Qualitative Inquiry in an Age of Educationalese

In this introduction we reflect on two key questions that initiated this special issue on qualitative inquiry: What can qualitative researchers do to regain their post-paradigm-wars cache? How do we avoid distracting “science wars” in the future? We suggest that the strong tendency to narrow the research methods accepted as “scientific” – because they adopt quantitative perspectives and are presumed a priori to be more rigorous – has created an educationalese, a narrative of rigid categories that has not necessarily contributed to more effective or persuasive educational research. The article ends by suggesting that the use of “knowledge mobilization” strategies would help to strengthen qualitative research and educational research in general

The quantitative approach to business cycle in « X-Crise » group in the 1930's

To construct models and to apply quantitative techniques in order to explain the cyclical movements of the economy is one of the main aims of “X-Crise” group (nickname of “Centre Polytechnicien d'Etudes Economiques”) at the “Ecole Polytechnique” in Paris. Indeed, french polytechniciens' engineers hope that mathematical economics, and especially empirically based modelization, will be helpful first to build a true economic science, and second, to find solutions to the 1930's crisis. These hopes are developed in the methodological debate that Polytechniciens began even before the creation of the association X-Crise. They explain in particular their rejection of "pure” economics and their defence of an approach which mixes economic concepts, statistical facts and mathematical model – such as econometrics. Overall, these hopes are expressed through models constructed by X-Crise members, such as Polytechniciens like François Moch and Maurice Potron or non-polytechniciens like brothers Georges and Edouard Guillaume. Attempts were done to include business cycle in their models. But, finally, they failed to confront them to empirical data.French Engineers - Business Cycles - history of econometrics

The Funnel Effect: How Elite College Culture Narrows Students' Perceptions of Post-Collegiate Career Opportunities

Today, the process of choosing a career for young adults is not a linear path, but instead a complex process influenced by a myriad of internal and external factors. At elite colleges, high prestige jobs are most appealing as students strive to occupy a position of power and resources and live up to their institution's reputation. In the current environment of high or uncertain unemployment, increased competition for jobs and increasingly rising college costs, the steps young adults take to determine goals and means can become confused. All too frequently, ambient university culture emphasizes the importance of finding a certain kind of job rather than thinking through where passions lie and which jobs might be most meaningful and well fitting over the long haul.In this study, we explore the issues of career choice among a small group of Harvard seniors,identifying the factors that have the most significant influence on the decision-making process. Specifically, we interviewed 40 Harvard seniors about their college experiences, formative influences, and decision-making processes regarding career choices. Twenty-two females and 18 males participated, coming from a range of concentrations, though the most prevalent majors were English, History, and Social Studies. Students were recruited using list serves at residential houses and the Office of Career Services. Our primary focus was to identify why and how students make decisions about the careers they pursue. We also focused on why some students seem driven to take jobs in finance and consulting, while others pursue paths of public service.Our findings suggest the presence of a "funnel effect." Though students enter college with a diverse set of interests, by senior year, most of them seem to focus on a narrow set of jobs. The culture at Harvard seems to be dominated by the pursuit of high earning, prestigious jobs, especially in the finance and consulting industries. Interestingly, there is a notable disconnect between students' proclaimed passions and interests and the jobs they pursue. According to the Office of Career Services at Harvard, only 22% of the student body accepts jobs in these industries (2011 OCS Student Report). Nonetheless, seniors feel pressured to enter into the fall recruiting cycle in order to procure a job that "lives up to their Harvard degree." Those who express interest in public service jobs appear to forge this path without the help of university structures, often networking and researching online to find out about potential opportunities. Many students feel that finding public service careers is a challenge at Harvard. Unlike the finance, consulting, technology and marketing sectors, few recruiters for public service jobs come to campus. Students appear to be "risk averse," a stance that ultimately seems to impact career choice upon graduation. Our results pinpoint factors that support and explain those students who make choices counter to the prevailing trends -- namely extracurricular activities, study abroad programs, and students' longstanding passions and beliefs

Methods of Teaching Social Intelligence and its Impact on Service Quality

Current literature on social intelligence was reviewed and analyzed and most was focused on the general understanding of social intelligence and methods of measurement. There is little literature that connects social intelligence to the business world and none that focuses on the hospitality industry. It is important to fill the gap in research because social intelligence could have a significant impact on service quality, which in turn affects revenues. The current literature provides a good foundation, but more research is needed in the hospitality industry to determine the impact social intelligence actually has on service quality. Experimentation utilizing several measurement techniques from the literature could help add to the research and bridge the gap between social intelligence and service quality in the hospitality industry

French Engineers and the Machinery of Society: X-Crise and the Development of the first Macroeconomic Models in the Nineteen Thirties

The purpose of this article is to highlight the originality of X-Crise, an Ecole Polytechnique association formed in nineteen thirties' France. Firstly il analyses the factors leading the French engineers to look collectively, for the first time of their history, at the big politicoeconomic problems of their epoch. Two factors seem particularly relevant on this matter : their epistemology and value system on one hand, and their perception of the theoretical and political impotence at that time on the other hand.Secondly this paper presents the main original theoretical elements that arose from the group's deliberations. Among them, it exposes the Guillaume brothers' macroeconomic model [1932], one of the very first macroeconomic model produced in France, and Potron's first application to economics of Perron-Frobenius's theorem (Potron [1911] and [1935]).French Engineers - Macroeconomic models - Pragmatism - Mechanics - Perron-Frobenius's theorem

Expresiones artísticas multifacéticas en las calles de Buenos Aires: la identidad judía argentina entre el klezmer, el tango y el stand up

Hace poco más de un cuarto de siglo, instituciones pertenecientes a la colectividad judía argentina, empezaron a organizar festejos atinentes a su calendario ritual en plazas y calles de la ciudad de Buenos Aires. Estas entidades trasladaron así al espacio público festejos anteriormente reservados a las esferas familiares e institucionales comunitarias. Crearon así un cauce inédito para la representación de “lo judío” a partir de la vinculación de distintas esferas: la de la recreación de las prácticas religiosas, la del espacio de la exaltación de la diversidad en el ámbito público que forma parte de políticas culturales contemporáneas del Gobierno de la Ciudad, y la del espectáculo. Con el fin de examinar las características y las consecuencias para la configuración de una identidad judía argentina de dicho proceso de escenificación pública, en este artículo focalizo en una realización particular: un festejo de Rosh Hashana que tuvo lugar en 2011. El marco conceptual de mi trabajo está dado por la consideración de tales eventos celebratorios como situaciones de performance.A quarter of a century ago, institutions of the Argentine Jewish community began to organize celebrations pertaining to the Jewish ritual festival calendar in squares and streets of the city of Buenos Aires. Thus, community organizations moved into the public space celebrations previously reserved to the community, family and institutional spheres. They consequently shaped a new channel for the representation of "Jewishness" from the linking of different realms: that of the recreation of religious practices, the space of the exaltation of diversity in public areas which is part of the contemporary cultural policies of the City government, and the entertainment business. In order to examine the characteristics of such movement and the consequences of this process of public staging for the configuration of a Jewish Argentine identity, in this article I focus on a particular realization of these festivals, a celebration of Rosh Hashana which took place in 2011. My conceptual framework is given by the consideration of these events as performance situations.Fil: Fischman, Fernando Damián. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Changements institutionnels et efficience de l'affrètement au voyage dans le transport fluvial de marchandises

VNF (2010)'s statistical data show a remarkable resilience of inland navigation in France during the recession. Yet at least part of the profession is in crisis: the boatmen are now likely to be close to bankruptcy. Key players in the fully liberalized (since 2000) spot market, small independent barge owners bear the brunt of lower prices resulting from a destructive competition exacerbated in times of recession. Transaction costs associated with this new institutional environment exacerbate this pro-cyclical behavior detrimental to the entire profession. With the help of transaction costs economics, the article assesses the conditions of efficiency of voyage charter in the spot market before and after the abolition of the "Tour de rôle" and lead to recommendations to improve organization and efficiency of this market segment.Les données de VNF (2010) montrent une résistance remarquable en France du transport fluvial de marchandises à la récession. Pourtant, une part au moins de la profession est en crise : les artisans bateliers sont aujourd'hui nombreux à être proches du dépôt de bilan. Principaux acteurs du marché de l'affrètement au voyage entièrement libéralisé depuis 2000, les artisans bateliers subissent de plein fouet une baisse des prix résultant d'une concurrence destructrice exacerbée en période de récession. Les coûts de transaction associés au nouvel environnement institutionnel accentuent ce comportement pro-cyclique, préjudiciable à l'ensemble de la profession. L'article s'appuie sur la théorie des coûts de transaction pour évaluer les conditions d'efficience de l'affrètement au voyage avant et après la suppression du « Tour de rôle » et débouche sur des préconisations visant à améliorer l'organisation et l'efficacité de ce segment de marché

Maritime Ports And Inland Interconnections: A Transactional Analysis Of Container Barge Transport In France

Recent research on maritime ports hinterlands points out the relevance of mass ground transport modes such as barge transport for enormous flows of containers to and from harbours, especially when a maritime port is located at the mouth of a river. Though, the modal share of container barge transport in French maritime ports (9% of TEU in Le Havre and 5% in Marseille in 2007) is significantly lower than elsewhere (32% in Rotterdam and 33% in Antwerp). Some reports and studies explain the viscosity of container barge transport flows as a result of several factors, generally concentrated around the seaport community. In continuation of previous seminal works, this paper adopts a neo-institutional approach (Williamson, 1985; 1996) of container barge transport to understand how the factors generating this viscosity are managed. Section 2 describes the characteristics of the transaction of container barge transport. Section 3 is devoted to its attributes (asset specificity, frequency, uncertainty). According to Williamson's (1996) remediableness criterion, the observed governance structure of a given transaction is presumed efficient and aligned to its attributes. Thus, Section 4 deals with observed governance structures of container barge transport chains with a focus on Le Havre, main French container seaport and shows how agents try to limit opportunism in ex-post haggling over quasi-rents or under-investments. Implementation of a new institutional environment to modify governance structures is analysed, and a comparison with currently implemented governance structures observed in Rhine is made. Finally, Section 5 suggests ways of dealing with the remaining coordination problems impeding the development of container barge transport in France

The major myosin-binding domain of skeletal muscle MyBP-C (C protein) resides in the COOH-terminal, immunoglobulin C2 motif.

A common feature shared by myosin-binding proteins from a wide variety of species is the presence of a variable number of related internal motifs homologous to either the Ig C2 or the fibronectin (Fn) type III repeats. Despite interest in the potential function of these motifs, no group has clearly demonstrated a function for these sequences in muscle, either intra- or extracellularly. We have completed the nucleotide sequence of the fast type isoform of MyBP-C (C protein) from chicken skeletal muscle. The deduced amino acid sequence reveals seven Ig C2 sets and three Fn type III motifs in MyBP-C. alpha-chymotryptic digestion of purified MyBP-C gives rise to four peptides. NH2-terminal sequencing of these peptides allowed us to map the position of each along the primary structure of the protein. The 28-kD peptide contains the NH2-terminal sequence of MyBP-C, including the first C2 repeat. It is followed by two internal peptides, one of 5 kD containing exclusively spacer sequences between the first and second C2 motifs, and a 95-kD fragment containing five C2 domains and three fibronectin type III motifs. The C-terminal sequence of MyBP-C is present in a 14-kD peptide which contains only the last C2 repeat. We examined the binding properties of these fragments to reconstituted (synthetic) myosin filaments. Only the COOH-terminal 14-kD peptide is capable of binding myosin with high affinity. The NH2-terminal 28-kD fragment has no myosin-binding, while the long internal 100-kD peptide shows very weak binding to myosin. We have expressed and purified the 14-kD peptide in Escherichia coli. The recombinant protein exhibits saturable binding to myosin with an affinity comparable to that of the 14-kD fragment obtained by proteolytic digestion (1/2 max binding at approximately 0.5 microM). These results indicate that the binding to myosin filaments is mainly restricted to the last 102 amino acids of MyBP-C. The remainder of the molecule (1,032 amino acids) could interact with titin, MyBP-H (H protein) or thin filament components. A comparison of the highly conserved Ig C2 domains present at the COOH-terminus of five MyBPs thus far sequenced (human slow and fast MyBP-C, human and chicken MyBP-H, and chicken MyBP-C) was used to identify residues unique to these myosin-binding Ig C2 repeats