The Emerging Researcher

This book reports on research and practice on computational thinking and the effect it is having on education worldwide, both inside and outside of formal schooling. With coding becoming a required skill in an increasing number of national curricula (e.g., the United Kingdom, Israel, Estonia, Finland), the ability to think computationally is quickly becoming a primary 21st century “basic” domain of knowledge. The authors of this book investigate how this skill can be taught and its resultant effects on learning throughout a student's education, from elementary school to adult learning.

In this book, the authors discuss some of the main challenges and new opportunities in science and engineering research, which involve combining computational and experimental approaches as a promising strategy for arriving at new insights into composition–structure–property relations, even at the nanoscale. From a practical standpoint, the authors show that significant improvements in the material/biomolecular foresight by design, including a fundamental understanding of their physical and chemical properties, are vital and will undoubtedly help us to reach a new technological level in the future.

New media forums have created a unique opportunity for citizens to participate in a variety of social and political contexts. The public is able to interact more effectively in activities within their communities as new technologies are being created and utilized. Technology and the New Generation of Active Citizens: Emerging Research and Opportunities is a pivotal reference source for the latest research findings on the use of information and communication technologies for active citizen engagement. Featuring extensive coverage on relevant areas such as digital competence framework, multimedia, and social media, this publication is an ideal resource for professionals, consultants, university teachers, practitioners, community organizers, government administrators, citizens, and activists.

Progression in sustainable sports practices is an up-and-coming area of research that also has an overarching impact on other professional fields. Analyzing the latest trends and methods in this niche area allows for further advancements in the field of sustainability. Grassroots Sustainability Innovations in Sports Management: Emerging Research and Opportunities is a crucial resource that offers an in-depth discussion on growth in the sports sector and how incorporating sustainable practices in this field’s rising trajectory can further enhance its impact. Highlighting pertinent topics including innovation dynamics, management studies, corporate social responsibility, and systemic change, this publication is ideal for academicians, students, and researchers that are interested in expanding their knowledge of intertwining sustainable actions with sports administration.

An intellectual property discussion is central to qualitative research projects, and ethical guidelines are essential to the safe accomplishment of research projects. Undertaking research studies without adhering to ethics may be dangerous to researchers and research subjects. Therefore, it is important to understand and develop practical techniques for handling ethics with a specific focus on qualitative projects so that researchers conducting this type of research may continue to use ethical practices at every step of the project. Data Analysis and Methods of Qualitative Research: Emerging Research and Opportunities discusses in detail the methods related to the social constructionist paradigm that is popular with qualitative research projects. These methods help researchers undertake ideal qualitative projects that are free from quantitative research techniques/concepts all while acquiring practical skills in handling ethics and ethical issues in qualitative projects. The chapters each contain case studies, learning outcomes, question and answer sections, and discuss critical research philosophies in detail along with topics such as ethics, research design, data gathering and sampling methods, research outputs, data analysis, and report writing. Featuring a wide range of topics such as epistemology, probability sampling, and big data, this book is ideal for researchers, practitioners, computer scientists, academicians, analysts, coders, and students looking to become competent qualitative research specialists.

Modeling techniques provide ample opportunities for progress across numerous fields. When analyzing complex systems, new methods allow for a deeper understanding of system dynamics. Method of Systems Potential (MSP) Applications in Economics: Emerging Research and Opportunities is an innovative source of academic research that examines the Method of Systems Potential for complex systems analysis in economical contexts. Highlighting critical perspectives on topics such as system efficiency, adaptive algorithms, and variable parameters, this book is ideally designed for researchers, academics, graduate students, and practitioners interested in the latest uses and applications of modeling techniques.

Surface texturing has been recognized as a method for enhancing the tribological properties of surfaces for many years. Adding a controlled texture to one of two faces in relative motion can have many positive effects, such as reduction of friction and wear and increase in load capacity. To date, the true potential of texturing has not been realized due to the severe lack of detailed information about the mechanistic functional details of texturing in a tribological situation. Inspiration and Design for Bio-Inspired Surfaces in Tribology: Emerging Research and Opportunities is a pivotal reference source that focuses on surface engineering techniques to mimic biological materials. Highlighting a broad range of topics including bio-mimetics, contact analysis, and thermodynamics, this book is ideally designed for engineers, environmentalists, academicians, researchers, and students.

Every educational research project has challenges and obstacles that need to be managed and overcome. This book uses real case studies employing a wide range of research methodologies and drawn from educational contexts across Europe to explore these challenges offering flexible and universal guidance that you can apply to your own research. Published in partnership with EERA, this book is: · Realistic and informed: It explores a range of perspectives on educational research, from planning to data collection to international collaboration · Challenging: It integrates a holistic and critical view on the process of educational research · Culturally aware: It covers a variety of research projects from different countries and encourages you to challenge dominant perspectives in education This is the first major English language textbook for postgraduate and postdoctoral education researchers that represents and explores the range of research traditions that exist throughout Europe and what they mean in practice.