There is increasing emphasis on the outcomes of research in terms of its impact on wider society. However in the social sciences the ways in which research is taken up and used, discussed, shared and applied in different policy, practice and wider settings is complex. This thesis set out to investigate the ways in which social research was used by various non-academic actors, and to explore what impact it had in order to develop methods for understanding and assessing impact. The research investigated what research impact is, how it occurs, and how it might be assessed. The research was in two phases: firstly, a case study of a research partnership between a research centre and a voluntary organisation; and, secondly, the development and seeking feedback on a framework to assess impact. The care study employed two main approaches: forward-tracking - from research to policy and/or practice - and backward tracking - from policy back to research. Both phases were conducted through a practitioner-research approach, bringing experience of working with the projects involved into the heart of the research model. The study found many ways the research from the partnership had been used in different sectors by different actors. Impacts from the research were harder to identify. In cases where there were clear impacts, the actors involved had adapted research to fit the context for research use in order to create impact. Research users continued to draw on the research for many years after publication, creating further impact as new policy or practice agendas arose. The framework used a 'pathways to impact' model to develop a theory-based approach to assessing impact and to create categories for data collection. The ways in which research might impact on policy and practice are many and cannot be easily predicted. Concepts from complexity theory, particularly a focus on relationships, an understanding of context and the concept of emergence have been useful in framing the picture of impact generated from this research. Any assessment of impact from social research needs to acknowledge that many actors are involved in the process of research being taken up and used, and impact cannot be achieved from the supply side alone. Partnership research, between an academic and voluntary sector organisation, facilitated the use and impact of the research in many ways. The thesis reconceptualises ideas about how research impacts on society, suggesting the concept of 'contribution' is more accurate and useful than attribution. It also adds to the body of empirical work on the processes of impact, and in particular of the role of research partnerships in increasing impact. It suggests that process-based approaches to assessing impact that acknowledge complexity may be fruitful in developing impact assessment methodology.

Yes / Consultation is an important feature of research and, increasingly, researchers are required to work in partnership with stakeholders to increase the impact of their work. Our aim is to demonstrate what can be learned from the scholarship on, and practice of, member checking to facilitate productive knowledge exchange. Using dialogical analysis we explore three member check interactions from three different qualitative psychology projects focusing our analysis on difficult moments between researchers and participants conceptualised here as ‘sore spots’. We identify two major genres in these sequences: participant ambivalence and participant challenge. We then consider passages that allow us to explore a more theoretical understanding of these two genres in terms of the metaphor of portraits and mirrors. Overall, we outline how implicit epistemologies and theories of subjectivity (uncomplicated, blank, and complex) may be linked to the way in which stakeholders approach research. We also provide a map with regard to the theories within which member checks can be undertaken, associated research practices in terms of a range of researcher responses to stakeholder ambivalence and challenge, and implications of these moments for knowledge exchange for qualitative research but also for psychological science as a whole. We conclude that sore spots in knowledge exchange process can be productive opportunities of transformational validity.

Innovation programmes require organisations to transfer both technology and knowledge to the diverse actors who operate within innovation eco-systems. The changing relationship between science and society has witnessed the growth of public private partnerships (PPP) to create new knowledge, while also triggering the emergence of a new role for universities as catalysts for innovation. This brings many challenges, stemming from the inherent nature of knowledge and the complex interactions involved with inter-disciplinary knowledge transfer. Concurrently, these public-funded programmes come under increasing scrutiny to demonstrate greater societal and economic impact as a return on research investment. Knowledge generated within the UK low carbon energy innovation system has the potential to facilitate the achievement of national emission targets. However, while knowledge may be successfully created, there is no guarantee that it will be disseminated and utilised in a way that contributes to the achievement of knowledge-related objectives. Current literature concentrates on the micro level inhibitors and enablers of knowledge transfer; however, a gap in empirical work which investigates system level knowledge interactions is evident. Research and practical application in this field has historically centred on technology transfer whilst under-emphasising the crucial role of knowledge within this complex, socio-technical innovation system. The overall aim of this qualitative study is to achieve a better understanding of the influences of knowledge transfer across a defined innovation system. This is achieved through the perceptions of participants via two case studies; one in a PPP and one in a University. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty-eight participants, along with document analysis and participant observation at workshops, to investigate the participant perceptions. A three tier (macro-, meso- and micro-level) data analysis approach was adopted to reflect the systems level interactions. The study found that knowledge transfer is often perceived as the dissemination of information via explicit forms of knowledge, which may or may not be used by stakeholders to achieve innovation objectives. The main barriers to stakeholders utilising knowledge included: accessibility to knowledge; fit-for-purpose knowledge; stakeholder motivation/ability to use the knowledge; and viewing knowledge as an object. While there is an emerging impact agenda in academia, cultural and normative influences direct researchers towards traditional academic outputs (e.g. publications). Knowledge utilisation by stakeholders was found to be maximised through relational, stakeholder driven models, which view knowledge as a process. Knowledge utilisation was context specific, and, due to complex system influences, was never guaranteed to occur. Although planning for knowledge utilisation was undertaken at both the PPP and the University, implementing and measuring results was found to be difficult due to dynamic system influences such as understanding stakeholder motivations, resourcing constraints and complexity in the desired project outcomes. This makes adaptability and responsiveness important qualities for knowledge producers, while also necessitating specific skill sets. Based on this work, a set of principles were developed which should guide more effective utilisation of knowledge and promote more impactful research outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Big data offers new opportunities to enhance healthcare practice. While researchers have shown increasing interest to use them, little is known about what drives research impact. We explored predictors of research impact, across three major sources of healthcare big data derived from the government and the private sector. METHODS: This study was based on a mixed methods approach. Using quantitative analysis, we first clustered peer-reviewed original research that used data from government sources derived through the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), and private sources of data from IBM MarketScan and Optum, using social network analysis. We analyzed a battery of research impact measures as a function of the data sources. Other main predictors were topic clusters and authors’ social influence. Additionally, we conducted key informant interviews (KII) with a purposive sample of high impact researchers who have knowledge of the data. We then compiled findings of KIIs into two case studies to provide a rich understanding of drivers of research impact. RESULTS: Analysis of 1,907 peer-reviewed publications using VHA, IBM MarketScan and Optum found that the overall research enterprise was highly dynamic and growing over time. With less than 4 years of observation, research productivity, use of machine learning (ML), natural language processing (NLP), and the Journal Impact Factor showed substantial growth. Studies that used ML and NLP, however, showed limited visibility. After adjustments, VHA studies had generally higher impact (10% and 27% higher annualized Google citation rates) compared to MarketScan and Optum (p<0.001 for both). Analysis of co-authorship networks showed that no single social actor, either a community of scientists or institutions, was dominating. Other key opportunities to achieve high impact based on KIIs include methodological innovations, under-studied populations and predictive modeling based on rich clinical data. CONCLUSIONS: Big data for purposes of research analytics has grown within the three data sources studied between 2013 and 2016. Despite important challenges, the research community is reacting favorably to the opportunities offered both by big data and advanced analytic methods. Big data may be a logical and cost-efficient choice to emulate research initiatives where RCTs are not possible.

An ongoing conversation in the Information Systems literature addresses the concern, "How can we conduct research that makes a difference?" A shortage of high-impact research will, over time, challenge the identity and weaken the viability of IS as an academic discipline. This paper presents the systematic high-impact research model (SHIR), an approach to conducting high-impact research. SHIR embodies the insight gained from three streams of high-impact research programs spanning more than 50 years. The SHIR framework rests on the proposition that IS researchers can produce higher-impact contributions by developing long-term research programs around major real-world issues, as opposed to ad hoc projects addressing a small piece of a large problem. These persistent research programs focus on addressing the entirety of an issue, by leveraging multidisciplinary, multiuniversity research centers that employ a breadth of research methods and large-scale projects. To function effectively, SHIR programs must be sustained by academic and practitioner partnerships, research centers, and outreach activities. We argue that SHIR research programs increase the likelihood of high impact research.

This diploma thesis combines the method of monitoring the social impact with the phenomenon of the credibility of non-profit organizations. According to the results of public opinion polls in the Czech Republic, confidence in non-profit organizations has been low for a long time. Lack of transparency and low awareness of the activities and principles of non- profit organizations can be reasons for distrust in non-profit organizations. This thesis aims to present a method of monitoring the impact of those who do not yet know it using a manual based on the results of action research and thus contribute to greater transparency and better presentation of results and later greater credibility of organizations. The theoretical part of the thesis deals with trust and credibility, the method of monitoring the impact and the introduction of the non-profit sector of the Czech Republic. Emphasis is placed on a multi-sided view, practical examples, and data support. The empirical part of this work uses action research and human-centerd design to connect trust and credibility with the method of monitoring the impact in the sphere of non-profit organizations. The result of action research is that the implementation of the impact monitoring method brings with it many changes, which can be distinguished into...

2022 fanden die 9. Jahrestagung des Deutschen Ausschusses für Stahlbeton (DAfStb) sowie das 61. DAfStb-Forschungskolloquium am 26. und 27. September in Dresden direkt im Vorfeld der 14. Carbon- und Textilbetontage statt. Gastgeber waren die Institute für Baustoffe (IfB) und Massivbau (IMB) der Technischen Universität Dresden. Thematische Schwerpunkte waren Impaktbelastungen, Ingenieurbau, Ermüdung und Dauerhaftigkeit, Frischbeton und Rheologie, additive Fertigung und Sensorik sowie Carbonbeton. Der vorliegende Tagungsband enthält alle Beiträge in deutscher oder englischer Sprache.:Themenschwerpunkt Impakt Cesare Signorini, Viktor Mechtcherine: Mineral-bonded composites for enhanced structural impact safety: The vision of the DFG GRK 2250 Ahmed Tawfik, Viktor Mechtcherine: On the shear behavior of mineral-bonded composites under impact loading Lena Leicht: Charakterisierung von mineralisch gebundenen Kompositen zur Impaktdämpfung Franz Bracklow: Rückseitige Verstärkung von Stahlbetonplatten unter Impaktbeanspruchung Themenschwerpunkt Ingenieurbau Steffen Marx: Ingenieurbau im Bestand Conrad Pelka: Sanierung von Gewölbebrücken Max Herbers: Langzeitverformung semi-integraler Talbrücken – Messung und Simulation Fabian Klein: Modellierung der Torsionstragfähigkeit segmentierter Betontürme auf Basis der Wölbtheorie dünnwandiger Stäbe Jan-Hauke Bartels: Robuste, lebensdauerumfassende Monitoringkonzepte für Offshore-Windenergieanlagen Themenschwerpunkt Ermüdung und Dauerhaftigkeit Dominik Junger, Viktor Mechtcherine: Ermüdungsverhalten von hochduktilem Kurzfaserbeton Raúl Beltrán: Untersuchung von ermüdungsbedingten Veränderungen der Ultraschallgeschwindigkeit in Beton Marc Koschemann: Rissbreitenentwicklung unter Langzeitbelastung anhand lokaler Verbundbeziehungen Daniel Gebauer: Rissbildung und Rissbreitenentwicklung bei Stahlbetonbauteilen unter verformungsinduziertem Zwang Michaela Reichardt, Steffen Müller, Viktor Mechtcherine: Erhöhung der Dauerhaftigkeit von Wasserbauwerken durch faserbewehrte, zementgebundene Komposite Themenschwerpunkt Frischbeton und Rheologie Rolf Breitenbücher, Udo Wiens, Mirsada Omercic: Wandel im Betonbau – Aktuelle Herausforderungen Daniil Mikhalev, Viktor Mechtcherine, Dario Cotardo, Michael Haist: Pumpverhalten und Blockierungsneigung von Beton: Erkenntnisse aus Großversuchen Irina Ivanova, Silvia Reißig, Viktor Mechtcherine: Vergleich von Bewertungsmethoden für die rheologischen Eigenschaften von frisch gedrucktem Beton Slava Markin, Viktor Mechtcherine: Rissbildung in 3D-gedruckten Betonelementen infolge plastischen Schwindens: Ursachen und Quantifizierungsmethoden Steffen Müller, Viktor Mechtcherine: Alternative mineralische Baustoffe – Potentiale und Eigenschaften Themenschwerpunkt Additive Fertigung und Sensorik Viktor Mechtcherine: Additive Fertigung mit Beton Tobias Neef, Viktor Mechtcherine: Additiv gefertigter Carbonbeton mit mineralischer Tränkung der Garne Egor Ivaniuk, Viktor Mechtcherine: Formwork-free, continuous production of variable frame elements for modular shell structures Markus Taubert, Viktor Mechtcherine: 3D-druckbarer Normalbeton mit grober Gesteinskörnung Sebastian Hegler, Marco Liebscher, Viktor Mechtcherine, Dirk Plettemeier: Rissdetektion und -lokalisierung in Betonstrukturen mittels Auswertung elektromagnetischer Hochfrequenzwellen Themenschwerpunkt Carbonbeton Norbert Will: DAfStb-Richtlinie „Betonbauteile mit Nichtmetallischer Bewehrung“ – Von Forschung und Pilotprojekten zum Regelwerk Nazaib Ur Rehman, Harald Michler: Existing codes and guidelines for durability design of FRP reinforcement Peter Betz: Carbonbeton unter Druck – Einfluss von Querdruck und Querzug Enrico Baumgärtel: Untersuchung von Stäben und Gelegen aus rezyklierten Carbonfasern Iurii Vakaliuk: Use of pervading internal shell-type substructures to dissolve compact components / 2022, the 9th Annual Conference of the Deutscher Ausschusses für Stahlbeton (German Committee for Reinforced Concrete, DAfStb) and the 61st DAfStb Research Colloquium took place on 26 and 27 September in Dresden directly in the run-up to the 14th Carbon and Textile Concrete Days. It was hosted by the Institutes for Building Materials (IfB) and Concrete Structures (IMB) of the Technische Universität Dresden. The main topics were impact loads, civil engineering, fatigue and durability, fresh concrete and rheology, additive manufacturing and sensor technology as well as carbon reinforced concrete. The present conference proceedings contain all contributions in German or English.:Themenschwerpunkt Impakt Cesare Signorini, Viktor Mechtcherine: Mineral-bonded composites for enhanced structural impact safety: The vision of the DFG GRK 2250 Ahmed Tawfik, Viktor Mechtcherine: On the shear behavior of mineral-bonded composites under impact loading Lena Leicht: Charakterisierung von mineralisch gebundenen Kompositen zur Impaktdämpfung Franz Bracklow: Rückseitige Verstärkung von Stahlbetonplatten unter Impaktbeanspruchung Themenschwerpunkt Ingenieurbau Steffen Marx: Ingenieurbau im Bestand Conrad Pelka: Sanierung von Gewölbebrücken Max Herbers: Langzeitverformung semi-integraler Talbrücken – Messung und Simulation Fabian Klein: Modellierung der Torsionstragfähigkeit segmentierter Betontürme auf Basis der Wölbtheorie dünnwandiger Stäbe Jan-Hauke Bartels: Robuste, lebensdauerumfassende Monitoringkonzepte für Offshore-Windenergieanlagen Themenschwerpunkt Ermüdung und Dauerhaftigkeit Dominik Junger, Viktor Mechtcherine: Ermüdungsverhalten von hochduktilem Kurzfaserbeton Raúl Beltrán: Untersuchung von ermüdungsbedingten Veränderungen der Ultraschallgeschwindigkeit in Beton Marc Koschemann: Rissbreitenentwicklung unter Langzeitbelastung anhand lokaler Verbundbeziehungen Daniel Gebauer: Rissbildung und Rissbreitenentwicklung bei Stahlbetonbauteilen unter verformungsinduziertem Zwang Michaela Reichardt, Steffen Müller, Viktor Mechtcherine: Erhöhung der Dauerhaftigkeit von Wasserbauwerken durch faserbewehrte, zementgebundene Komposite Themenschwerpunkt Frischbeton und Rheologie Rolf Breitenbücher, Udo Wiens, Mirsada Omercic: Wandel im Betonbau – Aktuelle Herausforderungen Daniil Mikhalev, Viktor Mechtcherine, Dario Cotardo, Michael Haist: Pumpverhalten und Blockierungsneigung von Beton: Erkenntnisse aus Großversuchen Irina Ivanova, Silvia Reißig, Viktor Mechtcherine: Vergleich von Bewertungsmethoden für die rheologischen Eigenschaften von frisch gedrucktem Beton Slava Markin, Viktor Mechtcherine: Rissbildung in 3D-gedruckten Betonelementen infolge plastischen Schwindens: Ursachen und Quantifizierungsmethoden Steffen Müller, Viktor Mechtcherine: Alternative mineralische Baustoffe – Potentiale und Eigenschaften Themenschwerpunkt Additive Fertigung und Sensorik Viktor Mechtcherine: Additive Fertigung mit Beton Tobias Neef, Viktor Mechtcherine: Additiv gefertigter Carbonbeton mit mineralischer Tränkung der Garne Egor Ivaniuk, Viktor Mechtcherine: Formwork-free, continuous production of variable frame elements for modular shell structures Markus Taubert, Viktor Mechtcherine: 3D-druckbarer Normalbeton mit grober Gesteinskörnung Sebastian Hegler, Marco Liebscher, Viktor Mechtcherine, Dirk Plettemeier: Rissdetektion und -lokalisierung in Betonstrukturen mittels Auswertung elektromagnetischer Hochfrequenzwellen Themenschwerpunkt Carbonbeton Norbert Will: DAfStb-Richtlinie „Betonbauteile mit Nichtmetallischer Bewehrung“ – Von Forschung und Pilotprojekten zum Regelwerk Nazaib Ur Rehman, Harald Michler: Existing codes and guidelines for durability design of FRP reinforcement Peter Betz: Carbonbeton unter Druck – Einfluss von Querdruck und Querzug Enrico Baumgärtel: Untersuchung von Stäben und Gelegen aus rezyklierten Carbonfasern Iurii Vakaliuk: Use of pervading internal shell-type substructures to dissolve compact components

This dissertation comprises three essays which empirically investigate consequences of transparency. The first essay investigates how transparency, demanded by the government as a customer of firms, affects firms’ financial reporting. It provides evidence that, relative to firms without government customers, government suppliers have a higher quality of financial reporting. Findings indicate that government procurement requirements, which are linked to internal control over financial reporting, can positively affect the external information environment of firms. The second essay examines how managers react to a stricter transparency mandate in pension accounting, if this mandate increases the expected volatility of balance sheet items. Managers of affected firms change decisions on pension plans which mitigate volatility and in addition, affected firms exhibit less volatile accruals but more volatile discretionary real actions suggesting managers reduce volatility in balance sheets. Findings imply that a transparency mandate in pension accounting may have (unintended) consequences for managerial decision-making if the mandate reveals more economic volatility on balance sheets. The third essay studies how (data-transparently) researchers visualize their quantitative findings and how this affects the impact of academic work. It finds that, compared to articles in field-specific economics journals, articles in economics journals with a broader audience use more figures than tables and that articles visualizing (data-transparently) with figures receive more citations. An online experiment, which manipulates how a fictive study visualizes scientific results, finds that participants assess the internal validity of research as being higher and are more willing to cite research if it visualizes results data-transparently. The findings imply that (data-transparent) visualization can enhance the impact of academic work. / Die Dissertation besteht aus drei Aufsätzen, die die Auswirkungen von Transparenz untersuchen. Im ersten Aufsatz wird analysiert, wie sich die von einer Regierung im Rahmen der öffentlichen Auftragsvergabe geforderte Unternehmenstransparenz auf die Finanzberichterstattung von Unternehmen auswirkt. Lieferanten der Regierung weisen eine höhere Qualität der Finanzberichterstattung auf als Vergleichsunternehmen. Der zweite Aufsatz untersucht, wie Manager auf strengere Transparenzanforderungen in der Pensionsbilanzierung reagieren, wenn diese die Bilanzvolatilität erhöhen. Die Manager nehmen Bilanzanpassungen vor, die die Volatilität reduzieren, was auf eine beabsichtigte Bilanzglättung hindeutet. Der dritte Aufsatz untersucht den Zusammenhang zwischen der Visualisierung von quantitativen Forschungsergebnissen in wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Zeitschriften und dem Einfluss akademischer Forschung. Economics-Journals verwenden mehr Abbildungen als Business-Journals, was Zitationen zu fördern scheint. Experimentelle Evidenz zeigt weiterhin, dass datentransparente Visualisierungen den Einfluss akademischer Forschung positiv beeinflussen können, dass dies aber auch stark disziplinabhängig ist.