On the two types of dissertation report template for housing studies:
Type 1: the consulting-oriented type.
Type 2: the academic-oriented type.
Friday, 13 October 2023
A study note on the ethnographic approach and its associated topics with e-learning materials
A study note on the ethnographic approach and its associated topics with e-learning materials:
A diagram on the ethnographic approach and its associated topics:
The topics in the diagram with embedded e-learning materials:
A: the ethnographic approach
D. Hermeneutics
A related reading: On research methodology and research method: a note.
Related video: analyzing ethnographic data.
Thursday, 12 October 2023
On the long and short forms of management-concern items (zone 1) in the ALRA
On the long and short forms of management-concern items in the ALRA:
In my blog notes on examples of formulation of management-concern items [for zone 1], I have pointed out the relevant considerations involved, which are item expression structure, the variable nature of the items, with hints on linkages with other management-concern items (re: example 1), the management-concern in nature of the items, and specific organizational unit of analysis standpoint (re: example 2). The examples subsequently illustrate how to provide management-concern items formulated with meaning clarity and analysis-facilitation strengths. Nevertheless, high clarity of management-concern item formulation has its cost; it is quite lengthy; putting a set of lengthy items in a management-concerns diagram could be a bit overwhelming for readers to digest. Thus, there is a need to distinguish two forms of management-concern items: the long form and the short form. Two examples are provided in the following table:
|
The
long form of management-concern items |
The
short form of management-concern items |
|
1.1: Unclear how to introduce effective AI application(s)
in the service operation of ABC Ltd, notably on tedious task
automation |
1.2: Unclear on effective AI application in ABC service
operation |
|
2.1: Unclear about the AI impacts on service operation on
the XXX business sector with special regard to its competitive landscape |
2.2: Unclear AI impacts on the competitive landscape of
the XXX business sector |
Using the short form of management-concern items, in lieu of the long form, to construct the management-concerns diagram makes the diagram less wordy, thus easier to grasp the overall situation as portrayed by the management-concerns diagram. The management-concerns items, in long form, are then employed in the description of the management-concerns diagram in dissertation report writing. Thus, the management-concerns items in the diagram can still be clarified in the report writing.
Note: the the task of item formulation for zone 3a (outcomes-related) is more straightforward, thus the issue of long and short forms does not arise in most situations. Examples of zone 3a items are:
Example 1: worried about the high staff turnover at the retail outlets of ABC Ltd.
Example 2: unhappy about the present business performance as well as its prospect of the Consulting Division of ABC Ltd.
The same situation applies to zone 3b (solutions-related) items. It is straightforward. Examples of zone 3b items are:
Example 1: Unclear how to formulate an effective AI system to support the staff recruitment function of ABC Ltd.
Example 2: Unclear how to improve the existing marketing communication program of ABC Ltd.
A related reading: example 3.
Converting a factual statement into a management-concern item [in zone 1]: example 2
Converting a factual statement into a management-concern item: example 2: a conversation between Student L and Dr. X
Student L: Dr. X, I have formulated a zone 1 management-concern item as follows: "AI can help to replace the job or work that are tedious or duplicated". Could you comment on its appropriateness?
Dr. X: L, could you clarify what is the underlying management concern from the standpoint of your organizational unit of analysis (e.g. The Service Operation Department of ABC Ltd)?
Student L: The management concerns are: (I) that they are unclear about the opportunities and challenges facing the Service Operation Department of ABC Ltd's AI automation, notably on tedious tasks in the service operation of ABC Ltd, and (II) that they are unclear about the AI impacts on service operations on the XXX business sector, thus also on the XXX sector's competitive landscape". {note: ABC Ltd belongs to the XXX business sector}.
Dr. X: In this case you could consider the following two management-concerns items which are clearer in expression for analysis purpose:
(I) "Unclear how to introduce effective AI application(s) in the service operation of ABC Ltd, notably on tedious task automation" (a Zone 3b [solutions-related] item).
(II) "Unclear about the AI impacts on service operation on the XXX business sector with special regard to its competitive landscape" (a Zone 1 [environmental drivers] item).
An additional reminder: these two items (I and II) can be converted into theoretical framework items with clear meaning:
(I) becomes "to evaluate how to introduce effective AI application in the service operation of ABC Ltd, notably on tedious task automation" (Zone 3b item in the theoretical framework)
(II) becomes "to evaluate the AI impacts on service operation on the XXX business sector with special regard to its competitive landscape"
These two theoretical framework items are also useful to serve as an agenda to do literature search, as the key words in these two item statements can be used for literature search purpose:
Key words for (I): "Artificial Intelligence application for service operation"; "Artificial intelligence application adoption"; "Artificial intelligence application implementation". or more broadly, "information system introduction" and "information system adoption".
Key words for (II): "Artificial intelligence application" "AI impact on competitive landscape"; "Business impact of AI" and "competitive landscape".
Finally, a reminder: management-concern items can be urgent (urgent management concern [umc]) and not urgent (management concern [mc]).
Related readings: on example 1 [for zone 1 items] and the long/short forms of management-concerns items. Also study example 3.
Note: for zone 2 [organizational capabilities] items, the item formulation is more straightforward as compared with that of zone 1[environmental drivers]. Zone 2 items are mainly about the weaknesses and inadequacy of certain organizational capability domains, such as human resource management competence, IT management competence, etc. Examples of items for zone 2 are:
Example 1: Management concern item 1 (Zone 2): Worried about the diminishing human resource management competence of ABC Ltd.
Example 2: Management concern item 2 (Zone 2): Uncertain about the adequacy of New Product Development competence of ABC Ltd.
A related reading:
Wednesday, 11 October 2023
Converting a factual statement into a management-concern item [zone 1]: example 1
Converting a factual statement into a management-concern item [for Zone 1]: example 1:
Very often, students have difficulty to formulate a proper management-concern item in the construction of a management-concern diagram. For example, an item not appropriately formulated can be:
Item as "automation solution replace low-tech workers".
Comment: This item does not clearly indicate a management-concern. It is mainly a factual statement (in the form of full sentence), which does not reveal why management should be worried or exited about it. For example, it does not indicate how it affects which area of organizational competence of an organization in which way". Thus, it is a poorly formulated management-concern item.
If the item is converted into: "Impact of automation solutions advancement on the low-tech worker requirements of ABC Ltd", then it becomes clearer that the management concern is about "the impact of xxx" (an external environmental driver item [zone 1]; it is also a variable, not a full sentence)..... on "low-tech worker staff requirements (a factor related to workforce competence (organizational capabilities item [zone 2]). Better still, the full statement is : "management concern about the impact of automation solution advancement on the low-tech worker requirements of ABC Ltd".
In terms of expression, thus, convert a statement in the form of full sentence into an object item: e.g. "The generation z is getting more interested in nonalcoholic drinks" [a factual statement in the form of sentence] should be rewritten as "Increasing interest by generation z to buy nonalcoholic drinks" [an item in the form of a variable, an object]. Better still, the researcher concern can be more clearly elaborated as: "Impact of increasing market demand on nonalcoholic drinks by the generation z on the sales performance of ABC Ltd". This item, in this case, is a Zone 1 item (environmental drivers).
For my illustration, I mainly demonstrate the way to formulate a management-concern item and it does not mean that I accurately guess the true intention behind the item formulation of the student in this case.
Another comment: this management item can now be converted into a theoretical framework item as: "to evaluate the impact of automation solution advancement on the low-tech worker requirements of ABC Ltd". This now constitutes a research objective statement. On the other hand, to convert a factual statement into a theoretical framework item is not feasible, also with unclear analysis intention and incorrect sentence structure: "to evaluate automation solution replace low-tech workers".
The discussion in this blog note is related to the subject of the agile literature review approach (ALRA); the disccussion is primarily applicable on zone 1 (environmental drivers) items with outgoing arrows, but without incoming arrows. See the diagram below:
Related readings:
* on example 2 and long/short forms of management-concerns items.
Monday, 9 October 2023
Research methodology and research method: a note
Research methodology and research method: a note
Research methodology = know-why (A) on know-how (B) [research method(s) choice + research method design choice] + know-how
Know-why: justification on (B) is based on:
Item 1. Research philosophy choice, which justifies a specific view [considered as appropriate by you] on (i) ontology (nature of reality) and (ii) epistemology (nature of knowledge and how learning (gaining justified belief [knowledge)
Item 2. Based on item 1 and your preliminary understanding of a particular topic of interest [based on preliminary literature review and other exploratory study], you (i) choose a specific research issue(s) and (ii) formulate your research objective(s) and research question(s) in a particular way. {In addition, knowledge of problem-exploration skills and consulting skills are useful to make decision on what specific research issue(s) to address. Such decision on issue choice is value-laden, not value-neutral.}
Based on items 1 and 2, you now justify your decision on (B) [research method(s) choice + research method design choice]
In short: research methodology = Research methodology = know-why (A) [justification on B] + know-how (B)
Sunday, 8 October 2023
A cognitive mapping study of “the impact of covid-19 on the Hong Kong society in 2023”
A cognitive mapping study of “the impact of covid-19 on the Hong Kong society in 2023”
The following news article is from Hong Kong Free Press (re: https://hongkongfp.com/2023/09/20/hong-kongs-wealth-gap-widens-as-city-sees-polarised-post-covid-recovery-ngo-oxfam-says/)
Quote
Hong Kong’s wealth gap widens as city sees ‘polarised’ post-Covid recovery, NGO Oxfam says, by KELLY HO12:51, 20 SEPTEMBER 2023
Hong Kong’s poorest made
almost 60 times less than the wealthiest in the first quarter of 2023, marking
the widest income gap in the city in decades, a study by Oxfam’s local office
has found.
In the first four months of
2023, the median monthly income of the poorest 10 per cent of households in
Hong Kong stood at HK$2,300, 57.7 times less than the wealthiest 10 per cent,
which earned HK$132,600, Oxfam Hong Kong said on Tuesday citing data from the
Census and Statistics Department.
The overall median household
income was HK$29,500 per month, marking a 1.7 per cent increase compared to
before the pandemic.
The overall poverty rate
reached 20 per cent in the first quarter, meaning more than 1.36 million people
were living poverty in Hong Kong, the NGO said. The wealth gap showed that
although the city had returned to normalcy following the pandemic, the path to
economic recovery for low-income and high-income families was “sharply
divided,” it said.
“Despite society returning to
normal, the problem of income inequality is becoming increasingly serious. The
slow recovery of low income families have sounded alarm bells for the whole
society,” said Karlina Tsang, director general of Oxfam Hong Kong.
Oxfam’s study found that
nearly 210,000 people – or 6.4 per cent of the city’s population with a job –
were living in poverty despite being employed. More than 80 per cent of this
group were employed in low-skilled jobs, with one in 10 workers in the retail,
accommodation, and food services sectors experiencing working poverty.
The city reported a 3.1 per
cent unemployment rate in the first quarter, which fell from 3.5 per cent in
the preceding quarter. The government said in a
economic report in May that unemployment and underemployment continued to
improve, but Oxfam said on Tuesday that employment remained “precarious,” as
some working in low-paid positions were laid off or dismissed after the
pandemic.
The NGO said the widening income disparity was partly due to the loss of low-skilled
jobs after the pandemic, pointing to a lower demand for cleaners. Some members
of low-income households also lost their jobs as operations were digitalised in
the post-Covid era, Oxfam said.
The government should adjust
the minimum wage annually to catch up with inflation and offer better income
protection, Oxfam said. A more generous minimum wage could also help the city
attract potential labour force, it said.
The authorities should also
promote the concept of a “living wage,” whereby people are paid enough to cover
their basic needs, such as accommodation and urgent medical fees for them and
their families, Oxfam said.
“Before importing foreign
labour, our organisation calls on the government to adjust the minimum wage,
create jobs for the most disadvantaged groups, and offer incentives to support
employment at the grassroots level,” Tsang said.
One potential incentives would
be improving childcare services, the NGO said, which could allow women from
low-income families, who were previously unable to join the workforce owing to
their duties as caretakers, to find jobs.
End quote
The following cognitive map is constructed
by me based on the news article above:
There are 4 categories of items:
Category A: Direct impact of covid-19
Item 1: Impact of covid-19
Item 2: Lower demand for cleaners
Item 3: More operation being digitalized
Category B: Immediate outcomes
Item 4: Reduce low paid jobs
Item 7: Improve participation in the labour market
Category C: Ultimate outcomes
Item 10: Increasing poverty rate, including working poverty
Item 11: Widening income gap in HK
Category D: Policy-related options
Item 5: Import more foreign labour
Item 6: Improve childcare services support
Item 8: More support of basic needs for the poor, e.g. accommodation
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