. However, PCC information systems are not designed to facilitate HIE with EDs; therefore, we are developing specialized software to support HIE within the normal workflow of the PCC using user-centered design and rapid prototyping.To describe the design of an HIE dashboard and the refinement of user requirements through rapid prototyping.Using previously elicited user requirements, we designed low-fidelity sketches of designs on paper with iterative refinement. Next, we designed an interactive high-fidelity prototype and conducted scenario-based usability tests with end users. Users were asked to think aloud while accomplishing tasks related to a case vignette. After testing, the users provided feedback and evaluated the prototype using the System Usability Scale (SUS).Survey results from three users provided useful feedback that was then incorporated into the design. After achieving a stable design, we used the prototype itself as the specification for development of the actual software. Benefits of prototyping included having 1) subject-matter experts heavily involved with the design; 2) flexibility to make rapid changes, 3) the ability to minimize software development efforts early in the design stage; 4) rapid finalization of requirements; 5) early visualization of designs; 6) and a powerful vehicle for communication of the design to the programmers. Challenges included 1) time and effort to develop the prototypes and case scenarios; 2) no simulation of system performance; 3) not having all proposed functionality available in the final product; and 4) missing needed data elements in the PCC information system.

scholarly journals Evaluating the working conditions of the dependent self-employed

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 326-348
Author(s):  
Ioana Alexandra Horodnic ◽  
Colin C. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Working Conditions ◽  
Working Time ◽  
Legal Rights ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Extensive Evaluation ◽  
European Working ◽  
European Working Conditions Survey ◽  
Nuanced Understanding ◽  
European Union Member States

Purpose In recent years, there has been a concern that employers are falsely classifying employees as self-employed to evade collective agreements and labour laws (e.g. minimum wages, working time legislation and protection in case of redundancy), and the result is that these dependent self-employed suffer poorer working conditions. The purpose of this paper is to provide an extensive evaluation of the working conditions of those in dependent self-employment compared with the genuine self-employed. Design/methodology/approach To do so, data are reported from a 2015 European Working Conditions Survey of 35,765 workers in 28 European Union member states. Findings Of the 4.3 per cent of the working population found to be in dependent self-employment, the finding is that they have similar working conditions to the genuine self-employed in terms of their physical and social environment and intensity of work. However, they have poorer job prospects and less ability to use their skills and discretion than the genuine self-employed. In terms of the working time quality, meanwhile, the finding is that they have better conditions than the genuine self-employed. Therefore, this analysis uncovers the need for a more nuanced understanding of the relative working conditions of the dependent self-employed. Research limitations/implications If the working conditions of the dependent self-employed are to be tackled, evaluation is now required of whether the current policy approaches, such as developing a hybrid category of employment with legal rights attached, address the specific working conditions that are worse for the dependent self-employed. Originality/value This is one of the few papers which provides an extensive evaluation of the working conditions of those in dependent self-employment in the EU28.

scholarly journals O autoetnografii dotknięć, zranień i odkształceń

2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 9-31
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Kalinowska
Keyword(s):  
Research Method ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Systematic Research ◽  
Unit Of Analysis ◽  
Original Source ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
The World

The author presents autoethnography as a systematic research method used in field studies into the emotions of love. She begins by tracing various sociological and anthropological approaches and noting the place they give to an active, subjective researcher with agency. Then she concentrates on how autoethnographic data is generated and used in the course of the research process. In her opinion, autoethnography can be an original source of data—a supplement and verification for other materials collected in the field—if the personal experiences of the researcher are treated with the same attention as the experiences of the persons studied. She proposes to verify these experiences and the researcher’s activities in the world by use of the “clinical” and analytic autoethnographic method, which relies on the strategy of the “researcher as a tool.” This concept corresponds to the figure of the “vulnerable observer” used by researchers of the school of evocative autoethnography; it turns the researcher’s personal biography into a unit of analysis.

scholarly journals HIEQLab, a facility to support multi-domain human-centered research on building performance and environmental quality

2021 ◽  
Vol 2069 (1) ◽  
pp. 012244
Author(s):  
A Pellegrino ◽  
V Serra ◽  
F Favoino ◽  
A Astolfi ◽  
L Giovannini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Quality ◽  
Group Technology ◽  
Innovation Process ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Full Scale ◽  
Indoor Environmental Quality ◽  
Full Scale Test ◽  
Scale Test

Abstract Researches on building performances and environmental quality can be performed through different approaches, including dynamic numerical simulations, in-field studies, full scale test facilities and living labs. Researches performed through full scale test facilities allow carrying out studies under controlled realistic conditions, directly involving the final users. Such approach can significantly improve the scientific research on energy efficient and healthy buildings by fostering a synergistic and user-centered innovation process. Within this context, at Politecnico di Torino, the TEBE group (Technology, Energy, Building and Environment) has designed and is realizing a full-scale facility, aimed at implementing researches on building Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) and energy performance. The facility will enable multi-domain studies, including thermal, air quality, acoustic and lighting aspects, involving the final user in the research process. The paper describes the features of the facility and the challenges it was conceived to face.

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