Download or read book Theory Building in Applied Disciplines written by Richard A. Swanson and published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers. This book was released on 2013-08-05 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Theory matters in applied disciplines—fields that apply scholarly research to professional practice, such as management, social work, health care, human resource development, education, and many others. Because these disciplines deal with human beings in the real world, a flawed theory can result in actual harm to people and institutions. When faced with a professional problem, practitioners resort to the latest fad or simply throw everything and anything at it because of the lack of sound theory. Scholars deal with problems by slicing them into small segments to study them but fail to address the practical implications. What's needed is a way to unite research and practice to create robust theory. This is exactly what Richard Swanson and Thomas Chermack offer here: a complete, five-step method for developing sound, field-tested theory in applied disciplines. Unlike many existing methods, which cover only the initial conceptualization of a theory, the authors offer a complete approach, from conceptualizing a theory to creating relevant assessment criteria, establishing a research agenda to test the theory's validity, applying the theoretical concepts in the real world, and using that experience to further refine and improve the theory. The method is not restricted to any single discipline, nor is it beholden to any research ideology. Swanson and Chermack provide a set of tools for each phase of the process, making this book accessible and applicable to a wide audience. And in addition to examples in each chapter, they offer two extended case examples of complete theory building. With flawed theories impeding the development of many applied disciplines, this book is desperately needed.
Download or read book State Building written by Aidan Hehir and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2007-03-06 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study brings together internationally renowned academics to provide a detailed insight into the theory and practice of state-building. State-building is one of the dominant themes in contemporary international relations. This text addresses both the theoretical logic behind state-building and key practical manifestations of this phenomenon. Unlike ‘how-to’ manuals that seek to identify best practice, this book interrogates the normative assumptions inherent in this practice and the manner in which state-building impacts on contemporary international relations. The logic of state-building is explored and analyzed providing insight into the historical context that catalyzed this process, the relationship between international law and the practice of international administration, and the political ramifications and implications of external governance. Case studies on Bosnia, Kosovo and East Timor provide practical examples of key contradictions within the state-building process, highlighting the lack of accountability, democracy and vision manifest in these operations. Offering a coherent critical analysis of an increasingly important international issue, State-Building will appeal to students and scholars of international relations, comparative politics and political theory.
Download or read book Performance Measurement written by Patria de Lancer Julnes and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-12-18 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume in the "ASPA Classics" series compiles the most influential contributions to the theory and practice of performance measurement that have been published in various journals affiliated with the American Society for Public Administration. The book includes major sections of original text along with the readings, and provides students and practitioners with a handy reference source for theory development and practice improvement in performance measurement. The coverage is broad, including methods and techniques for developing effective performance measurement systems, building performance-based management systems, and sustaining performance-based budgeting. The articles are all classics in the field that have endured the test of time and are considered 'must reads' on performance measurement.
Download or read book A Theory for Practice written by Bill Hubbard (Jr.) and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 1995 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study looks at groups with an interest in a work of architecture - owners, inhabitants, customers, critics and historians, architecture schools - presents a conceptual framework in which those disparate interests are honoured for providing different perspectives on the building.
Download or read book Theory and Practice of Piano Construction written by William Braid White and published by Good Press. This book was released on 2019-11-21 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 'Theory and Practice of Piano Construction', William Braid White takes readers on a journey through the evolution of the modern American pianoforte. While there have been many writers on the history and ancestry of the instrument, White's book provides an exposition of the correct principles of design in a form that possesses permanent value to the American manufacturer. The book analyzes each step in the making of a pianoforte, from the strings and resonance to the framing and mechanisms of percussion and touch. White's aim is to assist those who have already investigated, or who intend to investigate the whole problem, to a clearer and broader comprehension of a beautiful art.
Download or read book Building an Intelligent Web written by Rajendra Akerkar and published by Jones & Bartlett Learning. This book was released on 2008 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The World Wide Web has become an extremely popular way of publishing and distributing electronic resources. Though the Web is rich with information, collecting and making sense of this data is difficult because it is rather unorganized. Building an Intelligent Web introduces students and professionals to the state-of-the art development of Web Intelligence techniques and teaches how to apply these techniques to develop the next generation of intelligent Web sites. Each chapter contains theoretical bases, which are also illustrated with the help of simple numeric examples, followed by practical implementation. Students will find Building an Intelligent Web to be an active and exciting introduction to advanced Web mining topics. Topics covered include Web Intelligence, Information Retrieval, Semantic Web, Classification and Association Rules, SQL, Database Theory, Applications to e-commerce and Bioinformatics, Clustering, Modeling Web Topology, and much more!
Download or read book Building Bridges Between Theory And Practice written by David Blockley and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2020-01-13 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book is about bridging the huge gaps between what engineers know, what they do and why things go wrong. It puts engineering into a wider perspective so readers can see how it relates to other disciplines — especially science and technology. Many intellectuals have dismissed engineering as 'applied science', but this book shows how wrong it is to do so — engineers apply science, but their purpose is quite different.It takes the reader on a learning journey of reflections on the gaps between theory and practice in professional life — not just in engineering but across all disciplines. The learning is summarized through 20 learning points or lessons, each one placed in context. Some of the important lessons are about learning from failure, joining-up theory and practice, understanding process, classifying uncertainty, managing risks, finding resilience, thinking systems to improve performance and nurturing practical wisdom.
Download or read book Theory Building in Social Work written by Gordon Hearn and published by University of Toronto Press. This book was released on 1958-12-15 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is essentially a book about theory building. Instead of actually presenting theory, it suggests and illustrates a particular way in which the social work profession, or any of the other service professions, might pursue the task of developing theory to refine its mode of practice. While written for every professional, it is directed, in particular, to those most actively engaged in the development and refinement of theory for their profession. It is a personal document in the sense that it is a chronicle of the author's reflections about how a profession might pursue most profitably this aspect of its total function.
Download or read book Knowledge building written by Karl Maton and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-10-08 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Education and knowledge have never been more important to society, yet research is segmented by approach, methodology or topic. Legitimation Code Theory or ‘LCT’ extends and integrates insights from Pierre Bourdieu and Basil Bernstein to offer a framework for research and practice that overcomes segmentalism. This book shows how LCT can be used to build knowledge about education and society. Comprising original papers by an international and multidisciplinary group of scholars, Knowledge-building offers the first primer in this fast-growing approach. Through case studies of major research projects, Part I provides practical insights into how LCT can be used to build knowledge by: - enabling dialogue between theory and data in qualitative research - bringing together quantitative and qualitative methodologies in mixed-methods research - relating theory and practice in praxis - conducting interdisciplinary studies with systemic functional linguistics Part II offers a series of studies of pressing issues facing knowledge-building in education and beyond, encompassing: - diverse subject areas, including physics, English, cultural studies, music, and design - educational sites: schooling, vocational education, and higher education - practices of research, curriculum, pedagogy and assessment - both education and informal learning contexts, such as museums and masonic lodges Carefully sequenced and interrelated, these chapters form a coherent collection that gives a unique insight into one of the most thought-provoking and innovative ways of building knowledge about knowledge-building in education and society to have emerged this century. This book is essential reading for all serious students and scholars of education, sociology and linguistics.
Download or read book Construction Management written by Chris March and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2017-03-28 with total page 479 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Construction Management: Theory and Practice is a comprehensive textbook for budding construction managers. The range of coverage makes the book essential reading for students studying management courses in all construction related disciplines and ideal reading for those with non-cognate degrees studying construction management masters courses, giving them a broad base of understanding about the industry. Part I outlines the main industry players and their roles in relation to the Construction Manager. Part II covers management theory, leadership and team working strategies. Part III details financial aspects including: sources of finance, appraisal and estimating, construction economics, whole life costing and life cycle analysis, bidding and tendering as well as procurement methods, types of contracts and project costing. Part IV covers construction operations management and issues such as supply chain management, health and safety, waste, quality and environmental management. Part V covers issues such as marketing, strategy, HRM, health, stress and well-being. Part VI concludes the book with reflections on the future of the industry in relation to the environment and sustainability and the role of the industry and its managers. The book keeps the discussion of current hot topics such as building information modelling (BIM), sustainability, and health and well-being included throughout and is packed with useful figures, tables and case studies from industry.
Download or read book The Organization and Management of Construction written by David Langford and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2002-09-11 with total page 1246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The proceedings of the CIB W65 Symposium on the Organization and Management of Construction conference are presented here and in the companion volumes as state-of-the-art papers documenting research and innovative practice in the field of construction. The volumes cover four broad themes: business management, project management, risk management, IT development and applications. Each volume is organized to provide easy reference so that the practitioner can speedily extract up to date information and knowledge about the global construction industry. Managing the Construction Enterprise (Volume One): Covers the firm and its business environment, markets and marketing, human resource management strategic planning, and quality management. Managing the Construction Project (Volume Two): focuses upon productivity, procurement, international projects and human issues in relation to management performance of construction organisations. Managing Risk (Volume Two): incorporates discussion of risk away from regulation by government and those safety risks inherent in the construction process. Managing Construction Information (Volume Three, published in conjunction with Construct IT Centre of Excellence): incorporates material on information systems and methods, application of IT to the design and construction processes and how IT theory and applications are best transmitted to students and practitioners. The work represents a collation of wide ranging ideas and theory about construction and how research has contributed to the development of the industry on a global application of research to the problems of the construction industry.
Download or read book Practice Theory Work and Organization written by Davide Nicolini and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2013 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The volume provides a rigorous yet accessible introduction to this emerging area of study.
Download or read book Mid Range Management Theory written by Ron Sanchez and published by Emerald Group Publishing. This book was released on 2017-12-13 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume presents an epistemological argument for the essential function of mid-range theory in advancing management concepts that can be usefully applied by managers. Authors analyse two examples - modularity and dynamic capabilities.
Download or read book Building Theory from Practice written by David T. Wilson and published by . This book was released on 1980 with total page 12 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Building Economics Theory and Practice written by Rosalie Ruegg and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-11-11 with total page 492 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We no longer build buildings like we used to nor do we pay for them in the same way. Buildings today are no longer only shelter but are also life support systems, communication terminals, data manufacturing centers, and much more. Buildings are incredibly expensive tools that must be constantly adjusted to function efficiently. The economics of building has become as complex as its design. When buildings were shelter they lasted longer than their builders. The av erage gothic master mason lived 35 or 40 years. Cathedrals took 3 or 4 hundred years to build. Cost estimates were verified by great great grandchildren of the original designer. Today, creative economics has become as important as creative design and creative building. The dient brings builder, contractor, architect, and facilities manager to account in their life time. The cost of building can therefore no longer be left to chance or act of god. Solutions are no longer as ingeniously simple as those proposed by a Flor entine builder early in the 15th century. He proposed to center the dome of S. Maria deI Fiore on a great mound of earth mixed with pennies. When the job was done street urchins would carry away the dirt in their search for the pennies. This was a serious suggestion offered by an early construction manager before Brunelleschi solved the problem more sensibly.
Download or read book Competing on the Edge written by Shona L. Brown and published by Harvard Business Press. This book was released on 1998 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In their startling new book, authors Brown and Eisenhardt contend that to prosper in today's fiercely competitive business environments, a new paradigm--competing on the edge--must be implemented as a new survival strategy. This book focuses on specific management dilemmas and illustrates solutions that work when the name of the game is change.
Download or read book Level Design written by Rudolf Kremers and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2009-10-21 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Good or bad level design can make or break any game, so it is surprising how little reference material exists for level designers. Beginning level designers have a limited understanding of the tools and techniques they can use to achieve their goals, or even define them. This book is the first to use a conceptual and theoretical foundation to build
