published_or_final_version / Philosophy / Master / Master of Philosophy

The objective of this paper is to increase our ability to understand the systems of innovation approach as a flexible and useful conceptual framework for innovation analysis. It presents an effort to develop some missing links and to decrease the conceptual noise often present in the discussions on national innovation systems. The paper specifies elements and relations that seem to be essential to the conceptual core of the framework and argues that there is no a priori reason to emphasise the national over the subnational [regional] scale as an appropriate mode for analysis, irrespective of time and place. Localised input-output relations between the actors of the system, knowledge spillovers and their untraded interdependencies lie at the centre of the arguments. The paper is organised as follows. It introduces the reader, first, to some basic elements and concepts that are central to understanding the approach. The characteristics of the innovation process are examined: its nature, sources and some of the factors shaping its development. Particular emphasis is laid on the role of knowledge creation and dissemination based on the fundamental distinction between codified and tacit forms. These concepts recur throughout the paper and particularly in discussions on the nature and specifications of the systems approach. The paper concludes by summarising some of the major findings of the discussion and pointing to some directions for future research activities. (author's abstract) / Series: Discussion Papers of the Institute for Economic Geography and GIScience

Recent research literature on learning to teach has several important strands: the role of subject matter; the extent to which pedagogical knowledge and procedural routines are significant; concepts of learning and teaching; and the role of reflection in learning to teach. The present study adds both to the debate on the links between subject knowledge and pedagogy, and to the case law on learning to teach. A two-year longitudinal comparative case study was carried out on four postgraduate student-teachers. Data sets included: biographical data; details of course content and structure; diaries kept by the students on courses and teaching experiences; tests at entry to the course and exit on subject knowledge in maths, science, music and English; tests on iesson planning (pedagogical content knowledge); questionnaires on beliefs about teaching; lesson observation transcripts and notes on the two teaching practices; prelesson planning questionnaires; post-lesson interviews and general interviews with students and staff; and similar lesson observation and interview data for the first year of teaching. The student-teachers were selected on the basis of a number of criteria, including specialism within the course of maths, music or science; performance in subject knowledge tests; participation in the follow-up study during the first year of teaching; the quantity and quality of diary evidence foreach student; and the initial assessment of lesson quality made by the trained observers. A major part of the research involved the analysis of discourse in lessons for evidence of subject matter knowledge and teaching competences. This part of the analysis was underpinned by theoretical models of teacher knowledge and teaching competence. From these detailed analyses a fine-grained evaluation was made of a sample of each student-teacher's lessons. The case studies were written so as to present data chronologically and from a number of different viewpoints.The analysis of the various data sets and comparison of the sample students has revealed patterns about the relationship of subject knowledge and teaching performance. These have implications for teacher education, especially for the relationship between university-based training and schoolbased work.

The changing social organisation and practice of African agriculture, and the elucidation of 'indigenous technical knowledge' (ITK) are both research priorities but are usually examined separately. This thesis shows why ITK should be understood within the historically changing social relations of its production and expression. Inversely, it shows why an investigation of the history of ITK improves analyses of changing social organisation. The study is based on social anthropological fieldwork in a Bwisha community in Kivu, Eastern Zaire. Chapter one examines various problems in the elucidation and representation of ITK. Chapter two reviews social organisation in Bwisha. Subsequent chapters focus on the several different histories which together constitute the changing relations of production of ITK in Bwisha. Chapters three and four examine political economic forms. Land access and inter-household relations are explored in chapter five, and intra-household relations are explored in chapter six. Chapter seven focuses in on food provisioning possibilities, and chapter eight on strategies of crop and soil fertility management. Each of these histories is the site of specific struggles. Chapter nine examines how these struggles interrelate, how together they constitute the relations of production of local knowledge and hence how they shape the product. Agricultural knowledge is found to be intimately related to local understandings of task, hierarchical and gender identities, the nature of power and social organisational form. Changes in farming knowledge respond to changes in these and vice versa. The conclusion elaborates on this point. To say that farming is socio-politically embedded does not go far enough.

<p>Companies use IT tools for knowledge management. The purpose of this study is to examine the perceived benefits and possible drawbacks of SharePoint. Different perspectives on knowledge and different knowledge management processes are compared to this system. The vision for SharePoint in Stora Enso includes e.g. increasing work efficiency and supporting of knowledge sharing. The situation before SharePoint 2007 included e.g. information was hard to find and static sites existed in changeable conditions. Knowledge is mostly perceived as an object in Stora Enso, but with new features and techniques it is possible to view knowledge with other perspectives. The main benefit of SharePoint is the possibility to collaborate and share knowledge.</p>

<p>Att hantera kunskapen inom organisationer blir allt viktigare för att kunna förbättra den organisatoriska konkurrenskraften. Detta kan bland annat uppnås genom ett ökat utnyttjande av kunskapskapitalet. Kunskapskapitalet brukar vanligtvis handla om att utforska tacit kunskap, det vill säga den kunskapen som finns i de anställdas sinnen.</p><p>Från år 2010 och fyra år framåt förväntas en stor utmarsch av 40-talister från den svenska arbetsmarknaden. Detta kommer att få konsekvenser på arbetsplatserna. Konsekvenserna kommer bland annat att bli i form av underskott i kunskapskapitalet.</p><p>Syftet med uppsatsen är ta fram en modell som illustrerar hur kunskap kan identifieras och överföras. För att kunna besvara syftet har en abduktiv ansats och en kvalitativ datainsamlingsmetod använts i studien. Totalt har två observationer och fyra intervjuer genomförts. Studien har genomförts på fallföretaget Electrolux Laundry Systems i Ljungby och datainsamlingen har skett inom enheten Hydraulpressningsgruppen.</p><p>I studien kommer begreppet kunskap och dess olika typer att redas ut. Vidare kommer det beskrivas hur kunskap kan identifieras, konverteras och överföras.</p><p>Vi har utformat en analys som är baserad på den teoretiska referensramen. Analysen är utformad för att spegla syftet och problembakgrunden i studien. Den bygger på tre övergripande delar, kunskapsbegreppet, kunskapsidentifiering och kunskapsöverföring.</p><p>Resultatet av studien är en modell som skapar en förståelse för hur kunskapsidentifiering och kunskapsöverföring kan gå till. Studien har även kommit fram till att det finns hinder som kan försvåra en effektiv kunskapshantering.</p> / <p>Managing knowledge is becoming increasingly important to improve the organizational competitiveness. This can be achieved by a greater use of the knowledge capital. This usually means to explore the tacit knowledge which exists in the minds of the employees. In Sweden, from 2010 and four years onwards, a great walkout is expected among the people being born in the 40s.</p><p>The purpose of this essay is to create a model that illustrates how knowledge can be identified and transferred.</p><p>The methodology used in this study aims to attain the purpose by using a qualitative method in which interviews and observations are combined.</p><p>The study has been carried out at the case company, Electrolux Laundry Systems in Ljungby, Sweden.</p><p>The authors have developed an analysis which is based on the theoretical framework. This analysis consists of three main parts, knowledge identification, knowledge transfer and a model for knowledge management.</p><p>The conclusion in this essay is a model that creates an understanding of how knowledge can be identified and transferred. The study also found that there are obstacles that might constrain an effective knowledge management.</p>

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