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1 – 10 of over 127000Premwadee Karuhadej, Monrudee Popijan and Prapaiwan Danpradit
The purpose of this paper is to study and compare knowledge and skills in basic care for the dependent elderly of health volunteers before and after the increase in ability…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study and compare knowledge and skills in basic care for the dependent elderly of health volunteers before and after the increase in ability program participation.
Design/methodology/approach
Quasi experimental research includes one group pretest-posttest design. The research was conducted from January to March 2018. The samples were 30 health volunteers in Nakorn Pathom Province selected by purposive sampling. They were all female, aged 20–50 years, with minimal education level of early secondary school and were current or former health volunteers. The increase ability program consisted of lecture and skill practice by demonstration and individual replay demonstration. The program duration was 30 h with 19 h of skill practice and 2 days of site visit to the dependent elderly’ homes. The tool for collecting data was a questionnaire for the evaluation of knowledge and skills in basic care for the dependent elderly. The data were analyzed by means, standard deviation and paired t-test.
Findings
After the increase in ability program participation, the health volunteers had very good level of knowledge in basic care for the dependent elderly with statistical significance (p<0.01) and had most correct skills in basic care for the dependent elderly with a score of 9 from 11 items.
Originality/value
Knowledge and skills in basic care for the dependent elderly of the health volunteers increased to a very good level after program participation. Thailand should provide periodic and continuous training program to increase health volunteers’ knowledge and skills in basic elderly care to provide care for the elderly with most benefits.
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Philippe Byosiere and Denise J. Luethge
The purpose of this paper is to present evidence of how different domains of knowledge (basic, experiential, emotional and innovative knowledge) relate to knowledge conversion…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present evidence of how different domains of knowledge (basic, experiential, emotional and innovative knowledge) relate to knowledge conversion processes (socialization, externalization, combination and internalization) in the firm.
Design/methodology/approach
Confirmatory principal component analyses were performed on knowledge domain and knowledge conversion variables. Path analyses, based on stepwise multiple regressions, were performed in order to determine the strength and directionality of the relationships between the four processes of knowledge conversion and the four knowledge domains.
Findings
The results indicate that knowledge based on experience impacts the conversion of tacit knowledge within an organization, leading to innovative knowledge and competitive advantage. Emotional knowledge impacts the knowledge conversion process similarly. Only basic knowledge impacts the explicit components of combination.
Research limitations/implications
First, the results of this study are drawn from a fairly large sample in only one firm, and hence, one industry. Not all of the middle managers who participated in this study are equally familiar with knowledge creation and dissemination within their organization.
Practical implications
The results suggest that investing in basic training of employees and managers in order to reach a basal level of knowledge can act as a precursor to fuel other types of knowledge conversion as well as the innovative and experiential knowledge domains.
Originality/value
Past research has not examined how the domains of knowledge (the content) are related to the conversion of knowledge. In addition, little research in the area of knowledge conversion has taken place in a European setting. This paper addresses the deficits.
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Astrid Spatzier and Jessica Breu
Little is known about the connections between mediated knowledge and promoting creativity. Based on a quantitative survey among 1,102 graduates from University, University of…
Abstract
Little is known about the connections between mediated knowledge and promoting creativity. Based on a quantitative survey among 1,102 graduates from University, University of Applied Science and Vocational Academy in Salzburg, Austria, this research sheds light on the influences of knowledge transfer on the development of creativity. Moreover, the chapter highlights types of mediated knowledge that foster creativity.
Along with Csikszentmihalyi and Wolfe (2000), creativity refers to ideas or products that are originally worked out and valued by society. Regarding that, two contrary theses exist. On the one hand, according to Hadamard (1954), it can be assumed that creative processes are not linked to background knowledge. On the other hand, along with Weisberg (1993), it can be noted that creative ideas or products are affected by mediated knowledge. Moreover, extraordinary creativity in a certain professional field presupposes not only qualifications and abilities, but rather particularly knowledge. Although qualifications for public relations (PR) practice and education are ongoing topics in literature and practice (e.g. Szyszka 1998; Merten & Schulte 2007; Spatzier 2016), little is known about the empirical linkage of knowledge and creativity. This chapter deals with the question of the connections between knowledge transfer and the development of creativity in the education for public relations, marketing, advertising and graphic design.
In summary, the findings indicate the types of knowledge that foster the development of creativity, in which basic knowledge matters, as well as the other types. Last but not least, it can be demonstrated that knowledge transfer at the university should be changed concerning the embedding of creativity.
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Suzy S. Cavalcante, Maria Clotildes Nunes de Melo, Nadya Bustani Carneiro and Luciana Rodrigues Silva
This paper aims to determine the knowledge that staff in day nurseries in Brazil had of basic measures to promote child health which are connected with high child mortality. These…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to determine the knowledge that staff in day nurseries in Brazil had of basic measures to promote child health which are connected with high child mortality. These measures included breastfeeding, oral rehydration therapy, child growth follow‐up, immunization and the identification of signs that indicate that the child must be referred to a health facility.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross‐sectional study was performed in day nurseries in the state of Bahia, Brazil, involving 194 care staff from 77 different establishments. Questionnaires, the observation of practical exercises and documentary evidence were used to assess knowledge.
Findings
Seventeen percent of professionals were able to use growth charts correctly, 37.1 percent were able to prepare an oral rehydration solution adequately, 77.8 percent were able to provide appropriate breastfeeding counseling, 65.0 percent were able to identify children who showed respiratory danger signs and refer them to a health facility, and 58.5 percent were able to check the immunization status. This suggests a serious lack of basic knowledge in key areas.
Research limitations/implications
The losses observed in the beginning of the study and the possibility of the existence of memory bias related to the verbal information obtained might have influenced the results.
Practical implications
These findings suggest that there is an urgent need to address the lack of knowledge about basic child health measures shown by these key workers through appropriate educational programs.
Originality/value
This is one of the first studies of levels of knowledge about basic child health measures in professionals who work outside the medical profession, and in particular in day nurseries. It also provides valuable information about health knowledge in a developing country.
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Marianne Döös, Lena Wilhelmson, Thomas Backlund and Nancy Dixon
In the telecommunication industry, companies gain a competitive edge through the competence of their employees, making issues of learning critical. The study aims to identify…
Abstract
Purpose
In the telecommunication industry, companies gain a competitive edge through the competence of their employees, making issues of learning critical. The study aims to identify specific learning processes necessary when working at the edge both of one's own knowledge and of that of the branch.
Design/methodology/approach
This research draws on theories of learning through experience and interaction, and looks at software development engineers working at the interface between tele‐ and datacom within one company, Ericsson, Sweden. Data were collected in 2000 in four software‐engineering teams, through semi‐structured interviews, reflection groups and observations. Data were analyzed in an interplay between empirical findings and theoretical concepts.
Findings
The research identified three kinds of learning processes in which employees engage to accomplish their tasks: learning basic knowledge; co‐creating new knowledge; and learning changing‐knowledge. Learning basic knowledge was a frequent returning to a state of knowing nothing among skilled workers. The co‐creation of new knowledge implied close interaction processes in the midst of carrying out difficult work tasks. Learning changing‐knowledge questioned hitherto acquired knowledge through the necessity of taking in new facts and aspects in relation to already existing deep and extensive knowing.
Practical implications
Differentiating these learning processes has theoretical implications and a practical significance for organizations wanting to focus on competence and learning issues.
Originality/value
When organizing for learning it is of crucial importance to be aware of the kind of actual learning processes that are ongoing and need support and infrastructure.
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Library assistants were originally considered to be professional librarians in the making, and were trained accordingly. With the expansion of libraries and librarianship…
Abstract
Library assistants were originally considered to be professional librarians in the making, and were trained accordingly. With the expansion of libraries and librarianship, Britain's “apprenticeship” system of qualification gave way to formal library school education, and a new category of “non‐professional staff” was created, of people who were unwilling or unable to proceed to graduate‐level qualification. The development of non‐professional certificates of competence in the UK is described against parallel developments in the US, Canada and Australia; the COMLA training modules are also examined. The theoretical and practical issues surrounding training are discussed, training schemes and qualifications in the four countries analysed, and the relative merits of in‐house training and external certificate programmes argued.
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Rajshree Agarwal and Steven Sonka
In this chapter, the authors assert that traditional advanced degree programs underserve young scientists, and train them primarily for a career in academia pursuing basic…
Abstract
In this chapter, the authors assert that traditional advanced degree programs underserve young scientists, and train them primarily for a career in academia pursuing basic research. Data drawn from the Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System (SESTAT) from 1996 to 2006 show that only one fourth of all scientists are engaged in basic academic research. The majority of young scientists pursue alternative career paths in applied and in industrial research settings. Several such career options are highlighted, and the conclusion is drawn that graduate education should be broadened to provide students with complementary business and entrepreneurship knowledge, skills and attitudes required for success in each option. Four examples of innovative programs that address this need at the University of Illinois are discussed, including a Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Management (CEM) for Life Scientists, a Certificate in Business Administration (CIB) for Nonbusiness Majors, the Illinois Professional Science Master's (PSM), and various nondegree, experiential opportunities.
Bonnie Canziani, Jiyoung Hwang and Erick T. Byrd
This paper aims to discuss methodological issues with the measurement of subjective wine knowledge (SWK). The current study offers deeper insights into the relationship between…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to discuss methodological issues with the measurement of subjective wine knowledge (SWK). The current study offers deeper insights into the relationship between SWK and consumer perceptions of benefits and purchase/consumption habits.
Design/methodology/approach
An empirical study of US winery visitors was conducted, comprising surveys using a structured self-administered written questionnaire and trained field researchers. A sample of 734 surveys was used in subsequent exploratory and confirmatory analysis of the relationships between SWK and an array of consumer perceptions and wine consumption behaviors.
Findings
The majority of respondents were older, female, more highly educated, of the professional or executive class and possessing higher incomes. Slightly over half of the sample professed no or basic knowledge of wine and grape types or wine regions and geography. In general, respondents rated personal benefits of wine consumption higher than they did symbolic or social benefits. The level of SWK, from novice to advanced, was significantly and positively associated with the frequency of visits to wineries (experience), with wine-focused published external information sources and with a majority of perceived benefits.
Originality/value
The primary value of the study is to support marketing strategy by addressing the measurement of SWK. Knowledgeable consumers recognize more types of benefits, i.e. personal, symbolic and social and, thus, can more readily attest to value in a wine offering.
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Yu‐Lin Wang, Yau‐De Wang and Ruey‐Yun Horng
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between knowledge acquisition, knowledge absorptive capacity, and innovation performance in small and medium enterprises…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between knowledge acquisition, knowledge absorptive capacity, and innovation performance in small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Design/methodology/approach
Questionnaire data were collected from research and development (R&D) managers or owners of 49 SMEs of the bicycle industry in Taiwan. The questionnaire was designed to measure variables including: knowledge absorptive capacity, knowledge acquisition of company, technical and industrial experiences of owner's and the R&D staff, innovation performance measures, and control variables.
Findings
The results show that the depth and the breadth of its owner's technical and industrial experiences best explained absorptive capacity of an SME. In turn, the absorptive capacity and the knowledge acquisition activities of an SME affect its innovation performance.
Research limitations/implications
The findings show that, first, SME owners' technical and industrial experiences are contributing factors to their companies' knowledge absorptive capacity; second, instead of R&D investment, SME personnel's scientific knowledge collection and diversity of knowledge sources contribute to innovation performance of companies. Because the data were limited to bicycle industry, future studies need to validate these findings in the SMEs of other industries.
Originality/value
The value of the paper lies in the fact that SME owner's and its personnel's contributions to company's knowledge absorptive capacity and the concomitant effects of knowledge acquisition and knowledge absorption capacity on a firm's innovation performance are two issues seldom addressed in previous studies.
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Lei Ma, Ben Zhang, Kaitong Liang, Yang Cheng and Chaonan Yi
The embedding of digital technology and the fuzzy organizational boundary have changed the operation of platform innovation ecosystem (PIE). Specifically, as an important energy…
Abstract
Purpose
The embedding of digital technology and the fuzzy organizational boundary have changed the operation of platform innovation ecosystem (PIE). Specifically, as an important energy of PIE, the internal logic of knowledge flow needs to be reconsidered in the context of digital age, which will be helpful to select the cultivation and governance strategy of PIE.
Design/methodology/approach
A dual case-analysis is applied to open the “black box” of knowledge flow in the PIE from the perspective of enabled by digital technology, by taking the intellectual property (IP) operation platform as cases.
Findings
The research findings are as follow: (1) The knowledge flow mechanism of PIE is mainly demonstrated through the processes of knowledge acquisition, knowledge integration and knowledge spillover. During this process, connectivity empowerment and scenario empowerment realize the digital empowerment of the platform. (2) Connectivity empowerment provides a channel of knowledge acquisition for the digital connection between participants in PIE. In the process of knowledge integration, scenario empowerment improves the opportunities for accurate matching and collaborative innovation between knowledge supplier and demander, and enhance the value of knowledge. The dual effect of connectivity empowerment and scenario empowerment has accelerated the knowledge spillover in PIE. Particularly, connectivity empowerment expands the range of knowledge spillover, and scenario empowerment affects the generativity of the platform, resulting in the enhancement of platform’s capability to embed and expand its value network. (3) Participants have been benefitted from the PIE enabled by digital technology through three key modules (knowledge acquisition, knowledge integration and knowledge spillover), as the result of knowledge flow.
Originality/value
This study focuses on the knowledge flow mechanism of PIE enabled by digital technology, which enriches the PIE theory, and has enlightenments for the cultivation of digital platform ecosystem.
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