The main goal of this work was to contribute to an understanding of the role of the knowledge bases in regional innovation systems and to identify whether the sizes of the different subsystems of regional innovation systems differ in relation to their economic and innovation maturity, and the structure of the knowledge bases is relevant. Work has also sought to identify factors limiting the more efficient interconnection of the two sub-systems of regional innovation systems and how these negative factors can be overcome. The analyses carried out have shown that economically and innovatively developed regions follow different trajectories in the composition of knowledge bases than less developed regions. More developed regions have more developed analytical knowledge base and less developer regions are more oriented on synthetic knowledge base. The analyses also revealed that regional innovation systems vary in size and internal structure of each subsystem. Advanced regions have a much more developed subsystem of knowledge exploitation, that is the demand side, while less developed and less innovative regions have more developed the supply side, that is, the knowledge generation subsystem. Trust, information exchange and shared strategic vision have proved to be among the key aspects that can...

A quasi-experimental multiple time series design was used to analyze and compare the impact of two types of instructional coaching, face-to-face and virtual covert audio provided with Bluetooth technology, on teacher transfer of knowledge learned in professional development into classroom practice. Teacher transfer across baseline, intervention, and maintenance phases was analyzed. The study was conducted at a public elementary school in a Florida suburban school district with approximately 750 students. Twelve teachers were randomly selected from teachers who volunteered to attend professional development. Six teachers (one from each grade level K-5) in the treatment group received virtual covert audio coaching. Six teachers (one from each grade level K-5) in the control group received face-to-face coaching. Professional development was on RallyCoach™, a Kagan cooperative learning structure, which allows students to interact and practice procedural learning such as calculating math algorithms, defending a point of view, or editing writing. This structure was chosen to provide teachers with an instructional tool to teach and provide students practice for the speaking and listening strand of the Common Core State Standards. RallyCoach™ was also chosen to increase student engagement. Data analysis included descriptive statistics and visual analysis methods. Both the control and treatment groups increased the mean (level) percentages of RallyCoachTM components implemented across time from baseline to intervention and from intervention to maintenance. There was an increasing trend line for implementation of RallyCoachTM iv components across phases for both study groups. The decreasing standard deviation across phases represented a decreasing variability of data and can be considered to show a treatment affect for both types of coaching. Teachers who received both types of coaching continued increased implementation into the maintenance phase when the coaching intervention was removed. Data analysis revealed an increasing percentage of student pairs providing positive student-to-student interaction with an increasing trend line and a decreasing standard deviation (reduced variability) across time over phases. Face-to-face and virtual coaching had a positive impact on student-to-student positive interaction.

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Transfer of learning is the reason for education. The ultimate goal of teaching is to help learners apply what is studied in one situation to another. For language learning, the purpose of studying grammar and vocabulary is to be able to use that knowledge in a wide variety of contexts. It is, therefore, of interest to determine what can be done to influence transfer of learning. In this study I explored the effects of reminders on the transfer of vocabulary learned in one course to writing tasks in another. The five purposes of this study were to evaluate the effects of the treatment on: (a) the salience of the reminders and on study time, (b) differences in vocabulary learning, (c) the developmental trajectories of language proficiency and writing based, (d) the correctness of the target vocabulary used in a writing task, and (e) the perceived usefulness of the vocabulary study. This study was conducted at a private university in western Japan. The participants (N = 179) were enrolled in a course focusing on vocabulary learning (vocabulary course) and one on genre writing (content course). They were placed into one of four conditions based on entry-level placement tests. These groups received different degrees of reminders. Those in the comparison condition received no reminder (NR) to use the target vocabulary. The three remaining conditions received one of three reminder treatments in the content course before revising required essays: (a) a general reminder (R) to use words studied in the vocabulary course, (b) the same general reminder and a noticing task (R+), and (c) the same general reminder and a task designed to promote target vocabulary usage (R++). Data for this study were obtained using the following instruments: vocabulary self-study logs, Quizlet (2017) and Moodle (2016) metrics, receptive and productive vocabulary tests, a language proficiency test, three measures of writing quality, and individual interviews with 20 of the participants. Prior to conducting quantitative analyses on the data gathered with these instruments, the receptive and productive vocabulary tests, and one measure of writing quality, the JACET writing rubric (Kuru, Masaki, & Kinshi, 2009), were analyzed using the Rasch rating-scale model in order to evaluate the validity and reliability of the instruments as well as to obtain estimates of the participants’ abilities and item difficulties. In addition, the Rasch model was used to check for interrater reliability and rater severity of the scores of the JACET writing rubric. The data were then analyzed using mixed ANOVAs in order to ascertain differences in within-subjects and between-subjects measures. The results confirmed the salience of the reminders, and study time was shown to decrease in stronger conditions. This is a key finding because analysis of the data also indicated that the participants in stronger treatment conditions learned the target vocabulary with the same efficiency as those in weaker conditions despite reporting less study time. Furthermore, the treatments had positive effects on lexical complexity, amount of produced written text, and the amount of correct vocabulary usage in the writing task. / Teaching & Learning

This study examined the differences in achievement between groups exhibiting different cultural dimensions in a particular online instructional environment. Variables were measured concerning the relationship between instructional environments, cultural dimensions and online learner preference. The subjects of this study were a representative sample of groups of graduate students from different cultures. The instrument was composed of a treatment that was represented across two instructional environments. A web-based tool measured participant?s cultural dimension, recall, transfer of knowledge and learning preference. A 2 x 2 x 2 ANOVA analysis method was used to examine the effects of individualism and collectivism on learner preference and achievement (recall, transfer). Significance in transfer measures was found. This indicated deep understanding of materials for collectivist participants. Correlational analysis revealed significance between cultural dimension and learner preference for instructional methods. Findings were consistent with the body of literature on cross-cultural psychology. / Ph. D.

Planning has lent legitimacy to the development of society through the application of different theories and practices. With its embodied concepts and values, planning influences the direction of change that a society may achieve. Given the great role that planning plays in shaping societies over long periods of time, in situations where it is planning knowledge that is subject to travel between nations, consideration of the context specificity is particularity essential. This thesis deals with the complex process of transferring collaborative planning knowledge to a different institutional and cultural context. The research adopts a proactive approach, examining the practical and theoretical potential imbued in a new context. It is argued, in this work, that an exogenous planning model has to be re-contextualized and landed in a new context through its assimilation with that context’s history and cultural values. The research focuses on Egypt and is directed towards understanding the specificities of the Egyptian institutional context and the cultural values inherited from the history of Egyptian society. The author’s interest lies in addressing the ways in which such an understanding can contribute to the development of collaborative planning knowledge. The research strategy is designed with reference to the cross-cultural transfer of knowledge and the study utilises an action research approach through which the author plays the dual role of practitioner and action researcher. Implementing collaborative planning in the Egyptian urban context of the city of Zifta provided a valuable opportunity to understand how planning knowledge may be transferred between different cultural contexts. The intellectual foundations for the collaborative principle is scrutinised, and complemented by an examination of Egyptian social philosophy. A conceptual framework for the joint development of knowledge in cross-cultural planning research is put forward, which derives from a combination of the practical and theoretical investigations carried out. / <p>QC 20121003</p>

While the importance of knowledge creation and management has been widely recognised as vital to an organisation's ongoing competitiveness and success since the 1990s, there has been little systematic study of knowledge creation and transfer processes in organisations. Much of what has been reported in the literature is anecdotal in nature. Particularly lacking is research within an international context, exploring issues related to the transfer of knowledge across countries and culture. It is proposed that there is a need for theory building research in the area of knowledge transfer. Given the complex and social nature of knowledge, a qualitative approach to undertaking this research was adopted. The study is an inductive, theory-building case study in relation to a multinational company. In summary, this study evaluated the effectiveness of a best practice knowledge management program in achieving knowledge transfer in sales and marketing practices throughout the markets of Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America. It considered the methods by which knowledge was transferred and their relative effectiveness, and those factors which may have mediated or limited the knowledge transfer processes. The research was undertaken by the company's Knowledge Manager who had created the best-practice knowledge transfer program. The implications of this situation on the study's validity and reliability are discussed, and were taken into account in the design of the questionnaire and in the analysis of all findings. The case study site was a European-based, global travel technology company. The principal data-gathering method was a structured interview conducted by telephone with senior staff from within 28 European and Latin American markets. In total, 31 interviews were undertaken. This broad-ranging interview method gathered information and feedback on the processes used for identifying and distributing best practices in sales and marketing. The interview data were supplemented by feedback questionnaires from best practice forums, intranet usage statistics, observations from best practice forums and from interviews with staff in the central organisation. While there was evidence that knowledge transfer had occurred, the results of the study highlighted the difficulties in effectively measuring the knowledge transfer process. It is the researcher's view that clear and visible measures of knowledge transfer are not universal or even generic, but rather are to be discerned in a range of indicators across actions, behaviours, attitudes and outcomes in culture-specific settings. A time based knowledge measurement model was developed to assist in this regard. Other major outcomes from the research included: * The confirmation of the critical importance of face-to-face communication mechanisms for knowledge transfer to result in knowledge uptake. * The identification of the role of technology as an enabler of communication and distribution of knowledge, but not as a driver for action or knowledge uptake. * The recognition of the relationship between the broad factors impacting on knowledge transfer such as organisational factors, external environment and individual characteristics, in a complex and non-linear manner, suggesting that knowledge transfer is a multi-factorial process involving interacting variables to an extent greater than generally accepted hitherto. A tool for use within organisational settings has been developed in this regard. * The identification of the interplay between different individual specific characteristics or factors such as personal experience of change, experience of working in a different cultural context, ego/personality, and credibility of the person transmitting the practice which influence the decision to adopt or not adopt a practice from another market. * The identification of the need for cultural similarity and high levels of homogeneity, in terms of market maturity, market size and competitive position for practices to transfer more often between countries. * The recognition that many factors operate to influence and shape the knowledge or indeed to block the transfer of practices between countries, with resistance to other practices possibly relating to an individual's need for the application of creativity, personal ownership and control. Additionally, the researcher observed that much of the language within the existing literature describing those factors which block or limit knowledge transfer is negatively framed. The researcher believes that a change in attitude about the positive influence of an individual's filtering processes, together with a change in organisational language describing resistance to knowledge transfer, would yield a positive impact on individuals' attitudes and behaviour with regard to knowledge transfer. Several areas for further research as a result of the study were identified and include individual factors such as cultural characteristics, motivation, personality and adult learning styles. Additionally, a more detailed examination and understanding of the impact of organisational factors such as leadership and generational gaps on knowledge transfer would be of significant value to the body of knowledge.

Rédigée en 1246 par un clerc nommé Gossuin de Metz, l’Image du monde est considérée comme la première encyclo-pédie de langue française. Elle constitue à ce titre l’une des premières entreprises de transmission écrite d’un ensemble de savoirs sur le monde d’origine cléricale et latine à destination d’un public laïc et aristocratique. Trois versions furent produites, deux en vers et une en prose, dont il n’est pas certain qu’elles soient le travail d’une seule et même personne. Signe de son très grand succès, l’Image du monde est conservée dans 110 manuscrits. Elle constitue donc un objet de recherche idéal pour l’étude des phénomènes de transmission de savoir entre clercs et laïcs dans les trois der-niers siècles du Moyen Âge. Pour ce faire, la présente thèse envisage l’Image du monde à partir des représentations du monde et de l’ordre social transmises par son discours. Ces représentations ne sont pas seulement produites par le texte mais également par l’iconographie (miniatures, initiales historiées, drôleries) ornant une quarantaine de manus-crits, qui forment le corpus de recherche. Dans un premier temps, c’est d’abord l’économie du savoir de l’Image du monde, qui sous-tend la transmission du savoir et en détermine les modalités, ainsi que les implications sociales de la transmission de ce savoir hautement valorisé qui est analysées. La seconde partie de la thèse se concentre quant à elle sur la forte dimension visuelle de la transmission des savoirs opérée par l’Image du monde, à savoir le cycle de vingt-huit figures cosmographiques intégrées par l’auteur lui-même à son ouvrage et qui constitue une pièce maîtresse de sa stratégie didactique. / Written in 1246 by a cleric named Gossuin de Metz, L’image du monde is considered to be the first French language encyclopedia. It is thus one of the first attempts to diffuse to a secular and aristocratic audience a body of knowledge concerning the world, originally coming from a clerical and Latin culture. Three versions were written -two in verse, one in prose- none of which are proven to be the work of only one person. 110 manuscripts were conserved, which can be considered as a proof of its great success. It is thus an ideal research object to study the knowledge transmission phenomena between the clerks and the laity during the Middle Ages’ last three centuries. To that end, this doctoral dissertation considers L’image du monde from the world and social order representations that are transmitted by its discourse. These world’s representations are not only transmitted by the text but also by the pictures (diagrams, minia-tures, historiated initials, drolleries) that adorn some forty manuscripts that constitutes my body of research. This study thus addresses both the text and the iconography. First off, the knowledge economy of L’image du monde will be analyzed, considering the discourse as determining the terms of knowledge transmission and its social implications. The second part of this dissertation focuses on the strong visual dimension taken by knowledge transmission in L’image du monde, relying on a cycle of twenty-eight cosmographic figures that were originally included in his manu-script by the author himself, and that represents the masterpiece of his didactic strategy.

Ce travail de thèse porte sur la conception et l’expérimentation d’un outil d’aide au transfert de connaissances enseignées pour la formation professionnelle en alternance de techniciens supérieurs. La formation étudiée s’adresse à des étudiants d’un Diplôme Universitaire de Technologie en Statistique et en Traitement Informatique de données (DUT-STID). Elle est dispensée au sein d’un Institut Universitaire de Technologie (IUT Lumière Lyon 2) qui présente la particularité de ne fonctionner qu’en alternance, avec un engagement important des professionnels dans tout le processus de la formation. La durée de cette formation est de deux ans dans une formule spécifique le « 1 + 1 » où les apprenants sont sous statut d’étudiants la première année et sous statut d’apprenti la seconde année. Pour étudier le transfert de connaissances enseignées en entreprise, nous nous sommes appuyé sur un cadre théorique basé sur la théorie de l’activité (Engeström, 1987 ; Tuomi-Grohn & Engeström, 2003). Du point de vue méthodologique, nous avons fait le choix d’une approche progressive et collaborative. Nous avons tout d’abord mené, à partir de plusieurs sources de données (documents ; enquête et entretiens ; archives des traces d’activités des apprentis en entreprise issues des livrets d’apprentissage) une analyse de l’organisation pédagogique de la formation en recherchant ce qui pouvait, au sein de celle-ci, favoriser les mises en lien de situations d’apprentissage et les transferts de connaissances. Les résultats de cette analyse ont montré que l’organisation existante était peu favorable aux transferts de connaissances enseignées en situation de travail, comme cela peut être le cas dans de nombreuses formations en alternance. Puis, nous avons conçu, en nous inspirant du concept d’objet-frontière, et en étroite collaboration avec les responsables de la formation et les enseignants connaissant le mieux le cursus et les missions des apprentis en entreprise, un nouvel outil permettant d’effectuer des rapprochements entre des types de tâches réalisées en entreprise et des types de connaissances enseignées à l’IUT. Ce nouvel outil a été testé et expérimenté sur plusieurs cas d’étudiants en apprentissage en entreprise au cours de différentes périodes. L’objectif était de varier les types de contexte et les profils de tuteur pour tester la capacité de l’outil à fonctionner dans différents types de systèmes d’activité, avec différents types d’acteurs. Sur la base des cas étudiés, les tests et expérimentations réalisés en situation réelle ont révélé que notre outil répondait indéniablement à un besoin et était très favorablement accueilli notamment par les maitres d’apprentissage, les apprentis et les tuteurs universitaires, principaux destinataires de cet objet-frontière. Dans les cas étudiés, il a permis d’enrichir les missions confiées, d’expliciter davantage les étapes et les ressources nécessaires au travail de l’apprenti et de favoriser des temps d’échange sur les connaissances et outils enseignés à l’IUT qui pourraient être pertinents pour la réalisation des activités en entreprise. L’expérimentation montre, cependant, que son utilisation est complexe et repose surtout sur la capacité des tuteurs universitaires à en expliciter le fonctionnement aux maitres d’apprentissage et à faire vivre l’outil en situation. La dernière partie de la thèse rend compte du travail réalisé pour intégrer cet outil d’aide au transfert dans l’organisation pédagogique de la formation. Depuis septembre 2012, il fait officiellement partie des outils de suivi et d’évaluation des apprentis en situation de travail. / This work of thesis concerns the conception and the experiment of a help tool for the transfer of knowledge taught for the vocational training in senior technicians' alternation. The studied training addresses students of a Two-year technical degree in Statistics and IT processing of data (DUT-STID). It takes place within a University Institute of Technology (IUT Lumière LYON 2) which has the peculiarity to work only in alternation, with a significant commitment of professionals throughout the training process. The duration of this training is of two years in a specific formula " 1 + 1 " where the learners are under students' status the first year and under the status of apprentice the second. To study the transfer of knowledge taught in company, we leaned on a theoretical framework based on the theory of the activity (Engeström, 1987; Tuomi-Grohn and Engeström, 2003). From the methodological point of view, we chose a progressive and collaborative approach. We first conducted from multiple data sources (documents; survey and interviews; archives of the tracks of activities of the apprentices in company stemming from notebooks of learning) an analysis of the educational organization seeking what could, within it, promote the linking of learning situations (apprenticeship) and the transfers of knowledge. The results of this analysis showed that the existing organization was not conductive to the transfers of knowledge taught in working situation as may be the case in many sandwich courses. Then, in close collaboration with the persons in charge of the training and the teachers knowing best the program and the missions of the apprentices in company, we developed, by basing ourselves on the concept of boundary-object, a new tool allowing to make links between types of tasks realized in company and types of knowledge taught at the IUT (UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY). This new tool was tested and experimented on several cases of students in apprenticeship in company during various periods. The aim was to vary the types of context and tutor profiles to test the ability of the tool to operate in different types of activity systems with different types of actors. On the basis of the studied cases, the tests and the experiments realized in real life situation revealed that our tool answered unmistakably a need and was warmly welcomed in particular by the apprenticeship masters, the apprentices and the academic tutors, the main beneficiaries of this boundary-object. In the cases studied, it allowed to enrich the entrusted mission, to further clarify the steps and resources needed for the apprentice’s work and to foster the exchange time on the knowledge and tools taught at UIT (UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY) that may be relevant to the achievement of the activities in a company.The experiment shows however, that its use is complex and based a lot on the ability of the academic tutors to clarify the functioning to the apprenticeship masters and to make use of the tool in situation. The last part of the thesis reports the work realized to integrate this support tool for the transfer into the educational organization of the training. Since September, 2012, it is officially part of the tools for monitoring and evaluation of the apprentices in working situation.

The purpose of the research is to assess if the franchising conceptual model is an applicable model for the HWP international market expansion in China.  The assessment will be carried out through the extensive investigations into SSAB/HWP internal and external forces including transfer of knowledge in the MNC, position building in business networks, products positioning and sales situation on the Chinese market to define the risk and opportunity.  As well as the theories of the internationalization, marketing strategy and models will be referred to evaluate the franchising model, which can be adopted in China. The research questions are how can the franchising concept be adopted as an applicable model for the Hardox Wearparts international market expansion in China?  What are the appropriate suggestions for the improvements to the further implementation of the model? By adopting four research methods of qualitative research strategy, a multidimensional purpose of the research has been conducted in order to gather first-hand data, study a specific case and investigate the multidimensional environments for the implementation of the HWP international market expansion model.  The main research methods include 1) questionnaire &amp; survey, 2) qualitative interviewing, 3) observation, and 4) collection and qualitative analysis of texts, document, e- research materials and data. The conclusion of the research is that there are several internal- and external factors, which have affected the HWP´s market expansion in China negatively during the year.  It is a sensible decision to emphasize China as a single largest market for the HWP business development. The market seeking strategy by the infusion of the franchising concept is an appropriate decision for the HWP market expansion in China.  The conceptual franchising model by SSAB is appropriate to both the theoretical model and Chinese regulation on the franchises.  However, to implement this franchising model in China, it requires several significant improvements on those four key components/success factors which are 1) internationalization entry model, 2) transfer of knowledge within the MNC, 3) learning in the foreign market network, and 4) position-building in the business networks.   Together with the improvements on four key components/success factors, the franchising concept will be an applicable model for the HWP international market expansion in China.