This paper presents a design-based research study on the reporting of intellectual capital in firms. It combines the designing of an organizational development (OD) intervention with the testing of the intervention using an action research methodology. A growing gap between theory-based research and practice has been identified as one of the reasons for a lack of renewal in the field of OD. Design-based research (DBR) has been proposed as a methodology that can help bridge the gap between research and practice. The purpose of the paper is to illustrate what a comprehensive methodology for design-based research can look like and to demonstrate the type of OD knowledge this research can produce. The design approach is used to design and test a tool for the reporting of intellectual capital within firms as an OD intervention into the individual and collective sensemaking of managers.
Recently several attempts were undertaken to unite the field of metaphor studies, trying to reconcile the conceptual/cognition and linguistic/discourse approaches to metaphor (Hampe, 2017b). The dynamic view of metaphor espoused by amongst others Gibbs (2017a) as a way to unify the field of metaphor studies is said to converge on findings and theoretical predictions found in cognition and discourse approaches. The author argues this focus on dynamical models to explain the multi-scale socio-cognitive aspects of metaphor as an emergent phenomenon is not robust enough. Complexity and dynamical systems are merely a modelling technique to deploy theory for empirical testing of hypotheses; a dynamic view of metaphor needs a coherent background theory to base its dynamic modelling of metaphor in action on (Chemero, 2009). I argue that it can be successfully based on the ecological-enactive framework available within the modern paradigm of 4E cognitive science. This framework makes possible explanation of both 'lower' cognition and 'higher' cognition emerging in the interaction of an organism with its environment. In addition, I sketch how recent theoretical insights from ecological-enactivism (Baggs and Chemero, 2018) concerning Gibson's notion of environment apply to the attempted unification of the field of metaphor studies. I close by suggesting how an understanding of metaphor as an ecological affordance of the socio-cultural environment can provide a rich basis for empirical hypotheses within a dynamical science of metaphor.
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The key goal was to further develop, secure and disseminate knowledge and concepts concerning the role of high realism in Virtual Reality. It followed the Digital Media Concept professorship to create and examine the effects of high quality worlds and characters in VR. Key focus was on the effect of high versus low realism in (existing and non-existing) digital environments as well as digital characters and avatars (digital representations of human users) and embodied agents (digital representations of computer programs that have been designed to interact with, or on behalf of, a human). This means on the one hand getting better equipment and skills to digitize and create high realistic avatars in VR. And on the other hand this means that a better understanding of the concept of realism and quality is needed. This encompasses a whole range of terms that varies from realistic resemblance, to high fidelity appearance and (real-time interactive and authentic) behaviour based on high AI programming. Research showed that very important is congruency in realism between elements within a VR world. Furthermore it showed that high realism is not always needed to stimulate ‘real’ (VR) behaviour. High immersive experiences and impulse behaviour also functions in virtual environments that have lower levels of realism. Studies have been conducted within the field of health, entertainment, advertising, architecture and journalism. An example is the VR game Descend, see link (used to examine the effect of realism through resemblance).Partners: Radboud University, Enversed, Stanford University, University of Oregon, Cornell University, several companies