teaching and learning - action learning

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Critical Reflections on the benefits and limitations of ‘An Action Learning Set’ Christine Sterne 27 th September 2007 ABSTRACT I have to admit I have not been a fan of education theory. I feel that teaching and learning strategies have done little to truly assist lecturers at the ‘coal face’. The research I have read has seemed to me to be reiterating the bleeding obvious but renaming it in new ‘sexy’ jargon. Terms such as ‘transferable skills’ and ‘reflective practice’ are I feel essential components of good teaching and cannot be avoided, if you are doing your job properly. In this context Action Learning has been a terrific surprise. This paper will examine personal experiences and reflect on the experiences of ALS members; analyzing participants Conversation, Discourse, and Protocol in addition to evaluating the groups’ ‘Symbolic Interaction 1 ’. I will evaluate the contribution Action 1 Conversation analysis Discourse analysis Protocol analysisSociology/linguistics Sociology/linguistics PsychologyAnalysing the way in which talk is structurally organised, focusing on sequencing and turn-taking which demonstrate the way people give meaning to situations 1

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Strategies for teaching in higher education. Specific learning problems of artists and designers. Postgraduate learning, how to support researchers. Suggestions of how to evolve new natural learning environments.

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Page 1: Teaching and Learning - Action Learning

Critical Reflections on the benefits and limitations of ‘An Action Learning

Set’

Christine Sterne 27th September 2007

ABSTRACT

I have to admit I have not been a fan of education theory. I feel that teaching and

learning strategies have done little to truly assist lecturers at the ‘coal face’. The

research I have read has seemed to me to be reiterating the bleeding obvious but

renaming it in new ‘sexy’ jargon. Terms such as ‘transferable skills’ and ‘reflective

practice’ are I feel essential components of good teaching and cannot be avoided,

if you are doing your job properly.

In this context Action Learning has been a terrific surprise.

This paper will examine personal experiences and reflect on the experiences of

ALS members; analyzing participants Conversation, Discourse, and Protocol in

addition to evaluating the groups’ ‘Symbolic Interaction1’. I will evaluate the 1 Conversation analysis

Discourse analysis

Protocol analysisSociology/linguistics

Sociology/linguistics

PsychologyAnalysing the way in which talk is structurallyorganised, focusing on sequencing and turn-takingwhich demonstrate the way people give meaningto situations

Examining the way knowledge is produced within aparticular discourse and the performances, linguisticstyles and rhetorical devices used in particular accounts

Examining and drawing inference about the cognitiveprocesses that underlie the performance of tasksSymbolicinteractionismSociology/socialpsychologyExploring behaviour and social roles to understandhow people interpret and react to their environment

1

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contribution Action Learning has made to developing my PhD proposal. I will also

reflect on the benefits of action learning and suggest creative strategies to develop

learning in the future.

INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS ACTION LEARNING

Reg Revans is the originator of action learning. An award winning physicist and

Olympian, it was at Cambridge University that Revans developed the concept of

action learning. He experienced first hand the importance of team working,

collaborative thinking, and the creative effect of having views challenged by

coworkers. His clear incisive reasoning and elucidating definitions of specific

factors such as the difference between a puzzlei and a problem are pragmatic and

practical.

The innate appeal of Reg Revans’s methodology is that it is based on an ethical

attempt to resolve real-life problems. His consternation at the ridiculous and

ineffectual hierarchical management structure of the Titanicii and the deeply

embedded and stultifying class structure that was underlying this, due to its’

historical context; caused him to create an egalitarian learning environment within

the company structure, constructed to generate ‘the upward expression of doubt

(in contrast to the downward expression of certainty)’ [Margerson Charles. 1995]

to avoid such horrors re-occurring.

1. Participants experience

The Set Advisor had a diverse range of knowledge. Her experience of creating

new businesses and innovating existing businesses; both within the private and

public sectors in addition to her creative understanding as a practicing artist

allowed empathy with every ALS member. Using this erudition she was able to

connect with the existing knowledge of each participant to recommend highly

specific and personal strategies for both cognitive and affective learning.

Student One is a pedagogic researcher with a commitment towards resilient

therapy.

She was unsure how to advance her research and had not yet enrolled on the PhD

programme. Her research is involved with investigating how and why some

children are more resilient than others when confronted with emotional trauma,

abuse and problems. Her intentions were to find a means of disseminating her 2

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ideas to a wide audience; and to write a handbook for parental guidance.

Student Two is a graphic designer having completed a highly successful masters

programme is now researching her PhD; she is investigating Fugitive Moments

from the Edge of Memory: how Social History and artwork can be integrated to

reveal perceptions of women’s’ roles.

She was having problems finding the best matched supervisor. She was concerned

to strike a harmonic balance between a creative supervisor and a more theoretical

and academic supervisor who could challenge her intellectual concepts. She had to

complete an application for a research grant, and also had a responsibility as a

single parent to address problems of bullying at school with her young son and

negotiate a consensus with her ex-partner.

The Set Advisor recommended someone who could provide a list of supervisors.

Student Three (Me) I arrived at the ALS with an idea of researching the

semantics and archetypes contained in tarot cards and hopefully locating where

they originated and if they have a relationship with the kabbalah. I have a great

interest in alchemy, symbolism and semiotics.

My initial concern is to refine my research to a more specific area. It was

suggested that I should investigate female archetypes within tarot, as this was an

area of interest to me.

Student Four was researching for a professional doctorate in the area of

childhood bereavement and how this affects their educational progress. I was

impressed by his genuine concern and commitment towards resolving

bereavement issues for children who are often neglected by society at this difficult

and sensitive time.

After a detailed discussion it was suggested he should talk to his supervisor at the

next available meeting and renegotiate how to progress and make changes

regarding feedback and correspondence.

I felt a little worried by the amount of anger being expressed and a focus on

emotional issues rather than discussing and developing research ideas, which I

was very interested in.

Student Five is from a business background but with surprising areas of

knowledge in other subjects, particularly alternative theology. He is researching 3

Page 4: Teaching and Learning - Action Learning

reasons why ethics are not upheld within business and has great commitment to

engendering ethical and morally responsible attitudes in the workplace.

He is finalizing his in-depth proposal and analyzing what to pursue.

2. Review of participants learning from actions taken

Some of the problems outlined in Tom Bourner’s article Action Learning comes of

age are applicable to this experience.

The two comparable experiences were similar to those described in the ‘The

uncommitted set’ and the ‘The set adviser’s set’ but for very different reasons.

Student four did not continue the ALS; it was disappointing and upsetting, as he

would have made an interesting contribution. I tried to persuade him to re-attend

but he was not interested.

I think he felt it was not structured enough and he was extremely angry that

medical students can receive a masters in research after completing the URTF

whereas other students only receive a diploma.

It is interesting that a student on a professional doctorate course, which is

considered to have the highest level of support, seemed to need the greatest

amount of emotional support. This contradicts the assumptions of higher levels of

effective support in the article 'Professional Doctorates in England' [Bourner, Tom

et al. 2001.]

Both student one and student four seemed to have predominately emotional issues

to resolve; one participant was ex-services and had severe difficulty accepting the

‘ill-disciplined and lackadaisical’ university approach to time keeping and

deadlines. The other set member was undecided about their commitment to post-

graduate study and exceedingly nervous about embarking on a solo project without

the safety net of an organization to hide behind; both for reasons of professional

accountability and the implementation & publicizing of the research result.

Student one attended several sessions but failed to continue the module; again this

was a big disappointment and threatened the continuance of the ALS. Fortunately

the hard-core members had a firmer resolve.

Student two displayed great emotional intelligence and gave student one excellent

advice, student two has the ability to pinpoint underlying anxieties by creative and

incisive questioning.

She is sensitive and creative and her skills are in direct opposition to student five. 4

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Student five with many years experience in the business world was of great value

to me in structuring my ideas and organizing and developing arguments, he

displayed a passionate interest in my subject area and a great knowledge of the

Hindu and Buddhist religion which became increasingly relevant as my research

developed.

Student two had many unfounded insecurities it was very exciting for me when she

brought in her MA work, it is one thing to discuss ideas for creative pursuance,

quite another to see the artwork itself.

The formal structure of the URTF and its bias towards business and engineering,

caused student two’s confidence to nosedive. I have made recommendations to

combat this in section six.

3. Critical reflection of actions taken

What I found most surprising was the genuine lack of ego and the group

commitment to the greater good. It was as if we had taken an unspoken pledge to

work for the maximum benefit for all participants.

I was genuinely shocked, in retrospect, at how earnestly I pressurized myself to

meet targets set by myself in the company of peers. I was also greatly encouraged

by the level of warmth, support and genuine interest shown by participants. I have

certainly saved at least six months of research time in honing my ideas to specific

area of research.

The discussion of personal aims and setting personal targets has a much more

potent impetus on the work ethic of a student. The intimacy of the ALS structure

creates camaraderie and group loyalty especially in a post-graduate context

because issues of commitment have already been established. I feel the cross-

cultural nature of the participants was an unexpected bonus, really helping to

evaluate and synthesize ideas from multilateral perspectives.

Student five has certainly reflected on making his ethical code more culturally

current embracing issues of discrimination and postpositive postmodern research

values.

Student two has successfully surmounted a creative block and addressed issues of

an artists´ role within an academic setting.

4. Contribution of the ALS 5

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Understanding the emotional pressures and feelings of inadequacy felt by other

group members really helped put my own anxieties in perspective.

It was very useful to learn the linear logical organizational strategies of student

five to add to my repertoire of skills.

My initial reaction on meeting group members and the benefit of the many

stratagems and approaches I have learnt from the other contributors has taught

me not to judge anyone by appearances or first impressions.

Because of the structure of the ALS I have refined my research proposal from a

topic which makes supervisors shriek in horror (tarot [astrology, aromatherapy

anything new-age can have the same effect]) to a subject which is at the cutting

edge of systems theory and may well make a significant contribution to teaching

and learning.

My Research Proposal is ‘MAPPING THE UNIFIED FIELD; THE BLUEPRINT FOR

CREATION’

I will answer the following research questions;

This research will aim to prove that the unified field/super string field and the

universal consciousness are one and the same. (How the scientific explains the

metaphysical)

I will investigate the evidence that Hindu yantras & mantras and Buddhist

mandalas and the footprints of Buddha are an ancient attempt to catalogue the

unified field. (Lost or forgotten knowledge)

It is also deeply satisfying to have the chance to contribute to a leap in knowledge

or a eureka moment for another researcher.

5. Integration of reflective thinking and strategic thinking in researcher

development.

Reviewing the history of research it is possible to analyze the limiting factors in

the advancement of knowledge. In evaluating the history of research and

considering situations where research was discouraged it has been within societies

where there had been a dominant dogma. This is why I have come to believe in a

multi-disciplinary approach employing triangulation and phenomenology. There is

a tension between the current fashion for qualitative research in the Naturalistic

Paradigm; and the fact that, as Shank [Shank, Gary. 1995] so carefully points out,

Denzin and Lincolns’ [2005] methods rely on a positivist quantitative confirmation

for a qualitative method i.e. using triangulation. It is for this reason I advocate 6

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Plastic Paradigms.

The ‘Tomorrows World’ vision of the 1960’s has failed to materialize. In the 50’s

and 60’s it was imagined we would now be living a life of luxury and leisure,

serviced by robots and electrical appliances that would remove mundane tasks

from our lives. The development of artificial intelligence has proven infinitely more

complex than scientists and engineers envisioned prompting wonderment at the

phenomenal complexity of the natural world. The benefit of employing natural

systems are the three billion years of BETA testing they have already experienced.

Advances in neurological study have revealed how the brain is structured; it’s

plasticity and its capacity to be reconstructed.

The power of Action Learning is its focus on real and ethical solutions to genuine

problems. The benefit of natural, symbiotic and egalitarian solutions to real-life

problems avoids the pitfalls of unnatural and synthetic systems for example:

Communism, Behaviorism, and Freudian Psychoanalysis etc.

The structures of educational systems we have inherited are all the products of

patriarchal elitist society – and not necessarily the most creative solutions to

learning. It is clear from historical reflection that the formation of groups with

similar ideologies and aims are able to create groundbreaking leaps forward in

knowledge. i.e. The pre Raphaelites, the Bauhaus, the ‘William Morris’ group,

Renaissance artists…

The advances in physics created by quantum mechanics suggest and reiterate the

hermetic ideal of observing nature. Ideas and systems such as stigmergy are yet to

be fully explored. But successful examples such as Wikipedia, You Tube, and My

Space hint at the enormous creative potential [Elliott, M. 2006/7].

The phenomenal vision of Tim Berners Leeiii in gifting the Internet to humanity has

already allowed the development of stigmergic learning. The phenomenon of UNIX

and other freeware software has disproven the negative selfish model of humanity

that is the foundation of modern politics. i.e. we are all selfish individualsiv working

for our own selfish desires regardless of the impact on others [Curtis, A. 2007].

6. Strengths and limitations in researcher development.

Limitations of ALS

1. Competition – If the participants are in direct competition there will be

reluctance to share ideas and the group will collapse [Bourner, Tom et al.

1996].

2. Complex Subject –The limitations of action learning are probably within 7

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highly technical fields. I know in group discussions with engineers designing

engines I felt I had insufficient scientific and technical knowledge to suggest

innovative design stratagems.

If the participants are specializing in a field unable to be understood by the

rest of the group they will not receive directly apposite subject specific

creative solutions.

Although they may receive support and solutions to more general problems.

This need not mean that cross cultural action learning sets will not be highly

productive and inspirational. This is the trail-blazing future of action

learning. Its ability to generate original and provocative ideas, and the

opportunity for totally diverse disciplines to share and disseminate

information. Providing students with a commitment to cross cultural

research are selected the potential for original research is infinite.

3. Creative researchers - In this specific ALS and throughout the URTF

programme there was a bias towards academic subjects. Such situations may

alienate creative researchers; Artists and Designers – Within subjects, which

are traditionally creative and not academic, participants may feel inadequate

and inferior because they are working within such a different paradigm.

Some Solutions

1. Anonymous blogs/Anonymous feedback -

It would be useful in sensitive and political environments such as a university to

have anonymous feedback and blogs to enable realistic and honest discussion of

issues without fear of recrimination or negative perceptions.

2. Additional modules to support specialisms.

3. Email Buddies/Subgroups – support for known vulnerabilities.

4. Creative writing for emotional health.

Recent research has shown that if one writes down anxieties regularly it has

excellent benefits for long-term health. This could be a long-term project between

post-graduate courses and the medical research team. Post-graduate students

could vent anxieties anonymously which could be analyzed and the findings fed

back into redesigning and adapting learning environments.

5. Plastic paradigms.

In analyzing the history of research and considering situations where research was

discouraged it has been within societies where there had been a dominant dogma.

‘when opinion ossifies into dogma, vision can ossify into blindness’ is a

fundamental principle of phenomenology as outlined in Goethe’s way of seeing 8

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[Bortoft, H. 1996]. Learning frameworks should be plastic and malleable to allow

innovation and reinvention.

6. Students who leave their ALS module before completion should be required

to design their own set – this will ensure that issues which may not be

addressed otherwise are brought to the fore.

Personal Reflections

During ten years of teaching graduates I found that many art and design students

had ended up in art and design by default. Many students had had interrupted

educations for a variety of reasons;

Dyslexia

Army families

Parents from different cultural backgrounds

Moving from country to country or town to town

This meant they had fallen into art and design as a lack of continuity in academic

subjects had meant that art and design was the only available area to excel in.

Most problems arose in the second year, as this was when any issues of family

expectations, personal expectations and emotional problems came to the fore.

In post-graduate learning the pressures are different, as at this point it is certain

that issues of commitment and dedication are definite.

Throughout the action learning set the most common problem was a lack of

confidence and a need for encouragement. The other main issue was finding a

supervisor who shared the same philosophical values.

I found that this confidential group environment to be the most beneficial and

encouraging learning environment I have ever experienced.

Many students had emotional problems of confidence generally physiologically

related to status and educational background. I.e.: mature students felt under-

qualified isolated and ill equipped to cope with the protocols and politics of

academic life.

I suppose issues of paranoia are much more likely to raise their head in a post-

graduate environment. Lecturers may feel challenged and insecure when faced

with students who have superior knowledge.

EMOTIONAL SUPPORT

I have found the process of having a PhD proposal accepted a very testing

experience; much time has been spent shadow boxing. The introduction of the

URTF is an excellent development. It would be good to see the introduction of a

module specifically designed to support creative people. This could be useful to 9

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other disciplines such as engineering and software design.

There are many issues that artists and designers share.

1. Feelings of academic inferiority.

2. Creative blocks, lack of inspiration

3. Disenfranchisement.

4. Plagiarism. Fear of Failure, feeling unoriginal. Finding an artist has

produced similar work and feeling compromised.

There are many useful strategies that can enable artists to kick-start the creative

process.

Perhaps it would be an idea to create action-learning sets specifically for emotional

support. It has been recognized for a long time that isolation is the most

fundamental stress on a doctoral student (ABRC, 1982; Becher et al., 1994)

When researcher for my proposal I was shocked to learn how many researchers

had killed themselvesv. Analyzing the statistics and the status of the researching,

there seem to be three main reasons for this; inability to solve a puzzle or the

inability to revisit the intense excitement of originating a new theory or paradigm,

or alienation due to a vision far in advance of current understanding.

This understanding of the pressures of isolation in research have long been

recognized, ‘social and intellectual isolation’, [ABRC, 1982; Becher et al., 1994]

The trend towards professional doctorates will possibly partly alleviate this as

students are enrolled through cohorts.

This is an aspect of post-graduate education, which must be addressed by student

support systems; there is much good new research, which helps to pinpoint risk

factors.

The incisive research of Florida State University psychologist Thomas Joinervi, in

his article ‘Why People Die by Suicide’ (Harvard University Press, 2006) is very

elucidating: "People desire death when two fundamental needs are frustrated to

the point of extinction; namely, the need to belong with or connect to others, and

the need to feel effective with or to influence others."

CONCLUSIONS

NEW STRATEGIES FOR LEARNING

Gary Shank has begun to explore the possibilities of the type of strategies I am

advocating in his article ‘Semiotics and Qualitative Research in Education: The

Third Crossroad’ 1995.10

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He advocates combining semiotics in the peirceian model as an effective way of

structuring qualitative research so it may be evaluated with a rational evaluation

system.

The growing field of systems theory will provide new solutions and new models for

teaching and learning, which are based on natural systems and symbiotic

structures which have a successful evolutionary history.

Such as;

Stigmergy vii

The benefit of using natural biological systems as models is that they have the

benefit of 3 billion years of evolutionary Beta testing and are likely to be a very

sound and successful structural system.

Plastic Paradigms

It is always beneficial to allow an element of plasticity within the model, this is true

of morphogenetic systems and allows the model to be extended innovated and

reinvented as need be.

And here ends my love letter to Action Learning and the memory of Reg Revans.

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Books. 432 pages.i The problem had not to be a mere puzzle, namely something to which a solution could be said already to exist, provided some specialist acute enough could be let loose to find it; a problem is some embarrassment to the top management to which different reasonable, honest and experienced men would suggest different approaches, according to their personal value systems and individual past achievements (Revans, 1980).Revans, R.W. (1980), Action Learning - New Techniques for Management, Blond & Briggs, London, pp.44.

ii The sinking of the Titanic was to leave a lasting legacy in terms of Revans's ideas. His father was His Majesty's principal surveyor of mercantile shipping and was deeply concerned with the official inquiry into the sinking of the Titanic. The procession of poverty stricken sailors coming barefoot to his home to report on their experiences aboard the ill fated liner had a lasting impression on Revans.4 He heard time and time again how the sailors had tried to warn those in authority about the risks posed by trying to break the cross Atlantic record and how these views had been ignored, with disastrous results. The lesson was not lost on Revans. The need to value all views, regardless of hierarchy or status, and the importance of distinguishing between "cleverness and wisdom" underpinned his ideas on action learning and his advocacy of egalitarian approaches in learning sets.Available at http://careerfocus.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/329/7461/59

iii Weaving the Web by Tim Berners-Lee with Mark Fischetti, (Harper San Francisco; Paperback: ISBN:006251587X, Abridged audio cassette ISBN:0694521256) and several other languages. 1997.iv Freud´s nephew Edward Bernays invented public relations. Freud said humans are driven by inner desires and emotions; that deep within all humans are dangerous and irrational desires and fears. To create a stable society this severe barbarism must be repressed. The conscious mind or ego had to be manipulated to control the unconscious mind or id. [Curtis, A. 2002].

v Why People Die by Suicide, By Thomas Joiner, Harvard University, 288 pp., Jason Altom (1998), Ph.D. studentEtienne Jules Adolphe Desmier de Saint-Simon, Vicomte d'Archiac (1868) French geologist and paleontologist.Edwin Armstrong (1954), U.S. inventor of FM radio; jumped from a 13th floor window believing FM was a failureSir Richard Alan John Asher, MD, FRCP 1969 DoctorNina Karlovna Bari 1961 Russian mathematicianGertrude Bell (1926), archaeologist, writer, spy and administrator known as the "Uncrowned Queen of Iraq"Walter Benjamin (1940), German cultural theoristHans Berger (1941), German physician and inventor of electroencephalographyBruno Bettelheim (1990), American psychoanalyst

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LTSN BEST.

Burgoyne, J, Pedler, M, Boydell, T (1994), Towards the Learning Company.

Arthur Black 1893) mathematicianLudwig Eduard Boltzmann 1906 Austrian physicistPercy Williams Bridgman (1961) American physicist who won the 1946 Nobel Prize in PhysicsRenato Caccioppoli 1959 Italian mathematician.Wallace Hume Carothers (1937), world renowned chemist, suffered chronic depression; killed himself in a hotel in 1937Claude Chappe (1805), French inventorVere Gordon Childe (1957), Australian archaeologist and historian, jumped off Govett's Leap in the Blue MountainsAlasdair Clayre (1985), British academic, writer, broadcaster and singer, jumped in front of trainDr Robert George Clements physician Leonardo Conti 1945 Nazi DoctorRichard Croft (1818), obstetrician in attendance at Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales "triple obstetrical tragedy" shot himselfHoma Darabi 1994 pediatrician IranAnne Darquier 1970 psychiatristGuy Debord (1994), French philosopher, member of Situationist InternationalGilles Deleuze (1995), French philosopher, jumped from apartment windowDenice Denton (2006), University of California Chancellor, jumped from 42-story San Francisco apartment buildingOrville Adalbert Derby (1915) American geologist who worked in Brazil.Rudolf Diesel (1913), Inventor of the Diesel enginePaul Karl Ludwig Drude (1906) German physicist specializing in optics.Dr. Jonathan Drummond-Webb (2004), American heart surgeonGeorge Eastman (1932), inventor of the Eastman Kodak CameraPaul Ehrenfest (1933) Austrian physicist and mathematicianPaul Epstein 1939 German mathematicianRainer Werner Fassbinder (1982), German film director (often listed as a drug overdose)René Favaloro (2000), Argentinian doctor, creator of the coronary artery bypass surgeryPaul Federn (1950), Austrian-American psychoanalistHans Fischer (1945) German organic chemist and the recipient of the 1930 Nobel Prize for Chemistry.Andreas Floer 1991 German mathematicianSigmund Freud (1939), founder of psychoanalysis (lethal dose of morphine)Richard Gardner, M.D. 2003 clinical professor of psychiatryMichel Gauquelin (1991), French psychologist and astrology researcherHenri Giffard (1882), French aeronautical engineerKurt Gödel (1978), German logician and mathematician (refused to eat any food)Clara Immerwahr Haber (1915) German chemical engineer, wife of Dr. Fritz Haber whose army pistol she used soon after the first use of gas in WWIHannibal (182 BC), Carthaginian military commanderFelix Hausdorff (1942), mathematician, committed suicide with his wife and sister-in-law in a concentration camp

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Concepts and Practices, McGraw-Hill, London, .

Brockbank Anne, Mcgill Ian (2003) The Action Learning Handbook; Powerful

Techniques For Education, Professional Development And Training. Rev Ed. Taylor

& Francis Ltd (United Kingdom), 304 pages.

Burton, Neil., Smith, Robert., Mark Brundrett (ed), 2003, Leadership in Education

‘Page 195’ Sage Publications 224 pages.

Otto Hönigschmid (1945) Czech/Austrian chemist.Clara Immerwahr (1915) German Immerwahr studied at University of Breslau, attaining her degree and a Ph.D. in chemistry. She was the first woman Ph.D. at the University of Breslau.Isocrates (338 BC), Greek rhetoricianVittorio Jano (1965), automobile design engineerLuc Jouret 1994 Doctor Cult LeaderHugo Jury 1945, Austrian Nazi.Paul Kammerer (1926) biologist who studied Lamarckian inheritance.Dr. David Kelly (2003), British scientist, source of BBC story about the September DossierRobert William Kistner (1990) gynecologistJochen Klepper (1942)Arthur Koestler (1983), journalist, novelist, political activist, and social philosopherSarah Kofman (1994), French philosopherLawrence Kohlberg (1987) American psychologist.Dénes Kőnig 1944 Hungarian mathematicianNicolas Leblanc (1806) French chemist and surgeon who discovered how to manufacture soda from common salt.Valeri Alekseevich Legasov (1988) prominent Soviet scientist in the field of inorganic chemistryPrimo Levi (1987), Italian author and Auschwitz survivorMeriwether Lewis (1809), U.S. explorer with Clark; died in mysterious circumstances, either murder or suicideSir Albert William Liley (1983) New Zealand surgeon, fetuses in utero.Friedrich List (1846), German economistGang Lu (1991), Physics graduate student at the University of IowaGherasim Luca (1994), Romanian surrealistLucan (65), Roman poetAleksandr Mikhailovich Lyapunov (1918), Russian mathematician, mechanician and physicistJames MacCullagh 1847 Irish mathematician.James E. McDonald (1971) American physicist.Kenneth Christopher McKinstry (2006) researcher in artificial intelligence.Eugène Nielen Marais (1936) South African lawyer, naturalist, poet and writer. One of the first scientists to practice ethologyStefan Marinov (1997) Bulgarian physicist, researcher, writer and lecturer who promoted anti-relativistic theoretical viewpoints, and defended the ideas of perpetual motion and free energyViktor Meyer (1897) German chemist and significant contributor to both organic and inorganic chemistry.Frank Olson 1953 , American scientist (suicide)Clemens Peter Freiherr von Pirquet (1929) Austrian scientist and pediatrician, bacteriology and immunology.Nicos Poulantzas (1979), Greco-French Marxist political sociologistLev Genrikhovich Schnirelmann Russian 1938 Soviet mathematicianGeorge R. Price (1975) American population geneticist, Physical chemist, science journalist.

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Denzin, Norman K. Lincoln, Yvonna S. (27 April 2005) The SAGE Handbook of

Qualitative Research. Sage Publications, Inc; Third Edition edition. 1232 pages.

Gettings, Fred. (Nov 1988) Secret Symbolism in Occult Art. Random House Value

Pub. 159 pages.

Gibbons, M., Limoges, C., Nowtny, H., Schwartzman, S., Scott, P. & Trow, M.

Geoffrey Nathaniel Pyke (1948)British scientist and inventor (in British 1940s slang, a "boffin") whose generally unorthodox ideas were often very difficult to implement. In lifestyle and appearance, the stereotype of a "mad scientist".Ramanujan Indian MathematicianRudolph Schoenheimer (1941) German/ U.S. biochemist developed isotope tagging of biomolecules, enabling detailed study of metabolism.Seneca the Younger (65), was ordered to commit suicide by the emperor NeroEli Siegel (1978), founded Aesthetic RealismHerbert Silberer (1923) Viennese psychologistJames Leonard Brierley Smith, (1968), South African ichthyologist & paleoanatomistSocrates (399 BCE), Greek philosopher, ordered to drink hemlock juice after his trial in Athens. In the Crito, Socrates is offered a chance to escape but refusesSir Bernard Spilsbury (1947), U.K. forensic pathologist who helped convict Dr. Crippen; gassed himself in an oven at his laboratoryWilhelm Stekel (1940), Austrian psychoanalistDr. Elizabeth Sulzman of Oregon State University. Baron Franz Nopcsa von Felső-Szilvás (1933) Hungarian-born aristocrat, adventurer, scholar, and paleontologist. One of the founders of paleobiology and Albanian studies.Yutaka Taniyama (1958), Japanese mathematicianVictor Tausk (1919), pioneer psychoanalystMikhail Tomsky (1936), Russian revolutionaryEnrique Tornú (1901) Argentine physician and hygienist.Silvanus Trevail (1903), Cornish architect, shot himself in the lavatory of a trainFelipe Trigo (1916) Spanish writer and PhysicianAlan Turing (1954), British mathematician and computer scientistGeorge Washington Vanderbilt III (1961), American yachtsman and scientific explorerJohannes Vares (1946), Estonian poet, doctor and politicianVincent van Gogh (1890), Dutch Post-Impressionist artist, believed to have only sold one painting while alive, has become world famous since his death by self inflicted gun shot.Karl (or Carl) Wilhelm Verhoeff (1945) German zoologist, Myriapoda and woodlice.Roland Weißelberg (2006) Lutheran vicar set himself alight in the German town of Erfurt, where Martin Luther took his monastic vows in 1505, to warn against the danger of the Islamization of EuropeOtto Weininger (1903), Austrian philosopherHorace Wells (1848), dentist who pioneered the use of anesthesiaKevin Whitrick (2007), British electrical engineer, died by hangingDoctor Ralph Wilcox (1877), was the first teacher and practicing doctor in Portland, Oregon, United States.Alfred Witte (1941) German astrologer and founder of the Hamburg School of Astrology.Virginia Woolf (1941), British novelist, filled her pockets full of stones and walked into a river near her home.Edgar Zilsel (1944) Austrian historian and philosopher of science.Did 22 SDI Researchers really ALL Commit Suicide?

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(1994) The New

Production of Knowledge: the dynamics of science and research in contemporary

societies. Sage, London.

Kahn, E. Peter, David Baume. (2003) A Guide to Staff & Educational Development.

Routledge. 262 pages

Kelly, Kevin. (1994) Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines. London: Fourth

DOSSIER OF DEATH1) AUTO ACCIDENT--Professor Keith Bowden, 45, computer scientist, Essex University. In

March 1982 Bowden's car plunged off a bridge, into am abandoned rail yard. His death was listed as an accident.

2) MISSING PERSON--Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Godley, 49, defense expert, head of work-study unit at the Royal Military College of Science. Godley disappeared in April 1983. His father bequeathes him more than $60,000, with the proviso that he claim it be 1987. He never showed up and is presumed dead.

3) SHOTGUN BLAST--Roger Hill, 49, radar designer and draftsman, Marconi. In March 1985 Hill allegedly killed himself with a shotgun at the family home.

4) DEATH LEAP--Jonathan Walsh, 29, digital-communications expert assigned to British Telecom's secret Martlesham Health research facility (and to GEC, Marconi's parent firm). In November 1985 Walsh allegedly fell from his hotel room while working on a British Telecom project in Abidjan, Ivory Coast (Africa). He had expressed a fear for his life. Verdict: Still in question.

5) DEATH LEAP--Vimal Dajibhai, 24, computer-software engineer (worked on guidance system for Tigerfish torpedo), Marconi Underwater Systems. In August 1986 Dajibhai's crumpled remains were found 240 feet below the Clifton suspension bridge in Bristol. The death has not been listed as a suicide.

6) DECAPITATION--Ashaad Sharif, 26, computer analyst, Marconi Defense Systems. In October 1986, in Bristol, Sharif allegedly tied one end of a rope around a tree and the other end around his neck, then drove off in his car at high speed. Verdict: Suicide.

7) SUFFOCATION--Richard Pugh, computer consultant for the Ministry of Defense. In January 1987 Pugh was found dead, wrapped head-to- toe in rope that was tied four times around his neck. The coroner listed his death as an accident due to a sexual experiment gone awry.

8) ASPHYXIATION--John Brittan, Ministry of Defense tank batteries expert, Royal Military College of Science. In January 1987 Brittan was found dead in a parked car in his garage. The engine was still running. Verdict: Accidental death.

9) DRUG OVERDOSE--Victor Moore, 46, design engineer, Marconi Space Systems. In February 1987 Moore was found dead of a drug overdose. His death is listed as a suicide.

10) ASPHYXIATION--Peter Peapell, 46, scientist, Royal Military College of Science. In February 1987 Peapell was found dead beneath his car, his face near the tail pipe, in the garage of his Oxfordshire home. Death was due to carbon-monoxide poisoning, although test showed that the engine had been running only a short time. Foul play has not been ruled out.

11) ASPHYXIATION--Edwin Skeels, 43, engineer, Marconi. In February 1987 Skeels was found dead in his car, a victim of carbon-monoxide poisoning. A hose led from the exhaust pipe. His death is listed as a suicide.

12) AUTO ACCIDENT--David Sands, satellite projects manager, Eassams (a Marconi sister company). Although up for a promotion, in March 1987 Sands drove a car filled with gasoline cans into the brick wall of an abandoned cafe. He was killed instantly. Foul play has not been ruled out.

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Estate.

Kember, David. (2000) Action Learning and Action Research: Improving the

Quality of Teaching and Learning. Routledge.

Khanna, Madhu., Mookerjee, Ajit (foreword). (Sep 1981) Yantra: The Tantric

Symbol of Cosmic Unity. Thames & Hudson Ltd; New Ed edition. 176 pages.

13) AUTO ACCIDENT--Stuart Gooding, 23, postgraduate research student, Royal Military College of Science. In April 1987 Gooding died in a mysterious car wreck in Cyprus while the College was holding military exercises on the island. Verdict: Accidental death.

14) AUTO ACCIDENT--George Kountis, experienced systems analyst at British Polytechnic. In April 1987 Kountis drowned after his BMW plunged into the Mersey River in Liverpool. His death is listed as a misadventure.

15) SUFFOCATION--Mark Wisner, 24, software engineer at Ministry of Defense experimental station for combat aircraft. In April 1987 Wisner was found dead in his home with a plastic bag over his head. At the inqust, his death was rules an accident due to a sexual experiment gone awry.

16) AUTO ACCIDENT--Michael Baker, 22, digital-communications expert, Plessey Defense Systems. In May 1987 Baker's BMW crashed through a road barrier, killing the driver. Verdict: Misadventure.

17) HEART ATTACK--Frank Jennings, 60, electronic-weapons engineer for Plessey. In June 1987 Jennings allegedly dropped dead of a heart attack. No inquest was held.

18) DEATH LEAP--Russel Smith, 23, lab technician at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment. In January 1988 Smith's mangled body was found halfway down a cliff in Cornwall. Verdict: Suicide.

19) ASPHYXIATION--Trevor Knight, 52, computer engineer, Marconi Space and Defense Systems. In March 1988 Knight was found dead in his car, asphyxiated by fume from a hose attached to the tail pipe. The death was ruled a suicide.

20) ELECTROCUTION--John Ferry, 60, assistant marketing director for Marconi. In August 1988 Ferry was found dead in a company-owned apartment, the stripped leads of an electrical cord in his mouth. Foul play has not been ruled out.

21) ELECTROCUTION--Alistair Beckham, 50, software engineer, Plessey. In August 1988 Beckham's lifeless body was found in the garden shed behind his house. Bare wires, which ran to a live main, were wrapped around his chest. Now suicide note was found, and police habe not ruled out foul play.

22) ASPHYXIATION--Andrew Hall, 33, engineering manager, British Aero- space. In September 1988 Hall was found dead in his car, asphyxiated by fumes from a hose that was attached to the tail pipe. Friends said he was well liked, had everything to live for. Verdict: Suicide.

vi Thomas Joiner is earnest in his research because of a personal journey to reach profound understandings of the underlying contributory reasons for his fathers suicide. He further explains other risk factors. The first is ``perceived burdensomeness," a belief that one has ceased to contribute in useful ways to life and has thus become a burden on others. The second is ``failed belongingness," social disconnection and isolation expressing itself through a devastating sense of aloneness. The third factor in Joiner's theory is the development of the capacity to perpetrate lethal self-injury. Joiner identifies the root and branch of this ability in repeated painful experiences that desensitize the individual to the ultimate injury.

vii Stigmergy definitions19

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Margerison, Charles. (1999) Action Learning at Work - with Gordon

Prestoungrange and Jean Whittiker -The Association of International Management

Centres.

Mookerjee, Ajit (1971) Tantra Art its Philosophy & Physics, Ravi Kumar, New York.

Revans, Reginald W. (1980) Action Learning: New Techniques for Management. 

Blond & Briggs. 320 pages.

Sheldrake, Rupert. (1995) A New Science of Life. Park Street Press. 272 pages.

Sheldrake, Rupert. (1995) The Presence of the Past: Morphic Resonance and the

Habits of Nature. Park Street Press. 416 pages.

Wilkinson, David. (2005) The Essential Guide to Postgraduate Study. Sage

Publications, 330 pages.

Background Reading

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Campbell, Joseph. (1969) The Masks of God: Occidental Mythology.New York:

Franz Narada lists distinctions for three phases in the development of peer production, based on the intensity of the collaboration between peers, and its relation with the for-profit mode of production.”’1. The classical “prosumer mode”, in which everybody is working basically for themselves in using and customizing productive abilities created or reinforced by industrial products that enable people do use “embodied potentials” of information and automation. Alvin Toffler has discovered that in the eighties, but only Shosanna Zuboff recently formulated that this will result in a “Copernican shift” where the value-creation in the classical sense is replaced by the support economy.2. The “swarm mode in which people are loosely aggregated in doing things, either for themselves (ebay,musicsharing) or for an external task that uses the “least effort” way (Seti@home and successors)3. The “community mode”, in which the team up in new forms of voluntary social organisation. (classical example Free Software). The interesting thing is that this three modes are pretty separated, but there is a “hidden continuum” structurally connecting them, they become “mutual enablers”. Michel Bauwens, p2pfoundation.net Available at http://stigmergiccollaboration.blogspot.com/2006/05/defining-stigmergy-part-1.html

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