Search results

Work-based research is the applied form of work-based learning (WBL) and has been described as the systematic and methodical process of investigating work-related “problems”. Such problems can either be associated with specific workplaces and domains of practice or may more broadly be described as practical, social or real-world in nature. However, the specific characteristics of work-related problems for organisations and society have yet to be explained, and inadequate problem definition, multiple and competing goals, and lack of agreement on cause-effect relationships have hampered understanding. The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature of work-related problems and provides examples from real-world contexts in Australia.

The paper provides models and examples of standard and non-standard work-related problems based on prior research and current practice.

Research paradigms view work-related problems as either definable and solvable or ill-defined, complex, difficult to describe and not easily rectified. The former view is concerned with “high ground problems” associated with traditional research methods; the latter with “lowland, messy, confusing problems” more frequently associated with the social sciences. Irrespective of orientation and definition, work-related problems have one thing in common: they are typically messy, constantly changing and complex, and many are co-produced and wicked.

Despite difficulties with identifying and isolating the various types of work-related problem, the paper establishes the importance of doing so for the practitioner. The definition and examination of work-related problems contribute to an evolving formulation of WBL and its application to private organisations, government agencies and work more generally.

This paper examines the relationship between work, resilience and sustainable futures for organisations and communities by considering the nature of work-related problems (WRPs) and the work-based research designed to investigate them. The authors explore the axis of work environment > work-related problem > resilience > sustainable futures as it might be impacted by work-based research.

The paper introduces two current real-world examples, one in Australia and one in Asia, of work-based research projects associated with higher education aimed at promoting resilience and sustainability, and discusses the research problems, questions, designs, methods, resilience markers and sustainability markers used by these projects.

Work-based research, when conducted rigorously using mixed methods, may contribute to increased resilience of organisations and communities and thereby seeks to promote more sustainable organisational and social futures.

Work-based research conducted in higher education seeks to investigate, address and solve WRP, even when such problems occur in unstable, changing, complex and messy environments.

Resilience and sustainable futures are ambiguous and disputed terms, but if work-based research can be brought to bear on them, organisations and communities might better adapt and recover from challenging situations, thus reducing their susceptibility to shock and adversity.

While resilience and sustainability are commonly referred to in the research literature, their association to work, and specifically problems associated with work, have yet to be examined. This paper goes some of the way to addressing this need.

This paper aims to improve the understanding of individual transdisciplinary PhD research in a developing country context, focusing on three individual PhD case studies in South Africa.

Multiple-case method was used, and three completed transdisciplinary PhD research efforts undertaken at the Stellenbosch University were selected. They were coordinated through the TsamaHub, an inter-faculty platform at the University which organises educational modules for transdisciplinary research. Using actual research experiences and reflections of the three individual PhDs, the paper evaluates their work in terms of ontological, epistemological, methodological and methodical/methods aspects.

The central challenge to individual PhD researchers is engagement with non-academic actors to enable joint problem formulation, analysis and transformation. To overcome this, the paper suggests that developing individual epistemic relationships to build “transdisciplinary epistemic communities” should be considered for inclusion as an intentional aspect of transdisciplinary research design.

“Transdisciplinary epistemic communities” is still a concept in its infancy and needs more work before it may be theoretically and practically useful.

Continuously guiding the individual transdisciplinary research process in a reflexive, recursive, transparent and equal manner is absolutely critical because transdisciplinary research cannot be done successfully if dominated by overly methods-driven approaches.

The discourse around transdisciplinary methodology has major implications for the design of individual PhD research. The paper provides recommendations to enhance the theory and practice of individual transdisciplinary PhD research.

Innovation in services is thought to be multi‐dimensional in nature, and in this context the purpose of this paper is to present and operationalise the concept of “elevated service offerings” (ESO) in collaborating service organisations. ESO stands for new or enhanced service offerings which can only be eventuated as a result of partnering, and which could not be delivered on individual organisational merit. ESO helps us expand our understanding of service innovation to include a service network or service system's dimension.

A structural equation model is specified and estimated based on constructs and relationships grounded in the literature, as well as self‐developed constructs, using empirical data from 449 respondents in an Australian telecommunications service provider (SP) and its partnering organisations.

Results show that ESO is a multi‐dimensional construct which was operationalised and validated through an extensive literature review, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modelling using a holdout sample.

Qualitative and empirical data analysis was undertaken with data collected from a single large telecommunications SP organisation, and its partnering organisations. Future research may seek to collect data from the entire telecommunications industry sector and their partnering organisations, across other service sectors, or even any other organisation where collaboration is pivotal to their success.

Service organisations today need to understand that innovation in services is not just about process or product innovation, or even performance and productivity improvements, but in fact includes organisational forms of innovation. Indeed, the interactions and complementarities between the three different aspects of ESO – strategic, productivity, and performance – highlight the increasing complex and multi‐dimensional character of innovation and the ongoing iterative process.

This research provides empirical evidence for the existence of a multi‐dimensional innovation in services construct – known as elevated service offerings in a collaborative service network, along with an adapted definition of service and a service innovation model.

The purpose of this paper is to consider the dynamics of submitting arts-based research in a climate that is dominated, in the UK, by the social sciences.

It begins by taking a view on arts-based research, considering mainly Eisner and Dewey but exploring the possibilities of other forms such as baroque research. It goes on to look at some examples of arts-based research that has been carried out, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The authors conclude by saying that interdisciplinary research, while being encouraged by research councils, is also made more difficult by these same research councils’ funding structures.

The authors consider that this has an effect on defining what educational research is and could be. The authors argue that this is important not only in relation to the range of disciplinary perspectives that can be drawn upon within educational settings, for example, the need to engage with disciplines such as English, History, Philosophy, Music and Fine Art, but also in relation to methodological understandings of how research should be conducted within educational settings.

The research studies are arts based but with an original educational orientation.

This paper aims at providing a theoretical perspective to study the effects of the communication management/public relations of organizations on the social cohesion of individuals, groups and societies.

The possible connections between communication management and social cohesion, social integration and diversity are explored by looking at the concept of social capital. After discussing aspects of the hypothesis of decreasing social capital and of the hypothesis of increasing contingency of Western societies, questions are raised about the societal role of communication management as a profession that is usually described as being concerned with building relations. To study questions like these empirically, the actor network theory (ANT) is suggested as an analytical perspective and a methodological approach to elaborate the position of reflective communication management.

ANT or the sociology of associations seems a suitable theoretical perspective for studying the relations between communication management, social capital and social cohesion. ANT sheds a light on fact and meaning construction, on issues of power and framing and on coalition building activities and translation: who is bridging or bonding with whom and with what consequences?

Research from the perspective of ANT could result in a comprehensive understanding of communication management/public relations incorporating functionalistic, social psychological, relationship and rhetorical approaches.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of knowledge transfer partnership (KTP)as a means for universities to generate and exchange knowledge to foster sustainable cities and societies.

This paper reports on a series of separate yet interrelated KTPs between a university and the local authority in the North East of England, designed to enhance the environmental, social and economic performance of a large-scale urban housing procurement project.

Results from the partnerships indicate that KTPs may play a crucial role in developing capacity within local authorities tasked with creating sustainable cities and societies, whilst at the same time, enhancing skills and knowledge within the communities whom they represent and their industry partners.

The paper contributes an understanding as to how universities can act as a conduit for the generation and exchange of knowledge for sustainability. It presents a case study which examines how a series of KTPs can provide a useful mechanism for enhancing environmental, social and economic sustainability.

To explore the conceptualisation and operationalisation of authentic assessment in work-based learning and research.

The relationship between authentic assessment and work-based learning and research is examined using a postgraduate degree program at a regional university in Australia as a case example to identify unique pedagogical features of work-based learning as they are linked to assessment.

A dynamic is created between formative and summative authentic assessment practices and the cross-current nature of learning in work and research, leading to a range of lifelong learning outcomes. A framework for such a dynamic is presented.

The pedagogy informing work-based learning emphasises developing higher-order thinking through reflective practice, developing competencies and capabilities associated with professional practice and developing academic writing and research skills to enhance professional identity at the postgraduate level for mid- to senior-career professionals. However, the relationship of authentic assessment to work-based learning and research has not been explicated in the literature and its application in post-COVID work environments has yet to be fully examined.