Narratives: the rhetoric of intentional action

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 591-596
Author(s):  
Eduard Bonet
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Theoretical Study ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Intentional Action ◽  
Theoretical Work ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Conceptual Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Classical Paper ◽  
Rhetorical Dimension

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to clarify that narratives have a rhetorical dimension, whose study has to be considered an important part of rhetoric (this claim is not accepted by important scholars). The arguments are based on the properties that narratives are very persuasive and that they are implicitly involved in the three species of rhetoric (deliberative, judicial and celebrative) introduced by Aristotle in his Rhetoric. Second, narratives are strongly related to the concept of intentional action or human action that has a purpose, a mental project and the execution of the act, such it is defined in the classical paper by Alfred Schutz common-sense and scientific interpretation of human action (1953). This property relates narratives with phenomenology, epistemology of social sciences and management research and practice. Design/methodology/approach This research is a theoretical work based on the study of central concepts of rhetoric, narratives, historiography and epistemology of social sciences and it uncovers the narrative aspects involved in intentional action. As a theoretical study, it does not include empirical studies, but it points out some kinds of management activities, such as creating projects and case studies. Findings It uncovers the relationships between rhetoric and narratives, and between narratives and intentional action. If offers a new conceptual frame that can be very productive. Originality/value This conceptual approach is new. It clarifies important misunderstandings about narrativity, facts, meanings and interpretations.

Developing substantive theories into formal theories via disruption

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 572-575 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Scott Rosenbaum ◽  
Rebekah Russell-Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Services Marketing ◽  
Conceptual Frameworks ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Stage Process ◽  
Formal Theories

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to encourage service researchers to engage in “theoretical disruption” by purposefully adding variance to existing substantive theories, and conceptual frameworks, to construct formal theories of buyer–seller marketplace behaviors. The authors put forth an original four-stage process that illustrates the way substantive theories may be developed into formal theories. Design/methodology/approach The authors provide their opinions regarding theoretical creation and their interpretations of Grounded Theory methodological techniques that support the development of general theories within the social sciences. Findings In general, the services marketing discipline is based on a foundation of substantive theories, and proposed conceptual frameworks, which emerged from samples, contexts and conditions that ensue within industrialized, upper-income locales. Rather than seek to expand substantive theories by generating new categories and relationships between categories, most researchers limit their verification studies within the scope of original theoretical frameworks. Resultantly, the services marketing domain has not developed a set of formal theories. Research limitations/implications The editors encourage researchers to reconsider the discipline’s substantive theories and to transform them into formal theories. Substantive theories expand into formal theories when researchers question original theoretical frameworks and show situations in which they require modification. Theoretical verification does not transform substantive theories into formal theories; rather, the discovery of negative cases suggests the need for theoretical modification. Originality/value This work suggests that researchers may be over-emphasizing the generalizability of their proposed theories in papers because of a lack of sample variance in empirical studies.

scholarly journals A Praxeological Approach to Intentional Action

Studia Humana ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 10-33
Author(s):  
Alan G. Futerman ◽  
Walter E. Block
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Intentional Action ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Ludwig Von Mises ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Social ◽  
Unique Approach ◽  
Satisfactory State ◽  
State Of Affairs ◽  
Von Mises

Abstract The concept of Intentional Action is at the core of Praxeology, as developed by the Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises. Under this unique approach, defined as the science of human action and designed to study the field of the social sciences, Mises create “action axiom”: the contention that every acting man more satisfactory state of affairs for a Austrian scholar is able to derive the fundament human action; such as value, scale of value, scarcity, abundance, profit, loss, uncertainty and causality, among others. This paper intends to present the praxeological perspective on intentional action and its epistemologic implications; it also attempts to answer objections to this thesis.

Strengthening student engagement: what do students want in online courses?

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (9) ◽  
pp. 782-802 ◽  
Author(s):  
Misha Chakraborty ◽  
Fredrick Muyia Nafukho
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Full Text ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Engagement Strategies ◽  
Positive Learning Environment ◽  
The Right

Purpose – The purpose of this paper was to identify pertinent studies on the important issue of student engagement strategies in online courses and to establish from empirical studies student engagement strategies that work. Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopted the literature review approach. The authors conducted a thorough and systematic search of the literature to find empirical studies focusing on online engagement strategies within the field of education and distance learning. To generate as many relevant publications as possible, both manual and electronic searches were conducted. The databases used included; Academic Search Complete (Ebsco), Social Sciences Full Text (Wilson), ProQuest Education Journals, ProQuest Dissertation and Thesis, ProQuest Central, Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCIISI), ERIC, (Ebsco), SAGE Full-Text Collection (CSA), Google Scholar and Emerald. Findings – The results of this paper revealed the several factors that can create engaging learning experiences for the online learners. The primary factors are as follows: creating and maintaining positive learning environment; building learning community; giving consistent feedback in timely manner; and using the right technology to deliver the right content. Research limitations/implications – The paper is limited, as it is based on a review of literature. Empirical studies need to be conducted to support the ideas generated in this paper. For example, it is proposed that individual and institutional characteristics play an important role in promoting learner satisfaction in online courses. Additional studies that can explore this aspect in detail are needed. Originality/value – The paper has both professional and educational implications. The findings of this paper can help identify areas where the instructors and designers of online classes need to focus. The student engagement strategies for online courses identified should assist both experienced and beginning online instructors in the design and successful delivery of online courses. Students taking online courses should find the results of this study invaluable.

The role of trust in investor relations: a conceptual framework

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadine Strauß
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Organizational Context ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Theoretical Work ◽  
Investor Relations ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Working Definition ◽  
Trust Relationships ◽  
The Media

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a synthesis for investor relations (IR) research on how to understand, conceptualize and build trust relationships between companies and the financial community within the practice of IR. In doing so, a working definition of the role of trust for IR, a conceptual model as well as strategies on how to establish, maintain and foster trust relationships within IR are proposed. Furthermore, a brief research alley is sketched to inspire more corporate communication scholars to conduct empirical studies in this field of research. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on a thorough literature review on empirical and theoretical work in the field of IR, strategic financial communication as well as related disciplines such as public relations, marketing and business research. Furthermore, the literature from other disciplines dealing with trust in the organizational context (economics, psychology, sociology) has been reviewed to develop a working definition for the role of trust in IR. Findings The following supposition for the role of trust in IR has been worked out: “Trust relationships within investor relations manifest themselves on a micro-, meso-, and macro-level and involve interactions with various individual actors, groups of people, organizations, institutions, and systems. Within these trust interactions, investor relations presents itself simultaneously three-fold: as a discipline, an organization and as individual practitioners.” Practical implications To support the establishment, maintenance and fostering of trust relationships, IR needs to provide honest, transparent, comprehensive and coherent information to be in continuous, direct and mutual contact with stakeholders (e.g. investors, analysts, CEOs) and to endeavor a fair representation of the company in the media and among the public. Originality/value Facing recent changes in the media, regulatory and corporate environment, this conceptual paper provides a thorough discussion of the role of trust in the field of IR. The working definition, the conceptual model as well as the practical strategies to build trust relationships provided in this paper might help IR to overcome these challenges. The call for more research in this area and the actual employment of the suggested trust building strategies might contribute to fostering trust relationships in the financial markets, thereby contributing to a more sustainable financial system in the long run.

Co-production in mental health research: reflections from the People Study

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 220-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Pinfold ◽  
Paulina Szymczynska ◽  
Sarah Hamilton ◽  
Richard Peacocke ◽  
Shirley Dean ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Theoretical Work ◽  
Mental Health Research ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Advisory Panel ◽  
Content Type

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the process of co-producing mental health research where work was shared between university academics, charity-based researchers and a Lived Experience Advisory Panel. Design/methodology/approach – The authors express the opinions of a research team made up of people with experience of using mental health services, being carers and being academically trained researchers from a range of health and social science disciplines. Some had experience in several areas. The paper is co-produced to provide collective reflection and recommendations. Findings – Co-production of research is not well documented in published literature. The authors believe there is scope to develop co-production approaches, but further conceptual and theoretical work is needed alongside empirical studies. A socially situated complex research project, possibly involving multi-stakeholder groups, demands flexibility in approach. Similarly to user-controlled and other emancipatory methodologies, co-production makes the democratisation of research a primary objective in order to produce better quality and more relevant studies. Co-production also addresses inequalities in power and control within research projects; this way of working does provide a healthy challenge to traditional research hierarchies. Practical implications – Lessons learned should be honestly shared to develop co-production research methods. Projects need to have a strategy for how to value different contributions and facilitate constructive relationships if discord emerges. Establishing clear project roles, expectations and process for payment are essential in developing genuine collaborative partnerships. Originality/value – It is a viewpoint paper.

Culture driven regeneration (CDR): a conceptual business improvement tool

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 403-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kumaraguru Mahadevan
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Learning ◽  
Learning Organization ◽  
Corporate Culture ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Organization Culture ◽  
Total Quality ◽  
Conceptual Approach ◽  
Organization Learning ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Conceptual Paper

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the research carried out on a conceptual approach in business improvement termed as culture driven regeneration (CDR). The research positions CDR as business improvement tool that leverages organizational learning, organization culture and corporate knowledge in implementing changes. The CDR concept is positioned half way between business process re-engineering (BPR) that thrives on radical design and process changes, and total quality management (TQM) that takes the slow and incremental approach to improvement. CDR regenerates the processes in the journey to business improvement. Design/methodology/approach A structured and a comprehensive literature review were carried out on BPR and TQM in the context of leadership, organization learning, organizational learning and corporate knowledge. The review confirmed that TQM and BPR are connected to the four areas. This connection led to the conceptualization that organizations deploy culture and corporate knowledge to drive business improvement. Organization culture and knowledge was quantified based on previous research in this area and methods applied in other research studies relating to benchmarking. There are no empirical analyses included in this paper, however knowledge and culture were given scores in illustrating the CDR concept. Findings This conceptual paper has pointed out that organization culture, knowledge, organizational learning and leadership are important components of a business improvement tool such as BPR and TQM. The CDR concept leverages those components and draws on the organization’s corporate culture to enable change. Research limitations/implications Additional empirical studies are required on various types of industries, organization cultures, organization structures and professions to establish more robust scores for knowledge and culture applied in the CDR concept. The concept could be further expanded into a framework that could be applied across a number of industries. Originality/value The CDR concept is a business improvement tool that enables organizations to leverage their existing culture in driving change. The concept is built up on the existing relationship BPR and TQM has with organization learning, organization culture, corporate knowledge and the quantification of culture and knowledge.

Conclusion

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karin Nisenbaum
Keyword(s):  
Practical Knowledge ◽  
Intentional Action ◽  
German Idealism ◽  
Human Action ◽  
The World ◽  
Fundamental Tension

The concluding chapter draws on the story of Rosenzweig’s near conversion to Christianity and return to Judaism to explain why, for Kant and his heirs, what is at issue in reason’s conflict with itself is our ability to affirm both the value of the world and of human action in the world. The chapter explains why Rosenzweig came to view the conflict of reason as the manifestation of a more fundamental tension between one’s selfhood and one’s worldliness, which could only be dissolved by understanding human action in the world as the means by which God is both cognized and partly realized. To make Rosenzweig’s ideas more accessible, the chapter compares them with contemporary interpretations of Kant’s views on the nature of practical knowledge and (intentional) action. It also shows how the book’s take on the issues that shaped the contours of post-Kantian German Idealism can help us see that the conflict of reason can be regarded as the underlying concern that recent competing interpretations of this period share.

Humans and the Environment

2013 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Cultural Practice ◽  
Environmental Archaeology ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
Temporal And Spatial ◽  
Global And Local ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Way

The environment has always been a central concept for archaeologists and, although it has been conceived in many ways, its role in archaeological explanation has fluctuated from a mere backdrop to human action, to a primary factor in the understanding of society and social change. Archaeology also has a unique position as its base of interest places it temporally between geological and ethnographic timescales, spatially between global and local dimensions, and epistemologically between empirical studies of environmental change and more heuristic studies of cultural practice. Drawing on data from across the globe at a variety of temporal and spatial scales, this volume resituates the way in which archaeologists use and apply the concept of the environment. Each chapter critically explores the potential for archaeological data and practice to contribute to modern environmental issues, including problems of climate change and environmental degradation. Overall the volume covers four basic themes: archaeological approaches to the way in which both scientists and locals conceive of the relationship between humans and their environment, applied environmental archaeology, the archaeology of disaster, and new interdisciplinary directions.The volume will be of interest to students and established archaeologists, as well as practitioners from a range of applied disciplines.

scholarly journals Advantages and potential challenges of data management in e-maintenance

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 378-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arian Razmi-Farooji ◽  
Hanna Kropsu-Vehkaperä ◽  
Janne Härkönen ◽  
Harri Haapasalo
Keyword(s):  
Data Management ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Conceptual Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Maintenance Systems ◽  
Industry Leader ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to understand data management challenges in e-maintenance systems from a holistically viewpoint through summarizing the earlier scattered research in the field, and second, to present a conceptual approach for addressing these challenges in practice. Design/methodology/approach The study is realized as a combination of a literature review and by the means of analyzing the practices on an industry leader in manufacturing and maintenance services. Findings This research provides a general understanding over data management challenges in e-maintenance and summarizes their associated proposed solutions. In addition, this paper lists and exemplifies different types and sources of data which can be collected in e-maintenance, across different organizational levels. Analyzing the data management practices of an e-maintenance industry leader provides a conceptual approach to address identified challenges in practice. Research limitations/implications Since this paper is based on studying the practices of a single company, it might be limited to generalize the results. Future research topics can focus on each of mentioned data management challenges and also validate the applicability of presented model in other companies and industries. Practical implications Understanding the e-maintenance-related challenges helps maintenance managers and other involved stakeholders in e-maintenance systems to better solve the challenges. Originality/value The so-far literature on e-maintenance has been studied with narrow focus to data and data management in e-maintenance appears as one of the less studied topics in the literature. This research paper contributes to e-maintenance by highlighting the deficiencies of the discussion surrounding the perspectives of data management in e-maintenance by studying all common data management challenges and listing different types of data which need to be acquired in e-maintenance systems.

Understanding Semantic Web: a conceptual model

2015 ◽  
Vol 64 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 82-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Calaresu ◽  
Ali Shiri
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Web ◽  
Conceptual Model ◽  
The Body ◽  
Three Dimensional Model ◽  
Conceptual Approach ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Software Applications ◽  
Web Architecture ◽  
The Web

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to explore and conceptualize the Semantic Web as a term that has been widely mentioned in the literature of library and information science. More specifically, its aim is to shed light on the evolution of the Web and to highlight a previously proposed means of attempting to improve automated manipulation of Web-based data in the context of a rapidly expanding base of both users and digital content. Design/methodology/approach – The conceptual analysis presented in this paper adopts a three-dimensional model for the discussion of Semantic Web. The first dimension focuses on Semantic Web’s basic nature, purpose and history, as well as the current state and limitations of modern search systems and related software agents. The second dimension focuses on critical knowledge structures such as taxonomies, thesauri and ontologies which are understood as fundamental elements in the creation of a Semantic Web architecture. In the third dimension, an alternative conceptual model is proposed, one, which unlike more commonly prevalent Semantic Web models, offers a greater emphasis on describing the proposed structure from an interpretive viewpoint, rather than a technical one. This paper adopts an interpretive, historical and conceptual approach to the notion of the Semantic Web by reviewing the literature and by analyzing the developments associated with the Web over the past three decades. It proposes a simplified conceptual model for easy understanding. Findings – The paper provides a conceptual model of the Semantic Web that encompasses four key strata, namely, the body of human users, the body of software applications facilitating creation and consumption of documents, the body of documents themselves and a proposed layer that would improve automated manipulation of Web-based data by the software applications. Research limitations/implications – This paper will facilitate a better conceptual understanding of the Semantic Web, and thereby contribute, in a small way, to the larger body of discourse surrounding it. The conceptual model will provide a reference point for education and research purposes. Originality/value – This paper provides an original analysis of both conceptual and technical aspects of Semantic Web. The proposed conceptual model provides a new perspective on this subject.

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