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Background. The increasing need for highly contextualized studies in the field of management results in the growing interest of researchers in qualitative methods, and case study methodology in particular. Case study analysis seems to be one of the most suitable research approaches to explore research problems in a given context. Due to the growing popularity of using case study analysis, there is a need to explore the body of knowledge and identify research fronts within. Research aims. The aim of the paper is to profile and map the contexts of research related to case study methodology in Business, Management and Accounting. The analysis is oriented to answering the following study questions: (1) How is the research output in the field distributed among countries, institutions, source titles (journals etc.) and authors? (2) What are the core references referring to or using case study methodology? (3) What are the key topics in publications using case study methodology? (4) What are the key geographical and business area contexts, which the case study research is embedded in? Methodology. The method of research profiling is applied to categorize the research output referring to and using case study analysis. Research profiling is categorized among bibliometric descriptive studies. The focus is given to general publication profiling (including profiling for countries, institutions, source titles and authors) and some components of topic profiling (i.e. identifying key research topics and research contexts with the technique of keywords analysis). Scopus is used as a source of data for bibliometric analysis. Key findings. Among studied references two streams can be distinguished: methodology- oriented and empirical papers. The former analyzes the aspects of case study methodology in various contexts, the latter uses case study analysis as a research method to conduct inquiries in their respective topical areas. The key research topics where case study methodology is applied encompass: (1) innovation and information/knowledge management; (2) sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR); (3) strategic management. In regard to the geographical context, case studies most often are focused on such countries as: China, Australia, the United States, India, the United Kingdom and Malaysia. In regard to the business area, case study methodology is most often used in various industrial sectors, but there are also some other highly represented areas such as: commerce, education, tourism and agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Firms increasingly embed organizational politics in their change management but struggle to effectively manage it. To better understand how they do so, I have built and tested a conceptual model using data from 158 small and medium-sized Polish enterprises. The results show relationships between organizational politics, change management, and organizational effectiveness. The findings extend and specify the understanding of organizational politics as a driver of organizational change success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the features of management sciences is their strong sub-disciplinary nature which results in distinguishing specific research specializations. This process is a consequence of the eclectic character of management and is associated with the dynamic emergence of new research areas and practical applications. Taking this into account, the aim of the paper is to identify and assess the scope, characteristics and development prospects of selected classifications of sub-disciplines in management sciences in Polish and worldwide research practice. The aim is realized on the basis of the research encompassing 13 selected classifications and opinions of 31 experts representing the scientific community from Poland and China. The results indicate a wide variety of the analyzed classifications which are characterized by different application goals, scope, characteristics and classification logic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Although trust is a prerequisite for building business relationships, the scientific output of the theoretical and empirical research in this field in management sciences is rather meagre. It concerns mainly the trust in the context of building relationships with external partners. However, from the perspective of management it is important to focus on the issue of trust primarily in relation to employees. Research aims. The aim of the article is to present the achievements of theoretical and empirical research on the issues of trust in the strategic management process. Methodology. The studies concerned selected problems associated with the trust of the management staff in relation to employees and the implementation of the strategic management procedure. The main questions concerned: 1. Considering employee ideas when making key decisions in the company. 2. Engagement of employees in the strategy development. 3. Responsibility of all employees for the implementation of the strategy. 4. Discretionary powers of the employees as to the manner of implementing the strategy. The test sample included 150 Polish companies (50 small businesses, 50 medium-sized companies, and 50 large companies). The research tool was a survey questionnaire. In the survey, a research technique applied in quantitative studies - Paper and Pencil Interview (PAPI) was used. The five-point Likert scale was used in the survey questionnaire. Key findings. The surveys allowed confirming the existence of a relationship between trust and the implementation of the strategic management procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Taking the nature and dynamics of the environment of modern organisations into account, it is necessary and crucial to manage stakeholders, which is effective when such groups are identified that actually determine the organisation's ability to achieve its goals. The need to identify stakeholders is also justified by the overriding management goal of maximising the value of an organisation, as stakeholders can be regarded as the areas of value growth in the environment or those who have value-creation factors. Both the results of a literature review and the author's experience in management practice imply the need to develop tools accessible for decision-makers to support the identification of stakeholders and to analyse and evaluate their influence on the organisation's functioning. Research aims. The purpose of the paper is to present in detail an original methodology for identifying the organisation's strategic stakeholders, which will address the research problem by assessing the influence stakeholders have on the achieving the organisation's strategic objectives and, consequently, identifying the stakeholders of strategic importance. Methodology. The MISS is a methodology with a set of tools supporting managers in analysing and evaluating the internal and external environment of their organisation, which is comprised of various stakeholder groups. An analysis and evaluation are conducted in a multi-stage manner and lead to the prioritisation of stakeholders and the emergence of those of strategic importance to the functioning of the organisation studied. Data collection methods for the MISS are focus group interviews and individual structured interviews. Key findings. The MISS supports decision-making in organisations by enabling decision-makers to systematically assess the direct and indirect impact potential of stakeholders on the strategic goals of the organisation. The results of the analyses indicate the elements of the system (the organisation's environment) of the highest value, thus determining the allocation of resources. The conclusions also show the application potential of the MISS in the broader context of organisation management, the model's limitations, as well as future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Organizational leadership is constantly present in the reflection of management science. It seems that the timeliness of the organizational leadership topic comes not only from the importance of managing teams of workers, but also from the changes that are taking place in: attitudes employees, the expectations of the organization and in the organizational environment. It causes the need for continuous reflection, because solutions adequate a couple of years ago, may not be conformed to contemporary situation. Organizational leadership is an interesting theme of reflection, because is an area of knowledge between management science and psychology. It is possible to venture the statement, that the reflection from one of these areas is enriched by the second one. Research aims. An average level of managerial skills can be considered as "good enough". However, does this mean that it is the same as "correct"? The article indicates that nowadays "average" is "too little". Methodology. On the basis of a few selected case studies of Polish organisations, the author presents the disadvantages of an average level of managerial skills. The analysis of the case studies and the particular types of organisational disorders will be based on the Situational Leadership Model developed by Ken Blanchard. The author analyses two situations in organisations: the leader using mainly styles S2 and S3 and the leader using mainly styles S1 and S4. Key findings. The author shows the consequences of average level of managerial skills for: a single employee, the team, the effects for another organisational processes (recruitment, employee turnover). The article also describes the psychological mechanism (social game or the archetype) that is often the background of that kind of behaviour (S2-S3; S1-S4) in the organisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Management theories are products of their environment. Thus, the social, political, economic and technological forces present in a given time and locale create demand for a given theory and shape it. Research aims. In this perspective paper the authors present how learning has evolved in management theories over the years and how challenges imposed by Industry 4.0 may impact the concepts of learning. Methodology. The paper is based on an overview of literature and experts' work. First, the authors refer to learning in management theories from the birth of the field until the present day. Second, they portray Industry 4.0 and the current stage of implementation of its ideas. Then, they indicate the macro-environmental and workforce challenges produced by Industry 4.0. Finally, they attempt to look at the role of learning in Industry 4.0 and whether there is a need for a new theory concerning learning for the fourth industrial revolution. Key findings. The discourse of the paper suggests that new challenges require at least a modification of the existing theories concerned with learning of individuals and organisations as well as their further improvements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strategic management is a relatively youthful discipline that has steadily matured over the past fifty years. The field has become consolidated over this period, while simultaneously expanding the range of topics analyzed and research methodologies used. Different theories and approaches, addressing different research topics, have been developed to explain the reasons underlying firms' competitive advantage and success. In this paper, we posit the existence of two pendulums in constant motion that, on the one hand, reflect the tension that has historically existed between the focus on internal firm factors and external environmental attributes respectively and, on the other hand, the tension between a more macro level of analysis, i.e., the firm and its environment, and a more micro level one, i.e., individuals and their relations within the firm. The frontier of research in strategic management is shaped by the simultaneous movement of both pendulums. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phenomenological researchers generally agree that our central concern is to return to embodied, experiential meanings aiming for fresh, complex, rich description of phenomena as concretely lived. Yet when it comes to deciding how best to carry out this research in practice debates abound. Some approaches to phenomenology emphasize description; others interpretive layers. Some insist on a rigorous, scientific method; others seek more poetic, artistic flourish. In this article, the author offers preliminary thoughts about what unites seemingly divergent phenomenological research approaches. She suggests that the essence of the phenomenological research approach encompasses five mutually dependent and dynamically iterative processes: (a) embracing the phenomenological attitude, (b) entering the lifeworld (through descriptions of experiences), (c) dwelling with horizons of implicit meanings, (d) explicating the phenomenon holistically, and (e) integrating frames of reference. The author argues that studies that focus on experience are not necessarily phenomenological. The line being contested is the extent a study goes beyond subjectivity and into the broader realm of lifeworld experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to radically redesign the methodology of plant maintenance and develop a three phase framework. A framework for effective and continuous maintenance improvement is presented. Design/methodology/approach – The first phase determines the key performance area, the second phase makes decision about the appropriate policy selection and third phase aims to generate capability in an organization to compete at world level. A case is presented here, of the implementation of a "maintenance reengineering framework", developed with the aid of certain maintenance components. Findings – The maintenance reengineering framework, when implemented, proved successful with a more than 90 per cent rise in production rate. Research limitations/implications – The paper contributes some guidelines which can be helpful in making decision about the selection of maintenance policy and for the achievement of world-class effectiveness. Practical implications – Maintenance reengineering (MR) framework includes the core concepts of preventive maintenance practices, total maintenance management and system perspectives of maintenance. Its implementation goes through three phases from identification of key performance area, via suitable maintenance policy selection to generating the capability for world-class effectiveness. The experience of this pilot implementation in a cement company in India suggested the feasibility of this framework in elevating the performance of maintenance management. Originality/value – This article offers a framework that addresses research on maintenance reengineering. It attempts to establish a relationship among the components of maintenance, which can bring potential benefits to the corporations of similar operations and nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During my research about women and surfing, I have found writing a blog useful as a tool for doing research in the cultural context of surfing. More than a simply a space to increase transparency in my ethnographic research process, blogging became a method of its own. Linking Elizabeth St Pierre’s discussion of research ‘folds’ with Elspeth Probyn’s encouragement to ‘think the social through myself’, blogging helped to address feminist concerns that research remains relevant to lived cultural understandings and experiences of the women participating. Blogging also helped in developing a language and a style of writing that reflects the experiences of surfing in a culturally meaningful way, and to provide a way of locating my own subjectivity within the research space. Through blogging I have been able to keep fieldnotes and ideas alive, engaged and in exchange throughout the project, moving and shifting through both theory and culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although communication has long been considered as an important organizational element, it only recently became a scientific object. This article aims to compare the ways (epistemology, methodology, process, object, etc.) in which organizational communication is understood by researchers in management science and communication science. By performing a contents analysis of thirty scientific papers, we discovered three relatively homogeneous groups of items. The disciplinary diversity of one group provides a starting point to discuss certain research practices [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advent of mixed methods as a third methodological movement had led to confusion in the comprehensions of mixed methods-triangulation relationship. Owing to that, this article discusses mixed methods and triangulation, and presents them as concepts often used interchangeably by researchers to denote the mixing of qualitative and/or quantitative methods in a single study. Rooted from the arguments on mixed methods and triangulation, this article is aimed at answering whether it is a matter of choice to use one of these concepts instead of the other. In doing so, the article also aims to reflect where in the research development process each of these concepts change its meaning and purpose within the research context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses some important differences between Grounded Theory Method (GTM) and the Abductive Research Strategy (ARS). The early parts of the paper review Grounded Theory Method – both Glaser and Strauss’s (Corbin’s) Objectivist Grounded Theory Method (OGTM) and Charmaz’s Constructivist Grounded Theory Method (CGTM) – and Blaikie’s Abductive Research Strategy (ARS). It then discusses three distinctive differences between GTM (OGTM and, in particular, CGTM) and the ARS. While the first difference deals with the ontological and epistemological assumptions adopted, the second discusses the issues of scientific accounts and everyday accounts, and the third is about the problems of technical language and lay language. The aim of the paper is to reduce possible misunderstandings about the relationship between GTM, in particular, CGTM and the ARS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a brief introduction to narrative and narrative research and reflects upon how a narrative methodology was used within research which sought to explore stories co-constructed between the researcher and two young people who were both looked after in local authority care and who had experienced exclusion from school. The rich and complex stories were interpreted to construct narratives which both resonated with and resisted narratives which dominate the research literature surrounding looked after children and young people. A narrative approach has much to offer the researching and practising educational psychologist by creating a space which enables children and young people's voices to be heard and multiple, alternative realities to be created. This article has been contributed to by one of the young people who took part in the research, in order that we might both articulate our experiences of the process of this co-research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objectives: To determine the extent to which abstracts of methodology research, initially presented at annual meetings of The Cochrane Collaboration, have been published as full reports and over what period of time. A secondary aim was to explore whether full publication varied in different methodological subject areas. Study Design and Setting: The Cochrane Methodology Register (CMR) was searched for all abstracts reporting methodology research, presented at the 11 Cochrane Colloquia from 1997 to 2007. EMBASE, PubMed, and CMR were searched for full publications of the same research. Results: We identified 908 eligible conference abstracts and found full publications for 312 (34.4%) of these, almost half of which (47.1%) had appeared by the end of the first year after the relevant Colloquium. The proportion of abstracts that had not been published by 3 years was 69.7%, falling to 66.2% at 5 years. Publication varied considerably between different methodological areas. Conclusion: Approximately two-thirds of methodological research studies presented at Cochrane Colloquia remain unpublished as full papers at least 5 years later. This highlights the importance of searching conference abstracts if one wishes to find as comprehensive and complete a sample of methodological research as possible. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article provides an integrative review of the literature on judgment-based predictions of performance time, often described as task duration predictions in psychology and as expert-based effort estimation in engineering and management science. We summarize results on the characteristics of performance time predictions, processes and strategies, the influence of task characteristics and contextual factors, and the relations between estimates and characteristics of the estimator. Although dependent on the type of study and the level of analysis, underestimation was more frequently reported than overestimation in studies from the engineering and management literature. However, this was not the case in studies from the psychology literature. Our summaries challenge earlier results regarding the effects of factors such as complexity/difficulty and experience. We also question the recurrent finding that small tasks are overestimated and large tasks are underestimated, as this to some extent can be a statistical artifact caused by random error. Several other influences on predictions are identified and discussed. These include various types of anchoring effects, performance and accuracy incentives, task decomposition, request formats, group estimation, revisions of initial ideal or incomplete estimates, level of abstraction, and superficial cues. We summarize similarities and differences between performance time predictions (e.g., number of work hours) and completion time predictions (e.g., delivery dates) because many studies fail to distinguish between these 2 types of predictions. Finally, we discuss methodological issues in time prediction research and implications for research and application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Secondary analyses of large datasets provide a mechanism for researchers to address high impact questions that would otherwise be prohibitively expensive and time-consuming to study. This paper presents a guide to assist investigators interested in conducting secondary data analysis, including advice on the process of successful secondary data analysis as well as a brief summary of high-value datasets and online resources for researchers, including the SGIM dataset compendium (). The same basic research principles that apply to primary data analysis apply to secondary data analysis, including the development of a clear and clinically relevant research question, study sample, appropriate measures, and a thoughtful analytic approach. A real-world case description illustrates key steps: (1) define your research topic and question; (2) select a dataset; (3) get to know your dataset; and (4) structure your analysis and presentation of findings in a way that is clinically meaningful. Secondary dataset analysis is a well-established methodology. Secondary analysis is particularly valuable for junior investigators, who have limited time and resources to demonstrate expertise and productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The notion of institutional entrepreneurship has become very popular in the last decade. Starting from a review of the literature on the topic, I first focus on the use of the idea of individual entrepreneurs and point out three theoretical incongruities it produces. I then discuss notions of collective entrepreneurship and institutional work to see if they can overcome these incongruities. I conclude that although they can remedy some of the problems, these notions run the risk of describing everything until they describe nothing. In order to limit and enable the entrepreneurship literature to discuss agency meaningfully, I argue, it needs to develop analytical frames of agency derived either from existing sociological theories or from further developing its own brand of agency theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article the authors discuss the challenges that need to be resolved in taking single-molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS) into living cells. The authors one of the problems that need to be dealt on is the definition of the limitations of the tools used in conducting research, along with the establishment of standards and the enhancement of data quality. They say that researchers also need to create ways to interpret and handle complex cellular data and improve data analysis and statistics.

The investigation is carried out in the Nickel research Center, with the objective of designing the Strategic Projection of the company in order to improve its performance. To reach the objective, theoretical methods of scientific investigation were used, such as: the analysis-synthesis method, deductive-hypothetical, logical-historical method; as well as some of the empiric methods of investigation: direct observation, interviews, brainstorming, surveys, the consult and revision of documents, team group, among others. To process all the obtained information it was used the package of programs of Office and others software. Among the main results that were reached are the definition of a new mission and vision for the Centre, involving the workers into the process of decision making; the definition of the strategic objectives and the strategies to reach them; as well as the action plan whose execution has allowed from the 2007 to the present date the increment of the sales in 23%, with the execution of new 60 scientific-technological services, the decrease of the electric power consumption in 180 MW, the increase of productivity in more than 3000 pesos, and the execution of investments for 594 thousands of pesos, which mean a considerable improvement under the work conditions of this centre. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on readings of Horkheimer and Adorno, authors of the so-called first generation of Frankfurt School, the text socializes understandings regarding critical ontology, epistemology and methodology aiming to contribute with the practice of critical research within the Frankfurtian tradition in the management field. The paper sets off with ontological discussion to substantiate the Frankfurtian epistemological perspective. It then introduces critical epistemological dimensions and suggests three dialectic categorical pairs for understanding reality: naturalization versus history, system versus social praxis, alienation/domination versus emancipation. The text discusses methodological issues and concludes socializing an example of critical research within the Frankfurtian tradition in management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community-based research (CBR) represents a particularly timely approach to rural research. Rural areas in industrialized nations are undergoing dramatic and rapid processes of economic, social and political restructuring. These forces, combined with a trend towards place-based development and territorial policy make CBR an appropriate rural method given its flexibility and sensitivity to local context. The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the use and methods of CBR in the rural setting, drawn from our collective research experience in northern British Columbia. There has been increased attention paid to CBR, signalling a form of acceptance within the academy towards community-based and participatory methods. However, gaps exist in addressing the various approaches to conducting CBR and in considering the relevance of CBR in different contexts. Researchers also note the need for better training in the use of community-based methods. We reflect upon our rural CBR experience to offer insights and pragmatic lessons on effective methodological practices using a simplified framework of the key research process stages: preparing for community engagement, doing community-based research and after the fieldwork. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter is based on heuristic research and phenomenology which honors the dialectic of personal narratives as a way to process and understand the politics of change centered on hegemony, discourse, and cultural plurality. This methodology utilizes personal narrative and dialog as way to consider the importance of reflecting on individual experiences, engaging in authentic dialog, and leadership within our profession. Fit, a definitive post structuralist framework that explains the convergence of politics and identity opens the discussion. This is followed by our personal narratives. Finally, through discourse analysis, we consider the themes in our narratives as they are relate to leadership, career politics, academe, and identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the price, availability and affordability of a sample of medicines in Vietnam. Methods: Data on the price and availability of 42 medicines were collected using the standard World Health Organization/Health Action International (WHO/HAI) methodology in five geographical areas in Vietnam. The median price of these medicines was compared with the Management Science for Health international reference prices (IRPs), expressed as median price ratios. Affordability was measured as the number of days' wages required for the lowest-paid unskilled government worker to purchase one course of therapy. Of the 42 medicines studied, 15 were chosen for international comparison, which were included in at least 80% of other country surveys using the WHO/HAI methodology. Results: Public sector availability of generic medicines was 33.6%. The median public procurement price was 1.82 times the IRPs for generics, but for some individual medicines it was less than half the IRP. The price to patients in public outlets was higher than in private pharmacies. Adjusted for Purchasing Power Parity in 2005, the lowest generic prices in private pharmacies were still 8.3 times the IRPs. Treatments were thus unaffordable for a large part of Vietnam's population. Conclusions: Medicines in Vietnam were high in price, and low in both availability and affordability, especially in the public sector. To make public facilities a primary treatment option for the poor, Vietnam must reduce medicine prices in this sector by improving procurement efficiency, ensuring and promoting low-priced generics, and regulating reasonable mark-ups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The main goal of this study was to document the situation of medicine prices in public and private health sectors for policy recommendation. Methods: A field study to measure prices of selected medicines was undertaken in Thailand using a standardized methodology developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Health Action International (HAI). Prices of 43 medicines were measured in health facilities and pharmacies in the capital city and three districts in different parts of Thailand. Medicine prices were expressed as the ratios relative to a standard set of international reference prices (median price ratio or MPR). Results: The public sector procured generics and innovator brands at 1.46 and 3.3 MPR while patients paid 2.55 and 4.36 MPR, respectively. Private pharmacies procured lowest price generics at 1.48 MPR and innovator brands at 9.67 MPR. Because of no medicine pricing policy in Thailand, it was found that between public and private sectors, among different public hospitals, and among different private pharmacies, the same generic products were procured and sold to patients at different prices. The median mark-up for innovator brands were 31% in the public sector and 22% in the private sector. For lowest priced generics, the median mark-up were 80% in the public sector and 96% in the private sector. Different prices for the identical product were problems to the health insurance organizations in terms of reimbursement, and to patients in terms of fairness. Conclusion: The results highlight priority areas for action by the Ministry of Public Health and others in improving the drug pricing systems. The price regulation system should be implemented at every level of drug supply chain and appropriate pricing strategies should be employed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Allegations of racially biased policing are a contentious issue in many communities. Processes that flag potential problem officers have become a key component of risk management systems at major police departments. We present a statistical method to flag potential problem officers by blending three methodologies that are the focus of active research efforts: propensity score weighting, doubly robust estimation, and false discovery rates. Compared with other systems currently in use, the proposed method reduces the risk of flagging a substantial number of false positives by more rigorously adjusting for potential confounders and by using the false discovery rate as a measure to flag officers. We apply the methodology to data on 500,000 pedestrian stops in New York City in 2006. Of the nearly 3,000 New York City Police Department officers regularly involved in pedestrian stops, we flag 15 officers who stopped a substantially greater fraction of black and Hispanic suspects than our statistical benchmark predicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a methodology to easily extract some valuable nonparametricinformation on linear slowly time-varying systems, which have been excited by multisines. More specifically, it is first explained how time-varying systems behave when excited by multisines and how a rough nonparametric idea of the speed of variation of the instantaneous frequency response function is estimated. Second, a nonparametric model of the disturbing colored noise on the measured input and output signals is estimated. The methodology circumvents the need for repeated experiments, which are, for time-varying systems, usually difficult to perform. The estimation of the disturbing noise is mandatory when identifying dynamic systems within an errors-in-variables framework. The estimated noise model is intended for system identification performed in the frequency domain, where a nonparametric noise model is easily implemented. The noise model is estimated independently of the parameters of the time-varying system under consideration. The estimate of the speed of variation of the instantaneous frequency response function gives some in- sight into the measured system. It might actually provide an idea of which poles or zeros are actually moving and which are not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Biological biomarkers are not a novelty in medicine but the number of prescriptions for biomarkers has increased steadily in recent years and now represents a global market of several billion dollars. The goals of this article, initially defined during the 2008 Congress of the French Society of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care when the prize of the best manuscript submitted to the Annales françaises d’anesthésie et de réanimation was awarded, are the following: (i) propose a conceptual framework for use of biomarkers in general; (ii) provide several methodologic details that could help the research and clinical community to better interpret both the results of the literature and their own data; (iii) briefly discuss statistical constraints related to the use of biomarkers; (iv) attempt to analyze the way statistical constraints must modify clinical reasoning related to biomarkers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The evidence movement and the idea of systematic reviews, defined as summaries of the results of already existing evaluation and research projects, have gained considerable support in recent years as many international as well as national evidence-producing organizations have been established. This article analyses how the idea is practised in the areas of health, social welfare and education and shows that evidence-producing organizations work differently. Some subscribe to the hierarchy of evidence, others to a typology of evidence. The consequences of these variations are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a research paper, which focuses on contextualising learning at the education-training-work interface, based on case study methodology. It aims to investigate the ways in which learning is contextualised among the intersecting worlds of education, training and work. It informs that this research is the first of a series which report on findings from a three-year research project (2007-2010). Results are discussed which reveal that contextualised learning is integral to industry-school transition strategies in senior secondary school learning.

Abstract: Objectives: We sought to evaluate the trends in the methodological quality of randomized controlled trials in various medical fields. Study Design and Setting: Relevant studies were retrieved by the PubMed and the ISI Web of science databases. Results: Thirty-five out of 457 retrieved studies met the inclusion criteria. Twenty-one out of 35 selected studies reported significant improvement in at least one methodological quality factor. Overall quality scores were increased in 13 out of 26 studies providing relevant data. The most commonly separately examined key quality factors were allocation concealment and blinding in 13 out of 21 studies that reported relevant data. Allocation concealment was the quality characteristic most commonly reported as significantly improving during the reviewed period (in five out of eight studies reporting relevant comparative data). Conclusion: Certain aspects of methodological quality have improved significantly over time, but others remain stagnant. Further efforts to improve study design, conduct, and reporting of randomized controlled trials are warranted. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article discusses teaching empathic research methodology as performance. The authors describe their collaboration in an activity to help undergraduate industrial design students learn empathy for others when designing products for use by diverse or underrepresented people. The authors propose that an industrial design curriculum would benefit from such an arts-based performative research model as described. Visual images are included for the purpose of sharing the learning process with the reader. This article seeks to make connections between visual narratives, performative pedagogy and methodology, and spirituality and empathy, thus providing a unique contribution to industrial design education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When asked by his mother what to do about her dying father, the author finds himself in an aporia. Utilizing a broad range of rhetorical and ethical touchstones, the author uses autoethnography to explore the phenomenon of communication ethics as it occurs in everyday experience. The essay privileges lived experience as central to what it means to be human. The call of conscience, the life-giving gift of acknowledgment, human struggle, and the use of communication to navigate aporias are all explored. Though his grandfather dies, the author comes to realize that even in death his grandfather is acknowledged as a life and continues to give life. The narrative demonstrates autoethnography's usefulness in understanding phenomenological experiences and the veracity of communication ethics in lived experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sampling has been the single most influential component of conducting research with lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) populations. Poor sampling designs can result in biased results that will mislead other researchers, policymakers, and practitioners. Investigators wishing to study LGB populations must therefore devote significant energy and resources to choosing a sampling approach and executing the sampling plan. The authors describe probability and nonprobability sampling methods used in LGB populations and critically discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the sampling methods they review. The authors conclude that no single sampling methodology is correct or incorrect for use in LGB populations; rather, researchers must evaluate advantages and disadvantages of each sampling methodology in the context of the specific research question and the research design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mathematics, like all other sciences, exact or inexact, pure or impure, is value-laden. Values were there before the axioms, and the latter embody the former. Hence mathematics is formalization of values by which they are clarified and made operative. This understanding is explored here by suggesting some upstream research programs for Muslim mathematicians as a guide toward operationalizing Islamic values in the sciences through the power of mathematical rigor and objectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focused on the introduction of roles as a scripting tool in asynchronous text-based discussion groups. Five roles were selected: source searcher, theoretician, summarizer, moderator, and starter. Because existing research on role assignment often neglects to check whether the role assignment is successful, the main goal was to examine to what extent the participants enacted assigned roles. The study took place in the 1st year of a university course in Instructional Sciences (N = 200). Quantitative content analysis of students' postings was performed, and logistic regressions revealed that all participants enacted the roles they were assigned. The participants generally did not neglect other activities while discussing. The introduction of roles appeared to be a successful structuring intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores a number of questions about the relationship between intimacy and research that were bought into sharp focus for me by a disturbing event: my unexpected encounter with Iris Murdoch's archived brain. In considering how very intimate experiences such as these are both constructed and narrated to wider audiences, I begin by exploring the nature of intimacy itself. Here I argue that intimacy is the product of not only social but spatial relations, relations that may, in contrast to popular conceptions, be 'stretched out' to create what I call here 'distributed spaces of intimacy'. In exploring the role that material artefacts can play as objects that create essential points of interface between individuals and communities that are geographically and socially distant, I also draw attention to the necessarily partial and relational nature of intimacy. In the final section of the article I turn to consider the impact that intensely personal experiences may have on research methodologies and the vexatious question of how, if at all, it is possible to speak of, or report them, without transgressing important social, moral and ethical conventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) movement is an ideological force in health research and health policy which asks for allegiance to two types of methodological doctrine. The first is the highly quotable motherhood statement: for example, that we should make conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence (paraphrasing Sackett). The second type of doctrine, vastly more specific and in practice more important, is the detailed methodology of design and analysis of experiments. This type of detailed methodological doctrine tends to be simplified by commentators but followed to the letter by practitioners. A number of interestingly dumb claims have become entrenched in prominent versions of these more specific methodological doctrines. I look at just a couple of example claims, namely: Any randomised controlled trial (RCT) gives us better evidence than any other study. Confidence intervals are always useful summaries of at least part of the evidence an experiment gives us about a hypothesis. To offer a positive doctrine which might move us past the current conflict of micro-theories of evidence, I propose a mild methodological pluralism: in any local context in which none of a variety of scientific methodologies is clearly and uncontentiously right, researchers should not be discouraged from using any methodology for which they can provide a good argument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined average-, high- and top-performing US fourth graders' rational number problem solving and their understanding of rational number representations. In phase one, all students completed a written test designed to tap their skills for multiplication, division and rational number word-problem solving. In phase two, a subset of students sorted cards that showed part-whole, ratio, quotient, measure, and operator perspectives of rational number representations. Each perspective was shown in numerical notational, word-problem, and visual formats. The results indicated that top-performing students scored significantly higher in problem solving and showed more effectively linked rational number representations than the other groups. The results imply that successful rational number problem solving is intertwined with representational knowledge for a wide range of rational numbers and that the bulk of US students do not possess effective skills for working with rational number representations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The combination of coupled managerial approaches directed to designing a full-functional system of improving the business functioning is examined in this research. This improvement could be achieved on the basis of the business processes uninterrupted monitoring. Such system is oriented to the establishment of the integral analytical business platform for providing the coordinated objectives setting, timely revealing and neutralising the unforeseen events, decision-making at different levels of an organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on mathematical lens problem solving from basic fractions to calculus. It reports that the Simplex lock is said to incorporate thousands of codes, exactly 1082 combinations. It infers that the metallic lock is made up of five buttons that can be pushed individually or simultaneously with the other four buttons. A fresh and new look in contrived-rate problems from a true problem-solving perspective. It states that problem solving from basic fractions do not differ much from solving calculus.

Methodological reviews have been used successfully to identify research trends and improve research practice in a variety of academic fields. Although there have been three methodological reviews of the emerging field of computer science education research, they lacked reliability or generalizability. Therefore, because of the capacity for a methodological review to improve practice in computer science education and because the previous methodological reviews were lacking, a large scale, reliable, and generalizable methodological review of the recent research on computer science education is reported here. Our overall research question, which has nine subquestions, involved the methodological properties of research reported in articles in major computer science education research forums from the years 2000-2005. The purpose of this methodological review is to provide a methodologically rigorous basis on which to make recommendations for the improvement of computer science education research and to promote informed dialogue about its practice. A proportional stratified random sample of 352 articles was taken from a population of 1306 computer science education articles published from 2000 to 2005. The 352 articles were coded in terms of their general characteristics, report elements, research methodology, research design, independent, dependent, and mediating/moderating variables examined, and statistical practices. A second rater coded a reliability sub-sample of 53 articles. Based on the results of this review, recommendations for improving computer science education research are given. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As an interdisciplinary research field emerging recently, Knowledge Management (KM) has been given many different definitions. This paper introduces two studies we carried out to provide a holistic and better understanding of KM. By applying the methodology of domain analysis to investigate leading peer-reviewed journals regarding KM, the first study explores six fundamental issues regarding KM, which are: why is KM necessary; what enables the birth of KM and triggers actions on KM; what does KM deal with; how to implement KM; how to support KM by information technology; and where has KM been applied. By building an ontology structure of research topics within the community of the Graduate School of Knowledge Science at Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST), the second study examines KM within a more general disciplinary called Knowledge Science, which gives a description of how KM is related to other research topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes anthropology's contribution to bioethics, related to its methodology and theoretical frameworks of reference. It affirms that most confusions arise from the mechanic application of the so called "universal values" which would be solved if, when interpreting moral behavior, we understood that we are not considering values but appraisements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A methodology is developed to quantify the uncertainty in a pesticide leaching assessment arising from the spatial variability of non-georeferenced parameters. A Monte Carlo analysis of atrazine leaching is performed in the Dyle river catchment (Belgium) with pesticide half-life (DT50) and topsoil organic matter (OM) content as uncertain input parameters. Atrazine DT50 is taken as a non-georeferenced parameter, so that DT50 values sampled from the input distribution are randomly allocated in the study area for every simulation. Organic matter content is a georeferenced parameter, so that a fixed uncertainty distribution is given at each location. Spatially variable DT50 values are found to have a significant influence on the amount of simulated leaching. In the stochastic simulation, concentrations exist above the regulatory level of 0.1 μg L-1, but virtually no leaching occurs in the deterministic simulation. It is axiomatic that substance parameters (DT50, sorption coefficient, etc.) are spatially variable, but pesticide registration procedures currently ignore this fact. Including this spatial variability in future registration policies would have significant consequences on the amount and pattern of leaching simulated, especially if risk assessments are implemented in a spatially distributed way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Process Improvement (PI) is an approach for helping organizations to identify and resolve inefficient and ineffective processes through problem solving and pilot testing change. Use of PI in improving client access, retention and outcomes in addiction treatment is on the rise through the teaching of the Network for the Improvement of Addiction Treatment's (NIATx) Model for Improvement. Emphasizing five phases of change, five key principles for change, and four revolving aims, NIATx has taught hundreds of addiction treatment administrative and clinical staff to lead successful process improvement initiatives. This paper draws on experience from NIATx and offers methods and concepts to consider in the teaching of core process improvement tools and techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies on the development of coping have shown rather inconsistent findings regarding the developmental trajectories for different coping dimensions. The aim of this study is to search for possible influences that might explain these inconsistencies. The analysis focuses on methodological influences (longitudinal vs. cross-sectional assessments) and situational influences. Two samples of children were traced longitudinally with yearly assessments from grade 2 to 5 (sample 1, N =432) and from grade 4 to 7 (sample 2, N =366). A third sample (N =849) was added with cross-sectional assessments from grade 2 to 7. The assessed coping dimensions were related to (a) problem solving, (b) seeking social support, (c) palliative coping, (d) externalizing emotional coping, and (e) avoidant coping. The use of the coping strategies had to be assessed for six stress-evoking situations. The results show only small differences between the longitudinal and the cross-sectional coping assessments. There are, however, clear situational influences on the choice of the coping strategies and also on the resulting developmental trajectories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]