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| Research Training Seminars (Current) XIMB FPM Leaflet Seminar Reports 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007 2007-2008 | | Research World, Vol. 4, 2007 Research Training Seminars at XIMB: 2006-2007 [Foreword] Training for Research
* Dalke, A., Grobstein, P., & McCormack, E. (2006). Theorizing interdisciplinarity: The evolution of new academic and intellectual communities. Retrieved June 21, 2006, from http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/local/scisoc/theorizing.html The seminar leader started the discussions by raising an interesting question: What do you find in the “research world”? The participants contemplated on this for a few minutes and the discussion that followed seemed to raise many other related questions. Some of these were: * Is the research world different from the day-to-day world? * What is the interrelation between both the worlds? * How do the everyday world and research world interact? The very mention of "research" creates an impression of an exclusive domain, distinct from the everyday experiences, having a different vocabulary that is out of bounds for the common person. The everyday world and the research world appear to be different in many respects. However, there may be a continuous interaction between them. The everyday world contributes problems and data to the research world; the research world often provides ways of solving problems in the everyday world. This point was discussed further using the following model: Figure 1. An epistemology for making sense of the (groundless) social process (Source: Checkland, 2005, p. 288) In this model, the real-world experiences lead to the interpretations of the experienced world, which in turn lead to judgments concerning the experienced world. The judgments may modify the standards, norms, and values, and also lead to action. The action can change the real-world experience and may modify the standards, norms, and values. Interpretations of real-world experiences, or observations, are important elements of the research world. These serve as input for analysis and theory formulation. Observations however are not neutral or objective as they are often assumed to be. Those who aspire to enter the research world need to be aware of at least two major aspects of observations: * The historical aspect of observations denotes specific “observer traditions.” These are expressed through observation instruments, languages, conventions, etc. * The political aspect of observations, the so-called "politics of perception," denotes issues of interests, power, and control which are part of the observational process. Both of these aspects influence what gets observed and what are reported as observations. Both are institutionalised in the form of disciplines. Thus it is not surprising that often there is very little interaction among disciplines on account of the fact that they cannot agree on observations that are basic to the research process. However the need to converse across various observer traditions has given rise to the increased attention to interdisciplinarity. Dalke, Grobstein, and McCormack (2006) explore this through metaphoric and metonymic ways of thinking: metaphoric means "relatedness in categories or other abstractions" and metonymic means "contiguous in space or time." While the metaphoric mode relates to theorists, the metonymic mode relates to observational scientists. Both the categories approach investigation with different tools and with different modes of evaluation. The interplay between metaphoric and metonymic modes of thinking can also be conceptualised as a way of describing the interactions between the research world and the everyday world. The term synechdoche is introduced by Dalke and colleagues to better capture this interplay of the two modes of thinking. Synechdoche draws attention to the relationship between parts and the whole. From this perspective, metaphoric and metonymic thinking are not seen as opposing, but as analytic and synthetic forces that facilitate the creation of “surprises.” Reference * Checkland, P. (2005). Webs of significance: The work of Geoffrey Vickers. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 22(4), 285-290. The seminar was attended by: AG Menon, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u505001[at]ximb.ac.in CD Kuruvilla, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u505002[at]ximb.ac.in DP Dash, XIMB Faculty, dpdash[at]ximb.ac.in Ibha Kumar, XIMB Faculty, ibha[at]ximb.ac.in JD Vakkayil, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u504001[at]ximb.ac.in Krishnapriya, Research Scholar, Utkal University, kpriya_sep05[at]yahoo.co.in Subhajyoti Ray, XIMB Faculty, subhajyoti[at]ximb.ac.in Madhavi Latha Nandi, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u506001[at]ximb.ac.in Rohit Mathur, Student, XIMB, u106096[at]ximb.ac.in Reported by Madhavi Latha Nandi, with inputs from Jacob D. Vakkayil, A. Govind Menon, and C. D. Kuruvilla (June 26, 2006). http://www1.ximb.ac.in/RW.nsf/pages/R4.2 Anupam Saraph, Director, Institute for Change Research, India AnupamSaraph[at]gmail.com * Saraph, A. (1994). Toolbox for tomorrow: Exploring and designing sustainable systems (Doctoral Dissertation, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Groningen). Pune, India: Simlab. (Appendix 2: Forrester’s principles of feedback; Appendix 3: Principles of systems) In the later half of the twntieth century, there has been an increasing recognition of the inadequacy of domain specific traditional modes of inquiry to address problems in many areas. The rise of "general systems theory" was a response to search for principles and laws that apply across domains irrespective of the components of a system. On these lines, "change research" attempts to seek out general, universally applicable principles of change. The scope of change research as a research perspective includes the following: * Understanding and applying change * Estimating change * Seeking out forces that drive change * Exploring consequences of forces driving change * Identifying desirable change paths * Seeking ways to be on desired path To do this, it is important to identify accurate units of change. These units are used to form certain constructs which are in turn employed to formulate axioms and laws and to build models. The quality of these models is evaluated on the basis of the extent to which they capture real-world experiences. However, real-world experiences could be evaluated from varied viewpoints. Are "participant experiences" more valuable than "observer experiences"? What about "designer experiences"? One of the applications of change research could indeed be to design systems that function effectively. Design-oriented research follows a different perspective than "analytical" or "problem solving" modes of inquiry. Design of models allows us to experience change without actually going through it. This can often be handy in research involving large complex systems. Modelling however involves the use of accurate and precise definitions of components and their relationships. In such situations tools for change research such as "theory of organisation" can be handy. In this theory, the basic units of a system are “actors.” The actors cannot be created or destroyed, but can only be acted upon. The role of the actors is to act and every “act” is a response to some event. These acts modify some attributes of some actors. Thus, all changes in the system are driven by actors. All acts are performed on the basis of “reactivities” of actors. All systems are open to reorganisation and are sustained if the relationships within can be sustained. * Systems reorganise through expansion to accommodate reactivities of actors * Systems reorganise through contraction to accommodate inability of actors to service reactivities * Actors in a static systems have a reactivity to every characteristic distinguishing its actors * A system is open to reorganisation if no actor has a reactivity to any characteristic of at least one actor One important distinction of research efforts that aims for universally applicable principles, such as change research, is how they define their primary objects of inquiry. In most discipline-specific research, entities such as individuals, groups, physical objects, or biological species are the objects of inquiry. By shifting attention to entities such as "change," the researcher opts for a different perspective that might be helpful in some situations. A notably similar perspective is followed by the field of memetics. Here, instead of focusing on individual minds, the analytic units are "memes" that are said to inhabit various minds and ensure their own survival. The seminar was attended by: CD Kuruvilla, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u505001[at]ximb.ac.in DP Dash, XIMB Faculty, dpdash[at]ximb.ac.in C Shambu Prasad, XIMB Faculty, shambu[at]ximb.ac.in JD Vakkayil, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u504001[at]ximb.ac.in Krishna Priya, Research Student, Utkal University, kpriya_sep05[at]yahoo.co.in Madhavi Latha Nandi, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u506001[at]ximb.ac.in Nikunj Tyagi, Student, XIMB, u106029[at]ximb.ac.in Reported by Madhavi Latha Nandi and Jacob D. Vakkayil (June 30, 2006). http://www1.ximb.ac.in/RW.nsf/pages/R4.3 Radhika Gajjala, School of Communication Studies, Bowling Green State University, USA radhika[at]cyberdiva.org, cyborgwati[at]gmail.com * Gajjala, R., & Altman, M. (2006). Producing cyberselves through technospatial praxis: Studying through doing. In P. Liamputtong (Ed.), Health research in cyberspace (pp. 67-84). Nova. * Gajjala, R. (2006). Production of raced and classed selves as (stereotypical) interface: Social networks at the intersection of online/offline, global/local. Unpublished manuscript. Report 1 The seminar leader teaches courses in communication studies for undergraduate and graduate students. The traditional ethnographers have studied the “other,” i.e., tribal, third-world peoples, and the so-called "backward peoples” from the standpoint of an outside observer. This, for them, constituted a method for studying societies in an “objective” fashion. The colonial rulers too had a similar mindset when they encountered new cultures. Eventually, this led to the poststructuralist and postmodernist viewpoints, emphasising the experiences of the people being studied and the researcher's involvement within their community. Marxism especially stressed that the implicit social power structure in society colours the experiences as well as the perceptions of the researcher. Those who are in a state of oppression, also comply with the power structure by their self-disciplining behaviour even in the absence of a visible observer. Feminism, in the western countries adopted an isolationist seeking of selfhood by rejecting the norms of their patriarchal society. In third-world countries, feminism was also a matter of voicing the suppressed narratives of women facing multiple forms of oppression at the individual and community levels. Dr Gajjala shared her strong conviction that research meant practice, i.e., teaching, learning, and applying continuously. For her, the goal of research is to disrupt the power structure by offering a critique of it. The teacher's role is to assist the students by giving them the tools to encounter themselves within the power structure and facilitate critical self-reflection. In one of her courses, students build environments and spaces in the virtual medium using a multi-user software system called MOO (i.e., multi-user object-oriented). As they do this, they observe themselves, recording these observations. Subsequently, the students share their experiences with each other. This process often unsettles the students' sense of identity and equilibrium. It requires building of new “selves” in new contexts. Most of the students experience uncertainty, anger, and tension as to who they are. If this leads them to question themselves in and at the interfaces in cyberspace, they encounter their biases and the criteria by which they identify themselves. In most cases, students go through a process of self-reflection and change within themselves. The students learn not just to be sensitive to the “other'” culture but actually engage with it. As regards the pre-existing hierarchy and disadvantages among the students, the above process may never lead to a removal of the hierarchy, but certainly creates an interface with an opportunity to understand of the social power structure at work. The role of the researcher is to reveal the power structure, the gamut of forces acting within a context, while being completely immersed in it. The complexities operating within a context cannot always be resolved, but we can examine our understanding of the forces at play. A similar thread of argument was echoed in the previous seminar by Dr Anupam Saraph on Change Research. He repeatedly emphasised that a paradigm shift was needed from “problem solving” to “designing” stable, resilient mechanisms which are very complex and self-regulatory in nature. We do not necessarily solve problems, but learn to bring forth supportive environments by extending our own capacities and repertoire of possible responses. Reported by Krishna Priya, Research Scholar, Utkal University (July 9, 2006), edited by DP Dash (July 22, 2006). Report 2 With the emergence of the Internet as a medium of communication, there is increased interaction among people irrespective of their location. These interactions in the virtual context have become a focus of recent research. “Identity” is a key issue in this disembodied world of virtual interactions. With the absence of the body, which is usually the “locus of identity,” cues on identity may be sparse in the virtual context, but not non-existent. One prominent approach for studying online communities is virtual ethnography. This approach attempts to maintain the values of traditional ethnography by providing a "thick" description through the "immersion" of the researcher in the life of the community. As a part of her teaching, the seminar leader uses a system called MOO (multi-user object-oriented) for her research examining issues of race and class in the cyberspace. Her students are assigned the task of interacting within the online interface of MOO. MOO, being a relatively older Internet technology, is mostly text-based. Participants can define objects and environments, with which they can interact. With very limited options for identifying oneself, students plunge into a state of uncertainty at the interface. In the process of establishing their identities, they produce “selves” within the limitations of the online system. The study of these selves is supplemented by oral histories, offline interviews, process papers, and weekly journals of students. The offline observations from these sources afford a more subtle understanding of the layered interplay of online and offline realities. For example, a student who is privileged due to race or gender in the offline reality may find oneself deprived of such privilege in the online world. Of course, the online world can also allows the production of privileged online identities. “Stereotyping” is one aspect, influencing the production of raced/classed selves in the online context. In one study, the effect of stereotyping surfaced when the students were given a task to interact with a local Mexican-American teenager group to analyse the user accounts of myspace.com--a social networking website. The students’ stereotypical perceptions about the local minority group and preconceptions by the media about the Web site resulted in some amount of reluctance in the students in the initial stages of the project. The local teenage group, instead of eliminating the stereotypes, contributed to the stereotypical prejudices. Inter-cultural communication has to negotiate the existing digital divides. Students undergoing the above processes not only learn to be sensitive to other cultures, but they engaged with them, overcoming their perceptual limitations. Thus, entering into cyberspace is not just about connecting to a technology, but an entrance to a cultural space. The behavioural dynamics in the cyberspace is one potential area for future research. The seminar also sought to emphasise on the importance of participant observations in ethnography. In this research method, the researcher observes based on participation and experience, thus crossing the classical boundary between the observer and the observed. The level of participation, however, can vary according to the nature of the research setting. The seminar was attended by: CD Kuruvilla, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, cdkuruvilla[at]yahoo.co.in AG Menon, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, agm_govind[at]yahoo.co.in JD Vakkayil, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, jacobdvakkayil[at]yahoo.com Madhavi Latha Nandi, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u506001[at]ximb.ac.in Srikant Panigrahy, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u503002[at]ximb.ac.in DP Dash, XIMB Faculty, dpdash[at]ximb.ac.in C Shambu Prasad, XIMB Faculty, shambu[at]ximb.ac.in Krishna Priya, Research Student, Utkal University, kpriya_sep05[at]yahoo.co.in Sumant Dubey, Student, XIMB, u305045[at]ximb.ac.in Niraj Kumar, XIMB Faculty, niraj[at]ximb.ac.in Reported by Madhavi Latha Nandi with inputs from Jacob D. Vakkayil and D. P. Dash (July 22, 2006). http://www1.ximb.ac.in/RW.nsf/pages/R4.4 Sridhar Modugu, Research Scholar, Department of History, University of Hyderabad, India sridhar.modugu[at]gmail.com * Sridhar, M. (2006). Modelling agriculture in India: Historiography of technology and colonialism. Unpublished manuscript. Historiography, as defined by Conal Furay and Michael J. Salevouris (1988), is "the study of the way history has been and is written--the history of historical writing... When you study 'historiography' you do not study the events of the past directly, but the changing interpretations of those events in the works of individual historians" (p. 223). The study of historiography requires a critical approach to historical facts, interpreting not only historical writings, but also the author's position in society and the type of history being written at the time. Most historical writings about the developments in science and technology in India and their implications on agriculture in particular, focused on the changes in agricultur that followed the entrenchment of colonial rule. The backdrop for these writings was within the framework of the commercialisation and modernisation during colonial rule. Historical writings on agriculture in India are based on certain assumptions on aspects of colonial state and rule, science and technology, etc. The colonial state was assumed to be one full-fledged structure and it was assumed to operate its devices through a plan. But the study of agricultural science reveals that the operating mechanisms of the colonial state had undergone major social changes over a period of time. The seminar leader, in his research on the process of modernisation of agriculture under the British colonial regime in the Madras Presidency (1800-1947), attempted to deviate from the available historiography on the subject. He adapted a processual approach by critically examining these historial writings and their assumptions of the colonial past. He systematically studied various stages of development of agriculture during the period 1800-1947. He also correlated various social changes that were probably considered to influence the process of development in agriculture. Consequently, the study was aimed at representing a different model of the agricultural development process during the period, taking into account a wider range of evidences than the available historical writings have done. Of course, this study also remains open to further critical engagement and research. The study indicates that the British colonial administration saw India as a resource-rich region which lacked effective management. Subsequently, it indulged in teaching and introducing what it considered as "scientific management" of resources. This has been done through the deployment of science and technology available to Britain. With reference to agriculture, this was done by introducing exotic crops (American long-staple cottons, varieties of tobacco, sugarcane, paddy, etc.) and different kinds of implements. Agricultural science was introduced through education, experiments, exhibitions, etc. However, the approach for the whole process was integrative and not unidirectional, unlike how the historiography on the subject has conceived it. The colonial state started its interventions by bringing exotic varieties of crops and implements and, in the course of its journey, it has realised the difficulties of doing so. Consequently, with the lessons learnt from practical interventions, the colonial state was forced to choose plant varieties more suited to local conditions. This kind of analysis is important to understand the endurance of colonial rule and its methods, which was absent in the available works on the theme. While the broad area for this research was “history of science and technology,” inputs for the research were taken from literature in philosophy of science, sociology of science, and economics of the period of study. This resulted in an interdisciplinary fusion of knowledge. Reference * Furay, C., & Salevouris, M. J. (1988). The methods and skills of history: A practical guide (2nd ed.). Wheeling, IL: Harlan Davidson. The seminar was attended by: DP Dash, XIMB Faculty, dpdash[at]ximb.ac.in C. Shambu Prasad, XIMB Faculty, shambu[at]ximb.ac.in Subhajyoti Ray, XIMB Faculty, subhajyoti[at]ximb.ac.in Niraj Kumar, XIMB Faculty, niraj[at]ximb.ac.in CD Kuruvilla, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u505001[at]ximb.ac.in JD Vakkayil, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u504001[at]ximb.ac.in Srikant Panigrahy, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u503002[at]ximb.ac.in Krishna Priya, Research Student, Utkal University, kpriya_sep05[at]yahoo.co.in Madhavi Latha Nandi, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u506001[at]ximb.ac.in Sidharth Patro, PGP-2 Student, u105107[at]ximb.ac.in Pavin Pankajan, PGPRM-2 Student, u305032[at]ximb.ac.in Abhishek Singh Gaharwar, PGPRM-2 Student, u305004[at]ximb.ac.in Santanu Chakraborthy, PGPRM-1 Student, u306044[at]ximb.ac.in Rohit Arya, PGPRM-1 Student, u306040[at]ximb.ac.in Sanjeev Mohapatra, PGPRM-1 Student, u306043[at]ximb.ac.in Sonam Raj, Student, PGP-2 Student, u105109[at]ximb.ac.in Reported by Madhavi Latha Nandi, with inputs from Sridhar M. and Jacob D. Vakkayil (August 7, 2006). http://www1.ximb.ac.in/RW.nsf/pages/R4.5 C. D. Kuruvilla and Madhavi Latha Nandi, Doctoral Scholars, XIMB cdkuruvilla[at]yahoo.co.in, madhavinandi[at]yahoo.co.in * Institute for Propaganda Analysis. (2006). Wikipedia. Retrieved Nov 12, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_for_Propaganda_Analysis Propaganda is a specific type of communication to influence decision making by appealing to an individual's emotions. It is usually partisan and does not provide the complete picture. It includes the use of persuasive techniques, in writing, speech, music, film, or other means, that seek to influence the opinions, emotions, attitudes, or behaviour of a group for the benefit of the person or organisation using it. Propagandists try to put across an idea, good or bad, rather than allow others to discover the truth through reasoned argument and persuasion. Edward L. Bernays (1891-1995), a pioneer in the field of public relations wrote, "The only difference between propaganda and education, really, is the point of view. The advocacy of what we believe in is education. The advocacy of what we don't believe is propaganda" (Bernays, as quoted in Propaganda, 2006). Research on controversial topics, such as the impact of genetically modified crops, is bound to have its own set of critics and proponents. Researchers need to uphold the quality of research and ensure that their findings clearly indicate the conditions of their validity. Propagandists cite research findings to further their cause and influence decisions. They use several devices to further their objectives. The Institute for Propaganda Analysis, USA, has classified those devices as mentioned below. Each has a specific objective and is used under a given set of circumstances as mentioned below. (i) Name-calling: seeks to elicit judgement from an audience without allowing them to examine the evidence. (ii) Glittering generalities: appeals to emotions of love, generosity, and goodness. (iii) Transfer: appeals to emotions of love and hate and seeks to transfer approval through the use of symbols. (iv) Testimonial: use of testimony from authority to further economic, political, and social causes. (v) Plainfolks: seeks to win over confidence by developing an association with the individual. (vi) Card stacking: uses censorship to distort information to get a desired reaction. (vii) Bandwagon: seeks to influence the audience to follow the crowd. Public policy is usually framed after some research. Researchers need to ensure the credibility and dependability of their findings. As a researcher, one needs to be familiar with the available literature and avoid methodological errors. Research publications become more credible through peer review. Credibility is also enhanced when the results are subject to public scrutiny and eventually approved by the research community. In an issue of PLoS Medicine, a noted epidemiologist wrote, "There is increasing concern that in modern research, false findings may be the majority or even the vast majority of published research claims" (Ioannidis, 2005). According to him, the probability that a research finding is indeed true depends on "the prior probability of it being true (before doing the study), the statistical power of the study, and the level of statistical significance." He notes the high rate of non-replication as a sign of the findings being false. Armstrong (1982) has suggested that research which challenges existing beliefs is less likely to be published and often criticised for methodological problems. The case of Phelan (2003) is an illustration of this. Despite winning the award for the best conceptual paper at the Academy of Management meeting in 2000, Phelan enountered rejection by several journals, including the journal that awarded the conference prize. Propaganda in Academia Chomsky and Herman (1988) proposed a propaganda model that focuses on the inequality in the distribution of wealth and power and its multilevel effects on mass-media. According to them there are five filters applied to media stories that control output: (i) The size, concentrated ownership, owner wealth, and profit orientation of the dominant mass-media firms: The enormous cost of building a news gathering mechanism prevents the free flow of information. (ii) Advertising as the primary income source of the mass media: The media houses are financially dependent on the government and business houses for revenue from advertisements and practice restraint in negative reporting. (iii) The reliance of the media on information provided by government, business, and "experts" funded and approved by these agents of power: Hence the media seeks to develop good relations with its clients. (iv) "Flak" as a means of disciplining the media: The media tends to develop self-correcting checks to ensure that they do not antagonise their stakeholders, i.e., various government and business establishments. (v) "Anti-communism" as a national religion and control mechanism: There was tendency in the United States to dismiss individuals as communists if they raised controversial issues. Using the model to explain some aspects of business education, Phelan (2003) suggested five factors that could be considered as filters that serve to filter or de-radicalise the output of business schools: (i) Career path of academics: the award of the doctorate is dependent on the approbation of senior faculty members by doctoral students and hence doctoral students refrain from undertaking research which do not fall in line with the preferences of the research guides. (ii) Compensation: faculty who lack administrative support are denied access to discretionary income by conducting seminars and undertaking other academic work. (iii) Recruitment and endowment issues: critical attack on corporations in research papers damages the school's reputation with recruiters (iv) Advisory boards: organisational members are dissuaded from researching contentious topics. (v) Data sourcing: inability of researchers to gather data on controversial topics from corporations. Often the topics of research are guided by the preferences of funding institutions rather than those of researchers. It is the researchers' responsibility to ensure that their findings are not influenced by the funding institutions. This will enhance the credibility of research in general. References * Armstrong, J. S. (1982). Is review by peers as fair as it appears? Interfaces, 12, 62-74. Retrieved Nov 12, 2006, from http://129.3.20.41/eps/get/papers/0502/0502058.pdf * Chomsky, N., & Herman, E. S. (1988). Manufacturing consent: The political economy of the mass media. Retrieved November 7, 2006, from http://www.chomsky.info/onchomsky/20031209.htm * Ioannidis, J. P. A. (2005). Why most published research findings are false? PLoS Medicine, 2(8), Article e124. Retrieved November 12, 2006, from http://medicine.plosjournals.org/ * Phelan, S. E. (2003). A propaganda model of business school behavior. Retrieved November 6, 2006 from http://www.unlv.edu/Faculty/phelan/Research/Propaganda.pdf * Propaganda. (2006). Wikipedia. Retrieved Nov 12, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda The seminar was attended by: AG Menon, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, agm_govind[at]yahoo.co.in CD Kuruvilla, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u505001[at]ximb.ac.in DP Dash, XIMB Faculty, dpdash[at]ximb.ac.in Ibha Kumar, XIMB Faculty, ibha[at]ximb.ac.in JD Vakkayil, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u504001[at]ximb.ac.in Madhavi Latha Nandi, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u506001[at]ximb.ac.in Niraj Kumar, XIMB Faculty, niraj[at]ximb.ac.in Srikant Panigrahy, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u503002[at]ximb.ac.in Reported by C. D. Kuruvilla and Madhavi Latha Nandi with inputs from Jacob D. Vakkayil (November 12, 2006). http://www1.ximb.ac.in/RW.nsf/pages/R4.6 Ramasubramanian Sundararajan, Computing & Decision Sciences Lab., GE Global Research, John F. Welch Technology Centre, Bangalore ramasubramanian.sundararajan[at]geind.ge.com * Sundararajan, R. (2006). Modelling learning from examples: An introduction. Unpublished manuscript. Algorithm is the foundation for any computer programme. With the increased usage of computers there has been a greater emphasis on developing various algorithms to mimic human decision-making processes. One of the fundamental tasks involved in decision making is the task of classifying some given set of data. Algorithms have been designed to perform this task of classification and learn from repeated application. Such learning may be supervised or unsupervised. In supervised learning, true classes of data are known whereas in unsupervised learning classes are to be inferred from the data. The seminar focused on various issues involved in developing algorithms for supervised learning. The key questions were: * What are the distinguishing features of a good classification algorithm that learns? * What are the major challenges to a researcher involved in developing such algorithms? * What are the approaches to developing such algorithms? * What are the applications of learning algorithms? One important feature that distinguishes a good learning algorithm is its performance on new data, i.e., its capacity for extracting generalisable "knowledge" from the given data. An algorithm developed on a larger sample of data is more likely to produce a more generalisable classification, thus leading to greater confidence in the results. Another important feature is accuracy. Increased levels of accuracy may result in greater complexity of the algorithm. Therefore, a researcher has to make a trade-off between accuracy and simplicity. The same concept is emphasised by a principle of systematic inquiry, Occam’s Razor, which states that a simpler solution that fits the data is preferable. Three main approaches for developing learning algorithms are statistical, machine learning, and neural networks. Statistical approaches are generally characterised by having an "explicit underlying probability model, which provides a probability of being in each class rather than simply a classification" (Michie, Speigelhalter, & Taylor, 1994, p. 2). The machine learning approach emphasises more on simplicity and time efficiency of the algorithms. "Neural network approaches combine the complexity of some of the statistical techniques with the machine learning objective of imitating human intelligence" (ibid., p. 3). Learning algorithms have been used in predicting possible bankruptcy of a firm. The learning algorithm learns the patterns from historical data, for example by comparing financial data pertaining to bankrupt and non-bankrupt firms. Given the data about a new firm, the algoriths should predict the probability of the firm going bankrupt. This helps in decision making, for example to estimate the risk of lending to that firm. Learning algorithms based on neural network are also used in market segmentation. Such algorithms are used for clustering the customers based on certain criteria. This helps in planning product positioning, promotion, and such other decisions. Yet another application is in spam detection where learning algorithms automatically detect and filter messages based on certain words that are not likely to appear in legitimate messages. Reference * Michie, D., Speigelhalter, D. J., & Taylor, C. C. (Eds). (1994). Machine learning, neural and statistical classification. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Ellis Horwood. The seminar was attended by AG Menon, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u505001[at]ximb.ac.in CD Kuruvilla, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u505001[at]ximb.ac.in DP Dash, XIMB Faculty, dpdash[at]ximb.ac.in DV Ramana, XIMB Faculty, ramana[at]ximb.ac.in JD Vakkayil, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u504001[at]ximb.ac.in KM Rajesh, XIMB Faculty, rajesh[at]ximb.ac.in Madhavi Latha Nandi, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u506001[at]ximb.ac.in Srikant Panigrahy, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u503002[at]ximb.ac.in Reported by Madhavi Latha Nandi, with inputs from D. P. Dash and Jacob D. Vakkayil (Nov 24, 2006). http://www1.ximb.ac.in/RW.nsf/pages/R4.7 Ananta Kumar Giri, Associate Professor, MIDS, Chennai, India ananta[at]mids.ac.in * Giri, A. K. (2006). The modern prince and the modern sage: Transforming power and freedom. Unpublished manuscript * Reid, H., & Taylor, B. (2006). Globalization, democracy and the aesthetic ecology of emergent publics for a sustainable world: Working from John Dewey. Asian Journal of Social Science, 34(1), 22-46. * Han, S. -J. (2004). Social transformation in contemporary Korea: Three prime-movers in the contested civil society. Unpublished manuscript. (Revised version of keynote speech, delivered at 36th IIS World Congress of Sociology, July 7-11, 2004, Beijing.) * Nazaretyan, A. P. (2006). Power and Wisdom: Does world history have a moral dimension. Unpublished manuscript. Power, as defined by Max Weber (Giri, 2006), is the ability to carry out one’s will against the will of others. In social practice, power is generally manifested as domination. This kind of power can be referred to as “power over.” On the other hand, power as defined by Hannah Arendt (Giri, 2006) is the human ability of acting in concert for a public-political purpose. This kind of power can be referred to as “power with.” Power over is entrenched authoritarianism, especially in the realm of politics. Democracy is no exception to this concept. Earlier, power was embodied in the "Prince” as an individual. In the course of history this locus of power has shifted to institutions and systems of society. Even now, power gets embodied in individual role-holders whom the seminar leader refers as the “Modern Prince.” In either case, power over can be interpreted as synonymous to domination. Politics is an important aspect of human experience, affecting our interactions with each other. In this context, most of us experience “power over.” This sort of power is entrenched so insidiously within our social fabric, that it seems inevitable, impenetrable, and institutionalised. This kind of power tends to limit the rights of people to unfold their nature; it destroys their potential. Power with, on the other hand, gives more freedom for people to participate in societal mechanisms, thus enabling them to realise their potential. There are many instances where people across the world have tried to break free from the shackles of bondage and succeeded at different levels. The French Revolution is considered to be a landmark in this liberation from the authoritarian structures. More recent instances in such a transformation of power can be found in Korea and Mexico. Han (2004) presents a model of social transformation in terms of "conflict-ridden sequential processes of democratisation." This involves the civil society bringing forth its resistant energy through social movements against an authoritarian rule. Once democracy is restored, civil society plays the role of “a 'sluice' through which the pressure of change is passed to the political system." The series of political developments in the modern history of Korea represent this sequential model of social transformation. Korea was under Japanese colonial rule until 1961. In 1961, there was military coup, giving rise to an authoritarian state, which consolidated itself into institutional frameworks in 1972. The authoritarian rule maintained a highly repressive system and strengthened the economy of the nation, boosted by exports. The general and presidential elections were disrupted and public opinion was distorted, consequently destroying procedural political democracy. Bureaucrats and economic planners played an important role in economic growth and thus had a significant influence on power politics. After 32 years of military regime, Kim Dae-Jung, a civilian president, came into power in 1992. Procedural democracy started stabilising with a series of political developments since then. President Kim was able to handle the economic crisis and started with socio-economic structural reforms in Korea. The structures of collaboration between the authoritarian government and business were dismantled. However, the state faced an intractable resistance from the formal circuits of power, i.e., the ruling class, while it attempted to reform the legal institutions. In the light of this scenario, the younger generation launched a massive campaign supporting the political reforms. They came up against the conservative media and society and utilised new technology for communication, i.e., the Internet. Rho Mu-Hyun, who represented a small minority, was made the president, with this support. Furthermore, when the president was impeached by conservative opposition parties, they unified again with solidarity against the power of Congress. Thus the younger generation of Korea, who captured the control of the civil society in Korea, not only brought about the change in the rule of the nation, but also changed its whole power equation. Another similar case of transforming the power structures comes from the Zapatista movement in Mexico. The seminar leader narrated his ethnographic study of this movement, based on his experiences in this small autonomous community. There were no leaders and everybody was considered a social servant and yet people of this community lived in harmony. There was no isolation. The people were well connected with the rest of the world through latest modes of communication technology. The cases of Korea and Mexico are clear evidences for an emergent power through which many other worlds are made possible to co-exist in this world. The harbingers of this emergent power, whom the seminar leader terms as “Modern Sage,” lead us to a new reality of conviviality, giving innovative solutions for many worldly problems. There was some discussion on power in academic and research communities. Research, sometimes, is used as an instrument of power, especially in case of politically motivated research. Often, the agenda for research is set by the authorities. This aspect of power can be identified with the concept of power over. Researchers, by virtue of their knowledge and authority, often exercise this kind of power over the participants in their studies. One such instance is keeping the participants unaware of the purpose of a study. Researchers can consider a more participatory form of interaction with the participants, exemplifying the concept of “power with.” The seminar was attended by Bipin Bihari Barik, Visitor, bipinbarik[at]yahoo.co.in CD Kuruvilla, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u505001[at]ximb.ac.in Champak Kumar Sahu, Visitor, champak_sahu[at]rediffmail.com C Shambu Prasad, XIMB Faculty, shambu[at]ximb.ac.in DP Dash, XIMB Faculty, dpdash[at]ximb.ac.in GP Nayak, Visitor Ibha Kumar, XIMB Faculty, ibha[at]ximb.ac.in JD Vakkayil, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u504001[at]ximb.ac.in Krishna Priya, Research Student, Utkal University, kpriya_sep05[at]yahoo.co.in Madhavi Latha Nandi, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u506001[at]ximb.ac.in Rajkishore Mohrana, Visitor, rkmhn[at]yahoo.com Fr Panka Toppo, SJ, XIMB Faculty, panka[at]ximb.ac.in Sanjib Pandi, Visitor Reported by Madhavi Latha Nandi, with inputs from Krishna Priya and Jacob D. Vakkayil (Nov 24, 2006). http://www1.ximb.ac.in/RW.nsf/pages/R4.8 Wiebe E. Bijker, Faculty of Arts and Culture, Universiteit Maastricht, The Netherlands w.bijker[at]tss.unimaas.nl The seminar explored how researchers are influenced by social factors. These factors seem to influence every step of the research process from selecting research problems to drawing conclusions and obtaining results. To direct the discussions in the seminar, the seminar leader gathered the queries of the participants that spanned across various aspects of doing research and reframed them as mentioned below: 1. Apart from the literature review, is it necessary for a researcher to interact with the selected environment before framing the research questions? 2. Is training on research methods and methodology important? Is this training a limiting factor for the creativity and openness of a researcher? 3. How relevant is the positivist framework in research? 4. Is research different from its application? 5. What are the effective ways to do research on impact assessment? 6. What influences the dissemination of research results? 1. Sometimes, the research findings could turn out to be irrelevant to the practical context. In such cases a number of questions might be raised about various aspects of the study. There could be questions regarding the validity of the data used for the research, the appropriateness of the research methodology or the framework adopted. Irrelevance however, might be due to a number of factors. This can happen for example, when highly dynamic phenomena are studied. A preliminary empirical investigation can enhance the researcher’s clarity of understanding regarding the phenomenon under investigation. This clarity can help in making crucial research choices. 2. While adopting the research method, there could be a tendency to choose one of the methods that have been taught as a part of the researcher’s training. The seminar leader opined that the purpose of research training is to enable a researcher to critically reflect on the methods that have been used earlier. This should not become a constraint for adopting other methods that might not have been a part of the training. 3. Researchers often adopt a positivist approach while interacting with people who are not directly involved in the research process such as policy makers, journalists, and so forth. This emphasis on positivism is evident also in many undergraduate-level courses offered in the academia. However at the frontiers of their domains the positivist stance is not always sustained. When interacting with their peers, researchers typically adopt other perspectives. For example, they recognise that research questions, results and so forth are influenced by society and that it involves various social processes. This seems to be equally true of the natural and social sciences. 4. Traditionally, basic research has been considered as a distinct activity that is followed by applied research, which in turn is followed by development of practical applications. There is a view that the gap between these stages may be gradually narrowing down and the sequence may not always be the same. Researchers in fact are opting for research questions that are more likely to generate public interest or more inclined towards practical application. This is how the different stakeholders of research shape the research process. As a consequence of this shaping, researchers are more often in a continuous tension between their original ideas and the limitations arising from being a part of an institutional structure. 5. The seminar then focused on research conducted on “impact assessment.” The seminar leader cited the example of the impact assessment study he carried out on the work of the Health Council in the Netherlands. Through this example, he illustrated that very often there is disagreement about what constitutes successful and unsuccessful outcomes. The choice of one type of success excludes another type of success. It is thus necessary to focus on the processes adopted to reach certain goals, rather than on the measurement of the impact. 6. Disseminating results in a transparent manner helps further the research in any area. Clear description of the methodology and publishing the empirical data used can enable a thorough peer review and enhance the body of knowledge. Sometimes, research results are not favorable to the sponsors of the research projects and hence researchers are constrained from disclosing the same. These are yet other instances where the research process is socially shaped. The seminar was attended by C Shambu Prasad (XIMB Faculty, shambu[at]ximb.ac.in) CD Kuruvilla (Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u505002[at]ximb.ac.in) DP Dash (XIMB Faculty, dpdash[at]ximb.ac.in) Ibha Kumar (XIMB Faculty, ibha[at]ximb.ac.in) JD Vakkayil (Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u504001[at]ximb.ac.in) Kavitha Kuruganti (Visitor, kavitha.kuruganti[at]gmail.com) Krishnapriya (Research Student, UtkalUniversity, kpriya_sep05[at]yahoo.co.in) Madhavi Latha Nandi (Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u506001[at]ximb.ac.in) Rob Embrechts (Visitor, rob.embrechts[at]ua.ac.be) Sridhar M (Visitor, Sridhar.modugu[at]gmail.com) Reported by CD Kuruvilla, with inputs from C. Shambu Prasad, Jacob D. Vakkayil, and Madhavi Latha Nandi (March 13, 2007). http://www1.ximb.ac.in/RW.nsf/pages/R4.9 Neharika Vohra, IIM, Ahmedabad, India neharika[at]iimahd.ernet.in Sekaran, U. (1983). Methodological and theoretical issues and advancements in cross-cultural research. Journal of International Business Studies, 14, 61-73. Cultures emerge from the interactions within human communities and consist of various attributes such as beliefs, practices, expressions, and so forth. Cross-cultural research attempts to find general patterns of the cultural attributes as well as cultural differences. Depending upon the nature of the research problem, cross-cultural researchers can opt for an etic or an emic approach. In the etic approach, the researcher assumes the existence of similarities among cultures and attempts to determine the extent to which certain cultural attributes might be generalisable across cultures. In the emic approach, the researcher assumes cultures to be unique and explores the factors that contribute to the uniqueness. Both approaches can be complementary to each other. Sometimes, cross-cultural researcher use the survey method. They face difficulties in designing data-collection instruments, collecting data, and interpreting the data. Language plays a crucial role in developing the instrument for data collection. A questionnaire developed in one language, when translated into another language, may not convey the same ideas. Employing a collaborator having knowledge of the culture enables the researcher to understand the cultural differences and thus work out proper data-collection techniques. For example, a participant from a collectivist cultural setting, as sometimes found in parts of India, may respond differently when interviewed separately as against being interviewed in a group. In the same way, a participant from an individualist cultural setting, as sometimes found in parts of USA, may respond differently in different interview situations. In such cases, the data collected may be unreliable, consequently affecting the research output. The presence of the researcher may also affect the response of the interviewee. Another major methodological concern for cross-cultural researchers who opt for survey method is sampling. Obtaining a sample of invidivudals who are representative of a culture is a challenging task for a cross-cultural researcher. Often cross-cultural researchers opt for convenience sampling. Conclusions drawn from such samples may not be generalisable. Sometimes, research is undertaken to study the differences between two cultures which are assumed to be different. But there is a possibility of cultural diffusion between the two cultures under study, leading to some similar behaviours and practices. Such a research might result in misleading inferences. The seminar leader spoke about her research on attitude of the Indian youth towards entrepreneurship. The sample for the study consisted of persons of a specific age group who have completed or were pursuing graduation, across various regions of India. The participants of the research had a fair knowledge of English and so the questionnaire was written in English. The study indicated some interesting differences in the attitude of the youth across the regions. The differences were attributed to the difference in the notions that existed in the regions. Having completed the study in India, the seminar leader attempted to carry out the same study in China with her Chinese collaborator. For the data collection, the same questionnaire was translated into Chinese by two Chinese scholars separately. Later the translated questionnaires were re-translated back into English. The source and translated versions, however, were not equivalent to the preferred extent to carry out the research. Even the two Chinese versions had considerable differences. The complexity of the Chinese language family may also have contributed to the difficulty. This instance exemplifies the difficulty faced by cross-cultural researchers while developing instruments for data collection. There seems to be a growing concern for managing the issues of cultural identity and cultural diversity in contemporary organisations. An employee in a cross-cultural setting might face a tension between his/her own culture and the culture of his/her work environment. For example, call-centre employees dealing with customers of a different culture are required to adapt themselves to that culture while still being a part of their own culture. Such intermittent switching between cultural identities might hamper one’s work efficiency. Various methods and tools to understand and manage the difficulties arising from cultural diversity are formulated on the basis of research results. These methods and tools are often incorporated in various training programmes. However, since the research results are not fully generalisable, there is a possibility that cross-cultural training might sometimes reinforce cultural stereotypes. The seminar was attended by AG Menon, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u505001[at]ximb.ac.in CD Kuruvilla, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u505001[at]ximb.ac.in JD Vakkayil, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u504001[at]ximb.ac.in Madhavi Latha Nandi, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u506001[at]ximb.ac.in Snigdha Pattnaik, XIMB Faculty, snigdha[at]ximb.ac.in Srikant Panigrahy, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u503002[at]ximb.ac.in Reported by Madhavi Latha Nandi, with inputs from Jacob D. Vakkayil (Feb 16, 2007). http://www1.ximb.ac.in/RW.nsf/pages/R4.10 Radhika Santhanam, School of Management, Gatton College of Business & Economics, University of Kentucky, USA santhan[at]email.uky.edu Guides * Kerlinger, F., & Lee, H. (1999). Foundations of behavioral research (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. * Lee, Y., Lee, Z., & Gosain, S. (2004). The evolving intellectual diversity of IS discipline: Evidence from referent theoretical frameworks. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 13, Article 33, 546-579. The study of information systems (IS) leads to research topics at many levels. At a macro-level, information systems can be studied from an organisational perspective. The role of information systems in the overall performance of an organisation is often studied at this level. At the micro-level, managerial decision making, managerial learning, and human-computer interaction are some of the contexts for information systems research. Speed and accuracy of decision making and differences in user-satisfaction are some of the factors that are discussed at this level. Some of the research themes in IS relate to IS strategy, IS management, IS technologies, and human-computer interaction. Research in IS strategy focuses on the contribution of information systems towards the achievement of organisational goals. In this research area, information systems are often considered as investments. Ideas from economic theories can be linked to yield theoretical frameworks for this kind of research. Researchers in this area often opt for research methods such as survey method, case method, and archival data method. Research in IS management focuses more on the implementation of information systems in organisations. From the perspective of IS management, information systems are considered as one of the business functions. Organisational theories, social-network theories, and management theories can be adapted as theoretical frameworks for such research. Research methods often used in this kind of research are survey method and case method. Research in IS technologies deals with the technological component of information systems, such as data mining, data privacy, and knowledge-management systems designing. Operations research models such as queuing models, network-flow programming models, and Markov chain can be used as theoretical frameworks for such research. Researchers in this area often use methods such as surveys, case studies, mathematical modelling, simulation, and laboratory experiments. Research in human-computer interaction focuses on the psychological characteristics of the users of information systems. Some of the current areas of inquiry employing this perspective are Web personalisation, e-learning, and e-retail. Theories such as the theory of cognitive fit, flow theory, and theories of perception can provide the conceptual basis for research on human-computer interaction. Methods often employed in this research area are case method and laboratory experiment method, of which the latter seems to be more common. Experiments generally involve a control group and one or more treatment groups. The treatment group is given some "treatment" by the researcher and the control group is not given that treatment. In case of human-computer interactions, the treatments often used are Web content, user interfaces of computer applications, and user environments. Both the groups are observed for any variations in the relevant attributes being studied. Controlling the external factors that may affect the research outcomes is one of the challenges of an experimental design. In experimental research, there might be a bias in the research outcomes when the participants are aware of the details of the experiment. Another important area of concern for a researcher doing experimental research is the uniformity of the participant groups. Uniform experimental groups can be achieved by using randomised experimental designs, namely, completely randomised design and randomised block design. In a completely randomized experiment the objects or the individuals are assigned to a group completely randomly. In a block design experiment, the objects or individuals are first divided into homogenous groups and then randomly assigned to the experiment groups. Potential sources for ideas in information systems research were discussed. In practice, ideas can be generated from real business problems, new technologies, and hypothetical business cases. Previous research in the domain can also spawn new ideas. Human behaviour is another potential source of ideas for doing research in information systems. Some of the human-behavioural attributes that can be studied are attention, problem-solving, information processing, and decision making. The seminar was attended by AG Menon, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u505001[at]ximb.ac.in CD Kuruvilla, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u505001[at]ximb.ac.in DP Dash, XIMB Faculty, dpdash[at]ximb.ac.in JD Vakkayil, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u504001[at]ximb.ac.in Madhavi Latha Nandi, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u506001[at]ximb.ac.in Srikant Panigrahy, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u503002[at]ximb.ac.in Reported by Madhavi Latha Nandi, with inputs from Jacob D. Vakkayil (Feb 16, 2007). http://www1.ximb.ac.in/RW.nsf/pages/R4.11 T. Kumar, Research Scholar, Institute of Rural Management, Anand, India f032[at]irma.ac.in Kumar, T. (2007). E-government and decentralisation: A research proposal. Unpublished manuscript. The seminar was a proposal by the seminar leader for his doctoral research. The proposed research aims to study the effect of e-government on the process of decentralisation. Previous research on e-government mostly focused on efficiency, productivity, transparency, and so forth. The effect of e-government on decentralisation is not explored much. When information and communication technologies (ICTs) are employed for various processes and functions of the government, the government is referred to as e-government. E-government facilitates the integration of different government departments, citizens, and business enterprises into a singular framework of governance. Many studies affirm that a high level of participation of all the stake-holders in the process of governance is likely to result in good governance. Governance in the context of governing a country involves government, market and society. Good governance of a country is thus likely to involve active participation of the citizens, civil society, and the private sector in the governance process. Sometimes, usage of ICTs may result in information overload which may hinder good governance. In order to effectively deal with information overload, decentralisation becomes an essential process for good governance. On the other hand, with the use of ICTs, there might be an increase in transparency of the processes. In such a case, more functional information is available at the upper levels of the government units. This information in turn, may enable them to control the intermediary levels more than before. In this case, ICTs may not facilitate decentralisation. The proposed study intends to explore various factors that have led to the above dilemma and ascertain whether e-government facilitates decentralisation or not. The kind and extent of decentralisation that is facilitated by the e-government is also within the scope of the study. Some key conceptual definitions adopted for the study were sourced from reports published by a well-known consultancy firm. It was pointed out that doctoral scholars need to give adequate justification for the choice of a particular framework and associated concepts. Concepts as defined by business firms might be challenged in academic discussions as these companies might have commercial interests in promoting certain frameworks and associated concepts. The researcher proposes to use case methodology for this study. This was necessitated by the researcher’s preference for an in-depth, intensive form of research. However, in the first phase of the study the researcher intends to explore a number of e-government projects in India. This would enable him to approach the chosen case with a certain amount of familiarity with practices in the field. Studying fast-evolving phenomena can be challenging for researchers. In India e-government initiatives are still evolving and researchers might need to adopt innovative ways of data gathering and analysis. However, such studies can have a profound influence on the development of this evolving area. The seminar was attended by AG Menon (Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u505001[at]ximb.ac.in) CD Kuruvilla (Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u505002[at]ximb.ac.in) C. Shambu Prasad (XIMB Faculty, shambu[at]ximb.ac.in) DP Dash (Faculty, XIMB, dpdash[at]ximb.ac.in) Jayalakshmi (Student, XIMB, u305021[at]ximb.ac.in) JD Vakkayil (Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u504001[at]ximb.ac.in) Krishnapriya (Research Student, UtkalUniversity, kpriya_sep05[at]yahoo.co.in) Madhavi Latha Nandi (Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u506001[at]ximb.ac.in) Niraj Kumar (Faculty, XIMB, niraj[at]ximb.ac.in) Pavin Pankajan (Student, XIMB, u305032[at]ximb.ac.in) Salil (Student, XIMB, u305036[at]ximb.ac.in) Reported by Madhavi Latha Nandi, with inputs from Jacob D. Vakkayil (Mar 13, 2007). http://www1.ximb.ac.in/RW.nsf/pages/R4.12 Elinor W. Gadon, Women's Studies Research Center, Brandeis University, USA elinorgadon2000[at]yahoo.com The seminar leader drew from her experiences of life as a researcher to illustrate the notion of creative research. Knowing the world around is often considered as the objective of research. As the research unfolds, it also becomes a process of self-discovery for the researcher. The deep relationship between the researcher and the research question enables the researcher to engage with the world more fully and know more about it. When researchers choose their questions, they have to introspect as to what the research questions mean to them. This meaningfulness might be driven by a number of factors. Research questions which are often chosen in view of employability may involve compromises with the researcher’s interest, and subsequently may affect the level of the researcher’s engagement with the chosen domain. Consequently, such research may not contribute to expanding intellectual boundaries and generating new knowledge. However, it is more appropriate when meaningfulness is sought in a manner that is intrinsic to the topic of the research. Because of the deep involvement of researchers in their work, results of such studies are more likely to be interesting. The idea of “creative research” is much more relevant in such instances. Often in their quest, researchers have to think beyond dominant forms of research and augment commonly used tools and practices. Apart from expanding the frontiers of the discipline, such research is likely to provide the researcher with a sense of meaningful satisfaction and achievement. The seminar leader narrated how her intellectual curiosity about myths, religion, and Indian culture led to her current research on village goddesses of Orissa in India. The objective of the research project is to study the living tradition of the gramadevi (village goddess) and reconstruct its meaning through the villagers’ own worldview. While intellectual curiosity is a pre-requisite for any attempt at research, quality research is likely to be a product also of patience, commitment and discipline. This was demonstrated by the seminar leader’s long involvement with the field that spanned decades. Research is often considered as an opportunity to generate new knowledge. High quality knowledge is also likely to have an impact on the field. Thus the link between knowledge and action is an important consideration for many researchers. Researchers can make their work more meaningful as a form of practice, by creating new possibilities for action in the field. Such prospects are especially relevant for countries such as India which are characterised by a high pace of socio-political and economic change. Often whole villages are displaced for facilitating large-scale projects. Such changes have an impact on their customs, practices and beliefs. For example, these changes have had an impact on the institution of the village goddess in Orissa. While such developments can equip researchers with a sense of urgency and purposefulness, often the research techniques at their disposal may not be sufficient. The idea of “creative research” might address such deficiencies by generating new possibilities for action in complex fast-changing fields. The seminar was attended by AG Menon (Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u505001[at]ximb.ac.in) CD Kuruvilla (Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u505001[at]ximb.ac.in) Dipak Mishra (Faculty, XIMB, dipak[at]ximb.ac.in) DP Dash (Faculty, XIMB, dpdash[at]ximb.ac.in) JD Vakkayil (Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u504001[at]ximb.ac.in) Krishnapriya (Research Student, UtkalUniversity, kpriya_sep05[at]yahoo.co.in) Madhavi Latha Nandi (Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u506001[at]ximb.ac.in) Reported by Madhavi Latha Nandi, with inputs from Jacob D. Vakkayil (Mar 13, 2007). http://www1.ximb.ac.in/RW.nsf/pages/R4.13 Amit Agrahari, Business Transformation Laboratory, Infosys Technologies Ltd., Bangalore amit1978[at]gmail.com * Pani, A. K. (2007). Perspectives from IOIS, EDI, and channel management: Research issues in e-procurement. In A. Agrahari & A. K. Pani (Eds.), E-procurement in emerging economies: Theory and cases (chap.1, pp. 1-20). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. * Agrahari, A. (2007). Analyzing e-procurement adoption efforts: Case study of an Indian steel manufacturer. In A. Agrahari & A. K. Pani (Eds.), E-procurement in emerging economies: Theory and cases (chap.8, pp. 193-227). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. The study presented at the seminar was the doctoral work of the seminar leader on e-procurement systems. E-procurement systems are information systems employed in the procurement process of an organisation. Thus, the participants in e-procurement systems are the organisation and its various suppliers. E-procurement systems can be studied using a number of perspectives. Those commonly used are the value-chain perspective, the inter-dependency perspective, and the transaction-cost economics perspective. For the study under discussion, the researcher used the perspective of transaction-cost economics, which involves the application of a number of mathematical tools and techniques. This choice facilitated the subsequent development of a game-theoretic model. E-procurement systems can be classified as e-markets and e-hierarchies based on coordination mechanisms suggested by transaction-cost economics theory, namely market and hierarchy. E-hierarchies are the e-procurement systems that are owned by a single organisation. E-hierarchies require huge setup and implementation costs. Typically the organisation and a small number of suppliers are the main players in an e-hierarchy. In contrast, E-markets are co-owned by a number of organisations. They require relatively low setup and implementation costs. More than one organisation can participate in e-markets as buyers. Consequently, the number of suppliers participating in e-markets is relatively higher than that in e-hierarchies. The objective of the study was to model the variation in the adoption effort of the buyer and the supplier for various e-procurement systems. Adoption effort signifies the effort involved in the adoption of a new system of e-procurement by a company. The volume of document transactions between the buyer and the suppliers was used as an indicator to measure the concept of adoption effort. In the first phase of the study, an exploratory case study was conducted at a prominent Indian steel manufacturing firm. The firm was one of the early adopters of e-procurement systems. The firm had its own proprietary e-procurement system and also participated in a consortium-sponsored e-procurement system. Using the perspective of transaction-cost economics, the former systems can be identified as e-hierarchy and the latter as e-market. The study indicated that the internal e-procurement systems required higher adoption effort than that in consortium-sponsored systems. However, it was found that the company used both kinds of systems as deemed convenient. This resulted in a portfolio of e-procurement systems available to the company at any particular time. In the second phase of the study, based on the insights gathered from the case study a game-theoretic model to evaluate adoption effort was developed. This however involved a great deal of simplification of real life complexities. For example, the model represented a dyadic relation between a buyer and a single supplier ignoring influences of other competing suppliers. In addition, market conditions were assumed to be stable. Such simplifications have resulted from the researcher’s efforts to reduce the computational complexity of the resultant model. Researchers who apply modelling as a research method need to make informed choices regarding such simplifications and be aware how these can affect the usefulness of these models. The model developed by the researcher is yet to be tested empirically. Since e-procurement systems are still in a nascent stage of evolution in India, currently it is not feasible to collect empirical data for testing this model. The study however, is a pioneering work in the area of e-procurement systems in India and provides indications regarding the possibilities for future research in this area. The seminar was attended by AG Menon (Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u505001[at]ximb.ac.in) CD Kuruvilla (Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u505001[at]ximb.ac.in) Dipak Mishra (XIMB Faculty, dipak[at]ximb.ac.in) DP Dash (XIMB Faculty, dpdash[at]ximb.ac.in) GK Nayak (XIMB Faculty, gopal[at]ximb.ac.in) JD Vakkayil (Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u504001[at]ximb.ac.in) Madhavi Latha Nandi (Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u506001[at]ximb.ac.in) RB Modjeski (Visiting faculty, XIMB) SK Biswal (XIMB Faculty, skb[at]ximb.ac.in) Reported by Madhavi Latha Nandi, with inputs from Jacob D. Vakkayil (Mar 13, 2007). http://www1.ximb.ac.in/RW.nsf/pages/R4.14 Niharika Rai, Doctoral Scholar, XLRI niharikarai2004[at]yahoo.com, p04f66[at]astra.xlri.ac.in * Cook, J. M. (2001). Social networks: A premier. Retrieved February 28, 2007, from http://www.soc.duke.edu/~jcook/networks.html * Menon, A. G., Dash, D. P., Vakkayil, J. D., & Kuruvilla, C. D. (2005, July 31). Networks: An emerging paradigm in management research [Report on a seminar led by P. Balkundi at XIMB on July 8, 2005]. Retrieved February 28, 2007, from http://www1.ximb.ac.in/users/web/fpm.nsf/pages/RTS_Reports_2005#3.3 The discussions at the seminar illustrated several issues that typically arise in carrying out doctoral research. As they advance in their programmes, researchers try to taper down some broad area identified initially to a specific research topic and then to a set of researchable problems. In doing this, they face a number of challenges as illustrated below. In the doctoral work under discussion, the researcher aims to study some aspects of planned organisational change. To add new insights to this body of knowledge, she plans to utilise the techniques developed in the area of Social Network Analysis (SNA). It is interesting to note that the area of SNA itself is the result of a cross-disciplinary collaboration between social scientists and mathematicians working in the field of network and graph theory. Planned change is studied from a variety of perspectives. However, from preliminary case studies carried out in a few companies it seemed to the researcher that an SNA perspective might yield useful results. Attitudes of key people in informal social networks towards a particular change effort are often good indicators of the overall resistance (or lack of it) to the planned change in an organisation. However, the proposition that networks affect change is widely accepted. The challenge before the doctoral scholar is to go beyond what is known and to obtain non-trivial results connecting network ideas and change efforts. A number of suggestions were made to assist the researcher to do this. For example, there was a suggestion to explore the differences between network topologies before and after a change effort. Another suggestion urged the scholar to examine cultural issues influencing the behaviour of boundary spanners who serve as bridges between relatively independent networks. It was also recommended that a social situation could be conceptualised as a network of ideas rather than persons. For example, would certain measures of a “network of objectives” indicate which set of objectives are more achievable? Would talking in terms of a “network of problems” help in solving them? Certain limitations of using SNA to study complex social phenomena were also discussed. Researchers employing SNA seemed to make two basic assumptions. The first of these is that the system of networks is essentially stable. This stability enables them to talk of durable network measures and to describe certain types of network in terms of these measures. However, unlike technical networks (e.g., a network of telephones or computers), social networks are highly dynamic. The usefulness of arriving at highly accurate measures for such networks is thus suspect. The second assumption is regarding the uniformity of connections between nodes. The language of SNA permits us to include certain elementary variations in strength and direction of ties between nodes in our analysis. However, more intense qualitative differences between ties cannot be measured using this technique. This can be problematic while studying complex social phenomena. Some dominant considerations while doctoral scholars select a topic for their work concerns practical issues associated with data collection. In the proposed work under discussion there were a number of possible problems related to data collection. For example, studies employing SNA need a very high rate of response. This is because the data are highly interconnected and measures such as reciprocity, clarity of expectations, and so forth cannot be effectively arrived at if there is a low rate of response. Data collection can also be time-consuming especially while studying change. A longitudinal study covering various stages in the planned change effort might span years. Thus, while deciding on a research problem and in designing the doctoral project, researchers need to make certain crucial choices. There are trade-offs involved in adopting certain approaches or rejecting certain techniques in favour of others. Often researchers find ingenious ways of overcoming limitations. For example, many working scholars collect data from their own organisations and consequently avoid some difficulties associated with data collection mentioned above. The seminar was attended by DP Dash, XIMB Faculty, dpdash[at]ximb.ac.in Amar Nayak, XIMB Faculty, amar[at]ximb.ac.in Deepak Mishra, XIMB Faculty, dipak[at]ximb.ac.in CD Kuruvilla, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u505002[at]ximb.ac.in Madhavi Latha Nandi, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u506001[at]ximb.ac.in Jacob D Vakkayil, Fellow Scholar, XIMB, u504001[at]ximb.ac.in Sachikanta Kar, Visitor, skkar_cttc[at]yahoo.co.in Reported by Jacob D. Vakkayil (March 5, 2007). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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