The Role of Action Research (AR) in Environmental Research: Learning from a Local Organic Food and Farming Research Project

We expand on the FMA model of inquiry elucidated by Checkland and Holwell (Syst Pract Act Res 11:9, 1998) and identify three kinds of research: interactive Action Research (AR), extractive participatory research, and traditional science, that were integrated into an interdisciplinary agro-environmental research project involving researchers from eight countries around the Baltic Sea. The research project held the goal of creating scientific understanding of the ecological, economic and social effects of the sustainable development of local food systems, while also having the explicit goal of implementing change in the studied systems. Based on our experience working as action researchers in the project, we highlight the role that normative goals and facilitation process competence play in complex interdisciplinary research projects. Our reflections focus on project design, including the relation between AR and other kinds of research when employed in a single project, and includes reflections on preconditions for stakeholder participation in AR projects.     

Research and Reflection: Potential Impact on the Professional Development of Undergraduate Occupational Therapy Students

In occupational therapy education in South Africa, community service (CS) focuses learning opportunities during fieldwork placements. CS therefore enabled the researcher to utilise successive small scale research projects to guide learning of students during fieldwork while simultaneously developing the occupational therapy service at a residential care facility. This community setting provided a powerful environment through which research, in combination with opportunities for reflection, contributed to nurturing skills needed by these future health professionals. A technical action research (AR) approach incorporated AR cycles and opportunities for structured reflection. Therefore situations were created for the students to embrace experiential learning. Experiential learning in the form of anticipatory reflection, reflection-in-action, reflection on reflection and retrospective reflection impacted on the quality of the students’ work. Besides encouraging unique leaning opportunities for students when engaging in research during their fieldwork placement, engagement in AR cycles simultaneously improved service delivery to residents in the facility. Key benefits of this investigation were that fieldwork education utilising AR cycles within a CS situation promoted students to identify voids in their theoretical background as well as practice skills; to apply reflective practice that could contribute to their personal and professional development; and to utilize learning opportunities optimally. Despite positive gains showed by this study, the role of power relations between the researcher as fieldwork educator and the students prohibited the AR cycles from being more emancipatory in nature and should be addressed in follow-up studies.     

Project Management Supports (Requisitely) Holistic: Socially Responsible Action in Business Systems

This article emphasizes the role of projects and project management in assuring socially responsible acting of contemporary business systems, presenting some practical applications in the field of tourism. With arising number of projects in business systems and their growing strategic importance, the role of project management has radically been changing for the last two decades. Managing organizations, as a central topic among seven crucial topics in ISO 26000 on social responsibility, is strongly associated with managing projects. Projects have important influence on the established as well as on establishing ongoing operations and are important tools in assuring business systems’ strategic development, by exposing interdependences and supporting the requisitely holistic approach. This article tries to fill the gap we detected in literature on social responsibility where projects and project management seem not to have a proper role. Four different links and interdependencies between project management and systems theory (which ISO 26000 reinforces) are exposed: (1) systemic treatment of project management, (2) systematical treatment of projects as holistic works, (3) systemic treatment of projects as parts of BSs’ strategies, (4) systemic treatment of projects throughout their entire life cycle.     

When Research and Practice Collide: The Role of Action Research When There Is a Conflict of Interest with Stakeholders

This article discusses problematic aspects of the role of the action researcher when working with multiple stakeholders on a complex research project concerning regional development. The case presented here deals with the improvement of the regional innovation system in a small region in the south of Norway. The project resulted in a conflict between stakeholders and the action research (AR) team. We claim that when working in a regional context, the role of the action researcher is set to be a collaborator in a context of power play; the ultimate stakeholders must be defined as the citizens in that region. Therefore, in some situations the action researcher must have a legitimatised right to abandon collaboration and present a critical voice in the public deliberation. Strategic power play and strategic action by stakeholders represent a clear threat to the soft approach of collaboration, reflectivity, and democratic dialogue that AR represents. The ultimate challenge and obligation of the action researcher is to improve democracy in society in a long-term perspective through representing a critical capacity in the public deliberation.     

Computer Simulation Within Action Research: A Promising Combination for Improving Healthcare Delivery?

Action research (AR) is increasingly being used to study the improvement of healthcare delivery. Ensuring that all the stakeholders in the AR are willing to take action, however, can be difficult. Especially in healthcare contexts, action plans may challenge the autonomy of the healthcare professionals and the positions of the different stakeholder groups. Does the use of computer simulation techniques within the AR promote action taking by all the stakeholders? We performed an AR experiment with computer simulation in a university hospital’s emergency department in the Netherlands. A simulation model was designed that replicated the actual healthcare delivery process in the study setting. Together with representatives from the medical and nursing staff and department management, we used the model to discuss improvement actions. The team designed an improvement scenario that fundamentally rearranged the task division between the physicians and the nurses. The promising projections in the simulation model motivated the team to try the scenario in reality. The implementation was successful, although it generated much concerns and discussion. The new task division successfully improved patient length of stay (LOS) in the ED. The results achieved by the single team turned out to have lasting effects on the other stakeholders in the ED. Our AR experiment with computer simulation promoted action taking by all the stakeholders. Computer simulation within AR is a promising combination for improving healthcare delivery.     

Action Research on Operations Research for Street Children

This paper discusses an application of the CRASP model of Action Research (AR) on Operations Research (OR). The CRASP model portrays AR as a style of staff development that would lead to professionalism. It also advocates social responsibility, committed and informed action, and a critical approach. All of these concerns are inherent to the process of reflection and development characteristic of OR. As an OR practitioner I participate in this process of reflection and development and applied the CRASP model of AR in performing one application novel to OR, namely, OR for street children. Reflecting on this application of AR on OR for street children, some similarities between AR and OR surface, as well as some difficulties in applying AR on OR, thereby enriching both AR and OR. It is hoped that through collaborative reflection with other AR and OR practitioners, this paper will further our professional development.     

Action Research: Its History and Relationship to Scientific Methodology

Scientific Methodology (SM) has long suited those who favour analytical and quantitative research in management. Thus the dilemma between the rigour and relevance of contemporary management research methods is fuelled by action researchers who keep wanting to contrast Action Research (AR) with SM. This paper presents a Western philosophical view on the development of belief systems and theory-based methods over time. It thus links the progressive and cumulative development of SM with the contemporary AR methodology. In doing this it presents a different point of view—that the traditions of SM and AR have much closer relationships than people often give them credit for.     

随机利率下缴费预定型企业年金保险中生存年金精算现值模型

利用时间序列将投资利率为条件稳定AR(l)模型推广为条件稳定AR(p)模型和广义条件AR(p)模型，并根据生存年金理论得到缴费预定型企业年金保险中相应利率下的生存年金精算现值模型，这对解决企业合理发放养老金，避免企业养老基金出现赤字等问题具有重要理论指导意义和实际应用价值。     

户外增强现实系统关键技术及其应用的研究

增强现实技术是虚拟现实技术发展的一个重要分支，具有虚实结合、实时交互、三维注册的新特点，户外增强现实系统是近年来增强现实技术方面的一个新的研究方向，建立一个成功的户外增强现实系统的的最大障碍是缺少在户外条件下的准确跟踪技术。本文分析了实现户外增强现实系统的关键技术及其与室内增强现实系统的区别并讨论了户外增强现实系统的进展及应用。     

The Application of Critical Systems Thinking to Enhance the Effectiveness of a University Information System

Faced with the common problem of dissatisfaction with the outcome of investments in information systems (IS), the IS community has long sought ways to improve information systems development (ISD). This paper reports on action research (AR) that sought to improve the effectiveness a UK university’s student record system (SRS), which had exhibited persistent problems. Critical systems thinking (CST) is seen to have value for ISD and was used to guide the AR. In the first stage of this research, the issues with the initial design of the SRS were identified to have largely resulted from insufficient elicitation of the underlying assumptions about, and perspectives on, complex organisational issues. The second stage centred on examining the situation from an “ought” perspective analysing what should be done and how, in order to develop creative solutions to the problems uncovered. The third stage involved recommending solutions to address the problems identified in order to improve the effectiveness of the SRS. Overall, the AR indicates that CST enables those involved to view the design and implementation of the SRS as a holistic system, critically reflect upon broad and complex human, technological and organisational issues from different perspectives, and thereby identify creative solutions. The main contribution of this research is in generating support for an ISD intervention guided by CST. The results of, and the understanding developed from, this intervention are likely to be relevant to the problems that frequently occur in similar situations.     

Action research and critical systems thinking: Two icons carved out of the same log?

My intention in this paper is to make sense of the relationship between Action Research (AR) and Critical Systems Thinking (CST). On the surface, the two strands of thinking do not seem to have much in common. There is hardly any common reference in texts written within each tradition. Deeper down, however, there may be common concerns. The point of departure is to focus on how professionals interact with real-world problems and to clarify the underlying values for professional practice. To facilitate a discussion on the relationship between AR and CST, a frame of reference is developed based on analyzing the meaning construction process. Based on this platform, the relationship among theory, practice, and people shapes the ground for the discussion. Within this discussion three questions are raised: (1) Is the theory understood by the people and based on their interests? (2) Are the research questions relevant for the people? and (3) Are people emancipated to act in their own interests? The relationship between AR and CST can be examined based on these three questions. In concluding, I argue for the potential of a mutual and fruitful dialogue between AR and CST.     

Augmented reality system for aiding engineering design process of machinery systems

The paper presents the application of augmented reality for aiding product design and development of machinery systems.Augmented reality technology integrates an interactive computer-generated word with an interactive real word in such a way that they appear as one environment.AR technology can enhance a user's perception of the real world with information that is not actually part of the scene but is relevant to the user's present activity.Presented in the AR system is a mode for changing views of data-...     

船舶姿态运动实时预报算法研究

根据大型舰船在随机海浪作用下的非平稳运动特性,提出基于AR模型的实时建模预报方法,详细讨论了改进隅角实时快速定阶算法和RLS递推在线参数辨识方法。针对典型航行工况,对船舶纵摇运动进行了仿真研究,并与AIC定阶算法进行了比较。仿真结果表明:AR算法适用于舰船在非平稳运动情况下的建模预报。AIC准则、改进隅角两种定阶方法均可实现AR模型阶数的在线估计问题,预报长度均可达到7-10秒,但改进隅角定阶算法简单,独立性好,易于编程实现,预报实时性好。该方法在理论和工程应用方面具有重要的意义。     

基于AR模型和支持向量机的转子系统故障诊断方法

提出了基于AR模型和支持向量机的转子系统故障诊断方法.该方法对转子系统的振动信号建立AR模型,以AR模型主要的自回归参数和残差的方差作为特征向量,然后建立支持向量机分类器,进而判断转子系统的工作状态和故障类型.实验结果分析表明,该方法能有效地应用于转子系统的故障诊断.并通过支持向量机与BP神经网络的性能比较,说明了支持向量机的优点.     

一种基于Hilbert-Huang变换和AR模型的滚动轴承故障诊断方法

提出了一种基于Hilbert-Huang变换和AR模型的滚动轴承故障诊断方法.采用Hilbert-Huang变换将滚动轴承振动信号分解成若干个平稳的IMF(IntrinsicModeFunction)分量,求出每一个IMF分量的瞬时幅值和瞬时频率,然后对每一个IMF分量的瞬时幅值和瞬时频率序列建立AR模型,以模型主要的自回归参数和残差的方差作为特征向量建立Mahalanobis距离判别函数,进一步判断滚动轴承的工作状态和故障类型.实验结果分析表明,本文方法能有效地应用于滚动轴承的故障诊断.     

Ethical Issues and Role Duality in Insider Action Research: Challenges for Action Research Degree Programmes

Insider action research describes the process when a member of an organisation undertakes an explicit action research role in addition to the normal functional roles they hold in an organisation. Real-world work-based research is relevant and important to many full-time managers, consultants and members of organisations including those who choose to undertake higher degrees in business as part-time postgraduate students. Within these programmes a proposal for an insider action research project is often associated with important and interesting research projects that have already arisen in an organisation where the researcher works full-time, and are part of their existing role and established working relationships with key stakeholders. Ethical issues in organisationally located insider action research can differ from other forms of action research because of role duality, i.e. that the researcher holds an ongoing work role and power relationships associated with this as well as the action research role. Ethical issues can be associated with choices about alternative options, expected impacts and outcomes on the researcher, participants, organisation and stakeholders, and these are important considerations for academic supervisors, institutional review boards and human research ethics committees.     

铁路线路方案模糊优化模型及其应用研究

铁路线路方案优选的传统方法在各方案经济指标差异不大 ,而定性指标出现交叉、各有所长时 ,不易确定最优方案 .本文将方案优选视为多目标决策系统模糊优化问题 ,建立了系统模糊优化模型 ,并结合实例编制了相应的应用软件 .     

Communicating Through Theatre: How Organizational Theatre Engages Researchers and Industrial Companies

In this article, we focus on the communicative aspects in action research (AR), and how we as action researchers have been inspired by working with a theatre company in enterprise development. The theatre showed us a different landscape concerning communication in the enterprise development process. We discuss how communication in AR traditionally is handled, and challenge AR by introducing how a theatre company creates engagement and involvement in the development process. Action researchers can enhance their research activity through using communication forms borrowed from theatrical performance in order to inspire and increase participants’ involvement in change processes.

Towards an Understanding, Through Action Research, of the Socio-Organizational Issues Impacting on Mobile Technology Adoption and Diffusion Within a Small-to-Medium South African Construction Company

We investigated, through an action research approach, social issues that impact on mobile technology adoption and diffusion in a professional construction management team of a small-to-medium sized South African construction company. The outcome of the study resulted in a framework of thinking that integrates social factors at individual and organisational levels that impacted on the adoption of mobile technologies in the organisation. At the methodological level the study is part of a limited collection of papers that used AR in the study of technology adoption and diffusion and it presents an example of the capability of AR as a method to allow for the integration of the social contexts of users into adoption frameworks.