Os indicadores tradicionais de atividades inovativas, dentre os quais se destacam as estatísticas de pesquisa e desenvolvimento e patentes, se apoiam no argumento linear de que a pesquisa leva à comercialização de novas tecnologias. Baseados nos indicadores tradicionais, estudos recentes focados no processo de inovação industrial em economias emergentes afirmam que hoje em dia as firmas latino-americanas desempenham um papel passivo nas atividades inovadoras mundiais, caracterizado pela ausência de capacidades inovadoras. Esses indicadores, entretanto, não parecem ser os mais adequados para se medir a inovação, em especial em firmas dessa natureza. Isso porque eles se mostram limitados para captar como o processo de inovação ocorre no interior das firmas. O fato de que o comprometimento empresarial deliberado com a atividade de inovação seja relativamente menor em firmas localizadas em economias emergentes não necessariamente implica a ausência de atividades inovadoras nas mesmas. Possivelmente, atividades inovadoras se desdobram de maneira diferente. Sua avaliação, portanto, requer o uso de outras medidas. Este estudo tem como objetivo desenvolver um conjunto de novos indicadores de atividades inovativas que ampliem o escopo de análise dos indicadores tradicionais no interior das firmas e testá-los em um grupo de firmas da economia brasileira. Para se garantir a acurácia dos novos indicadores de atividades inovativas, a criação dos mesmos é teoricamente amparada por cinco correntes do pensamento econômico: a teoria clássica, a teoria neoclássica, a teoria schumpeteriana, a teoria coaseana da firma e a teoria evolucionária da mudança econômica. Propõe-se teoricamente um conjunto de 16 novos indicadores de inovação, agrupados em torno de quatro dimensões: empreendedorismo, estrutura, coordenação e valor. Para o teste e a validação dos novos indicadores, é realizado um estudo de casos múltiplos em sete firmas brasileiras. Em paralelo ao conjunto de novos indicadores de inovação, também são aplicados junto aos casos estudados quatro indicadores tradicionais, em vias de se ressaltar as especificidades que os novos indicadores permitem observar. Evidências empíricas obtidas na pesquisa de campo referentes ao processo de inovação e ao desempenho inovativo dos casos estudados sugerem a existência de atividades inovadoras que extrapolam os aspectos capturados pelos indicadores tradicionais. Especificamente, observou-se a existência de atividades inovadoras e de desempenho inovativo intermediário nos casos estudados. Adicionalmente, as análises realizadas a partir do primeiro exercício de aplicação do conjunto de novos indicadores evidenciaram que 12 novos indicadores de inovação são acurados o suficiente para serem utilizados em pesquisas futuras e complementarem as análises antes embasadas somente nos indicadores tradicionais. Esses novos indicadores, em especial quando usados conjuntamente, permitem um entendimento mais detalhado da atividade de inovação no âmbito intraorganizacional. / The traditional indicators on innovation rely on the linear assumption that research leads to development. Overall, these indicators refer to research and development expenditures and patents statistics. Based on the traditional innovation indicators, recent studies focused on the industrial innovation process at emerging economies argue that nowadays Latin American firms play a passive role in world’s innovative activities, characterised by the lack of firms’ innovative capabilities. However, these indicators do not seem to be the most appropriate for measuring innovation, especially in emerging economies’ firms. This is because the traditional indicators are unable to capture how the innovation process occurs inside firms. The fact that the deliberated commitment to innovation is relatively low in firms of emerging economies does not necessarily mean that they do not undertake innovative activities. Innovative activities possibly take a different form and therefore also require other measures. The aim of this study is to develop a set of new indicators on innovation that broaden the scope of the traditional indicators on innovation and test them in a group of Brazilian firms. In order to assure the accuracy of the new indicators, this study searches for support from five approaches of the economic theory: the classical theory; the neoclassical theory; the Schumpeterian theory; the Coasean theory of the firm; and the evolutionary theory of economic change. A set of 16 new indicators is theoretically proposed. They are distributed over four dimensions: entrepreneurship, structure, coordination and value. To test and validate the new indicators, a multiple case study is conducted in seven Brazilian firms. This study also makes use of the application of four traditional indicators on innovation with the aim of highlighting the specificities observed by the use of the new indicators. Empirical evidence on the innovation process and performance of the studied cases suggest the existence of innovative activities that go beyond the aspects captured by the traditional indicators. Additionally, the analyses undertaken through the first application exercise of the set of new indicators showed that 12 new indicators are sufficiently accurate to be utilised by future studies. They could be of help to complement the analyses hitherto only guided by the traditional indicators. These new indicators, especially when together employed, allow a more comprehensive observation of the innovation activity inside firms.

Esta pesquisa busca avaliar a influência da localização em cluster no desempenho inovativo das firmas, na estrutura para inovação e nas fontes de inovação acessadas pelas firmas. O trabalho se fundamenta na premissa teórica de que as firmas localizadas em concentrações geográficas de empresas e instituições de um determinado campo conectadas entre si – os clusters – possuem acesso diferenciado a fatores de oportunidade, apropriabilidade e cumulatividade de conhecimento inerentes ao processo de inovação, que podem influenciar positivamente seu desempenho inovativo. A pesquisa possui natureza dedutiva quantitativa e foi estruturada com um modelo de análise discriminante empregando duas populações, sendo a primeira população composta por firmas isoladas geograficamente e outra composta de firmas localizadas em clusters. O processo de análise foi organizado em três etapas: na primeira etapa, avaliou-se uma população de 342 firmas contendo grupos desiguais de firmas em cluster e firmas isoladas, pertencentes a 23 setores de atividade. Na segunda etapa foi empregada uma amostra de 90 firmas pertencentes a cinco setores de atividade, divididas em dois grupos com populações idênticas: um grupo de 45 firmas localizadas em cluster e um grupo de 45 firmas isoladas. Em uma terceira etapa, foram avaliados os seis clusters aos quais pertenciam as firmas analizadas na segunda etapa. Os resultados indicam que a organização em cluster não exerce influência significativa nas três dimensões da inovação analisadas. / This research was dedicated to analyze if firms located in clusters show superior innovative performance, access different sources of innovation and possess unique organizational structures to innovate. The project was based on the theoretical assumption that firms located in certain geographical areas which show a concentration of interconnected companies and institutions of the same field – called clusters – can benefit from access to factors of opportunity, appropriability and cumulativeness of knowledge inherent to the innovation process, thus having their innovative performance positively influenced. The analysis has a deductive, quantitative approach and uses multivariate discriminant analysis with a sample of two groups of companies from the same industrial sectors. The process was structured in three stages: the first stage focused on a population of 342 firms from 23 industrial sectors divided in two unequal groups of firms located in clusters and isolated firms. The second stage employed a population of 90 firms from five activity sectors, organized in two groups with balanced populations – one with 45 firms in clusters and with 45 isolated firms. The third and final stage analyzed six regional clusters from which the clustered population used in stage 2 was located. The results showed no significant influence of regional clusters in any of the three dimensions of innovation analyzed.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-22T22:10:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Maria Goretti Falcao de Araujo.pdf: 1815153 bytes, checksum: 8b0fc23e85820ae12bcf118f4e6dd5bd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-08-06 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This paper deals with a study on the evaluation of innovative activities of business incubators in Manaus and with the creation of an environment that fosters innovation management companies, seeking greater competitiveness. It is based on the evolution of the innovation theory from the Schumpeter postulates reflected in major evaluation models of the innovation process, as manuals Oslo and Bogotá, among others, and PINTEC - Technological Innovation Research. The method used for the study is the multiple cases study and the data collection instrument is field research by questionnaire, unstructured interview and document analysis, with managers and incubated companies. Based on the findings obtained from the survey, it was found that incubators are similar in the management of the majority of the innovative activities. However, time factor and laboratory use are the factors that stood out the differences between them. There was a need to create mechanisms to monitor the enterprises in order to detect their specific needs to manage the innovative activities, thus, accelerating the innovative process of the incubated enterprises, such as training, consulting, interactions with institutions and research centers, access to markets, support the preparation of projects for access to foment publishing, greater access to laboratories and therefore accelerate the innovation process of companies incubated. / O presente trabalho trata da realização de um estudo sobre a avaliação das atividades inovativas das incubadoras de empresas, em Manaus, na criação de um ambiente que favoreça a gestão da inovação das empresas, na busca de maior competitividade. Baseia-se na evolução da teoria da inovação, desde os postulados de Shumpeter, refletida em importantes modelos de avaliação do processo inovativo como os Manuais de Oslo e Bogotá, entre outros. O método utilizado é um estudo de múltiplos casos e o instrumento de obtenção de dados é de pesquisa de campo por meio de questionário, baseado na Pesquisa de Inovação Tecnológica PINTEC, entrevista não estruturada e análise de documentos, referentes ao estudo, com gestores e empresas incubadas. Com base nas conclusões obtidas com a pesquisa, verificou-se que as incubadoras são similares na gestão da maioria das atividades inovativas. Entretanto, os fatores tempo de criação da incubadora e uso de laboratório pelas empresas, no estudo de novas descobertas, são os que mais se destacaram nas diferenças entre elas. Observou-se uma necessidade de criar mecanismos de acompanhamento das empresas a fim de detectar suas necessidades específicas para realizar a gestão das atividades inovativas, tais como: capacitações e treinamentos específicos, consultorias, interações com Instituições e Centros de Pesquisa, acesso a mercados, apoio na elaboração de projetos para acesso a editais de fomento, maior acesso a laboratórios e, por conseguinte, acelerar o processo inovativo das empresas incubadas.

Although it is known that the Spanish current Educative System promotes using the Communicate Approach to teach foreign languages in schools, other recently designed approaches are also used to help students improve their skills when communicating in a foreign language. One of these approaches is Content and Language Integrated Learning, also known as CLIL, which is used to teach content courses using the English language as the language of instruction. This approach improves the students’ skills in English as the same time as they learn content from other areas. The goal of this thesis is to present a research project carried out at the University of Alicante during the academic year 2011-2012. With this research we obtained results that provide quantitative and qualitative data which explains how the use of the CLIL methodology affects the English level of students in the “Didactics of the English Language in Preschool Education” course in Preschool Education Teacher Undergraduate Program as students acquire the contents of the course.

The current study explored the role of psychological contract fulfilment on innovative work behaviours of employees in sport-based small business enterprises (SBEs). Building on literature from sport and non-sport organisational contexts, a model positing a direct linear relationship between psychological contract fulfilment and innovative work behaviours was proposed. Affective commitment and organisational citizenship behaviours were included in the model as partial mediators. The model was tested using a sample of 216 employees from affiliated minor league baseball franchises. Results supported a model where organisational citizenship fully mediated the relationship between psychological contract fulfilments and innovate work behaviours. Affective commitment was predicted by psychological contract fulfilment but was not significantly related to the other variables in the model.

Comment la transmission de connaissances peut aider les concepteurs du secteur du luxe à réinventer les objets et l’expérience de la marque tout en restant ancrés dans son patrimoine ? Cette question ouverte dans les sciences de gestion et de la conception intéresse le domaine du luxe, tout particulièrement la Maison Dom Pérignon en constante quête de renouvellement. En effet, innover sans trahir les traditions est à l’origine de plusieurs tensions. Dans cette thèse, nous montrons comment la transmission d’un « patrimoine de création » peut aider les concepteurs du secteur du luxe à surmonter ces tensions. En étudiant celui de la Maison Dom Pérignon et ceux contenus dans divers livres de la haute cuisine, nous mettons en évidence trois caractéristiques de ce patrimoine de création qui constituent autant d’axes de recherche : Premièrement, nous décrivons les effets positifs sur l’originalité et l’efficacité opérationnelle que la transmission d’un patrimoine de création peut avoir sur les collectifs de concepteurs conduisant des projets d’innovation. Deuxièmement, en faisant appel aux théories de la conception, nous construisons un modèle formel mettant en relation les structures de connaissance et les types de générativité qu’un patrimoine de création peut provoquer. Nous montrons qu’un même domaine peut en contenir plusieurs, qu’un même patrimoine de création peut favoriser plusieurs types de générativité qui pourraient sembler en principe incompatibles, et que ces différents types de générativité peuvent évoluer à travers le temps. Finalement, nous montrons que la conception d’un patrimoine de création exige des interactions entre concepteurs expérimentés et concepteurs récepteurs afin de formaliser, réorganiser et partager un langage du connu et un langage de l’inconnu. Ce dernier est composé des éléments du premier. Nous mettons aussi en exergue que la structure formelle d’un patrimoine de création peut refléter la structure de l’organisation de conception / How can knowledge transmission help designers in the luxury industries to reinvent the brand's objects and experiences while remaining rooted in its heritage? This open question in the management and design sciences is of interest to the luxury sector, and especially to Dom Pérignon, in constant quest of renewal. Indeed, to innovate without betraying tradition is at the origin of several tensions. In this thesis, we show how the transmission of a "creative heritage" can help designers in the luxury industry to overcome these tensions. By studying the creative heritage of Dom Pérignon and those contained in various haute cuisine books, we highlight three characteristics of this creative heritage that constitute as many lines of research: First, we describe the positive effects on the originality and the operational efficiency that the transmission of a creative heritage can have on the collectives of designers leading innovation projects. Secondly, by using design theories, we construct a formal model linking the knowledge structures and the types of generativity that a creative heritage can promote. We show that a same domain can contain several generativities, that a same creative heritage can favor several types of generativity that might seem incompatible in principle, and that these different types of generativity can evolve over time. Finally, we show that the design of a creative heritage requires interactions between experienced and recipient designers to formalize, reorganize and share a language of the known and a language of the unknown. The latter is composed of the elements of the former. We also highlight that the formal structure of a creative heritage can reflect the structure of the design organization.

Background: While there has been a dramatic increase in the prevalence of diabetes in developing countries, such as Mexico, there is a critical need to better understand how the challenges that arise in shifting the focus from acute care to care for chronic conditions manifest at the level of patient care provision in the health care organization and community, especially in rural resource-poor communities. One step in this direction is the exploration of the potential that social capital may provide in improving our understanding of the relationships that exists among patients, health care providers and the broader community. Objectives: To examine the provision of health care for diabetes, as well as the beliefs, resources and relationships that exist among patients and families, health care teams and community partners that affect treatment for diabetes in a rural resource-poor community in Mexico. Methods: This study incorporated a qualitative action-research approach and data was collected via community asset mapping, surveys, semi-structured interviews and group discussions. Utilizing an action research model, the study procedures were iterative, whereby results from selected data collection techniques were used to inform subsequent iterations of data collection. Community resources were identified with key informant input and via community exploration, to record existing and potential diabetes-related resources. Surveys were administered to health care providers, patients and general community members. Semi-structured interviews and group discussion topics were informed by the Innovative Care for Chronic Conditions Framework as well as by prior data collection procedures such as the surveys and preceding interviews. The interviews and group discussions were conducted with health care providers, diabetic patients, and community leaders. Results: Community asset mapping revealed limited existence of health care resources available to the rural community in Mexico. Three salient themes emerged across health care providers, diabetic patients, and community leaders: (1) Cultural eating behaviors are important drivers in preventing and managing diabetes mellitus; (2) Diabetic patients are currently ill-prepared to adequately manage chronic conditions, such as chronic conditions; (3) Trust is an important facilitator and/or barrier for both patients and health care providers when searching for ways to enhance management of diabetes outside of the health care organization. Conclusion: An evidence-based understanding of the diabetes-related beliefs, current perceived performance of diabetes care provision, the availability of community resources and social capital can be used to leverage the health care in low-income communities where primary health services are limited in their availability and/or capacity. The informed construction of community-derived initiatives and interventions that integrate community resources and improve the social capital within the community can enhance the care for patients with diabetes by offering both alternative and complementary avenues of accessing care that supports long-term disease management.

This study, which was conducted among middle-school students in California, focused on the effectiveness of using innovative strategies for enhancing the classroom environment, students' attitudes, and conceptual development. Six hundred and sixty-one (661) students from 22 classrooms in four inner city schools completed the modified actual forms of the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES), the What Is Happening In this Class? (WIHIC) questionnaire, and the Test Of Mathematics Related Attitudes (TOMRA). The data were analyzed for the CLES, WIHIC, and TOMRA to check their factor structure, reliability, discriminant validity, and the ability to distinguish between different classes and groups. In terms of the validity of the CLES, WIHIC, and TOMRA when used with middle-school students in California, the factor analysis results attest to the sound factor structure of each questionnaire. The results for each CLES, WIHIC, and TOMRA scale for the alpha reliability and discriminant validity for two units of analysis (individual and class mean) compare favorably with the results for other well-established classroom environment instruments. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was also calculated for each scale of the CLES and WIHIC to investigate its ability to differentiate between the perceptions of students in different classrooms. The ANOVA results suggest that students perceived the learning environments of different mathematics classrooms differently on CLES and WIHIC scales. In general, the results provided evidence of the validity of these instruments in describing psychosocial factors in the learning environments of middle-school mathematics classrooms in California. The effectiveness of the innovative strategy was evaluated in terms of classroom environment and attitudes, as well as achievement, among a subgroup of 101 students. / Effect sizes and t-tests for paired sample were used to determine changes in classroom environment perceptions, attitudes, and achievement for experimental and control groups. Pretest-posttest differences were statistically significant (p<0.05) for: the CLES scale of Shared Control for the experimental group, the TOMRA scale of Normality of Mathematicians for both the control and the experimental groups, the TOMRA scale of Enjoyment of Mathematics for the experimental group, and the achievement measure for both groups. Also ANCOVA was calculated to determine if differential pretest-posttest changes were experienced by the experimental and control groups in classroom environment perceptions, attitudes, and achievement. The results suggest that there were a statistically significant differential changes for Task Orientation, Normality of Mathematicians, Enjoyment of Mathematics, and achievement between the experimental and control groups. In each case, the experimental group experienced larger pretest-posttest changes than the control group. Overall, a comparison of the pretest-posttest changes for an experimental group, which experienced the innovative strategy, with those for a control group, supported the efficacy of the innovative teaching methods in terms of learning environment perceptions, attitudes to mathematics, and mathematics concept development. The results of simple correlation and multiple correlation analyses of outcome-environment associations for two units of analysis clearly indicated that there is an association between the learning environment and students’ attitudes and mathematics achievement for this group of middle-school mathematics students. / In particular, there is a positive and statistically significant correlation between: Normality of Mathematicians and Student Negotiation, Involvement, and Task Orientation with the individual as the unit of analysis; Enjoyment of Mathematics and all three CLES and three WIHIC scales with the student as a unit of analysis, and for the four scales of Personal Relevance, Shared Control, Involvement, and Task Orientation with the class mean as the unit of analysis. The multiple correlations between the group of three CLES and three WIHIC scales and each of the two TOMRA scales are statistically significant for the individual as a unit of analysis. Overall, the study revealed positive and statistically significant associations between the classroom learning environment and students’ attitudes to mathematics. A two-way MANOVA with repeated measures on one factor was utilized to investigate gender differences in terms of students’ perceptions of classroom environment and attitudes to mathematics, as well as mathematics achievement. A statistically significant but small difference was found between the genders for Student Negotiation and Task Orientation. Female students perceived their mathematics classrooms somewhat more positively than did the male students. There was no statistically significant difference between the genders on achievement and students’ attitudes to mathematics. Qualitative information, gathered through audiotaped interviews, students’ journal, and analysis of students’ work, was used to clarify students’ opinions about the new approach, classroom environment perceptions, attitudes, and conceptual development. / These qualitative information-gathering tools were utilized to obtain a more in-depth understanding of the learning environments (Tobin, Kahle, & Fraser, 1990) and the results of my study (Punch, 1998), as well as insights into students’ perceptions (Spinner & Fraser, 2005). The responses from the students’ interviews and students’ reflective journals from the group that experienced the innovative methods generally suggested that introducing Cramer’s rule as a method for solving systems of linear equations in the middle school can be beneficial and therefore might be considered for inclusion in the middle-school Algebra 1 curriculum more widely in California. Using only quantitative data would not have provided the richness that was derived from using mixed methods (Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004). Therefore, qualitative data obtained from students who experienced the innovative method generally supported the quantitative findings concerning the effectiveness of this method for teaching and learning systems of linear equations.

The purpose of this study was to examine some of the interrelationships between innovation in nursing education, professional attitudes and wastage from nursing. Five groups of students who participated in innovative nurse education courses in A.C.T. hospitals in the 1970's were surveyed by a self administered questionnaire which gathered biographical data as well as attitudinal information. Their responses were compared with those of students who had undertaken a traditional nursing course at an A.C.T. hospital in the same period. The findings of this study suggested that the instrument used may provide a better measure of satisfaction with nursing than of professional attitudes. One of the unexpected findings from the survey which suggested the need for further study was that many of those who had undertaken further nursing study indicating apparent commitment to continuing education in a chosen career would not encourage others to enter nursing. Another was that those who indicated greater career choice commitment may in fact be those who felt unable to obtain alternative employment. It was found that innovation in hospital based nurse education courses attracted different people and produced graduates with different attitudes to professional issues,who followed different career pathways compared to graduates of traditional nurse education courses. Innovative courses appear to have attracted older and better qualified entrants and to have increased the likelihood of graduates being promoted. Respondents from the innovative courses showed increased interest in continuing education and Professional Association activity than their control group colleagues. They were more frustated with the traditional role of the nurse as the selfless, dedicated worker and were less commited to their career choice, overall these findings perhaps indicated a level of dissatisfaction with nursing higher in the innovative course graduates than in the control group. These findings may support Brief's contention (1976) that expectations raised during the educational process, if not fulfilled, will lead to wastage. wastage from nursing was intimately linked with dissatisfaction with work conditions in nursing. Those who had permanently left nursing had more frequently left for work related reasons and undertaken non-nursing study than those who had left and returned or who had never left. Those who left for work related reasons were less likley to return and less likely to choose nursing again if given the chance than those who left for other reasons. Findings about the institutionalisation of innovation in nursing education were difficult to identify with certainty, since time lapse alone could explain many of the findings. Attitudes to the Professional Association were more favourabe in respondents from the later intakes into the innovative courses than from the earlier. Given the recent increases in industrial activity in nursing, this finding is consistent with time lapse. Later intakes also demonstrated greater commitment to continuing education than earlier. This too can probably be explained by the greater availability of such facilities in more recent times. In a period of shortages of nurses prepared to work in the health care facilities of Australia, and of changes in the educational preparation of nurses, the findings of this study relating to attitudes and wastage should be used as the basis for future workforce planning.

Australia faces many challenges in a globalised and rapidly changing world. Schools are increasingly being given responsibility for ensuring the future economic, social and political wellbeing of the nation and its successful transition into the knowledge age. Teachers have the responsibility of educating their students for an as yet unknown future. To meet these complex professional challenges, teachers need to become creators rather than consumers of knowledge. Through engaging in knowledge creation work teachers can re-image their work, reconceptualising the meaning of teacher professionalism. The study explores understandings of knowledge creation that emerge from the experiences of three Queensland schools engaged in IDEAS, a process of whole-school renewal which focuses on the work of teachers. In each case, through collaborative effort, the teachers created new knowledge. How this happened, what was achieved, the dynamics of the relationship between individual and group learning, and the subsequent impact on practice varied from case to case. The nature of the knowledge created was strongly influenced by contextual factors such as the dominant organisational paradigm, socio-emotional climate, cognitive processes, leadership and organisational coherence. In each school extensive data were gathered through in-depth interviews, artefact and document collection, and participant observation, particularly of IDEAS related activities. The story of each school and its engagement with IDEAS – constructed from the accounts of the teachers – is told to provide a basis for understanding knowledge creation in each context. In the final stage of analysis, cross-case comparisons are made to provide a more generalised understanding of knowledge creation processes and the factors which impact on the nature of the knowledge produced. The findings indicate a link between the creation of knowledge in the three schools and a re-imaging of teachers’ work.