4,884 research outputs found

    DEVELOPING COMPETENCE FOR INNOVATION IN KNOWLEDGE PRACTICE: an exploration of the sustainability science-policy interface

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    This thesis is motivated by institutional claims for a “new type of knowledge” in the sustainability science-policy interface. It thus explores the thinking and practice of experts in the field about professional competencies necessary to induce required innovations in their knowledge practice. The thesis proposes a novel conceptual framework, synthesising (1) five key features informing claimed innovations in knowledge practice of science-policy sustainability ‘boundary organisations’, (2) a set of ten differentiating individual competencies deemed critical to induce such type of innovations and (3) required approaches to effective development of such competencies. In doing so, this thesis suggests an operative framework to engage with a competence-based approach in response to the need for innovations in knowledge practice within boundary organisations. Under the conceptual framework above, the thesis engages in an empirical work exploring the thinking and praxis of experts in the field, around three key questions: (1) How do practitioners in the field perceive the need for and the pertinence of such type of innovations, (2) How do they relate to the notion of individual competence and the need for different types of competencies to induce innovations in their own knowledge practice and (3) How can professionals working in the science-policy interface most effectively learn and develop such new set of competences, given their specific organisational / institutional contexts? Methodologically, this thesis engaged a combined set of empirical research instruments, mostly including semi-structured interviews with professionals operating in the sustainability sciencepolicy interface, three focus-groups in The Netherlands, Portugal and the UK, with actors operating within the remit of sustainability boundary organizations, and participatory observation within the European Environment Agency. Outcomes of this research indicate that, while the need for a new type of knowledge is clearly acknowledged by practitioners in ‘boundary organisations’, notions associated with required innovations in knowledge practice – such as co-creation, systems thinking, transdisciplinarity, reflexivity and action-orientated knowledge – are still subject to ambiguity and controversy within the institutional context they operate. As practitioners struggle to engage the notion of individual competence in this debate, the type of competencies deemed critical to induce required innovations in their knowledge practice resonates with their own experience. Experts in boundary organisations identify though a lack of institutional frameworks to support their efforts to generate innovations in knowledge practice. While this research synthetises and presents existing examples of learning programmes and approaches to help develop such type of competencies, practitioners in the field manifest scepticism on the extent to which such learning approaches are feasible in their given institutional settings

    The quest for effective regulatory enforcement:A goal-displacement perspective

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    Non-Market Food Practices Do Things Markets Cannot: Why Vermonters Produce and Distribute Food That\u27s Not For Sale

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    Researchers tend to portray food self-provisioning in high-income societies as a coping mechanism for the poor or a hobby for the well-off. They describe food charity as a regrettable band-aid. Vegetable gardens and neighborly sharing are considered remnants of precapitalist tradition. These are non-market food practices: producing food that is not for sale and distributing food in ways other than selling it. Recent scholarship challenges those standard understandings by showing (i) that non-market food practices remain prevalent in high-income countries, (ii) that people in diverse social groups engage in these practices, and (iii) that they articulate diverse reasons for doing so. In this dissertation, I investigate the persistent pervasiveness of non-market food practices in Vermont. To go beyond explanations that rely on individual motivation, I examine the roles these practices play in society. First, I investigate the prevalence of non-market food practices. Several surveys with large, representative samples reveal that more than half of Vermont households grow, hunt, fish, or gather some of their own food. Respondents estimate that they acquire 14% of the food they consume through non-market means, on average. For reference, commercial local food makes up about the same portion of total consumption. Then, drawing on the words of 94 non-market food practitioners I interviewed, I demonstrate that these practices serve functions that markets cannot. Interviewees attested that non-market distribution is special because it feeds the hungry, strengthens relationships, builds resilience, puts edible-but-unsellable food to use, and aligns with a desired future in which food is not for sale. Hunters, fishers, foragers, scavengers, and homesteaders said that these activities contribute to their long-run food security as a skills-based safety net. Self-provisioning allows them to eat from the landscape despite disruptions to their ability to access market food such as job loss, supply chain problems, or a global pandemic. Additional evidence from vegetable growers suggests that non-market settings liberate production from financial discipline, making space for work that is meaningful, playful, educational, and therapeutic. Non-market food practices mend holes in the social fabric torn by the commodification of everyday life. Finally, I synthesize scholarly critiques of markets as institutions for organizing the production and distribution of food. Markets send food toward money rather than hunger. Producing for market compels farmers to prioritize financial viability over other values such as stewardship. Historically, people rarely if ever sell each other food until external authorities coerce them to do so through taxation, indebtedness, cutting off access to the means of subsistence, or extinguishing non-market institutions. Today, more humans than ever suffer from chronic undernourishment even as the scale of commercial agriculture pushes environmental pressures past critical thresholds of planetary sustainability. This research substantiates that alternatives to markets exist and have the potential to address their shortcomings

    1st Design Factory Global Network Research Conference ‘Designing the Future’ 5-6 October 2022

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    DFGN.R 2022 -Designing the Future - is the first research conference organised by the Design Factory Global Network. The open event offers the opportunity for all like-minded educators, designers and researchers to share their insights and inspire others on education, methods, practices and ecosystems of co-creation and innovation. The DFGN.R conference is a two-day event hosted on-site in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands. The conference is organized alongside International Design Factory Week 2022, the annual gathering of DFGN members. This year's conference is organized in collaboration with Aalto University from Helsinki Finland and hosted by the NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences

    LIPIcs, Volume 251, ITCS 2023, Complete Volume

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    LIPIcs, Volume 251, ITCS 2023, Complete Volum

    The influence of CEO leadership on organizational learning in internationalizing high-tech companies in China

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    This research explores how CEO leadership affects the learning process of internationalizing high-tech companies. There has been a growing recognition of the role of leadership in the international learning process. For example, scholars have discussed the influence of several factors, such as leaders’ cognition, decision-making style, and entrepreneurship, on international learning process. Moreover, CEO leadership has been treated as an important factor that can affect a company’s organizational learning. However, very few studies have discussed the role of leadership in the organizational learning process of companies’ internationalization. Based on a review of existing research gaps in the role of leadership in organizational and international learning literature, this research seeks to gain rich insights into how leadership influences organizational learning in high-tech companies’ internationalizing in the Chinese context. This research focused on two common leadership styles in China, authoritarian leadership and empowering leadership. These two leadership styles can be explained through Chinese traditional philosophy and from the lens of power, authoritarian leadership and empowering leadership are deserved to be compared. This research adopts a qualitative approach based on 8 case studies of Chinese high-tech internationalizing companies. Semi-structured interviews with the CEO and at least two senior managers were carried out in each case. This research contributes to international learning process literature. CEO leadership is proposed as a key factor that can influence each construct associated with the international learning process and cause different international learning processes. This research also contributes to both leadership and internationalization literature as it uses organizational learning as a bridge linking leadership and internationalization. Different leadership styles could cause different internationalization outcomes in performance and management perspectives due to different international learning processes. Moreover, CEO leadership could be changed during companies’ internationalization process

    A Multi-level Analysis on Implementation of Low-Cost IVF in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Case Study of Uganda.

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    Introduction: Globally, infertility is a major reproductive disease that affects an estimated 186 million people worldwide. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the burden of infertility is considerably high, affecting one in every four couples of reproductive age. Furthermore, infertility in this context has severe psychosocial, emotional, economic and health consequences. Absence of affordable fertility services in Sub-Saharan Africa has been justified by overpopulation and limited resources, resulting in inequitable access to infertility treatment compared to developed countries. Therefore, low-cost IVF (LCIVF) initiatives have been developed to simplify IVF-related treatment, reduce costs, and improve access to treatment for individuals in low-resource contexts. However, there is a gap between the development of LCIVF initiatives and their implementation in Sub-Saharan Africa. Uganda is the first country in East and Central Africa to undergo implementation of LCIVF initiatives within its public health system at Mulago Women’s Hospital. Methods: This was an exploratory, qualitative, single, case study conducted at Mulago Women’s Hospital in Kampala, Uganda. The objective of this study was to explore how LCIVF initiatives have been implemented within the public health system of Uganda at the macro-, meso- and micro-level. Primary qualitative data was collected using semi-structured interviews, hospital observations informal conversations, and document review. Using purposive and snowball sampling, a total of twenty-three key informants were interviewed including government officials, clinicians (doctors, nurses, technicians), hospital management, implementers, patient advocacy representatives, private sector practitioners, international organizational representatives, educational institution, and professional medical associations. Sources of secondary data included government and non-government reports, hospital records, organizational briefs, and press outputs. Using a multi-level data analysis approach, this study undertook a hybrid inductive/deductive thematic analysis, with the deductive analysis guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). Findings: Factors facilitating implementation included international recognition of infertility as a reproductive disease, strong political advocacy and oversight, patient needs & advocacy, government funding, inter-organizational collaboration, tension to change, competition in the private sector, intervention adaptability & trialability, relative priority, motivation &advocacy of fertility providers and specialist training. While barriers included scarcity of embryologists, intervention complexity, insufficient knowledge, evidence strength & quality of intervention, inadequate leadership engagement & hospital autonomy, poor public knowledge, limited engagement with traditional, cultural, and religious leaders, lack of salary incentives and concerns of revenue loss associated with low-cost options. Research contributions: This study contributes to knowledge of factors salient to implementation of LCIVF initiatives in a Sub-Saharan context. Effective implementation of these initiatives requires (1) sustained political support and favourable policy & legislation, (2) public sensitization and engagement of traditional, cultural, and religious leaders (3) strengthening local innovation and capacity building of fertility health workers, in particular embryologists (4) sustained implementor leadership engagement and inter-organizational collaboration and (5) proven clinical evidence and utilization of LCIVF initiatives in innovator countries. It also adds to the literature on the applicability of the CFIR framework in explaining factors that influence successful implementation in developing countries and offer opportunities for comparisons across studies

    Making Connections: A Handbook for Effective Formal Mentoring Programs in Academia

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    This book, Making Connections: A Handbook for Effective Formal Mentoring Programs in Academia, makes a unique and needed contribution to the mentoring field as it focuses solely on mentoring in academia. This handbook is a collaborative institutional effort between Utah State University’s (USU) Empowering Teaching Open Access Book Series and the Mentoring Institute at the University of New Mexico (UNM). This book is available through (a) an e-book through Pressbooks, (b) a downloadable PDF version on USU’s Open Access Book Series website), and (c) a print version available for purchase on the USU Empower Teaching Open Access page, and on Amazon

    Tradition and Innovation in Construction Project Management

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    This book is a reprint of the Special Issue 'Tradition and Innovation in Construction Project Management' that was published in the journal Buildings
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