Theoretical and Methodological Approaches for Investigating Open Educational Practices

To date, the phenomenon associated with open education in relation to teaching and learning practices remains under-theorized in the literature, which represents both a challenge and opportunity for further research (Bulfin et al., 2013; Howard & Maton, 2011; Knox, 2013; Veletsianos, 2015). There exists an opportunity to develop new theory, as well as to connect the phenomenon to existing theory from education, learning sciences, and pedagogical research. Much of the literature has focused on case studies, strategies for implementation, and broad approaches to institutional change which do not draw upon or develop theory. A significant amount of the empirical work reviewed makes no mention of a theoretical base aside from that of openness as a conceptual framework for considering education. Further, critical studies which examine the pedagogical and educational implications of the use of open educational resources (OER) and engagement in open educational practices (OEP) are even less common (Knox, 2013). In this paper, we share the results of a literature review which investigates both methodological and theoretical approaches used in the available research on open educational practices, with the goal of engaging participants in a critical review of the theoretical and methodological approaches to further advance research in this emerging space.

A Comparison of Three Ridesharing Cost Savings Allocation Schemes Based on the Number of Acceptable Shared Rides

Shared mobility based on cars refers to a transportation mode in which travelers/drivers share vehicles to reduce the cost of the journey, emissions, air pollution and parking demands. Cost savings provide a strong incentive for the shared mobility mode. As cost savings are due to cooperation of the stakeholders in shared mobility systems, they should be properly divided and allocated to relevant participants. Improper allocation of cost savings will lead to dissatisfaction of drivers/passengers and hinder acceptance of the shared mobility mode. In practice, several schemes based on proportional methods to allocate cost savings have been proposed in shared mobility systems. However, there is neither a guideline for selecting these proportional methods nor a comparative study on effectiveness of these proportional methods. Although shared mobility has attracted much attention in the research community, there is still a lack of study of the influence of cost saving allocation schemes on performance of shared mobility systems. Motivated by deficiencies of existing studies, this paper aims to compare three proportional cost savings allocation schemes by analyzing their performance in terms of the numbers of acceptable rides under different schemes. We focus on ridesharing based on cars in this study. The main contribution is to develop theory based on our analysis to characterize the performance under different schemes to provide a guideline for selecting these proportional methods. The theory developed is verified by conducting experiments based on real geographical data.

Resilience among the disadvantaged: How losses influence the post-crisis behaviour of Cameroonian entrepreneurs

Crises hamper entrepreneurship by eroding the entrepreneurs’ resource bases and causing psychological distress. Entrepreneurial resilience, the act of taking advantage of opportunities during adverse circumstances, requires using resources to counteract crisis-related disruptions. Building on these ideas, we develop theory as to how entrepreneurs operating in poverty settings, who are susceptible to instability and resource erosion, may behave resiliently when confronted with losses.Through a grounded-theoretical analysis of entrepreneurship in South-West Cameroon, we identify three behaviours local entrepreneurs enact in reaction to losses: non-resilience, urgency-driven resilience, and synergy-driven resilience. Then, we build theory as to how the mechanisms of resource erosion and psychological distress interact in determining post-crisis reactions. The study generates novel insights on the antecedents of entrepreneurial resilience with implications for theory and practice.

Project-based learning in an accounting graduate program

Considering the relevance of choosing a teaching methodology on student learning, this study aimed to identify the benefits and limitations of project-based learning. In order to reach the proposed objective, we investigated the method's application in the Cost Analysis course at a Graduate Program in Accounting. The methodology employed included document analysis, observation, questionnaire application, and a focus group with the students. In addition, the analysis considered the development of all the methodology steps proposed by the literature, descriptively and qualitatively highlighting the students' perceptions. As research results, we verified that the students' opportunity to experience the practice is the benefit most emphasized. Furthermore, we highlight autonomy development, which is essential to solving the problem proposed in the project. Regarding the limitations, the time required to develop the projects stands out, and the need to deal with diverse situations that may arise during the projects' investigation and elaboration process. The results contribute by presenting the project-based learning methodology as an opportunity for students to develop theory and practice, experiencing real issues related to professional practice. Among this study's limitations we highlight the sample size, which included only one class during one semester and evaluated only the students' perspective. It is understood that these limitations may be considered in future studies to expand the sample and make comparative analyses between classes in different periods, also covering the view of teachers.

Transdisciplinary Team Research to Develop Theory of Mind in Human-AI Teams Panelists

This panel will provide a transdisciplinary perspective on developing artificial social intelligence for teams. A panel with representatives from the cognitive, computational, and neural sciences will discuss theoretical, methodological, and technological insights derived from their respective disciplines. These perspectives will be integrated via a set of questions meant to guide synthesis across disciplines in support of a transdisciplinary team research approach. Through discussion across the panel and audience, our goal is to contribute to research and development in the area of Human-AI-Robot Teaming effectiveness.

Protocol for a constructivist metasynthesis of qualitative research of heroism and paramedic practice

Background: Exceptional demands have been placed on paramedics and other healthcare workers (HCWs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. An overwhelming outpouring of public support has unfolded, bringing into focus the relationship between paramedics, other HCWs and society, where they are portrayed as heroes. Scholars have studied the notion of heroism to society, and characteristics of such heroic status include: the voluntary nature of a heroic act, risk of physical or social harm, willingness to accept the consequences of action, acting for the benefit of others and without the expectation of gain. While some HCWs and paramedics may reflect these characteristics, many may not. Such heroic narratives can be damaging, stifling meaningful discussion around limits to duties, failing to acknowledge the importance of reciprocity and potentially imposing demands on paramedics and HCWs to be heroic.Aim: This article prospectively presents the protocol for a metasynthesis which aims to identify, appraise and synthesise the qualitative literature in order to develop theory on heroism and paramedic practice.Methods: Evolved grounded theory methodology is followed along with the procedural guidelines of Noblit and Hare (1988) to guide the analysis. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) have also been adopted when preparing this protocol and will be followed in the study proper. The protocol has been registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews PROSPERO 2021, registration number CRD42021234851.Results: We do not currently have results, but PRISMA guidelines will be followed when reporting our findings.Conclusion: Current narratives on heroism and paramedic practice are important in terms of the relationship between paramedics and society. The metasynthesis prospectively reported in this article serves as the first point in our journey of making sense of and developing theory on heroism and paramedic practice.

A Community at Work for Good: The Role OCBs and Interconnectedness Play in Mitigating Workplace Deviance

The current research examines the role interconnectedness, a major construct of workplace spirituality, plays in the functioning of workplace deviance behaviors and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) in organizations. The dichotomy between workplace deviance and OCBs can be viewed as a continuum that varies in every organization, but the desire to improve the continuum’s balance remains a constant. Thus, how can the balance of these behaviors be guided towards OCBs and away from workplace deviance simultaneously? Rarely have suggestions been offered by management scholars on how to increase OCBs and reduce workplace deviance simultaneously. Previous recommendations on reducing workplace deviance have focused mostly on costly and inefficient activities, resulting in an increase in more diverse negative deviant behaviors. Thus, what can an organization do to positively change these behaviors in a low realized cost fashion that otherwise does not promote other negative deviant behaviors? An extensive literature search was performed, and no previous scholarly literature could be found that directly addressed interconnectedness and its relationship with the continuum of OCBs and negative workplace deviant behaviors. As a result, previous scholarly and practitioner literature was used to develop theory delineating the relationships of concern. Formal propositions are developed to describe the relationships of interest. A conceptual partially mediated model illustrating how interconnectedness can impact the OCB and workplace deviance continuum is also proposed. Organizational implications are also discussed.

Lifting coarse homotopies

Coarse geometry, and in particular coarse homotopy theory, has proven to be a powerful tool for approaching problems in geometric group theory and higher index theory. In this paper,we continue to develop theory in this area by proving a Coarse Lifting Lemma with respect to a certain class of bornologous surjective maps. This class is wide enough to include quotients by coarsely discontinuous group actions, which allows us to obtain results concerning the coarse fundamental group of quotients which are analogous to classical topological results for the fundamental group. As an application, we compute the fundamental group of metric cones over negatively curved compact Riemannian manifolds.

Effect of Employee Engagement on Performance of Small and Medium Size Enterprises in Mombasa County, Kenya

In today’s global environment one of the major challenges is having engaged workforce in an organization. The workforce is one of the organization’s greatest assets. Employee engagement is the process of keeping employees engaged in the organization. It is one of the key fundamentals of making an organization competitive. The main objective of this study was to investigate the effect of employee engagement on performance of small and medium organizations in Mombasa County, Kenya. A positivist paradigm using descriptive research design was used. Stratified random sampling technique was used to interview respondents. The study sampled a total of 105 small and medium enterprises operators. A questionnaire with Likert-type interval scale anchored on a 5-point scale was used to collect data. Hypotheses were tested using Pearson’s product moment and multiple regression. Findings of the study indicated that most of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have not embraced the concept of employee engagement. Nonetheless they have awareness of the practices that employees desired which would give them competitive edge. It is of necessity that the SMEs operators be trained on best practices and also benchmark within their industry subsectors so as to be able to initiate and embrace employee engagement. At start-ups and early stages of business growth, there is minimal investment in human resources which results in haphazard recruitment of family members who are sometimes are neither qualified nor trained and not engaged. Consequently, the staff underperforms, a lot of infighting and conflicts in families and relatives, leading to strained family relationships and high labour turnover which in turn affects performance. The study recommended a deliberate action be taken by the management to embrace employee engagement concept for their organizations to be competitive. Implications of the study are that adopting employee engagement empowers employees which results in increased performance in organizations. The study also contributes to the literature that seeks to develop theory emphasizing the importance of embracing employee engagement notion as an important human resource concept.