Knowledge Exchange System Research Articles

Investigating the scientific knowledge–policy interface in EU climate policy

We provide an historical overview of the evolution of knowledge exchange architecture for climate policy in the EU. We investigate whether evolutions in the knowledge architecture reflect shifts in the politicisation of climate change. First, we outline a conceptualisation of politicisation that accounts for two types of effects: prioritisation leading to enabling conditions for knowledge exchange, and polarisation leading to constraining conditions. Next, we describe the shifting politicisation of climate change in the EU since the 1990s, followed by a discussion of the evolution of two key aspects of the knowledge exchange system: formal and informal aspects, focusing on knowledge exchange with the European Commission. Our analysis reveals connections between the development of the formal and informal aspects of the knowledge exchange architecture and the shifts in politicisation in different time periods. We find that when the politicisation of climate change led to a negative or constraining context, the informal aspects of the knowledge exchange architecture closed, making it more challenging for multidisciplinary scientific knowledge to enter the process. However, the formal aspects of the knowledge exchange architecture remained in place, even under constraining conditions. The article provides a nuanced assessment of the connections between the effects of politicisation and the potential for meaningful scientific–policy knowledge exchange, enhancing our understanding of both the politicisation of climate change and of knowledge exchange architectures.

A model for effective partnership working to support programme evaluation

The use of multi-agency partnerships, including research-practice partnerships, to facilitate the development, implementation and evaluation of public health interventions has expanded in recent years. However, gaps remain in the understanding of influences on partnership working, and their capacity to facilitate and use evaluation, as well as the characteristics which lead to partnership effectiveness. We applied qualitative methods to explore experiences of stakeholders who were involved in partnerships to deliver and evaluate a national physical activity programme. We combined thematic and network analysis, and drew on concepts of evaluation use, knowledge exchange and organisational systems to interpret our findings and develop a conceptual model of the relationships between partnership characteristics and processes. Our model identifies key partnership characteristics such as high levels of engagement, regular communication and continuity. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of implementing organisational structures and systems to support effective partnership working, knowledge exchange and capacity building.

RESEARCH OF THE TEXT PROCESSING METHODS IN ORGANIZATION OF ELECTRONIC STORAGES OF INFORMATION OBJECTS

The subject matter of the article is electronic storage of information objects (IO) ordered by specified rules at the stage of accumulation of qualification thesis and scientific work of the contributors of the offered knowledge exchange system provided to the system in different formats (text, graphic, audio). Classified works of contributors of the system are the ground for organization of thematic rooms for discussion to spread scientific achievements, to adopt new ideas, to exchange knowledge and to look for employers or mentors in different countries. The goal of the work is to study the libraries of text processing and analysis to speed-up and increase accuracy of the scanned text documents classification in the process of serialized electronic storage of information objects organization. The following tasks are: to study the text processing methods on the basis of the proposed generalized model of the system of classification of scanned documents with the specified location of the block of text processing and analysis; to investigate the statistics of change in the execution time of the developed parallel modification of the methods of the word processing module for the system with shared memory for collections of text documents of different sizes; analyze the results. The methods used are the following: parallel digital sorting methods, methods of mathematical statistics, linguistic methods of text analysis. The following results were obtained: in the course of the research fulfillment the generalized model of the scanned documents classification system that consist of image processing unit and text processing unit that include unit of the scanned image previous processing; text detection unit; previous text processing; compiling of the frequency dictionary; text proximity detection was offered. Conclusions: the proposed parallel modification of the previous text processing unit gives acceleration up to 3,998 times. But, at a very high computational load (collection of 18144 files, about 1100 MB), the resources of an ordinary multiprocessor-based computer with the shared memory obviously is not enough to solve such problems in the mode close to real time.

When firms embrace science: University alliances and firm drug development pipeline

AbstractTraditional model of closed innovation has been challenged, and firms in biomedical sciences are teaming up with universities to advance scientific discoveries and publish their research results in scholarly journals. This study examines the contingent nature of the relationship between university‐industry alliances and a firm's follow‐on contribution to open science in the context of therapeutic biotechnology. It integrates insights from organizational learning theory and sociology of science to explore boundary conditions of the efficacy of the organizational learning mechanism across the realms of business and academic science. Specifically, our contention is that, under certain circumstances, for‐profit firms are likely to learn from their university alliance partners how to harness the dynamics of the open system of scientific knowledge exchange and embrace open science. Our contingency model elucidates the moderating role of a firm's R&D pipeline of drug candidates in clinical development and a firm's R&D expertise diversity across therapeutic categories. The empirics are based on a longitudinal analysis of a sample of therapeutic biotechnology firms in the United States over the period 2003–2010. We estimate negative binomial models to test our predictions. In support of our hypotheses, our findings indicate that reaching out to university alliances is positively related to firms’ publishing with academic co‐authors when firms develop stronger R&D pipeline and more diverse R&D expertise across therapeutic categories. The results of our study point to complementarities between collaborations with universities and a firm's investments in strengthening and diversifying its drug development pipeline in the process of public knowledge creation.

From interregional knowledge networks to systems

Whereas interregional networks of individual actors have recently received growing attention, networks in terms of collective regional groups of organisations interacting with their counterparts remain largely ignored. This is surprising given the Smart Specialisation agenda's ‘outward looking’ approach. This conceptual paper explores the rationales and dimensions underpinning interregional knowledge exchange, networks and systems including a definitional clarity, a typology of networks and the impacts of different types of proximity. The paper also introduces the concept of the interregional knowledge exchange system and sets a new agenda for studying their structure, formation and evolutionary path.

Kokums to the Iskwêsisisak

The national COVID-19 pandemic response presents a sharp contrast to the matrilineal social kinship and knowledge exchange systems that Métis women and girls rely on for safety, security, and wellbeing. In this article, we demonstrate that while Métis women and girls have been left out of the national pandemic response, they continue to carry intergenerational healing knowledges that have been passed down from thekokums(grandmas) to theiskwêsisisak(girls). We show how urban Métis girls and women are both managing and tackling COVID-19 through innovative and community-based initiatives likeWell Living Houseand theCall Auntie Hotline.

The Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS) in Campania Region: the challenges facing the first implementation of experimental model

Purpose: In this context, the current study aims to carry out an implementation analysis of knowledge network in Campania region, Italy. This region has implemented, using Measure 1, Measure 2 and Measure 16 of Rural Development Plan 2014-2020, an experimental model of AKIS.Methodology: The methodology was based on a living-lab approach where involved actors have an active role as co-innovators.Findings: The results give hints to implement, in the last period of the Cap 2014-2020, others experimental AKIS based on the Rural Developments Plans.Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The development of new agricultural practices and its spread to obtain more sustainable agriculture has become an important issue for researchers and policy makers. In particular, growing attention is paid to the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS) expression used to describe the whole knowledge exchange system, the ways people and organisations interact within a country or a region. AKIS can include farming practice, businesses, authorities, research and can vary a lot, depending on the country or sector. However, the complexity of the AKIS implemented in Campania region requires particularly effective governance instruments and a continuous monitoring and evaluation processes to elicit innovation needs. Therefore, in the next CAP 2014-2020 measure related to advice (Art. 13 - COM (2018) 392 final) and ‘knowledge transfer and information actions’ (Art. 72 – COM (2018) 392 final) should be strategically integrated to implement modern and tailored advisory programmes based on different advisory work approaches to better meet the needs of all parties. This issue needs a testing time useful to better plan policy intervention for the next CAP.

The Introduction of HR Knowledge Exchange System and Expert Network In Hungarian Civil Service To Support The Reorganisation of Personnel Management

The development of the Hungarian Public Administration’s personnel management has been deeply impacted by the on-going global reinterpretation of the general role and significance of HR in government departments, and by the simultaneous paradigm shift in civil service.
 Meaning, that on the one hand Human Resources Management has become a strategic partner to leadership in human-oriented organisational development. It is able to aid the interpretation of challenges and the aim of policy reforms, planning, execution and evaluation of changes, impact assessment and reporting.
 On the other hand, organisational decision-making has been gaining significance, while at the same time, the centralized legal regulation has become less relevant in HRM does questions due to the deregulation of human resources management in civil service.. This tendency puts a higher emphasis on HR Knowledge Exchange Systems and knowledge-sharing methods.
 The HR Knowledge Exchange System and Expert Network plans with the aim of providing online and offline support to HR professionals in public administration in order to improve their HR knowledge and competencies of both offline (project-based events) and online (via Online Forum) professional communities.
 Combined, the HR Knowledge Exchange System and Expert Network provides support to HR professionals primarily through granting access to an online academic research database with upto- date content, forum discussions as well as face-to-face counselling in a way that fits the requirements of the current tendencies of the reorganisation process of HR functions. It also contributes to the implementation of the ‘Healthy Organisation Model’ in practice.

Researchers and scientific communication networks in the digital age and academic capitalism. Review of the monograph S. A. Dushina, V. A. Kupriyanov, T. Ju. Khvatova «Uchenye v setyakh “otkrytoi nauki”» [Scientists in the Networks of “Open Science”

The widespread adoption of digital technologies over the past decades has an increasingly significant impact on the academic environment. The book of S. A. Dushina, V. A. Kupriyanova, T. Yu. Khvatova «Scientists in the networks of “open science”» offers a comprehensive view of the problems of changes in the internal structure of modern science, the system of scientific communications and the place of the researcher in them. Combining the methods of informational, economic, sociological, historical, philosophical research in the monograph, the authors build a complex picture of both the prospects that open up for science as a whole, scientific communities and individual researchers of new opportunities, and new challenges that arise. Starting with the historical part which describes the formation of a system of scientific communication in Europe in the 17th century, the authors then proceed to the analysis of the modern system of knowledge exchange, highlighting its most significant components. Then, based on the analysis of the most significant concepts and their own empirical research, the authors form their understanding of the phenomenon ofa scientific career, analyzing not only cases of successful careers, but also the problem of “broken” careers, especially at the bottom of the career ladder. As a result, a complex but whole picture of developmental dynamics within scientific communications in the past and their features at the present stage of technological development appears before the reader’s eyes.

Modelling crop yield, water consumption, and water use efficiency for sustainable agroecosystem management

Agroecosystems provide food, energy, and essential services, while accounting for 80% of the world’s total water use. Producing more food with limited water resources or improving water use efficiency (WUE) is an urgent task, especially in arid and semi-arid areas with fragile ecosystems and severe water shortages. This study integrated crop type distribution, irrigation data, remote sensing imagery, and meteorological factors to simulate the crop yield, water consumption, and WUE in the Heihe River Basin of China during 2007–2012. We found that variations in water consumption had little impact on crop yield because the value far exceeded the actual water requirement. From 2007 to 2012, the water consumption of corn increased by 11.24%, while its yield decreased by 0.63%. In contrast, the water consumptions of wheat, oilseed rape, and other crops decreased by 15.45%, 10.32%, and 4.61%, while their yields increased by 2.41%, 8.91%, and 1.13%, respectively. Consequently, the WUE of corn decreased by 10.68%, while that of oilseed rape, wheat, barley, and other crops increased by 21.44%, 21.13%, 4.96%, and 6.02%, respectively. The expansion of the area planted with corn led to a 3.36% increase in the WUE of the basin. However, this agricultural development is clearly unsustainable because it increased agricultural water consumption and decreased the ecological and domestic water supply. On-demand irrigation is therefore necessary to reduce water wastage and improve WUE. This would have reduced agricultural water consumption in 2007 and 2012 by 32.58% and 30.13%, and the WUEs would have increased by 48.33% and 43.12%, respectively. Sustainable water-efficient management should comprehensively consider the economic benefits and environmental burdens in crop structure adjustment, irrigation practices, and field management. Additionally, a knowledge-exchange system among experts, resource managers, and farmers is crucial for improving WUE strategies for sustainable agroecosystem development.

Knowledge Management Systems and Work Improvements: The Moderating Effects of Work Characteristics

Knowledge is regarded as an important source of competitive advantage in modern organisations, and the use of knowledge exchange systems to facilitate the storage, transfer, and reuse of existing knowledge has become common. Solutions beyond the technology are, however, important for the efficiency of such systems, and thus their ability to improve work performance. Based on the survey data collected from a large petroleum operator company and eight of its main contractors, this paper examines how work characteristics and job design affect the extent to which the use of knowledge exchange systems leads to work performance improvements. We find that behaviour formalisation, work autonomy, and changing/new work demands are significant moderators of this relationship. The study contributes to the theory and practice of knowledge management in general, and the use of knowledge exchange systems specifically.

Reforms in Rural Development and their Influence on Agricultural Extension of Uzbekistan: Experience and Challenges in Water Management

Abstract Nowadays science applies agricultural innovations in a wide range all over the world; however, number of water users in innovations is in smaller amounts. This might happen to a number of factors, for example lack of adequate knowledge exchange system, nominal extension services at places, lack of well-defined policies, barriers in ‘human’ minds change’, barriers at policy level. As for Uzbekistan, it could be said that practice of extension of innovations application and its diffusion in agricultural irrigation sector in Uzbekistan does not have much experience, however, before 1991 Uzbekistan was one of the Soviet Unions’ republics and as it is known, the Soviet Union had high practice in innovations in different sectors, as well as in agriculture. Although, since independence, Uzbekistan has continued to experience innovations in agricultural sector independently, their diffusion is at a challenging shape. This article captures the policy issue, how Uzbekistan started to develop water management issues in its economic reforms, it describes a case research on application of innovative technique on a farm level and accordingly, it tries to propose the aspects that need to be involved in future reforms to make the current situation be better managed.

Вклад компаний в накопление человеческого капитала: межстрановый анализ

In this article, the mechanism of human capital accumulation is explored as an example of the participation of the economically active adult population in the main forms of lifelong learning. Demand for expanding lifelong activities is expressed by those employers who are concerned about the development of sustainable skills and upgrading the qualifications of their employees at companies. This process is driven by companies engaged in innovation activity. Russia has a high position in the world if the criterion for assessment is the level of formal education of employees, but Russian employees improve their professional knowledge and skills through lifelong learning less actively than employees in the EU. According to the results of the surveys, the gap between the rates of participation in lifelong learning of top and middle managers and the rates of participation of other employees is quite dramatic, and it demonstrates a failure in exchanging and transferring new knowledge and skills in Russian companies. In its turn, such a disproportionate state creates an obstacle for innovation activity in companies. In this article, we will discuss some state and corporate compensatory measures aimed at adjusting the extreme inequality in the education and training of employees. A higher return on investment in training can be achieved only by the harmonization of advanced knowledge of top and middle managers, who are most actively participating in lifelong learning, with a process of training other employees at companies. Middle managers are considered a key element, a sort of proponent of such a knowledge and skills exchange system, because they act as a mentors for workers.The paper’s core is comparative analysis of international surveys and a survey of Russian employers in six sectors of economy as a part of project “Monitoring of education markets and organizations,” which was initiated by the Russian Ministry of Education and Science and was conducted by National Research University HSE and Levada Center. In the paper we estimate the educational capital of top and middle managers and their rate of participation in lifelong training compared with the rate for employees occupying lower positions and evaluate Russian employers’ contribution to the provision of lifelong learning for employees in comparison with their colleagues from countries in the EU and OECD.

‘The one that got away’: how angling as a culture of practice manifests in the teaching and learning relationship within angling-based intervention programmes

In recent years a professional sector has emerged within the UK delivering angling-based intervention programmes targeted at young people ‘disengaged’ with education. These coaches bring with them an angling cultural background, which influences their interactions with young people as ‘novices’, emerging in ‘angler talk’ that accompanies waterside coaching. We argue that young people's exposure to ‘angler talk’ amounts to a cultural apprenticeship, socialising young people into an experience-based learning community. Through angler anecdotes and waterside banter young people are encouraged to be active participants in an egalitarian system of knowledge exchange that is particularly appealing for working with disaffected young people. By identifying how angling as a community of practice manifests in the teaching and learning relationship, we demonstrate the benefit of ethnographic approaches for appreciating the subtle cultural influences at work in skill-based intervention programmes.

Antecedents of Knowledge Exchange Systems Usage: Motivational and Work Environment Factors

The use of knowledge exchange systems to facilitate transfer and reuse of knowledge has become commonplace in modern organizations. Factors beyond the technology itself are, however, important for the level and quality of systems usage. Both individual and organizational factors are in this respect central. Based on this acknowledgement, this study develops and tests hypotheses concerning the influence of three work environment characteristics (leadership involvement, employee empowerment, and role clarity) on intrinsic, introjected, and external motivation for knowledge exchange, and further, how these work characteristics and motivation types influence use of knowledge exchange systems. The results show that all work characteristics, as well as intrinsic and external motivation, influence system usage. Introjected motivation, on the other hand, is not related to system usage. Furthermore, the results show that there are significant positive relationships between leader involvement and all motivation types. Employee empowerment is positively related to intrinsic motivation, while role clarity influences introjected and external motivation. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Different Argentine Rural Extensionists' Mindsets and Their Practical Implications

Purpose: This paper reflects upon the practice of Argentine rural extensionists working in the extension public system through the process of identifying different rural extensionists' types of mindsets and comparing them with transfer of technology extension approach, dialogical processes of horizontal knowledge exchange, participatory perspectives and innovation system approach.Design/Methodology/approach: A quali-quantitative investigation was conducted. Surveys containing closed and open questions were sent via email to rural extensionists. This allowed the researcher to identify their beliefs about different issues connected to extension practice. The sample was incidental (n = 219; 143 men, 76 women). Qualitative data was categorized and quantified. Finally, a two-steps cluster analysis was implemented.Findings: Two types of rural extensionists' mindsets were identified, one of which relates to the transfer of technology approach and other to the dialogical/horizontal model, yet neither of them fitting the ideal of the most important extension institution of the country, which supports an innovation system approach.Practical implications: Extensionists' practices and institutional ideals do not coincide. Reflexive training processes are required to make beliefs about rural extension explicit in order to build a contextually suitable extension proposal. Originality/Value: Through a quali-quantitative approach to the issue of rural extensionists' mindsets, this paper contributes to a better understanding of Argentine rural extensionists' practices.

Knowledge exchange systems usage: the importance of content contribution and application in distributed environments

Purpose – For knowledge exchange systems to yield best organizational benefits, it is acknowledged that employees have to both contribute with and apply system content. This may be of particular importance in distributed environments due to limitations in alternative channels for knowledge exchange. This study investigates the effects of the gap between contribution and application on the degree of knowledge exchange within and between organizational borders and work locations. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on survey data involving 2204 respondents from a large petroleum operator company and eight of its main contractors. Findings – An increase in the gap between contribution and application is accompanied with reduced levels of knowledge exchange between organizational borders and work locations, but has no effects on knowledge exchange between employees of the same organization working at the same location. This is explained by the availability of substitute channels for local knowledge exchange. Practical implications – Knowledge exchange systems research and practice have to focus on both knowledge contribution and knowledge application as fundamental processes, and should further consider organizational structure as an important factor. Originality/value – Most research on contribution and application of content in knowledge exchange systems focuses on knowledge exchange within company boundaries. This study systematically investigates the effects of the gap between contribution and application of system content at different levels of organizational distribution, and thus extends existing research by introducing organizational distribution as a conditioning variable for successful knowledge management.

Knowledge management and safety compliance in a high-risk distributed organizational system.

BackgroundIn a safety perspective, efficient knowledge management is important for learning purposes and thus to prevent errors from occurring repeatedly. The relationship between knowledge exchange among employees and safety behavior may be of particular importance in distributed organizational systems where similar high-risk activities take place at several locations. This study develops and tests hypotheses concerning the relationship between knowledge exchange systems usage, knowledge exchange in the organizational system, and safety compliance.MethodsThe operational context of the study is petroleum drilling and well operations involving distributed high-risk activities. The hypotheses are tested by use of survey data collected from a large petroleum operator company and eight of its main contractors.ResultsThe results show that safety compliance is influenced by use of knowledge exchange systems and degree of knowledge exchange in the organizational system, both within and between units. System usage is the most important predictor, and safety compliance seems to be more strongly related to knowledge exchange within units than knowledge exchange between units.ConclusionOverall, the study shows that knowledge management is central for safety behavior.

New Technologies and Teaching Comparative Literature

In her article New Technologies and Teaching Comparative Literature Graciela Boruszko discusses the use of new technologies in literary studies curricula. Innovative processes are becoming fundamental components of our educational systems as students challenge faculty to immerse themselves in their rapidly changing world. Learning in the twenty-first century is assisted by various information technologies because the networked information economy made possible by the Internet allows students to access a rich array of online resources including community based and collaborative knowledge exchange systems. Current students are natives grown up using a variety of digital platforms. Students multitask and process information quickly and therefore demand more from the learning processes proposed to them. Rather than consuming information, students form their own information networks and participate in learning communities. The discipline of comparative literature relies on the interaction of ideas and concepts which evolve from an initial core of seemingly disconnected literary works. Technology is an important facilitator of those connections, enabling deeper thought to be given to the comparative process that follows the initial challenge of understanding how connections are formed or what a particular constellation of connections represents

Progress on obesity prevention over 20 years in Australia and New Zealand

The lessons learned from over 20 years of obesity prevention efforts in Australia and New Zealand are presented. The obesity epidemic started in the 1980s but poor monitoring systems meant the rise in obesity prevalence initially went undetected. In the 1990 s, experts started advocating for government action; however, it was the rapid increase in media reports on obesity in the early 2000s which created the pressure for action. Several, comprehensive reports produced some programme investment but no regulatory policies were implemented. The powerful food industry lobby ensured this lack of policies on front-of-pack food labelling, restrictions on unhealthy food marketing to children, or taxes on unhealthy foods. The New Zealand government even backpedalled by rescinding healthy school food guidelines and withdrawing funding for the comprehensive national obesity strategy. In 2007, Australian Governments started a major long term-investment in preventive health in order to improve economic productivity. Other positive initiatives, especially in Australia, were: the establishment of several advocacy organizations; successful, long-term, whole-of-community projects reducing childhood obesity; a national knowledge exchange system for practitioners; and some innovative programmes and social marketing. However, despite multiple reports and strong advocacy, key recommended regulatory policies remain unimplemented, largely due to the private sector interests dominating public policy development.