Extensive illustrations of people and animals in motion that break down the action in a step-by-step manner.

Today’s pressing political, social, economic, and environmental crises urgently ask for effective policy responses and fundamental transitions towards sustainability supported by a sound knowledge base and developed in collaboration between all stakeholders. This book explores how action research forms a valuable methodology for producing such collaborative knowledge and action. It outlines the recent uptake of action research in policy analysis and transition research and develops a distinct and novel approach that is both critical and relational. By sharing action research experiences in a variety of settings, the book seeks to explicate ambitions, challenges, and practices involved with fostering policy changes and sustainability transitions. As such it provides crucial guidance and encouragement for future action research in policy analysis and transition research. This text will be of key interest to scholars and students of policy analysis and transition research and more broadly to public administration and policy, urban and regional studies, political science, research and innovation, sustainability science, and science and technology studies. It will also speak to practitioners, policymakers and philanthropic funders aiming to engage in or fund action research.

Companies need more than just web analysts and data-savvy marketers to be successful–they need action heroes! While most of us never battle evil scientists or defuse nuclear warheads, successful web analysts benefit from the same attributes that fictional action heroes embody. As a web analyst, your main goal is to improve your organization’s online performance. You can become an “action hero” by translating analysis insights into action that generates significant returns for your company. How you approach analysis is critical to your overall success. In this book, web analytics expert Brent Dykes addresses the unique challenges facing analysts and online marketers working within small and large companies, teaching you how to move beyond reporting and toward analysis to drive action and change. Taking a principle-based rather than a tool-specific approach, Brent introduces you to the Action Hero Framework that breaks down the analysis process into three key stages: Prioritize (what to analyze), Analyze (how to analyze), and Mobilize (how to drive action). And he reinforces these topics with real-world examples and practical tips from seasoned analysts at leading companies. Defines the type of environment in which action heroes thrive–not just survive–as well as how to defeat the villains of web analytics that stand in the way Arms web professionals with a strategic framework for executing online analysis, as well as an arsenal of analysis techniques Reveals how companies need to be both data-driven and action-agile to drive business value from web analytics For more action hero resources and information, check out the book’s companion site at www.Analyticshero.com. "The ideas in this book will take you days (or even weeks) to work your way through, and they fly in the face of the emotional approach to marketing. The question is: would you rather have your competition lead the way with data and science when it comes to reaching your market, or are you going to go first? That's how it is with action heroes--no guts, no glory." - Seth Godin Author We Are All Weird "Don't let the jaunty, breezy style of this book throw you off. Brent successfully - and entertainingly - packs years of experience into these pages along with case studies and insightful help on getting the most out of web analytics, adding value to your company and boosting your career trajectory." - Jim Sterne Founder of eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit, author of "Social Media Metrics" and Chairman of the Digital Analytics Association

From emails relating to adoption over the Internet to discussions in the airline cockpit, the spoken or written texts we produce can have significant social consequences. The area of Mediated Discourse Analysis considers texts in their social and cultural contexts to explore the actions individuals take with texts - and the consequences of those actions. Discourse in Action: brings together leading scholars from around the world in the area of Mediated Discourse Analysis reveals ways in which its theory and methodology can be used in research into contemporary social situations explores real situations and draws on real data in each chapter shows how analysis of texts in their social contexts broadens our understanding of the real world. Taken together, the chapters provide a comprehensive overview to the field and present a range of current studies that address some of the most important questions facing students and researchers in linguistics, education, communication studies and other fields.

This accessible book gives academics, graduate students, and researchers a comprehensive overview of the vast, varied, and often confusing landscape of interpretive policy analysis. It is both theoretically informed and clear and jargon-free as it discusses the specific strengths and weaknesses of different interpretive approaches--all with a practical orientation towards doing policy analysis

This guidebook goes beyond people analytics to provide a research-based, practice-tested methodology for doing relational analytics, based on the science of relational coordination. We are witnessing a revolution in people analytics, where data are used to identify and leverage human talent to drive performance outcomes. Today’s workplace is interdependent, however, and individuals drive performance through networks that span department, organization and sector boundaries. This book shares the relational coordination framework, with a validated scalable analytic tool that has been used successfully across dozens of countries and industries to understand, measure and influence networks of relationships in and across organizations, and which can be applied at any level in the private and public sectors worldwide. Graduate students and practitioners in human resource management, health policy and management, organizational behavior, engineering and network analysis will appreciate the methodology and hands-on guidance this book provides, with its focus on identifying, analyzing and building networks of productive interdependence. Online resources include data appendices and statistical commands that can be used to conduct all these analyses in readers’ own organizations.