scholarly journals Making authentic: exploring boundary objects and bricolage in knowledge mobilisation through National Health Service-university partnerships

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 517-539 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy Melville-Richards ◽  
Joanne Rycroft-Malone ◽  
Christopher Burton ◽  
Joyce Wilkinson
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Work ◽  
Boundary Objects ◽  
University Partnerships ◽  
Knowledge Mobilisation ◽  
Multiple User ◽  
Effective Boundary ◽  
Practice Gap ◽  
User Perspectives ◽  
Applied Health Research

Background: In healthcare, bridging the research-to-practice gap is a top priority. Knowledge mobilisation scholars suggest that this gap can be closed through collaboration between knowledge users and producers. The concept of boundary objects ‐ shared things and ideas that enable communication ‐ has gained popularity across various collaborative work practices, but their potential within knowledge mobilisation in health care is understudied. An ongoing challenge for designers of boundary objects is how to create objects that are valued and shared both in principle and in practice.Aims and objectives: This paper reports on a study of boundary objects used during knowledge mobilisation through NHS-university partnerships called Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRCs). The distinction is investigated between boundary objects-in-theory and boundary objects-in-use, considering whether the latter possess specific characteristics which make them more effective during knowledge mobilisation.Methods: A qualitative case study of three CLAHRCs was conducted. Twenty-one people employed as ‘boundary spanners’ were interviewed to explore whether boundary objects played a role in knowledge mobilisation.Findings: The most effective boundary objects-in-use were co-produced through a process of bricolage. These possessed high levels of meaningfulness and resonance, and reconciled multiple user perspectives. Together these properties contributed to the overall authenticity of boundary objects-in-use.Discussion and conclusion: This paper helps to explain why designated boundary objects frequently fail in practice, and why there is a need to focus on understanding boundary objects based on symbolic, rather than structural, dimensions.

scholarly journals ‘I’m not being paid for this conversation’: Uncovering the challenges of artist–academic collaborations in the neoliberal institution

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 317-333
Author(s):  
Alena Pfoser ◽  
Sara de Jong
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Work ◽  
Knowledge Exchange ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
The Political ◽  
Institutional Pressures ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Collective Response ◽  
And Shifts ◽  
The Impact

Artist–academic collaborations are fuelled by increasing institutional pressures to show the impact of academic research. This article departs from the celebratory accounts of collaborative work and pragmatic toolkits for successful partnerships, which are dominant in existing scholarship, arguing for the need to critically interrogate the structural conditions under which collaborations take place. Based on a reflexive case study of a project developed in the context of Tate Exchange, one of the UK’s highest-profile platforms for knowledge exchange, we reveal three sets of (unequal) pressures, which mark artist–academic collaborations in the contemporary neoliberal academy: asymmetric funding and remuneration structures; uneven pressures of audit cultures; acceleration and temporal asymmetries. Innovations at the level of individual projects or partners can only mitigate the negative effects to a limited extent. Instead this article offers a systemic critique of the political economy of artist–academic collaborations and shifts the research agenda to developing a collective response.

Boundary objects in collaborative work and learning

2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikhail Fominykh ◽  
Ekaterina Prasolova-Førland ◽  
Monica Divitini ◽  
Sobah Abbas Petersen
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Work ◽  
Boundary Objects

The New Middle Management: Intermediary Organizations in Education Policy Implementation

2004 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meredith I. Honig
Keyword(s):  
Education Policy ◽  
Policy Implementation ◽  
Middle Management ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Five Dimensions ◽  
Intermediary Organizations ◽  
Practice Gap ◽  
Education Policy Implementation ◽  
Implementation Resources

Intermediary organizations have become increasingly prominent participants in education policy implementation despite limited knowledge about their distinctive functions and the conditions that constrain and enable those functions. This article addresses that research-practice gap by drawing on theories of organizational ecology and findings from a comparative case study of four intermediary organizations that helped with collaborative policy implementation in Oakland, California. I define intermediaries as organizations that operate between policymakers and implementers to affect changes in roles and practices for both parties and show that such organizations typically vary along at least five dimensions. Oakland’s intermediary organizations all provided new implementation resources—knowledge, political/social ties, and an administrative infrastructure—but faced different constraining and enabling conditions. Using insights from this strategic case study, this article begins to build theory about intermediary organizations as important participants in contemporary policy implementation.

IT Project Managers' Perceptions and Use of Virtual Team Technologies

2011 ◽  
pp. 25-43
Author(s):  
Catherine M. Beise ◽  
Fred Niederman ◽  
Herb Mattord
Keyword(s):  
Project Management ◽  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Collaborative Work ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Fortune 500 ◽  
Project Managers ◽  
Team Members ◽  
It Project ◽  
Information And Communication

This chapter presents the results of a case study pertaining to the use of information and communication media to support a range of project management tasks. A variety of electronic communication tools have evolved to support collaborative work and virtual teams. Few of these tools have focused specifically on the needs of project managers. In an effort to learn how practicing IT project managers employ these tools, data were collected at a North American Fortune 500 industrial company via interviews with IT project managers regarding their use and perceptions of electronic media within the context of their work on project teams. In this study, “virtual” describes the extent to which communication is electronic rather than the extent to which team members are geographically separated. Although the number of respondents was limited, the richness of the data collected leads to the conclusion that successful project managers and teams become skilled at adapting a variety of existing communication technologies to match the project task or process, the receiver, their own role as sender, and the content of the message. Groupware designers and developers need to better understand project management methods and best practices in order to provide better tools for practitioners, particularly as organizations expand globally and increasingly outsource various functions of their IT development and operations.

Creating Structural Analysis Model from IFC-Based Structural Model

2013 ◽  
Vol 712-715 ◽  
pp. 901-904 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuan Wang ◽  
Zai Peng Cui ◽  
Qi Lin Zhang ◽  
Hui Zhu Yang
Keyword(s):  
Information Exchange ◽  
Structural Model ◽  
Collaborative Work ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Building Structures ◽  
Analysis Model ◽  
Information Gap ◽  
Information Transformation ◽  
Complex Building

In recent years, with the rapid development of the complex building structures, the lack of collaborative work platform for the information exchange between different disciplines results in the phenomenon of information gap and information isolated island. Realizing such a demand, a software was developed for supporting information transformation from IFC-format data model to structural model. In this paper, A case study was implemented to illustrate the method of structural model transformation, The results show that the software can extract the information of IFC structural model and form a corresponding structural model.

Boundary subjects and boundary objects in accounting fact construction and communication

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 303-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teemu Laine ◽  
Tuomas Korhonen ◽  
Petri Suomala ◽  
Asta Rantamaa
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Boundary Objects ◽  
Shared Understanding ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Partners ◽  
Pragmatic Constructivism ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to elaborate the concepts of boundary subjects and boundary objects in constructing and communicating relevant accounting facts for managing product development (PD). Boundary subjects as reflective actors benefit effective accounting enactment, by building a shared understanding about different actors’ roles and information needs, and by helping to respond to these needs with new boundary objects. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses a longitudinal interventionist case study of a machinery manufacturer. The focus of this case study was the production ramp-up phase at the end of a PD program. Different actors’ needs were first collected and elaborated by interventionist researchers (boundary subjects). Then accounting prototypes (boundary objects) provided new means of communication. Findings The findings show that dealing with boundaries is crucial in accounting development. The role of boundary subjects was fundamental in the process of choosing, constructing, elaborating and communicating accounting facts. During this process, accounting prototypes integrated new accounting facts, the boundary subjects mitigated the boundaries and the boundary objects focused and restricted communication about accounting facts. Research limitations/implications The paper tests the pragmatic constructivism approach by examining accounting enactment under uncertainty and ambiguity. The study refines pragmatic constructivism in terms of boundaries, boundary subjects as actors and boundary objects. Practical implications The intentional use of boundary subjects and objects as communication platform could push a more active inclusion of business controllers as active business partners. Originality/value The paper contributes to the literature on accounting development by highlighting the use of boundary subjects and boundary objects as fundamental mechanisms in constructing and communicating accounting facts.

"We'll Discuss that Online. . .": A Case Study of Computer-Supported Collaborative Work in a Locally-Based Emerging Organization

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard K. Smith ◽  
Michael L.W. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Potential Role ◽  
Collaborative Work ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Computer Supported Collaborative Work ◽  
Space And Time ◽  
Barriers To Communication

The Internet has attracted much popular and academic attention regarding its potential role as a medium for collaborative work. Through transcending many space- and time-based barriers to communication inherent in other media, the Internet represents a relatively cheap, sophisticated and accessible avenue of communication between geographically and temporally dispersed. . .

Semantic Similarity Based on Ontology Technology and its Application in Mobile Information Retrieval for Product Design

2009 ◽  
Vol 419-420 ◽  
pp. 741-744
Author(s):  
Yong Jun Zheng ◽  
Zhong Ming Ren ◽  
Dai Zhong Su ◽  
Leslie Arthur
Keyword(s):  
Information Retrieval ◽  
Product Design ◽  
Retrieval System ◽  
Product Information ◽  
Collaborative Work ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Information Retrieval System ◽  
Semantic Relationships ◽  
System A

With recent advances in wireless communication technologies, the world of mobile computing is flourishing with a variety of applications. This paper presents a mobile product information retrieval system that supports collaborative work among remote users. With the development of the system, a knowledge representation framework has been adopted which accommodates semantic relationships and similarity of product data. To illustrate the system developed, a case study in information retrieval for product design is presented．

scholarly journals “The map is not the territory”: a boundary objects perspective on supply chain mapping

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (9) ◽  
pp. 1475-1497
Author(s):  
Nathalie Fabbe-Costes ◽  
Lucie Lechaptois ◽  
Martin Spring
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Boundary Objects ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Further Development ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Mapping Exercise

PurposeTo empirically examine the usefulness and value of supply chain mapping (SC mapping), which has been neglected despite its importance in research and practice.Design/methodology/approachBased on three combined theoretical perspectives, we conducted a case study on a car manufacturer's managers mapping their downstream supply chain (SC). We conducted semi-structured interviews and a mapping exercise with them, followed by a focus group.FindingsWe find differences between individual and corporate SC maps and between how managers define the outbound SC, the SC map they draw and what they say when mapping. The three theoretical perspectives allow us to enrich SC mapping thinking. We focus on boundary objects to formulate propositions. SC mapping and maps are discussed with respect to contemporary SCs and SCM.Research limitations/implicationsBased on a single case study on one firm's outbound SC. Research could be expanded to the company's external partners and follow the development and use of maps in real time.Practical implicationsHighlights the usefulness and difficulties of SC mapping, for individuals and organisations. For the company, it opens avenues for further development and use of SC mapping to improve inter-functional and inter-organisational collaboration.Social implicationsConfirms the need for SC mapping competences in SCM and consequently the usefulness of teaching SC mapping courses in logistics and SCM programs.Originality/valueHighlights the usefulness of SC mapping and rekindles interest in SC mapping and maps in SCM. Introduces boundary objects into SCM research.

Breaking through barriers: the impact of organizational culture on open government reform

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 335-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erna H.J.M. Ruijer ◽  
Richard F. Huff
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Culture ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Open Government ◽  
Government Reform ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
Practice Gap ◽  
Government Reforms ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of organizational culture on open government reforms by developing a theoretical framework bridging the theory and practice gap. Design/methodology/approach An exploratory qualitative study consisting of a document analysis and a case study was conducted. Findings An open organizational culture is a precursor to effective open government. A network strategy as a facilitator for developing an open culture was used in one US federal agency, breaking across boundaries within the organization, creating greater symmetrical horizontal and vertical openness. Originality/value Much of the focus in both theory and practice has been on the use of technology as a vehicle to increase government openness. This study argues that a movement toward openness is beyond the technical. Organizational culture is a key to openness and may need to be changed. A networks strategy may be one way to facilitate a transformation to a more open culture.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document