Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Trial By Fire: Natural Hazards, Mixed-Methods And Cultural Research, Christine Eriksen, Nicholas J. Gill, Ross A. Bradstock

Christine Eriksen

This paper considers the issues of research 'relevance' and 'use' to reflect upon a cultural geography research project on bushfire that did not begin with any specific aim of being useful to policy makers but which has garnered considerable and ongoing interest from a broad audience. It provides an example of how the integration of quantitative and qualitative research methods and data can enhance research into cultural aspects of natural hazards whilst simultaneously playing a key role in ensuring that the research results are of interest to a wide range of groups. Using a mixed-methods research approach was found to …

“The Problem Of Science” In Nietzsche And Heidegger, Babette Babich

Babette Babich

Nietzsche and Heidegger pose important philosophical questions to science and its technological projects. The resultant contributes to what may be called a continental philosophy of science and I argue that only such a rigorously critical approach to the question of science permits a genuinely philosophical reflection on science. The resultant contributes to what may be called a continental philosophy of science and I argue that only such a rigorously critical approach to the question of science permits a genuinely philosophical reflection on science. More than a thoughtful reflection on science, however, the heart of philosophy is also at stake in …

Crafting Qualitative Research Articles On Marriages And Families, Sarah H. Matthews

Sarah Matthews

This paper aims to assist those who do qualitative research in the field of marriage and family to reduce the number of rejections received in response to article submissions. Recurring shortcomings identified by reviewers and suggestions made to authors about revising papers are organized using headings traditionally used in a research article—introduction and literature review, method, results, and discussion. Considerations stemming from the fact that data on marriages and families are produced largely through interviews also are addressed.

Does America Face A Shortage Of Scientists And Engineers?, Ronald G. Ehrenberg

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

[Excerpt] As someone who served on the committee that issued the 1998 study of the early careers of life scientists that Teitelbaum talks about in his article and who has critiqued models that projected shortages of new PhDs, I am very sympathetic to many of the points that he makes (National Research Council, 1998; Ehrenberg, 1991). What I want to focus on today is the word we in his title, because, as Teitelbaum emphasizes, the question of shortages or surpluses is often in the eye of the beholder. For example, from the perspective of faculty members involved in the academic …

Ranking Australian Economics Departments By Research Productivity, Frank V. Neri, Joan R. Rodgers

Joan Rodgers

This study ranks Australian economics departments according to the average research productivity of their academic staff during 1996-2002. It also ranks departments according to the variability of research productivity among their members, the assumption being that, ceteris paribus, the less variable is productivity within a department, the better. Research productivity is found to be highly skewed within all departments. A few departments have high average research productivity because of just one or two highly productive members. However, in general, research productivity is more evenly distributed within those departments that have relatively high average research productivity than within departments with relatively …

Ranking Australian Economics Departments By Research Productivity, Frank V. Neri, Joan R. Rodgers

Frank Neri

This study ranks Australian economics departments according to the average research productivity of their academic staff during 1996-2002. It also ranks departments according to the variability of research productivity among their members, the assumption being that, ceteris paribus, the less variable is productivity within a department, the better. Research productivity is found to be highly skewed within all departments. A few departments have high average research productivity because of just one or two highly productive members. However, in general, research productivity is more evenly distributed within those departments that have relatively high average research productivity than within departments with relatively …

Trial By Fire: Natural Hazards, Mixed-Methods And Cultural Research, Christine Eriksen, Nicholas J. Gill, Ross A. Bradstock

Nicholas J Gill

This paper considers the issues of research 'relevance' and 'use' to reflect upon a cultural geography research project on bushfire that did not begin with any specific aim of being useful to policy makers but which has garnered considerable and ongoing interest from a broad audience. It provides an example of how the integration of quantitative and qualitative research methods and data can enhance research into cultural aspects of natural hazards whilst simultaneously playing a key role in ensuring that the research results are of interest to a wide range of groups. Using a mixed-methods research approach was found to …

American Higher Education In Transition, Ronald G. Ehrenberg

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

[Excerpt] In public higher education, tuition increases in recent decades have barely offset a long-run decline in state appropriations per full-time equivalent student. State appropriations per full-time equivalent student at public higher educational institutions averaged $6,454 in fiscal year 2010; at its peak in fiscal year 1987, the comparable number (in constant dollars) was $7,993 (State Higher Education Executive Officers 2011, figure 3), translating into a decline of 19 percent over the period. Even if one leaves out the "Great Recession," real state appropriations per full-time equivalent student were still lower in fiscal year 2008 than they were 20 years …

Financial Forces And The Future Of American Higher Education, Ronald G. Ehrenberg, Michael J. Rizzo

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

Recent shifts in state funding are altering the most basic realities of American higher education, from student access to faculty research.

Embedding Notions Of Community In The Teaching-Research Nexus: A Case Study, Mario Fernando, Peter D. Mclean

Peter McLean

Becoming aware of the variety of ways academics and students experience and apply research in higher education empowers higher education providers, policy makers and academics to become more reflective and critical of the environment in which learning is taking place. Significant shifts in commerce higher education pedagogy that value community engagement as a bridge to holistic education and sustainable social change are taking place. With the increasing need to integrate the community into the teaching-research nexus, social responsibility is moving to the forefront of commerce higher education. The paper is based on the findings of a teaching and learning scholar …

Was The Copenhagen Summit Doomed From The Start? Some Insights From Green Is Research, Helen M. Hasan, C Dwyer

Helen Hasan

At the 2009 Copenhagen Summit on Climate Change, COP15, so many contradictory demands were apparent that it is doubtful whether it produced many useful outcomes. In this paper we question whether it, and summits like it, may be inherently doomed to fall short of expectations. With its experience of the intrinsic contradictions within socio-technical systems, the Information System’s profession may provide some insights into complex issues such as climate change. IS research has often demonstrated that imposed top-down solutions rarely provide the most promising way to approach highly complex problems. On the other hand, bottom-up emergent processes, though less politically …

Socially Innovative Research Networks: A Roadmap For Sinet, Helen M. Hasan

Helen Hasan

The Social Innovation Network (SInet) was established for cross-disciplinary research on social innovation to 'create better futures for people'. SInet is itself socially innovative since a network is a relatively unfamiliar configuration for a university-wide research unit. A network provides an identity to a research collective that is real, having status and support,but which is fundamentally different to an institute. In a network, connections and flows of knowledge tend to be horizontal not vertical. A network is flexible, reconfigurable, responsive to change and less formal, and has the potential for lower administrative overheads. As knowledge workers, university researchers perform best …

Relative Values And Complementarity Of Online And Offline Interactions In Consumer Buying Behaviour: A Proposed Research Plan To Study Purchasing Of A Consumer Service Product Bundle, Robert G. Grant

Robert Grant

Current research into online consumer behaviour seems to be limited in two respects, firstly it treats online interaction as a stand-alone phenomenon and secondly it focuses on discrete steps in consumer processes, neglecting links between the steps. This paper proposes a research method to investigate relative values and complementarity between online and offline interactions in a consumer's buying process, examining differences within and between steps. A range of information source types and functional resource options will be researched for both effectiveness and efficiency benefits as well as emotional preferences for both online and offline interactions. The research will focus on …

The Relationship Between Driving Anxiety And Driving Skill: A Review Of Human Factors And Anxiety-Performance Theories To Clarify Future Research Needs, Joanne Taylor, Frank P. Deane, John Podd

Frank Deane

This article examines theory and identifies gaps in research related to the role of driving skills in driving anxiety. Increasingly, investigators have examined the clinical features of driving anxiety and the more severe situation of driving fear and phobia, but the possible involvement of driving skills has been neglected. This is surprising given the potential implications for skills training and remediation in the assessment and treatment of some of those who experience driving anxiety, fear, and phobia. The largest body of relevant research comes from the driving and human factors literature on the relationship between anxiety and driving performance. The …

Increasing Research Familiarity Amongst Members Of A Clubhouse For People With Mental Illness, Sarah Louise Marshall, Frank Deane, Nicola Hancock

Frank Deane

No abstract provided.

Policy Decisions And Research In Economics And Industrial Relations: An Exchange Of Views: Comment, Ronald G. Ehrenberg, Daniel S. Hamermesh, George E. Johnson

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

[Excerpt] John Dunlop has presented what are certainly some of the most provocative remarks to appear in a scholarly journal in the labor field in many years. We find much to agree with in his remarks; however, we also find many areas where we feel he condemns research because of his overly optimistic expectations about its ability to contribute to the policy process, and other areas where he appears to be unaware that research in labor economics has already contributed fairly directly to policy decisions.

Involving Undergraduates In Research To Encourage Them To Undertake Ph.D. Study In Economics, Ronald G. Ehrenberg

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

[Excerpt] Recent evidence suggests that the growing use of part-time and full-time non-tenure-track faculty nationwide adversely influences American college students’ graduation rates (Ehrenberg and Liang Zhang, 2005). I have become concerned that the increased usage of non-tenure track faculty members also likely adversely influences the propensity of undergraduate students to go on for Ph.D.s in economics for two reasons. First, many students enter college with the expressed intent of becoming doctors or lawyers, getting an MBA, or going on for advanced degrees in the sciences or humanities. However, with the exception perhaps of the small number of high-school students who …

Reframing "How We Done It Good" Research Publications, Lise Doucette, Bruce Fyfe, Marni R. Harrington, Kristin Hoffmann, Courtney Waugh

Kristin Hoffmann

"How I done it good" research papers, while important, often focus on a specialized local case. Added value comes from placing research results within the wider community of library research. Using citation analysis as an example, we share strategies for communicating results in a way that is replicable and comparable. (Poster presentation)

Reframing "How We Done It Good" Research Publications, Lise Doucette, Bruce Fyfe, Marni R. Harrington, Kristin Hoffmann, Courtney Waugh

Courtney L. Waugh

"How I done it good" research papers, while important, often focus on a specialized local case. Added value comes from placing research results within the wider community of library research. Using citation analysis as an example, we share strategies for communicating results in a way that is replicable and comparable. (Poster presentation)

Reframing "How We Done It Good" Research Publications, Lise Doucette, Bruce Fyfe, Marni R. Harrington, Kristin Hoffmann, Courtney Waugh

Marni Harrington

"How I done it good" research papers, while important, often focus on a specialized local case. Added value comes from placing research results within the wider community of library research. Using citation analysis as an example, we share strategies for communicating results in a way that is replicable and comparable. (Poster presentation)

Interorganizational Dynamics In Collaboration In University-Industry Research Projects: Context, Politics And Social Construction, Michael Zanko, Richard Badham, Karin H. Garrety

Michael Zanko

University-industry partnerships (UIPs) are widely viewed as essential in leveraging research capability and economic performance in organizations and the nation as a whole. In Australia, as in many other countries, the national government commits significant funds to such ‘strategic’ collaborations. Despite this interest, there is still a relatively poor understanding of the interorganizational dynamics of these industry and university partnerships and their projects. This paper examines such dynamics by focusing on a management-related research project we were involved in negotiating and undertaking with industry partner managers over a four-year period. Of particular relevance was the complex interplay between UIP politics, …

Interorganizational Dynamics In Collaboration In University-Industry Research Projects: Context, Politics And Social Construction, Michael Zanko, Richard Badham, Karin H. Garrety

Karin Garrety

University-industry partnerships (UIPs) are widely viewed as essential in leveraging research capability and economic performance in organizations and the nation as a whole. In Australia, as in many other countries, the national government commits significant funds to such ‘strategic’ collaborations. Despite this interest, there is still a relatively poor understanding of the interorganizational dynamics of these industry and university partnerships and their projects. This paper examines such dynamics by focusing on a management-related research project we were involved in negotiating and undertaking with industry partner managers over a four-year period. Of particular relevance was the complex interplay between UIP politics, …

Performance-Based University Research Funding Systems, Diana Hicks

Diana Hicks