Source Of Know-how Research Articles

Smart historical gardens

Historical parks and garden sites provide a range of social, environmental, ecosystem, recreational, and scientific services. They are witnesses of history, resources of biotic (botanical and dendrological collections) and abiotic (historical buildings or complexes) attributes, sources of knowhow about park maintenance and management accumulated over the centuries as transfer between past and future generations. A series of hazards and processes for finding the best strategies to adapt to climate change are now generally researched. They should also apply to historical greenery – it is particularly sensitive to such alterations. This study aimed to identify the most important pro-climate and pro-ecological trends as well as specific material and organisational solutions noticed by the jury of selected European professional competitions: “European Garden Award”, “Garden of the Year Award” (UK), “Monument of the Year” (Germany) and “Well-kept Monument” (Poland). The available competition regulations, published laudations, and general characteristics of individual parks were analysed. Not only did the research show a diversified level of development and approach to individual sites at the national level, but also variation in sites’ activation: from basic conservation and restoration works to implementation and promotion of pro-ecological and pro-climate solutions, as well as discrepancy in the priorities for assessing objects set by individual competition committees. An unjust tendency among the majority of researched competitions to marginalise the problem of climate change has been noticed (only recently has this problem started to draw some attention). It can contribute to the loss of a significant part of the garden heritage because any activity in such a sensitive substance requires a relatively longer time and often divides the work process into many stages. Their standardisation and equal development would strengthen the European heritage and resilience to climate change. The exchange of knowledge and experience in the form of good practices and appropriate funding can support these actions.

From idea to social change. Opportunities and barriers to the development of social innovations in Poland on the example of solutions for people on the autism spectrum

GoalThe aim of this paper is to describe the procedures for introducing social innovations in psychology in Poland on the example of three implemented solutions for people on the autism spectrum: the “Mary and Max” Peer Volunteering Program, Autilius Therapeutic Game, and PEERS® Social Skills Training. These solutions have been developed under the cooperation of three sectors (NGO, public and private) and based on various financing mechanisms. They will serve as examples for identifying the opportunities and barriers to the development of social innovations in Poland. The article proposes a solution that may contribute to the growth of social innovations. ThesesSocial innovations can be defined as all products, services, processes and regulations that are novel in a given context and have an advantage over the existing solutions to social problems. Innovation is a complex process that consists of the following stages: 1) problem identification, 2) generation of ideas and potential solutions, 3) prototyping and testing (including effectiveness assessments), 4) implementation and sustaining, 5) scaling and dissemination, 6) systemic change. The process of creating and implementing social innovations requires a multidisciplinary team of experts, cross-sector cooperation and a long-term financial plan. These elements are discussed in the context of the three described solutions. ConclusionsPoland lacks well-established procedures for creating and implementing social innovations. Such solutions should include support for team creation, development of financing mechanisms, favourable conditions for cross-sector cooperation and sources of know-how. Academic Incubators of Social Innovation (AIIS) could facilitate the development of social innovations by providing a collaborative platform for stakeholders other than the private sector and the scientific community.

Transfer of Craft Knowledge to New Product Development through Collaboration between Craftsmen and Designers

New product development (NPD) plays a significant role in maintaining competitive advantage and increasing market share. NPD is highly dependent on the existing knowledge of individuals within the company, which is shared and used to create new knowledge. Employees’ tacit knowledge is another significant source of know-how for companies. Craft knowledge – a form of tacit knowledge that includes material and hand-making knowledge – is transferable to industries through collaborative works. Since the management and design literatures on this subject do not meet on common ground, there is a lack of literature on this transfer. With this aim, we examined the transfer of craft knowledge to NPD in three industries: leather, glass, and furniture industries. Thirteen in-depth interviews were conducted with six companies. Interviews were analyzed through thematic analysis. Craft knowledge is transferred to industries during the idea generation and prototyping stages of NPD through problem-solving and suggesting materials and manufacturing techniques.

Bilateral environmental cooperation in 1991?V2001 and its role in the improvement of the ecological situation in Estonia

Estonia has made relatively fast progress in developing its environmental policy and drafting legislation during the last decade. Strategic environmental documents and programmes have been elaborated, and Estonia has successfully started to implement the goals set in these documents. Implementation of agreed environmental policy goals requires significant financial resources as well as know-how, and international cooperation is one of the most important sources of them. Bilateral environmental cooperation with Northern and Central European countries, which is based on international regime-like arrangements and is well institutionalised, has been and still is an important source of know-how as well as financial assistance for the improvement of the state of the environment in Estonia. Experience acquired in this cooperation process has also helped Estonia to pave the way towards successful accession negotiations with the European Union.

Why urban health cannot be ignored: the way forward.

Urban health is an increasingly relevant and challenging field of action for the European region, and indeed the whole world. Urban health and action at the local level represent a high priority for the European Office of the World Health Organization. The success and appeal of the Healthy Cities concept to politicians, to professionals, and to community activists has resulted in a continuing growth of the movement both within and outside Europe. More than 1200 cities and towns are now involved in the 26 national Healthy Cities networks and several regional networks in Europe. Working directly and closely with a relatively small network of selected fully committed cities (over two 5-year phases: 1988 to 1992 and 1993 to 1997) has proved to be a valuable tool for strategic growth and a source of know-how, legitimacy, and continuous learning. No plan or strategy for health can be serious without systematically addressing poverty, vulnerability, and access to care. The WHO Healthy Cities programme gives emphasis on addressing equity and the social determinants of health through explicit political commitment and integrative policy making and planning.

Sources of imitation: improving bank process capabilities

This paper argues that imitators are more likely than innovators to use a wider variety of channels for improving their process capabilities, and that the sources of imitation are more ‘informal,’ or non-market-mediated, than formal. Yet, the search for know-how is a variegated process even within the same industry. These variations stem from factors other than industry-specific technical requirements. Regulatory intervention has important implications for firm history, skill bases, size, and competitive focus. Taken together, these background elements guide firms from the same industry towards somewhat different sources of know-how. The case under study is banking, a service industry rarely considered in the literature on technical change.

Building the Capabilities to Imitate: Product and Managerial Know-how in Indonesian Banking

This paper investigates how imitators in services acquire capabilities and the kinds of know-how they seek. It argues that imitators exploit a wide range of largely ‘informal’ sources of know-how. A central part of this search process is the effort of imitators to acquire managerial know-how. Managers structure most of the social arrangements by which product or process innovations become profitable. Although a neglected category of research, the concept of managerial know-how can help to extend our understanding of appropriability, intra-industry heterogeneity in performance and the challenges associated with integrating product innovations with an organization's prevailing routines.