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The nature of economic development in advanced and developing economies alike has changed dramatically during the last generation as high-technology/knowledge-intensive industries have had a profound impact upon the way that people work and live. As The Economist has noted: "America gets more than half its economic growth from industries that barely existed a decade ago—such is the power of innovation, especially in the information and biotechnology industries." The first phase of this revolution stemmed from the dramatic impact of information technologies such as the personal computer, software, the Internet, and now wireless communications. During the 1990s, an unprecedented stock market boom in the United States was driven by investment in these technologies. India, a country as poverty-stricken as any, has become an economic power because of its ability to effectively participate in the global information technology value chain. However, at present, the most important and the fastest growing segment of this emergent knowledge economy is biotechnology. While scientific knowledge as a whole has been doubling every ten years, it has been doubling every five years in the field of biology. The result has been a technological renaissance in biotechnology-related fields ranging from bioinformatics to biopharmaceuticals. This biotechnology-driven renaissance is reflected in the dramatic race to map the human genome and in the many new drugs that are influencing mankind's quality of life. The astounding rate of growth in this industry and a general desire to partake of its lucrative economic bounty has led national and regional governments to focus on the development of biotechnology clusters as a catalyst for regional economic development. Indeed, a survey of 77 local and 36 state economic development agencies in the U.S. reported that 83% have listed biotechnology as one of their top two targets for industrial development. For example, St. Louis, Missouri has sought to become a player in the field of agricultural biotechnology by creating a biotech cluster in the heart of its long-neglected inner-city. Outside the United States, Singapore has launched Biopolis, an 18.5 hectare, $300 million science park devoted exclusively to biomedical research and development; while neighboring Malaysia is doing the same with its BioValley Initiative. Thus, this keen focus on biotechnology is increasingly reshaping the physical environment of cities—both poor and rich—as they seek to become players in a lucrative industry of the future. Recently, continental Europe has also made a bid to become a dynamic player in the biotechnology industry as evidenced by the BioPartner Initiative of the Netherlands. How is this industry affecting the urban milieu? What is the impact of a particular high-technology industry—biotechnology--on regional economic development? Why have some areas been more successful than others in cultivating and developing biotechnology clusters? This paper will examine the evolution of the Dutch biopharmaceutical industry and its impact on regional economic development (real estate and labor markets) in the Randstad. Hypothesis: This dissertation is an examination of the consequences vis a vis regional economic development of biopharmaceutical clusters in the Randstad region of the Netherlands. These clusters are at different stages of evolution in respect to more advanced areas such as the United States and the UK; and are affected by a distinct policy environment. The clusters to be analyzed are situated in the polynuclear area of the Netherlands' Randstad. The historical dynamics of the biotechnology industry as well as the specific costs and benefits that it imposes upon the labor and real estate markets in this area will be assessed. The central hypotheses of this study is that the unique characteristics of the biotechnology industry is leading to gentrification (real estate impact); and that the biotechnology industry promotes bifurcation in the urban labor market as it enhances job growth amongst the highly skilled but is not a significant source of employment for the low and semi-skilled. The aforementioned gentrification hypothesis is built upon the anchor tenant hypothesis posited by Prof. Maryann Feldman in "The Locational Dynamics of the U.S. Biotech Industry: Knowledge Externalities and the Anchor Hypothesis." Therein Dr. Feldman argues that an anchor tenant's brand recognition creates an externality for smaller stores who realize greater sales volume than they would in other locations. The value of this externality is reflected in higher rents the average tenant pays in comparison to the rent paid by the anchor tenant. This form of price discrimination reflects a willingness of the average tenants to pay a premium for location near the anchor tenant. Universities, hospitals and other components of the biotechnology cluster have the capacity to play the role of the anchor tenant, which is having a dramatic impact on the real estate and labor markets in the areas around biotech clusters.

In the article the approaches to defining the electronic democracy's concept are analyzed. The author has explored national and foreign electronic resources and academic sources in which definitions of this concept are given. It was established by the author that the genesis of the term "e-democracy" comes from the earlier internet fora of the 90-s of the XX century. The definitions given in the English and Ukrainian languages Wikipedia, as well as in the known information resources (e.g. Encyclopedia Britannica), were compared. The author came to conclusion that political-legal category of democracy contains both political-soci-ological and legal aspects. The author has paid attention to the advantages of the so called praxeological approach, i.e. research of the direct electronic democracy in the dynamics of its development. It was also drawn attention to the fact that there are two approaches to the understanding of the e-democracy: as a new separate kind of democracy, which exists alongside representative democracy, and alongside direct democ-racy, i.e. direct electronic democracy is, in fact, a third kind of democracy. E-democracy is also considered as an electronic version of the existing traditional forms of democracy (direct and representative). The author shares the second approach and argues that the use of the new information-communication technologies does not create a new type of democracy because its essence as a kind of political-legal regime does not change; instead changes only the subject through whom the will of the people is being realized. At the same time, its characteristic feature e-democracy acquires in the form of direct democracy, because the representative form of democracy lacks the necessity to directly express the of will of the subject of decision taking by means of information-communication technologies.The author has researched the narrow and broad understanding of e-democracy. In the narrow sense e-democracy is viewed as an employment of the electronic support to secure the corresponding constitution-al rights that require certain formal decisions; in the broad sense – taking into account opinion of citizens and organizations and their involvement in political relations and processes.The comparative analysis of the e-democracy definitions was performed with synonyms which can be encountered in the scientific literature, such as network democracy, cyber-democracy, tele-democracy, etc.As a result of the research the author came to conclusion that exploration of the origins of the forma-tion of the e-democracy definition allows to more deeply comprehend different aspects of this phenomenon, which contains unlimited potential of its manifestations. ; У статті проаналізовано підходи до визначення поняття «електронна демократія». Автором було досліджено вітчизняні та зарубіжні електронні ресурси та академічні джерела, в яких надаються визначення цієї дефініції. Встановлено, що ґенеза назви «е-демократія» походить від ранніх інтер-нет-форумів 90-х років ХХ ст. Порівняно визначення, які надані в україномовній та англомовній вер-сіях вільній інтернет-енциклопедії «Вікіпедія», а також у інших відомих довідкових ресурсах (зокре-ма, в енциклопедії «Британіка»). Автор зробив висновок, що політико-правова категорія електронної демократії містить як політи-ко-соціологічні, так і юридичні аспекти. Автор звернув увагу на переваги так званого праксеологіч-ного підходу, тобто визначення прямої електронної демократії у динаміці її розвитку. Було звернуто увагу на те, що існує два підходи до розуміння е-демократії: як нової окремої форми демократії, що іс-нує поряд із представницькою та прямою, тобто, фактично є третьою формою демократії; а також е-де-мократія розглядається лише як електронна версія існуючих традиційних форм демократії (прямої тарепрезентативної). Автор розділяє другу позицію і вважає, що використання нових інформаційно-ко-мунікаційних технологій не створює нового виду демократії, оскільки її сутність, як виду політи-ко-правового режиму не змінюється, а міняється лише носій, через який реалізується волевиявлення народу. Хоча при цьому свого характерного прояву е-демократія набуває саме у формі прямої (безпосе-редньої), оскільки у репрезентативній формі демократії відсутня така необхідність опосередковувати волевиявлення суб'єкта прийняття рішень за допомогою інформаційно-комунікаційних технологій.Автором досліджено вузьке та широке розуміння е-демократії. У вузькому розумінні е-демократію розглядають як використання електронної підтримки для забезпечення відповідних конституційних прав, що вимагають тих чи інших формальних рішень; у широкому – врахування думки і залучення громадян і організацій у політичні відносини і процеси. Також проведено порівняння визначень е-де-мократія із тотожними дефініціями, які зустрічаються у науковій літературі – мережева демократія, кібер-демократія, теле-демократія тощо.За результатами дослідження автор дійшов висновку, що вивчення витоків формування поняття е-демократії дозволяє більш глибоко опанувати різні сторони цього явища, яке містить у собі неви-черпний потенціал свого прояву. ; У статті проаналізовано підходи до визначення поняття «електронна демократія». Автором було досліджено вітчизняні та зарубіжні електронні ресурси та академічні джерела, в яких надаються визначення цієї дефініції. Встановлено, що ґенеза назви «е-демократія» походить від ранніх інтер-нет-форумів 90-х років ХХ ст. Порівняно визначення, які надані в україномовній та англомовній вер-сіях вільній інтернет-енциклопедії «Вікіпедія», а також у інших відомих довідкових ресурсах (зокре-ма, в енциклопедії «Британіка»). Автор зробив висновок, що політико-правова категорія електронної демократії містить як політи-ко-соціологічні, так і юридичні аспекти. Автор звернув увагу на переваги так званого праксеологіч-ного підходу, тобто визначення прямої електронної демократії у динаміці її розвитку. Було звернуто увагу на те, що існує два підходи до розуміння е-демократії: як нової окремої форми демократії, що іс-нує поряд із представницькою та прямою, тобто, фактично є третьою формою демократії; а також е-де-мократія розглядається лише як електронна версія існуючих традиційних форм демократії (прямої тарепрезентативної). Автор розділяє другу позицію і вважає, що використання нових інформаційно-ко-мунікаційних технологій не створює нового виду демократії, оскільки її сутність, як виду політи-ко-правового режиму не змінюється, а міняється лише носій, через який реалізується волевиявлення народу. Хоча при цьому свого характерного прояву е-демократія набуває саме у формі прямої (безпосе-редньої), оскільки у репрезентативній формі демократії відсутня така необхідність опосередковувати волевиявлення суб'єкта прийняття рішень за допомогою інформаційно-комунікаційних технологій.Автором досліджено вузьке та широке розуміння е-демократії. У вузькому розумінні е-демократію розглядають як використання електронної підтримки для забезпечення відповідних конституційних прав, що вимагають тих чи інших формальних рішень; у широкому – врахування думки і залучення громадян і організацій у політичні відносини і процеси. Також проведено порівняння визначень е-де-мократія із тотожними дефініціями, які зустрічаються у науковій літературі – мережева демократія, кібер-демократія, теле-демократія тощо.За результатами дослідження автор дійшов висновку, що вивчення витоків формування поняття е-демократії дозволяє більш глибоко опанувати різні сторони цього явища, яке містить у собі неви-черпний потенціал свого прояву.

Hog growing and meat retailing are two of the many swine-based businesses in Batangas, one of the provinces in CALABARZON. One of the firms that is into this two businesses is Antonio?s. The study generally presented the status and assessed the overall performance of Antonio?s Swine-Based Business with the end view of recommending strategies for strengthening the competitive position of Antonio?s. Specifically, the study aimed to: 1) analyze the macro- and micro-environment of the business 2) evaluate the company in terms of the four business functions, namely: marketing, production, personnel, and finance 3) identify noteworthy business issues and problem relevant to Antonio?s Swine-based Business 4) generate and evaluate alternatives to the identified major problem, and identify the best alternative using an appropriate set of criteria and 5) design an implementation plan for the solution that will be used by the entrepreneur to rejuvenate the business. The study used the descriptive and action study research designs, case study research design in particular. The data used were both primary and secondary. However, primary data were used mainly by the author to serve the purpose of the study. Primary data were gathered through survey, observations, and interviews. Secondary data were sourced from undergraduate special problems of University of the Philippines Los Baños, published books and manuals, city and provincial records, journals, and other references from credible internet sources. Records on marketing (sales), production, personnel (lists), and finance (financial statements) were directly obtained from the firm?s owners/managers. Analytical tools used were: 1) personal entrepreneurial competencies self-rating tool (PEC) in the assessment of the characteristics of the owners/managers in relation to the management of the business 2) firm?s financial performance as evaluated by the following financial tools: trend analysis, vertical analysis and financial ratio analysis as reflected by the adjusted financial statements 3) Michael Porter?s Five Forces Model for Antonio?s Swine-Based Business used in the assessment of the Antonio?s Swine-Based Business? competitiveness relative to the industry 4) SWOT matrix analysis was used in the formulation of alternatives 5) IFE matrix was used in auditing and evaluating the firm?s strengths and weaknesses in relation to the functional areas of the business and the EFE Matrix was used in the assessment of the current business conditions in visualizing the opportunities and threats that the business is facing 6) perceived weights evaluation of alternatives was used in the determination of the solution for the problem through using the following criterion: 50% profitability as reflected by the cost-return analysis which yielded the net present value of each alternative, 25% ease of implementation and 25% perceived effectiveness and lastly, the GANTT Chart was used in coming up with the schedule and activities to be implemented for the chosen decision and its accompanying course of actions. Results of the study showed that the strengths of Antonio?s include: 1) ability to perform different business operations based on swine-related business activities 2) owners are hands on and passionate about the business 3) wide network of customers and suppliers 4) good location related to piggery facility 5) strong relationship with customers and suppliers 6) good and accessible location 7) improving activity ratios and 8) proximity to customers and suppliers. On the other hand, the weaknesses of Antonio?s include: 1) lack of formal accounting and record keeping 2) low technology on hog slaughtering and cutting different meat cuts 3) poor waste disposal system 4) decreasing profitability ratios 5) irregular production schedule and inability to cope with the seasonality of hogs as inputs to production 6) lack of capital and risk-averse current mindset of owners and (7) poor production layout and composition of layout materials. The identified opportunities in the industry were: 1) Filipinos are generally pork eaters 2) Batangas is popular being swine-disease free, Tanauan City in particular 3) general increase in liveweight and retail prices of hogs and meat 4) increasing demand for food that are protein source 5) low intensity of rivalry among raisers 6) opportunity to enter into lechon baboy and related pork-based food businesses 7) technological help and support from the government and other institutions 8) increasing trend for organic and more nutritious food source and 9) support programs for small business registrations. On the other hand, the identified threats were: 1) inequitable regulating policies imposed on the determination of illegal pork retailers and the implementation of the sanctions for them as dictated by the moratorium 2) presence of large competitors in the market 3) increasing cost of raw materials 4) increasing price of fuel 5) low price of competitors (other protein source) and 6) high threat of substitution for protein-source food. The case problem of the study was on how the firm will be able to take advantage of the opportunities in the market and consequently maximize the firm?s productivity and potential earnings. The problem statement was posed to address the problem on how to grab the opportunities in the market, as desired by Mrs. Margarita Antonio, and consequently overcome the low growth trend of the net income of the firm. There were three alternatives/solutions/strategies formulated, namely: 1) extend firm?s operation into hog growership 2) extend firm?s operation into an integrating piggery farm with pork-based food businesses such as operating a pork cuisine and establishing a native pork lechon facility 3) enter into a hog contract growing arrangement and 4) capture an even larger scope of the market through meat retailing, piglet vending coupled with vegetable vending. There were several inclusions made common to all alternatives that address several business issues or hindrances. The different alternatives were evaluated using the following criteria: 1) net cash flow generated 2) ease of implementation and 3) perceived effectiveness. The recommended alternative is to capture an even larger scope of the market through meat retailing, piglet vending coupled with vegetable vending. An implementation plan for the recommended alternative was prepared. It included the schedule of resource requirements and activities and the contingency plan. With proper implementation, Antonio?s Swine-Based Business will be able to realize a significant impact on its marketing, production, personnel, and financial aspects.

This guide accompanies the following article: 'Isn't Every Crime a Hate Crime? The Case for Hate Crime Laws', Sociology Compass 5/4 (2011): 244–255, 10.1111/j.1751‐9020.2011.00364.x.Author's introductionHave you ever heard someone say, 'Isn't every crime a "hate crime"?' The process to create hate crime laws in the United States has wrestled with the core issues of freedom of speech and greater harm to society. It is important to look at the evolution of bias crime laws, culminating with President Obama's signing of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009. The constitutionality of the laws is still a subject of debate. Four elements of hate crime laws are criminality, intent, perception, and protected statuses. The logic of hate crime laws is based on the argument that hate crimes are a form of terrorism, designed to intimidate large groups of people. Police are often the ones who are responsible for making this determination. Once hate crimes have been defined, how should social scientists study them?Author recommendsIn the last 15 years, sociologists and criminologists have done a lot of work to understand the causes of hate crimes as well as issues associated with hate crime laws. The classic in the field is Hate Crimes: The Rising Tide of Bigotry and Bloodshed by Jack Levin and Jack McDevitt (Westview Press, 2001). It provides a great overview of the types of hate crimes, the role hate groups play, and how police respond to such acts.Several recent books to a wonderful job of explaining why people commit hate crimes and how these crimes impact their victims. In the Name of Hate: Understanding Hate Crimes by Barbara Perry (Routledge, 2001) should be at the top of the required reading list. Why We Hate by Jack Levin and Gordana Rabrenovic (Prometheus Books, 2005) also is very enlightening. Home‐Grown Hate: Gender and Organized Racism is a collection of readings by Abby L. Ferber (Routledge, 2003) that explores the role gender plays in hate crimes and hate groups.For those who are interested in the more personal stories of those involved in the world of hate, Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead: The Frank Meeink Story as Told to Jody M. Roy, Ph.D. (Hawthorne Books, 2010) is riveting reading. Meeink was one of the most notorious Nazi skinheads on the east coast in the 1990s. Katleen Blee interviewed female members of the white supremacist world for her book, Inside Organized Racism: Women in the Hate Movement (University of California Press, 2002). Raphael S. Ezekiel interviewed leaders of the racist movement for his book, The Racist Mind (Penguin, 1996). Each of these three books gives you a chance to read hate mongers own accounts of why they believe what they believe.If you are interested in the anatomy of a hate crime, Elinor Langer's A Hundred Little Hitlers: The Death of a Black Man, the Trial of a White Racist, and the Rise of the Neo‐Nazi Movement in America (Picador, 2004) is the gripping exploration of a brutal murder in Portland, Oregon by skinheads.Finally, if you are interested in the legal debates surrounding hate crimes, pick up a copy of Brian Levin's recent edited volume, Understanding and Defining Hate Crimes (Preager, 2009). Levin is the attorney who argued the constitutionality of hate crime laws before the Supreme Court.Online materialsThere are a number of online sources for students interested in hate crimes and the debate about hate crime laws. The first source is the FBI's Uniform Crime Report (discussed in the article). Here you can get the latest data about hate crimes that have been reported to and by the police. The FBI's crime data website is at: http://www.fbi.gov/about‐us/cjis/ucr/ucr.Another well‐know website belongs to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). The SPLC is a civil rights group that has helped track hate groups. It's website has a 'hate group map', so you can see which hate groups are active in your state. The SPLC has also helped to raise the awareness of the importance of hate crime laws and the limitation of the data that is reported to the FBI. Their web address is: http://splcenter.org/.The Anti‐Defamation League (ADL) is the Jewish civil rights group who helped create the first hate crime legislation in the 1980s. Their website has a handy map for finding the specific hate crime laws (and what they cover) for each state. The ADL website also has a database for hate symbols and what they mean, useful for police, teachers, and students. The ADL website is at: http://adl.org/combating_hate/.Finally, the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism has a website that serves as a wonderful portal to other online resources, including academic research and community based anti‐hate groups. The Center is headed by Dr Brian Levin, one of the leading experts on the legal aspects of hate crime laws. Their web address is: http://hatemonitor.csusb.edu/.Sample syllabusThere are now numerous college courses taught on the topic of hate crimes (as well as courses for law enforcement on the subject). Here is an outline of my 10‐week hate crime course at Portland State University. The class explores the origins of hate crime laws, hate groups, and the philosophy of hate itself. It also challenges students to explore their own biases.






Week
Topic




 1
Defining and measuring hate crimes


'How do we know?'


 2
Hate crimes as a social problem


'From Columbus to McVeigh'


 3
How we study hate crimes


'Qualitative and quantitative research'


 4
Gay‐bashing as a social problem


'Matthew Sheppard: Man of the Year?'


 5
Hate group ideology 1: status


'White men built this country... '


 6
Hate group ideology 2: holy war


'The Turner Diaries and NW Imperative'


 7
Recruitment and the Internet


'Looking for a few pissed off kids'


 8
Community responses to hate crimes


'The grass‐roots tolerance movement'


 9
Institutional responses to hate crimes


'Hate crime laws and hate‐free police?'


10
The Personal Response to Hate


'Strategies for stopping hate in our lives'

International Journal of Innovation - IJI completes 7 yearsInternational Journal of Innovation - IJI has now 7 years old! In this editorial comment, we not only want to talk about our evolution but get even closer to the IJI community. It is our first editorial comment, a new IJI's communication channel. Some of the changes are already described on our website.IJI is an innovation-focused journal that was created to support scientific research and thereby contribute to practice. Also, IJI was born internationally, receiving and supporting research from around the world. We welcome articles in Portuguese, English, and Spanish.We have published eight volumes in IJI since 2013, totaling 131 articles. Our journal is indexed in: Dialnet and Red Iberoamericana de Innovación y Conocimiento Científico; Ebsco Host; Erih Plus; Gale - Cengage Learning; Latindex; Proquest; Redalyc; Web of Science Core Collection (Emerging Sources Citation Index), among others. We provide free access "open access" to all its content. Articles can be read, downloaded, copied, distributed, printed and / or searched.We want to emphasize that none of this would be possible without the authors that recognized in IJI a relevant journal to publicize their work. Nor can we fail to mention the tireless and voluntary action of the reviewers, always contributing to the articles' improvement and skilling up our journal, more and more.All editors who passed through IJI have a fundamental role in this trajectory. And, none of this would be possible without the editorial team of Uninove. Everyone who passed and the current team. We want to express that our work as current editors of IJI would not be possible without you. Changes in the Intenational Journal of Innovation – IJIAs we mentioned earlier, IJI was born in 2013. And, over time, we are improving its structure always to improve it. In this section, we want to show some changes we made. We intend that editorial comments become a communication channel and that they can help our readers, authors, and reviewers to keep up with these changes.Although IJI is a comprehensive Innovation journal, one of the changes we want to inform you is that now, at the time of submission, the author will choose one of the available topics that best suit your article. The themes are: Innovative Entrepreneurship; Innovation and Learning; Innovation and Sustainability; Internationalization of Innovation; Innovation Systems; Emerging Innovation Themes and; Digital Transformation. Below, we present each theme so that everyone can get to know them:Innovative Entrepreneurship: emerging markets provided dynamic advantages for small businesses and their entrepreneurs to exploit the supply flows of resources, capacities, and knowledge-based on strategies oriented to the management of innovation. Topics covered in this theme include, for example: resources and capabilities that support innovative entrepreneurship; innovation habitats (Universities, Science and Technology Parks, Incubators and Accelerators) and their influences on the development of knowledge-intensive spin-offs and start-ups; open innovation, triple/quadruple helix, knowledge transfer, effectuation, bricolage and co-creation of value in knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship ecosystems; and adequate public policies to support innovative entrepreneurship.Innovation and Learning: discussions on this topic focus on the relationship between learning and innovation as topics with the potential to improve teaching and learning. They also focus on ways in which we acquire knowledge through innovation and how knowledge encourages new forms of innovation. Topics covered in this theme include, for example: innovative projects for learning; innovation-oriented learning; absorptive capacity; innovation in organizational learning and knowledge creation; unlearning and learning for technological innovation; new learning models; dynamics of innovation and learning; skills and innovation.Innovation and Sustainability: discussions on this topic seek to promote the development of innovation with a focus on sustainability, encouraging new ways of thinking about sustainable development issues. Topics covered in this theme include, for example: development of new sustainable products; circular economy; reverse logistic; smart cities; technological changes for sustainable development; innovation and health in the scope of sustainability; sustainable innovation and policies; innovation and education in sustainability and social innovation.Internationalization of Innovation: the rise of developing countries as an innovation center and their new nomenclature for emerging markets have occupied an important place in the international research agenda on global innovation and Research and Development (RD) strategies. Topics covered in this theme include, for example: resources and capabilities that support the internationalization of innovation and RD; global and local innovation and RD strategies; reverse innovation; internationalization of start-ups and digital companies; development of low-cost products, processes and services with a high-value offer internationalized to foreign markets; innovations at the base of the pyramid, disruptive and/or frugal developed and adopted in emerging markets and replicated in international markets; institutional factors that affect firms' innovation efforts in emerging markets.Innovation Systems: regulation and public policies define the institutional environment to drive innovation. Topics include industrial policy, technological trends and macroeconomic performance; investment ecosystem for the development and commercialization of new products, based on government and private investments; investment strategies related to new companies based on science or technology; Technology transfer to, from and between developing countries; technological innovation in all forms of business, political and economic systems. Topics such as triple helix, incubators, and other structures for cooperation, fostering and mobilizing innovation are expected in this section.Emerging Themes: from the applied themes, many emerging problems have a significant impact on management, such as industry 4.0, the internet of things, artificial intelligence or social innovations, or non-economic benefits. Intellectual property is treated as a cognitive database and can be understood as a technological library with the registration of the product of human creativity and invention. Social network analysis reveals the relationships between transforming agents and other elements; therefore, encouraged to be used in research and submitted in this section. The theoretical field not fully developed is not a barrier to explore any theme or question in this section.Digital Transformation: this interdisciplinary theme covers all the antecedents, intervening, and consequent effects of digital transformation in the field of technology-based companies and technology-based business ventures. The technological innovator (human side of innovation) as an entrepreneur, team member, manager, or employee is considered an object of study either as an agent of innovation or an element of the innovation process. Digital change or transformation is considered as a process that moves from the initial status to the new digital status, anchored in the theories of innovation, such as adoption, diffusion, push / pull of technology, innovation management, service innovation, disruptive innovation, innovation frugal innovation economy, organizational behavior, context of innovation, capabilities and transaction costs. Authors who submit to IJI will realize that they now need to make a structured summary at the time of submission. The summary must include the following information:(maximum of 250 words + title + keywords = Portuguese, English and Spanish).Title.Objective of the study (mandatory): Indicate the objective of the work, that is, what you want to demonstrate or describe.Methodology / approach (mandatory): Indicate the scientific method used in carrying out the study. In the case of theoretical essays, it is recommended that the authors indicate the theoretical approach adopted.Originality / Relevance (mandatory): Indicate the theoretical gap in which the study is inserted, also presenting the academic relevance of the discipline.Main results (mandatory): briefly indicate the main results achieved.Theoretical-methodological contributions (mandatory): Indicate the main theoretical and / or methodological implications that have been achieved with the results of the study.Social / managerial contributions (mandatory): Indicate the main managerial and / or social implications obtained through the results of the study.Keywords: between three and five keywords that characterize the work. Another change regarding the organization of the IJI concerns the types of work. In addition to the Editorial Comment and Articles, the journal will include Technological Articles, Perspectives, and Reviews. Thus, when submitting a study, authors will be able to choose from the available options for types of work. Throughout the next issues of the IJI, in the editorial comments, we will pass on pertinent information about every kind of work, to assist the authors in their submissions.Currently, the IJI is available to readers with new works three times a year (January-April; May-August; September-December) with publications in English, Portuguese and Spanish. From what comes next, we will have some changes in the periodicity. Next stepsAs editors, we want the IJI to continue with a national and international impact and increase its relevance in the indexing bases. For this, we will work together with the entire editorial team, reviewers, and authors to improve the work. We will do our best to give full support to the evaluators who are so dedicated to making constructive evaluations to the authors. We will also support authors with all the necessary information.With editorial comments, we intend to pass on knowledge to readers, authors, and reviewers to improve the articles gradually. We also aim to support classroom activities and content.Even with the changes reported here, we continue to accept all types of work, as long as they have an appropriate methodology. We also maintain our scope and continue to publish all topics involving innovation. We want to support academic events on fast tracks increasingly. About the articles in this edition of IJIThis issue is the first we consider the new organization of the International Journal of Innovation - IJI. We started with this editorial comment talking about the changes and improvements that we are making at IJI—as an example, showing the reader, reviewer, and author that the scope remains the same. However, at the time of submission, the author has to choose one of the proposed themes and have a mandatory abstract structured in three languages (English, Portuguese, and Spanish).In this issue, we have a section of perspectives that addresses the "Fake Agile" phenomenon. This phenomenon is related to the difficulties that companies face throughout the agile transformation, causing companies not to reach full agility and not return to their previous management model.Next, we publish the traditional section with scientific articles. The article "Critical success factors of the incubation network of enterprises of the IFES" brings critical success factors as the determining variables to keep business incubators competitive, improving their organizational processes, and ensuring their survival. Another published article, "The sharing economy dilemma: the response of incumbent firms to the rise of the sharing economy", addresses the sharing economy in terms of innovation. The results of the study suggest that the current response to the sharing economy so far is moderate and limited. The article "Analysis of the provision for implementation of reverse logistics in the supermarket retail" made it possible to observe that through the variables that define retail characteristics, it is not possible to say whether a supermarket will implement the reverse logistics process. And the article "Capability building in fuzzy front end management in a high technology services company", whose main objective was to assess the adherence among Fuzzy Front End (FFE) facilitators, was reported in the literature its application in the innovation process of a company, an innovative multinational high-tech services company.We also published the article "The evolution of triple helix movement: an analysis of scientific communications through bibliometric technique". The study is a bibliometric review that brings essential contributions to the area. This issue also includes a literature review entitled "Service innovation tools: a literature review" that aimed to systematically review the frameworks proposed and applied by the literature on service innovation.The technological article "A model to adopt Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Business Intelligence (BI) among Saudi SMEs", in a new IJI publication section, addresses the main issues related to the intention to use ERPBI in the Saudi private sector.As we mentioned earlier in this editorial, IJI has a slightly different organization. With the new format, we intend to contribute to the promotion of knowledge in innovation. Also, we aim to increasingly present researchers and students with possibilities of themes and gaps for their research and bring insights to professionals in the field.Again, we thank the reviewers who dedicate their time and knowledge in the evaluations, always helping the authors. We wish you, readers, to enjoy the articles in this issue and feel encouraged to send your studies in innovation to the International Journal of Innovation - IJI.

1. Power and Discourse in La Fontaine's Beast Fables 2. Lockdown: Real-life Paradoxical Experience to Sustain Human Relationships, Healthy Lives, and Well Being 3. Effect of Parenting Stress on Parenting Sense of Competence AmongMothers of Children with ADHD 4. Sustainable Development Goals and Juvenile Justice System: A Comparative Analysis5. Influence of Karma at Workplace: With Special Reference to Higher Education Institutions in South Gujarat Region6. Cross-Walk of Professional Competencies for Social and Emotional Wellbeing to Cater Mental Health Problems in Schools 7. Emotional Intelligence Manages Sustainable Development for an Organization -the Contribution of Psychological Well-Being 8. The Enactment of Social Sustainable Goals in IT Organizations 9. Role of Higher Education in Achieving the Sustainble Development Goals (SDGs) 10. "Happiness Engineering": Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for University Students' Classroom Engagement, Mental Health, and Psychological Flexibility 11. Work-Life Balance and Its Challenges for Medical Professionals in the Health Care Sector 12. Political Representation of Aesop's Beast Fables in Augustan Age 13. Miro Application of Web Whiteboard for Sustainable Development in Teaching and Learning Research 14. A Study of Female Identity and Marital Discord in the Selected Works of Anita Desai 15. Role of Digital Competency in Sustainable Quality Education 16. Digital Infrastructure for SHGs of Tribal Women in Odisha: Means for MSMEs to Achieve SDGs 17. Fetishism: Paradoxing the Narratives of Sustainable Development Goals 18. A Systematic Review Study on the Quality of Life Associated withDepression Among the Elderly in India 19. Influence of Personality and Sector of Employment on PerceivedSocial Support and Work Family Conflict 20. Prophesying the Future Retailing Model of Emerging Markets withSpecial Focus on India 21. Family Conflict and Rivalry in The Shipwrecked Prince and King Lear: A Comparative Study22. The Subtle Warnings Signs of Suicidal Thought and Behaviour Exhibited by Hannah Baker in "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher 23. Demographic Variables and Job Satisfaction Among College Lecturers 24. Sustainable Crisis: Psychoanalytical Reading of Populism and Trauma in Select War Narrative 25. Impact of Problematic Internet Use on Psychological Well-Being, Hyperventilation and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Among Youth 26. Psychological Distress Among IT Sector Employees During COVID-19 Pandemic in India 27. Triangulation Study on LGBTQ Inclusion with Sustainable Development Goal 10 using Twitter Data and Topic Modelling 28. Community Participation in Public Space Planning and Management: Cases of Indian Cities 29. Surveying Interest and Engagement in Political Discourse 30. Opinion Mining of National Education Policy 2020 to Improve Its Implementation for Women Empowerment 31. Factors Affecting Entrepreneurship Intention: An Empirical Study with Reference to Indian University Students 32. Criminogenic Cognition of Juveniles in Conflict with the Law and Use of theInternet with the Victim-Offender Overlap 33. Testifying Legal Admissibility: Germline and Embryo Editing Focusing on SDG 15-Life on Earth 34. Exploring Psychological Wellbeing of College Students in Relation to Their Demographic Identity: Predictors and Prevalence 35. India and Nepal Bridging the Gap with Hydropower Project EnhancingScience and Technological Partnership 36. Systematic Literature Review of Interlinkages between SustainableDevelopment & Human Development 37. Impact of COVID-19 on Domestic Workers with Special Reference to Pune Region38. Entrepreneurial Education and Entrepreneurial Intentions: Mediation of Entrepreneurial Mindset and Moderated Mediation of Creativity 39. Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals40. Feasibility of DREAMS Afterschool Intervention to Implement SDG - 4, 5 and 11 in Rural India 41. Crowdsourcing: A Technique to Sustain the Educational Industry 42. Identity of Scheduled Tribes in India - A Systematic Review 43.Strategies Employed to Acquire and Reflect Political Knowledge 44. Impact of Select Vocabulary Learning Strategies (VLS) on Vocabulary Acquisition of Tertiary Level Learners 45. Socialization of Culture: Sociopolitical and Sociocultural Contexts Ensuing Cultural Transition and Hybridity 46. Parables of the Lost and Found: A Semiotic Dissection of Religious Discourse 47. Incorporating Research-based Pedagogical Implications in Grammar Through the Android Application: An Experimental Study 48. Legacy and Evolution of Panchayati Raj Institutions and TribalSelf-Governance in India 49. Prospects of PESA Act and Inhibitions in its Implementation in ScheduledAreas of Jharkhand, India 50. Exploring Health Information Seeking Behaviour Among Young Oraon Women in Jharkhand51. Evolution and Implementation of Land Acquisition Legislations in India 52. Change in Gender Relations: Re-Visiting Gender-Based Violence in Tribal Communities of India 53. "Sarna Adivasi" Religion Code: Contextualizing Religious Identity of Tribals in India 54. Sustainable Fashion: "Form Leisure"- Deconstructing Men's Formal ShirtsInto a Women's Wear Collection 55. Kondapalli Toys: White Woodcraft of Andhra Pradesh 56. Role of Consumer Perception on Genderless Fashion in Deconstructing Gender Stereotypes in Indian Society 57. Denial of Human Right to Water During Pandemic: Experience of Indian Slum 58. Dynamics of the Demographic Transition on Economic Development: Evidence From SRS Data in India 59. From Function to Fashion, Face Masks as a Flourishing New Product60. Cartoons and their Visual Aspects Affecting Children 61. Ergonomic issues faced by transporters of LPG gas cylinders 62. Proposed Concept for Mysore Pak Packaging 63. Livelihood Experiences of Working Women with Disability during COVID-19: Predicament and Prospect. 64. Developing Storytelling as a Method of the Design process in Bachelors of Interior Design Education 65. Review on Incorporating Visual Storytelling as a Method of theDesign Process in Design Education 66. Does Musically Responsive School Curriculum enhance Reasoning Abilities and Helps in Cognitive Development of School Students? 67. Music and Its Effect on Mathematical and Reading Abilities of Students: Pedagogy for Twenty-First Century Schools 68. An Exploration of the Complexities Involved in the Regulation of Green Buildings 69. The Makers and Users of Fashion, a Study of Contrast 70. Beyond Classroom: Impact of Covid-19 on Education System 71. Implementation of Rawls Theory of Justice in the Present Indian Reservation System 72. Financial Inclusion: Conceptual Understanding to Indian Report Card 73. Contemplating the Problems and Issues Related to Corporate Social Responsibility in India 74. Untapped Power of Music-Integrated Pedagogy: Its Role in Enhancement of "Behaviour and Self-Confidence" among School Students 75. Casualty of Dignity and Other Rights of Children Born Out of Casual Relationship: A Legal Conundrum 76. Women in Civil Engineering Profession: Career Profile of Indian Women 77. Factors That Make Public-Private Partnerships Appealing for Highway Projects in Gujarat 78. Risk Management in Public-Private Partnership-Based Infrastructure Projects: A Critical Analysis79. Construction Safety Practices: An Analysis 80. The Relevance of Kitchen Vastu Guidelines in Relation to Architecture 81. Drone Rules 2021: Analysis and Implications for India's UAV Programme 82. Toy Companies Using Unconventional Methods to Stay Relevant and Reach Evolving Minds of the Parents and Children 83. Behavior of Speed Breaker in Urban Context 84. Aesthetics of Distortion and the Absurd: Fusing Redemptive Existentialism andBerkeley's Metaphysics in Beckett's Plays 85. Explicit and Implicit Self-Esteem of Narcissists and Non-Narcissists.

Topic I.Why Simulate? --1.From Primitive Cultures to Modern Day: Has Clinical Education Really Changed? /G. Allan Shemanko --2.Undergraduate Medical Education is NOT Rocket Science: But that Does NOT Mean it's Easy! /Mark R. Adelman --3.Guidance for the Leader-Manager /Robert C. Cox and Lance Acree --Topic II.What's In It For Me --4.Basing a Clinician's Career on Simulation: Development of a Critical Care Expert into a Clinical Simulation Expert /Lorena Beeman --5.Basing a Nonclinician's Career upon Simulation: The Personal Experience of a Physicist /Guillaume Alinier --6.Overcoming Operational Challenges: An Administrator's Perspective /Alice L. Acker --Topic III.How to Fit in while Standing Out --7.When Simulation should and should not be in the Curriculum /Ronnie J. Glavin --8.To Simulate or not to Simulate: That is the Question /G. Allan Shemanko and Linn Jones --9.Simulated Realism: Essential, Desired, Overkill /Judith C.F. Hwang and Betsy Bencken --10.Realism and the Art of Simulation /Roger E. Chow and Viren N. Naik --11.Integrating Simulation with Existing Clinical Educational Programs: Dream and Develop while Keeping the Focus on your Vision /Judith C.F. Hwang and Betsy Bencken --Topic IV.Curriculum: Planning for Success --12.Integration of Simulation with Existing Clinical Educational Programs /Lorena Beeman --13.Incorporating Simulation into Graduate (Resident) Medical Education: With Special Reference to the Emergency Department /Mark E.A. Escott and Lawrence E. Kass --14.Theory and Practice of Developing an Effective Simulation-based Clinical Curriculum /Valerity V. Kozmenko, Alan D. Kaye, Barbara Morgan and Charles W. Hilton --15.Creating Effective Learning Environments -- Key Educational Concepts Applied to Simulation Training /Ian Curran --Topic V.The Best Form Follows the Essential Functions --16.Thought Thinking Itself Out: Anticipatory Design in Simulation Centers /Jane Lindsay Miller --17.Simulation Facility Design 101: The Basics /Michael Seropian --18.Creation of Structure-Function Relationships in the Design of a Simulation Center /Brian C. Brost, Kay M.B. Thiemann, Thomas E. Belda and William P. Dunn --19.Evaluating, Prioritizing, and Selecting Simulators /Brian C. Brost, Kay M.B. Thiemann and William P. Dunn --20.Choosing Full-function Patient Simulators, Creating and Using the Simulation Suite /David H. Stern --21.Survival Guide to Successful Simulation When Located Far Away /Ramiro Pozzo --22.Retrofitting Existing Space for Patient Simulation: From Student Lounge to Acute Care Patient Unit /Michael C. Foss --Topic VI.Functional Forms at the Institutional Size --23.The One-Room Schoolhouse for Simulation: Adapting to the Learning /Judith C.F. Hwang and Betsy Bencken --24.All-in-one-room Schoolhouse: Clinical Simulation Stage, Control, Debrief, and Utilities All within a Single Room /Guillaume Alinier --25.The Clinical Simulation Service at NIH: Our Journey /Jill Steiner Sanko and Amy Guillet Agrawal --26.The Single, Dedicated Clinical Simulation Suite /Judith C.F. Hwang and Betsy Bencken --27.The Patient Simulation Suite: A Single Dedicated Clinical Simulator Stage Surrounded by Dedicated Control, Observing/Debriefing, Utility, and Office Rooms /Guillaume Alinier --28.Multiservice, Single Institution Simulation Center with Multiple Simulation Suites /Judith C.P. Hwang and Betsy Bentken --29.Operations and Management at the VA Palo Alto/Stanford Simulation Center /Claudia Sun and Steven K. Howard --30.Health Care Simulation with Patient Simulators and Standardized Patients /Michael S. Goodrow --31.Educational Needs Dictating Learning Space: Factors Considered in the Identification and Planning of Appropriate Space for a Simulation Learning Complex /Eileen R. Wiley and W. Bosseau Murray --Topic VII.Functional Forms at the State and Nation Size --32.Designing and Developing a Multi-institutional, Multidisciplinary Regional Clinical Simulation Center /Neil Coker --33.Partners in Simulation: Public Academic-Private Health Care Collaboration /Sharon M. Denning, Constance M. Jewett Johnson, Dan Johnson, Marilyn Loen, Carl Patow and Cathleen K. Brannen --34.A National Simulation Program: Germany /Stefan Monk, Jochen Vollmer and Wolfgang Heinrichs --35.Statewide and Large-scale Simulation Implementation: The Work of Many /Michael Seropian and Bonnie Driggers --36.Implementing Military Health Simulation Operations: The Australian Defence Force /Fabian E. Purcell and Denis B. French --37.A National Simulation Center Influences Teaching at a National Level: Scotland /Ronnie J. Glavin --38.Clinical Simulation on a National Level: Israel /Amitai Ziv, David Erez and Haim Berkenstadt --Topic VIII.The Big Picture: Sum of Many Smaller Views --39.The Invisible Standardized Patient /Leonard Pott --40.Prehospital and Tactical Simulation: More than Just a Mannequin /Craig Balbalian --41.Value Added by Partial-task Trainers and Simulation /Judith C.F. Hwang and Betsy Bencken --42.Implementing Partial-task Trainers in Simulation /Larry A. Cobb --43.The Role of Patient Simulators in Pediatric Education /Edmundo P. Cortez --44.Simulation Training for Pediatric Emergencies /Chris Chin --45.Considerations of Pediatric Simulation /Paul N. Severin, Edmundo P. Cortez, Christopher A. McNeal and Jane E. Kramer --46.Critical Care Simulation: A Nursing Perspective /Carol J. Vandrey --47.Transporting a Patient: Interdisciplinary Simulation Exercises /Michael C. Foss --Topic IX.Make Your Own --48.Development and Implementation of a Low-budget Simulation Center for Clinical Emergencies (Ambulance in a Box) /Ramiro Pozzo and Alfredo Guillermo Pacheco --49.Physiologic Modeling for Simulators: Get Real /N. Ty Smith --Topic X.Buy from Others --50.Success with Clinical Simulation = Assessment + Planning + Implementation /William E. Lewandowski --51.Successful Simulation Center Operations: An Industry Perspective /Thomas J. Doyle, Ronald G. Carovano and John Anton --Topic XI.Funding, Funding is What Makes Simulation Go On --52.Prosperous Simulation Under an Institution's Threadbare Financial Blanket /Guillaume Alinier --53.Creative Procurement for Your Simulation Program /John Gillespie --Topic XII.Hybrid Vigor: The Simulation Professional --54.The Simulation Professional: Gets Things Done and Attracts Opportunities /Guillaume Alinier, Ramiro Pozzo and Cynthia H. Shields --Topic XIII.Good Answers Start from Good Questions --55.Pitfalls to Avoid in Designing and Executing Research with Clinical Simulation /Guillaume Alinier --56.Fundamentals of Educational Research Using Clinical Simulation /William C. McGahie, Carla M. Pugh and Diane Bronstein Wayne --Topic XIV.Simulation Scenario: Telling the Story -- Discussing the Story --57.Scenario Design and Execution /Judith C.F. Hwang and Betsy Bencken --58.Simulation Scenario Building /Kristina Lee Stillsmoking --59.Designing a Scenario as a Simulated Clinical Experience: The TuPASS Scenario Script /Peter Dieckmann and Marcus Rail --Topic XV.Location, Location, Location --60.Situated Simulation: Taking Simulation to the Clinicians /Derek J. LeBlanc --61.On the Road with the Simulator /Christopher J. Gallagher, Riva R. Akerman, Daniel Castillo, Christina M. Matadial and Ilya Shekhter --62.Mobile "In Situ" Simulation Crisis Resource Management Training /Marcus Rall, Eric Stricker, Silke Reddersen, Jorg Zieger and Peter Dieckmann --Topic XVI.Move the Learning, Not the Learners --63.Creation of a Combined Surgical Curriculum Using the Internet and Patient Simulation /Andreas H. Meier.

The main aim of this qualitative case study is to contribute with insights into teacher educators' digital competence in teaching Art and Design subjects in teacher training institutions (TTIs) in Uganda. The study employed semi-structured interviews and non-participant observations to gather qualitative data from teacher educators (TEs), teacher trainees (TTs) and administrators at two teacher training institutions in Uganda to answer the following research questions (RQs) in order to achieve its main goal. RQ1: In what ways are teacher educators using digital technology when teaching art and design in Uganda? RQ2: How do art and design teacher educators develop their digital competence in Teacher Training Institutions in Uganda? RQ3: What challenges do teacher educators encounter when teaching art and design with digital technology in Uganda? On the basis of these RQs and theoretical concepts from van Dijk (2005), Mishra and Koehler (2006), data was analysed from which three research articles (referred to in this thesis as; Article I, II and III respectively) each addressing one of the RQs were published. Briefly, the findings in Article I indicate that, TEs occasionally use digital technologies in basic and low creative means to teach in A&D classrooms. This may be attributed to insufficient access to adequate digital resources (hardware, software and internet), insufficient digital skills and knowledge relating to pedagogical use of digital technologies in A&D classrooms. The findings further confirm teacher educators' limited awareness of the relationship between technology, pedagogy and content knowledge (TPACK) in teaching Art and Design subjects. The lack of TPACK among TEs explains the low creative use of digital technologies in teaching A&D lessons in Uganda's TTIs. The findings in Article II indicate that art and design TEs develop digital competences through both formal and informal approaches. The formal approaches include continuous professional development (CPD) and pre-service training, whereas informal approaches include collaboration, self-teaching and repetition. Apparently, teachers' digital competences (TDC) gained through formal approaches did not relate specifically to the teaching of art and design subjects, making it inadequate and difficult to apply in real classroom practice. Further, the findings suggest to a larger extent that TEs develop moderate TDC, necessary for practical use in the classroom, through informal approaches. The findings in Article III reveal numerous motivational challenges (linked to negative attitude, lack of self-confidence, lack of time, inadequate digital competence and fear for loss of creativity) and challenges related to material access such as; lack of adequate access to digital technologies, unreliable electricity supply, technological failures and lack of adequate technical support. Article III further provides and discusses alternative strategies employed by TEs such as peer support, continual practice, improvisation, lobbying for technical and financial support, and advocating for BYOD to cope with the existing challenges. To sum up, the study findings generally reveal that, teacher educators' digital competences (TDC) remained operational and were not specific to the teaching of art and design subjects, thus being inadequate and difficult to apply in real art and design classroom practice. Due to numerous motivational and material challenges encountered TEs in addition to limited awareness of the relationship between technology, pedagogy and content knowledge, TEs can only occasionally use digital technologies in limited creative ways (basic use) to teach in A&D classrooms. ; Hovedmålet med denne kvalitative casestudien er å bidra med innsikt i lærerutdannernes digitale kompetanse for undervisning i kunst- og designfag i lærerutdanningsinstitusjoner i Uganda. Studien benyttet semistrukturerte intervjuer og ikke-deltakende observasjon for å innhente kvalitative data fra lærerutdannere, lærerstudenter og studieledere ved to lærerutdanningsinstitusjoner i Uganda. På basis av disse dataene belyser denne studien følgende forskningsspørsmål: 1. På hvilke måter bruker lærerutdannere digital teknologi når de underviser i kunst- og designfag i Uganda? 2. Hvordan utvikler lærerutdannere i kunst- og designfag sin digitale kompetanse i lærerutdanningsinstitusjoner i Uganda? 3. Hvilke utfordringer møter lærerutdannere når de underviser kunst- og designfag med digital teknologi i Uganda? Med utgangspunkt i teoretiske begreper fra van Dijk (2005), Mishra og Koehler (2006) ble data analysert og presentert i henhold til de tre forskningsspørsmålene og dokumentert i tre forskningsartikler (referert til i denne avhandlingen som henholdsvis artikkel I, II og III), som hver adresserer ett av forskningsspørsmålene. Funnene i artikkel I viser at lærerutdannere av og til bruker digital teknologi til å undervise i kunst- og designfag. Bruken kan karakteriseres som enkel og lite kreativ. Dette kan tilskrives utilstrekkelig tilgang til digitale ressurser (maskinvare, programvare og internett), begrenset digital kompetanse og begrenset kunnskap om pedagogisk bruk av digital teknologi i kunst- og designfag. Funnene viser videre lærerutdannernes begrensede bevissthet om forholdet mellom teknologisk-, pedagogisk- og fagkunnskap (TPACK) i undervisningen i kunst og designfag. Mangelen på TPACK blant lærerutdannere forklarer noe av den begrensede kreative bruken av digital teknologi i undervisningen i kunst- og designfag i Ugandas lærerutdanningsinstitusjoner. Funnene i artikkel II indikerer at lærerutdannere i kunst- og designfag utvikler digital kompetanse gjennom både formelle og uformelle tilnærminger. De formelle tilnærmingene inkluderer kompetanse tilegnet gjennom den grunnleggende lærerutdanningen og gjennom etter- og videreutdanning, mens uformelle tilnærminger inkluderer kollegasamarbeid, egenlæring og repetisjon. Studien viser at den digitale kompetanse som lærerne oppnådd gjennom formelle tilnærminger ikke var knyttet spesifikt til undervisningen i kunst- og designfag, noe som gjorde det utfordrende og vanskelig å bruke denne kompetansen i klasseromspraksis. Derimot viser funnene i denne studiet antyder at lærerutdannere utvikler en begrenset digital kompetanse, nødvendig for praktisk bruk i klasserommet, gjennom uformelle tilnærminger. Funnene i artikkel III avslører en rekke motivasjonsutfordringer (knyttet til negative holdninger, mangel på selvtillit, mangel på tid, begrenset digital kompetanse og frykt for tap av faglig kreativitet) i tillegg til utfordringer knyttet til materiell tilgang, slik som; tilstrekkelig tilgang til digital teknologi, upålitelig strømforsyning, teknologiske feil og tilstrekkelig teknisk støtte. Artikkel III diskuterer videre alternative strategier som brukes av lærerutdannere under slike forhold, slik som kollegastøtte, kursvirksomhet, improvisasjon, lobbyvirksomhet for teknisk og økonomisk støtte, og bruk av egne digitale verktøy (BYOD-Bring Your Own Device) for å takle eksisterende utfordringer. Generelt sett, viser funnene i denne studien at lærerutdannernes digitale kompetanse forblir operasjonell og ikke fagspesifikk for undervisningen i kunst- og designfag, og dermed er utilstrekkelig og begrenset for anvendelse praktisk undervisning i kunst- og designfag. På grunn av lærernes motivasjonsmessige og materielle utfordringer, i tillegg til begrenset bevissthet om forholdet mellom teknologisk-, pedagogisk- og fagkunnskap, viser denne studiet at læreutdannere bruker digital teknologi på en svært enkel og lite kreativ måte i deres undervisning i kunst- og designfag i Uganda. ; The Norwegian Government (NORAD) provided a PhD Scholarship through the NORHED, Masters in Vocational Pedagogy Project, Kyambogo University, Uganda. ; publishedVersion

Achieving a more sustainable lifestyle is one of the most important challenges of the 21st century. Sustainable development, therefore, is one of the key objectives also for industrial nations such as Germany. Sustainable development is defined as the "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (WCED 1987, Chapter 2). This development, however, is not only based on environmental dimensions but also on economic and social dimensions. These are known as the three pillars of sustainability. According to the Global Sustainable Development Report (Messerli et al. 2019), there are four levers of transformation being most important to achieve sustainable development, one of which is science and technology. Information systems (IS) research investigates the application of information technology in organizational settings (Hevner et al. 2004). IS research considers itself as a socio-technical discipline (Briggs et al. 2010), which should investigate IS-related issues along a social-technical continuum (Sarker et al. 2019). In recent times, the field is discussing more intensively the application of IS for sustainability purposes (e.g., Melville 2010; Watson et al. 2010; Henkel and Kranz 2018). However, IS scholars claim for more work to be done regarding sustainable development (Seidel et al. 2017; Gholami et al. 2016; Parmiggiani and Monteiro 2018) and to develop knowledge along the social-technical continuum (Sarker et al. 2019). For this reason, the aim of this dissertation is to develop knowledge for IS to achieve sustainable development from different socio-technical perspectives. Therefore, this work applies pluralistic methodological approaches (qualitative methods, e.g., semi-structured interviews, and quantitative methods, e.g., data collection from a field study or online experiments). The theoretical contribution of this dissertation expands existing design knowledge in the field of IS for sustainability. Following Gregor and Hevner (2013), design knowledge can be grouped into two types: descriptive and prescriptive knowledge. On the one hand, descriptive knowledge contributes to the knowledge about natural phenomena and the sense-making relationships between phenomena (what). Descriptive knowledge provides the scientific base for the world we live in. On the other hand, prescriptive knowledge contributes to the knowledge about man-made artifacts to improve our world (how). Design theories are an abstract and coherent body of knowledge, which include both types of knowledge (Gregor and Hevner 2013). Overall, this work takes three different perspectives to develop both types of knowledge: the socio-technical perspective, the sociocentric perspective, and the technocentric perspective. First, to contribute to the socio-technical perspective, this thesis presents new approaches to analyze and improve individual driving behavior in individual road traffic. Personal traffic accounts for approximately 11% of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions globally (Andor et al. 2020). Environmental driving behavior, therein, has a significant impact on the fuel consumption of vehicles (Lárusdóttir and Ulfarsson 2014), and reductions of fuel consumption up to 30% are possible. One promising approach to improve individual driving behavior is the application of eco-feedback to the driver. Therefore, this thesis presents prescriptive knowledge in the form of design artifacts for mobile eco-driving feedback information systems (EDFIS), which results from justificatory knowledge, a prototypical instantiation of a mobile EDFIS, and its application within a field study. The results indicate that eco-feedback affects environmentally friendly driving behavior. However, eco-feedback seems not to address all aspects of eco-driving behavior. Nowadays, the Internet-of-Things (IoT) has reached cars, and ever more embedded sensors allow for rich data analysis of individual driving behavior. Therefore, this thesis presents a factor model describing IoT-measured individual driving behavior to handle the resulting amount of IoT-data and analyzes the effect of eco-feedback on individual driving behavior. Second, to contribute to the sociocentric perspective, this thesis presents design knowledge on how to design social media platforms in order to counteract so-called fake news. Such misleading information – which has always been a problem but has recently found nutritious ground in social media – poses a major threat. In recent times, fake news is spread to impact political decision-making and elections. However, fake news is not only a challenge for politics but also for ecologically and economically sustainable development. For instance, fake news is spread to influence financial markets in order to affect the financial value of stocks and options (Maasberg et al. 2018). Furthermore, fake news is a popular means to undermine climate change, which in reality requires significant changes in the individual and collective behavior of people (van der Linden et al. 2017). This thesis presents two new approaches to empower people individually to recognize and report misleading information to counteract the spread of fake news. Firstly, related articles are an appropriate tool to improve social media users' ability to recognize fake news as such. Especially, the application of controversial related articles shows the best results. Secondly, social norm messages are an appropriate tool to encourage social media users to report fake news. This allows social media providers to effectively identify and remove misleading and deceptive information from their platforms. To contribute to the third and last, technocentric perspective, this thesis presents a new approach to analyze and design lean, digitally supported value creation processes in companies and organizations. In the light of ever more connected entities and the diffusion of digital technologies, innovative information flows enable various potentials in value creation processes and allow minimizing waste. For instance, rich information availability allows production with fewer resources or the more accurate usage of perishable materials. The presented Value Stream Modeling and Notation (VSMN) constitutes a domain-specific modeling language, which supports designers of economically sustainable value creation processes in times of digitalization. For evaluation purposes, we present, among others, the results of the application of VSMN while designing lean material logistics processes in hospitals. The results also constitute prescriptive knowledge for material logistic processes in hospitals, which are more efficient due to the targeted use of digital technologies. To sum up, this dissertation presents design knowledge – including both types, descriptive and prescriptive knowledge – and contributes to the knowledge base about IS for sustainability (Gholami et al. 2016; Seidel et al. 2017; Parmiggiani and Monteiro 2018) and sustainable development (Messerli et al. 2019). In addition, the thesis develops design knowledge along the social-technical continuum (Sarker et al. 2019). Using methodological pluralistic (qualitative and quantitative) approaches allows an extension of the existing knowledge from different perspectives (Venkatesh et al. 2013). Overall, the results of this thesis contribute to overcoming one of the greatest challenges of mankind and the greatest challenge of the 21st century.

Receiving media content on the Web, considered as a global information space, is typified by an inherent paradox. Most of the time, information accessibility is not fully exploited. Confronted with « overinformation », users' digital consultation is limited to restricted circles, even « hyperlocal ». Circles are mostly regulated by algorithm selection and by the use of translation and adaptation of the information to a target reader. This tendency accentuates the reader's ethnocentrism, going for a « national preference » imposed. As mediators, journalists, just like teachers, convey prevailing representations and participate in spreading knowledge in society. This PhD thesis looks into professional digital readers' linguistics uses and representations, aka digital journalists. The qualitative research reinforced by quantitative data focuses on three aspects of mediation: reception, production and intercomprehension. The investigation is contextualized in two complementary territories of Southern Europe: Sassari in Sardegna (Italy) and Barcelona in Catalonia, (Spain). The data analysis helps us identify six different profiles of digital readers according to their reading habits and ways of accessing Web content. This study takes inventory of intercomprehension strategies with a strong informational and educational potential. Reading in several languages encourages the comparison and confrontation of information that is culturally, politically and socially different. Understanding those issues and knowing those strategies enables mediators, teachers or journalists, to develop a plurilingual informational competence towards learners or receptors seen as readers citizens. By becoming a "plurilingual researcher" instead of a "multilingual consumer", digital readers would have all the necessary tools to transform information in knowledge. ; La recepción de contenidos mediáticos en la Web, vista esta como espacio de información global, presenta una paradoja: el acceso a la información suele estar infrautilizado. Al enfrentarse a la « sobreinformación », la consulta digital de los usuarios se limita a círculos restringidos, incluso « hiperlocales ». Estos círculos están regulados en parte por la selección algorítmica, el uso de la traducción y de la adaptación de la información a un « lector modelo ». Esta tendencia refuerza el etnocentrismo del lector orientado hacia imponer una « preferencia nacional ». Los periodistas y los docentes como profesionales de la mediación transmiten las representaciones dominantes y contribuyen a la difusión del conocimiento en la sociedad. Esta tesis se concibe para entender mejor los usos y representaciones lingüísticas de lectores digitales profesionales,en este caso los periodistas digitales. Esta investigación cualitativa apoyada de datos cuantitativos considera la mediación a través de tres de sus aspectos: la recepción, la producción y la intercomprensión. La investigación se ha desarrollado en dos territorios complementarios en el sur de Europa: Sassari, en Cerdeña (Italia) y Barcelona, en Cataluña (España). El análisis de los datos nos ha permitido elaborar seis perfiles de lectores digitales en función de sus costumbres de lectura y de sus vías de acceso a los contenidos digitales. El trabajo identifica una amplia gama de estrategias de intercomprensión con un fuerte potencial informacional y pedagógico. Leer en varios idiomas fomenta la comparación y la confrontación de informaciones culturalmente, políticamente y socialmente distintas. Entender estos retos y conocer estas estrategias permite al mediator, docente o periodista, fomentar el desarrollo de una competencia informacional plurilingüe para los estudiantes o receptores considerados sobre todo como lectores ciudadanos. Al volverse « investigador plurilingüe » en vez de « consumidor multilingüe », el lector digital tendrá las herramientas para transformar la información recibida en conocimiento. ; La réception de contenus médiatiques sur le Web, entendu comme un espace d'information global, présente un paradoxe. L'accessibilité à l'information y reste souvent sous-exploitée. Face à la surinformation, la consultation numérique des usagers se limite à des cercles restreints, voire « hyperlocaux ». Ces cercles sont régulés en partie par la sélection algorithmique, l'usage de la traduction et de l'adaptation des contenus à un lecteur cible. Cette tendance renforce l'ethnocentrisme du lecteur orienté vers une « préférence nationale » imposée. En tant que professionnels de la médiation, les journalistes comme les enseignants véhiculent des représentations dominantes et participent à la diffusion de connaissances dans la société. Cette thèse s'attache à mieux comprendre les usages et représentations linguistiques de lecteurs numériquesprofessionnels, en l'occurrence des journalistes web. Cette étude qualitative, confortée par des données quantitatives, retient trois aspects de la médiation : la réception, la production et l'intercompréhension. L'enquête s'est déroulée sur deux terrains complémentaires situés au sud de l'Europe : Sassari en Sardaigne (Italie) et Barcelone en Catalogne (Espagne). L'analyse des données a permis d'établir six profils de lecteurs numériques en fonction de leurs habitudes de lecture et moyens d'accès aux contenus en ligne. Ce travail recense un large éventail de stratégies d'intercompréhension avec un fort potentiel informationnel et pédagogique. Lire en plusieurs langues favorise en effet la comparaison et la confrontation d'informations culturellement, politiquement et socialement diverses. Comprendre ces enjeux et connaître ces stratégies permet aux professionnels de la médiation, enseignants ou journalistes, d'encourager le développement d'une compétence informationnelle plurilingue chez des apprenants ou récepteurs considérés avant tout comme des lecteurs citoyens. En devenant « chercheur plurilingue » plutôt que « consommateur multilingue », le lecteur numérique aurait les outils pour transformer l'information en connaissance. ; La ricezione di contenuti mediatici in internet, visto come spazio di informazione globale, presenta un paradosso: l'accesso all'informazione suole essere sottoutilizzato. Incontrandosi con la "sovreinformazione", la consultazione digitale degli utenti si limita a circoli ristretti, addirittura "iperlocali". Questi circoli sono regolati in parte dalla selezione algoritmica, l'uso della traduzione e la adattamento dell'informazione a un "lettore modello". Questa tendenza rafforza l'etnocentrismo del lettore orientato verso l'imposizione di una "preferenza nazionale". I giornalisti e i docenti come professionisti della mediazione trasmettono rappresentazioni dominanti e contribuiscono alla diffusione della conoscenza nella società. Questa tesi è concepita per capire meglio gli usi e le rappresentazioni linguistiche di lettori digitali professionali, in questo caso i giornalisti digitali. Questa ricerca qualitativa sostenuta da dati quantitativi considera la mediazione attraverso tre dei suoi aspetti: la ricezione, la produzione e la intercomprensione. La ricerca si è sviluppata in due territori complementari nel sud europeo: Sassari, in Sardegna (Italia) e Barcellona, in Catalogna (Spagna). L'analisi dei dati ci ha permesso di elaborare sei profili di lettori digitali in funzione delle loro abitudini di lettura e dei loro canali di accesso ai contenuti digitali. Il lavoro individua un'amplia gamma di strategie di intercomprensione con un forte potenziale informativo e pedagogico. Leggere in diverse lingue promuove il paragone e il confronto di informazioni culturalmente, politicamente e socialmente distinte. Comprendere queste sfide e conoscere queste strategie permette al mediatore, docente o giornalista, di favorire lo sviluppo di una competenza informativa plurilingue per gli studenti o recettori considerati in primo luogo come lettori cittadini. Trasformandosi in "ricercatore plurilingue" invece che in "consumatore multilingue", il lettore digitale possiederà gli strumenti per trasformare l'informazione ricevuta in conoscenza.

Desde su inicio, la llamada crisis de los refugiados produjo situaciones dramáticas a diario en referencia al alto número de personas desplazadas, fallecidas y desaparecidas, situaciones de vulnerabilidad y riesgo y el rechazo de gobiernos y ciudadanos en las sociedades de destino. Las redes sociales en Internet, entre ellas Twitter, han funcionado como herramientas de comunicación digital donde transmitir, interactuar y compartir con el resto de los usuarios estos y otros sucesos gracias a su popularidad, inmediatez y actualidad. El objetivo general de esta tesis doctoral ha sido conocer los imaginarios, representaciones sociales y discursos que se plasman en Twitter sobre las personas refugiadas en el contexto de la crisis migratoria, identificar las narrativas dominantes, los contenidos que las acompañan, e identificar y caracterizar a los principales actores que han participado en el debate desde una perspectiva internacional al obtener los datos en diferentes idiomas. Se ha pretendido también conocer si los discursos se polarizan ideológicamente, en qué términos y quién o quiénes están detrás de cada extremo. Igualmente se han comparado los contenidos, los discursos y los actores presentes en una campaña específica en Twitter, el Día Mundial de los Refugiados de 2016, con los resultados obtenidos de los objetivos anteriores. Esta investigación se inició con fase de extracción de datos de Twitter durante un año completo (mediados de diciembre de 2015 a mediados de diciembre de 2016), en diferentes días y horas de la semana a través de la herramienta NodeXL y a partir de la cadena de búsqueda "refugiados" en diferentes idiomas: español ("refugiados"), inglés ("refugees"), alemán ("fluechtlinge"), francés ("réfugiés"), italiano ("rifugiati") y portugués ("refugiados"). La muestra está compuesta por un total de 1.807.901 tuits. Posteriormente se aplicaron diversas técnicas de procesamiento y filtrado de datos para trabajar con diferentes datasets en función del análisis a llevar a cabo. Estos han sido análisis de contenido, análisis de discurso y análisis de redes sociales, a partir de redes de retuits. Para el procesamiento y el análisis se han utilizado Spss, Excel, Atlas.ti, T-LAB y Gephi principalmente. Los resultados arrojan una serie de narrativas polarizadas que se relacionan con estrategias de humanización y deshumanización, así como con imaginarios y representaciones sociales. Por una parte, discursos de apoyo a las personas refugiadas, campañas de apoyo o pro-refugiados, valoraciones críticas respecto a las políticas europeas que se llevaron a cabo para abordar la crisis y diversos tipos de mensajes destinados a la sensibilización a favor de colectivos vulnerables, en los que entran en juego imaginarios sobre la moral y la inocencia y representaciones sociales de Occidente, de los y las niñas y las mujeres. Estas narrativas parten principalmente de organizaciones y movimientos sociales de apoyo a la población refugiada. Por otra parte, discursos negativos con componentes de incitación al odio y al racismo, posturas claramente anti-islam y que incluyen argumentaciones estereotipadas que apoyan un discurso del miedo hacia este grupo social. Estos discursos se valen de representaciones sociales de las personas refugiadas como sujetos meramente religiosos (en concreto musulmanes) a los que se presupone una práctica homogénea de manera radical y violenta, así como la representación de los refugiados como amenaza en un contexto de narrativas de securitización. Los discursos presentan un importante componente emocional manifestado a través de metáforas, indignación, catastrofismos o exageraciones que producen una sensación de descontrol y afianzan el miedo. Estos discursos se valen de medios de comunicación conservadores o de extrema derecha o fuentes acusadas de compartir noticas falsas y teorías de la conspiración para reformar los argumentos. Los actores detrás de estos discursos tienden a ser anónimos o con poca información que los caracterice, y algunas de sus cuentas en Twitter están actualmente suspendidas. Se ha encontrado una cierta diversidad en las narrativas en función de la lengua o el territorio desde el que provengan. Existen aspectos comunes compartidos entre los diferentes contextos, pero los discursos, imaginarios y representaciones sociales no son universales. Se finaliza con algunas reflexiones en torno a la necesaria respuesta desde la intervención social dirigida a la gestión de la diversidad y las políticas de integración para la población refugiada, y a la lucha contra las teorías de la conspiración, noticias falsas, desinformación y discursos de odio en las redes sociales. ; Since its origin, the so-called refugee crisis has produced daily dramatic and humanitarian situations according to the high number of displaced, dead, and missing people, vulnerability, and risks, not to say the rejection of refugees by some governments and citizens in several countries. Social networks on the Internet, including Twitter, have functioned as digital communication tools to transmit, interact and share these and other events with other users thanks to their popularity, immediacy, and timeliness. This doctoral thesis's general objective was to know the imaginaries, social representations, and discourses expressed on Twitter about refugees in the context of the migration crisis. Relevant objectives were also to identify the dominant narratives, messages accompanying them, and identifying and characterizing the main actors participating in the public debate on Twitter about refugees, from an international perspective. It also intended to know if the narratives were ideologically polarized to know who supported each group. Likewise, we wanted to compare the messages, discourses, and actors of a specific Twitter campaign -2016, World Refugee Day- with the results obtained from the previous objectives. This research started with a data mining phase from Twitter (mid December 2015 to mid-December 2016), an entire year, on different days and times of the week through the NodeXL tool. Data were recovered from the search string "refugees" in different languages: Spanish ("refugiados"), English ("refugees"), German ("fluechtlinge"), French ("réfugiés"), Italian ("rifugiati") and Portuguese ("refugiados"). The sample consists of a total of 1,807,901 tweets. Subsequently, various data processing and filtering techniques were applied to work with different datasets depending on the analysis to be done. These were content analysis, discourse analysis and social network analysis, based on networks of retweets. Spss, Excel, Atlas.ti, T-LAB and Gephi, especially, were used for these analyses. The results yield a series of polarized narratives related to humanization and dehumanization strategies, as well as social imaginaries and representations. On the one hand, we found different discourses of support for refugees or pro refugee campaigns. Also, critical assessments of the European policies addressing the crisis, and various types of messages aimed at raising awareness in favour of vulnerable groups emerged. Imaginaries about morality and innocence and social representations of the West, girls and women also came into play. Behind these narratives are mainly organizations and social movements supporting refugees. On the other hand, we found negative discourses that disseminate refugees' terrible image with incitement components to hatred and racism. There are also anti-Islamic positions that include stereotyped arguments that support a discourse of fear towards this social group. These discourses make use of social representations of refugees as purely religious subjects (specifically Muslims) who are assumed to have homogeneous radical and violent behaviours and the representation of refugees as a threat in a context of securitization narratives. The discourses show a critical emotional component manifested through metaphors, indignation, catastrophism, or exaggerations that produce a sense of out-of control and entrench fear. In both cases, the discourses use conservative or extreme right-wing social media to be disseminated, or sources accused of sharing false news and conspiracy theories to reshape the arguments. The actors behind these discourses tend to be anonymous on Twitter or expose little information about them. Many of them have suspended Twitter accounts. We found diversity in the narratives depending on the language or territory from which they originate. There are common aspects shared among the different contexts, but discourses, imaginaries and social representations were affected by the context, they are not always universal. We conclude with some reflections on the necessary response from a type of social intervention aimed at managing diversity and integration policies for the refugee population in a coordinated and effective manner, and, on the other hand, the fight against conspiracy theories, fake news, and disinformation, as well as hate speech on social networks.

Inhaltsangabe: Introduction: The intensified globalisation and increased interconnectedness of the business world let emerge a new virtual form of work that operates with cross-cultural virtual teams (CCVTs). Hence, communication takes place increasingly across cultures, which lets culture emerge as an important factor in business, and constitutes one of the most significant limits for CCVTs. Despite these limits, quick dissemination of knowledge within a company has become one of the most crucial resources for competitive advantage, which many organisations have only just begun to understand. Therefore, CCVTs are required to effectively share knowledge in order to complete their projects successfully. Furthermore, researchers' recommendations about future virtual team research concern both 'development of new theories and explicit identification of the appropriation of existing theories'. They further affirm that in spite of several researchers coming to similar conclusions, the development of new theories about virtual teams has been little advanced. Information is needed about how to ensure the efficient flow of knowledge, scattered around the globe, among members of CCVTs in organisations, which, in the following text are understood as business organisations, to become and stay competitive in the global market. Thus, it seems to be an interesting theoretical and practical question to analyse people's experiences made in the CCVT environment with the aim towards building a theoretical framework that explains knowledge sharing (KS) between people in CCVTs. OBJECTIVES: The research aims to fulfill three objectives. Firstly, it intends to provide an approach to a theoretical framework based on the Grounded Theory Method, about how knowledge is shared among members in teams that communicate across different cultures via virtual communication channels (VCCs). Thereby the focus is not directed on KS in information technology or cognitive psychology. Instead, it aims to identify problem areas and solution possibilities concerning behavioural aspects of people in CCVTs. Secondly, by elaborating the solution possibilities, the paper shall give guidance for good practice of KS in CCVTs in order to be of practical use for people working in the virtual environment. Thirdly, the results shall inspire future research to tackle interesting questions that arose from or were left open in this research. STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS: Introduced by the purpose, objectives, structure, and definitions on KS, CCVTs, and culture, the thesis continues onto the second chapter about the used methodology, the Grounded Theory Method, on which's basis the study has been conducted. The third chapter describes and discusses the obtained results. The tentative theoretical model, comprising the findings of chapter three, is presented in the fourth chapter, followed by the fifth chapter, which provides a literature review, conducted in order to reinforce and add to the actual findings. The sixth chapter outlines the limitations of the study and comes up with ideas for future research. To conclude, the thesis provides a short summary.Inhaltsverzeichnis:Table of Contents: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTI ABSTRACTII INDEX TO CONTENTSIII ABBREVIATIONSVII LIST OF FIGURESVIII LIST OF TABLESIX 1.INTRODUCTION1 1.1PURPOSE1 1.2OBJECTIVES1 1.3STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS2 1.4DEFINITIONS2 1.4.1KNOWLEDGE SHARING (KS)2 1.4.2CROSS-CULTURAL VIRTUAL TEAMS (CCVTs)3 1.4.3CULTURE4 2.METHODOLOGY6 2.1RESEARCH DESIGN6 2.2RESEARCH PROCESS7 2.2.1DATA COLLECTION7 2.2.2ANALYTICAL PROCEDURES11 2.3ALTERNATIVE TO A LITERATURE REVIEW12 2.4STRAUSS'S AND GLASER'S DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO THE GTM13 3.RESULTS16 3.1FIVE COUNTERACTING FACTORS TO THE BREAKTHROUGH OF THE CROSS-CULTURAL VIRTUAL (CVV) BARRIER16 3.1.1INEFFECTIVE USE OF VIRTUAL COMMUNICATION CHANNELS (VCCs)17 3.1.1.1INAPPROPRIATE USE OF VCCs17 3.1.1.2INEFFECTIVENESS OF VCCs ACCORDING TO PEOPLE'S EXPECTATIONS18 3.1.1.3NON-AVAILABILITY OF CERTAIN VCCs19 3.1.1.4NON-USE OF VCCs DESPITE AVAILABILITY20 3.1.2TIME DIFFERENCES21 3.1.3INSUFFICIENT FOREIGN LANGUAGE SKILLS OF CCVT MEMBERS22 3.1.4UNSHARED PERCEPTIONS OF REALITY23 3.1.5LACK OF COMPANY SUPPORT OF CCVTs26 3.1.6INTERMEDIATE SUMMARY27 3.2A NEGATIVE SPIRAL AS A CONSEQUENCE OF THE FIVE COUNTERACTING FACTORS27 3.2.1REDUCED TRANSMISSION OF CONTEXT27 3.2.1.1REDUCED TRANSMISSION OF CONTEXT DUE TO INEFFECTIVE USE OF VCCs28 3.2.1.2REDUCED TRANSMISSION OF CONTEXT DUE TO TIME DIFFERENCES30 3.2.1.3REDUCED TRANSMISSION OF CONTEXT DUE TO INSUFFICIENT FOREIGN LANGUAGE SKILLS30 3.2.1.4REDUCED TRANSMISSION OF CONTEXT DUE TO LACK OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT UNSHARED PERCEPTIONS OF REALITY30 3.2.2CONSEQUENCES OF REDUCED TRANSMISSION OF CONTEXT31 3.2.3INTERMEDIATE SUMMARY32 3.3A POSITIVE SPIRAL AS A CONSEQUENCE OF THINKING AND ACTING FROM A CCV PERSPECTIVE – GUIDANCE FOR GOOD PRACTICE33 3.3.1COMPANY SUPPORT FOR SUCCESSFUL KS IN CCVTs34 3.3.1.1INTEGRATION OF CCVTs INTO THE ORGANISATION34 3.3.1.2PROVISION OF VIRTUAL, CROSS-CULTURAL, AND LANGUAGE TRAINING34 3.3.1.3PROVISION OF ESSENTIAL VCCs AND TRAVEL BUDGET35 3.3.2MANAGEMENT FOR SUCCESSFUL KS IN CCVTs36 3.3.2.1PROVISION OF CLEAR STRUCTURE AND RULES OF THE GAME36 3.3.2.2MANAGING DIFFERENT TIME ZONES37 3.3.2.3HUMANISING THE VIRTUAL WORK ENVIRONMENT37 3.3.2.4CREATING EFFICIENT CCVT MEETINGS38 3.3.3SELECTING FOR SUCCESSFUL KS IN CCVTs39 3.3.3.1SELECTION CRITERIA FOR CCVT WORKERS39 3.3.3.2RESTRICTIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES IN SELECTION PROCESSES42 3.3.3.3WHAT IS IN IT FOR CCVT WORKERS42 3.3.4LEADERSHIP FOR SUCCESSFUL KS IN CCVTs43 3.3.5TRAINING FOR SUCCESSFUL KS IN CCVTs45 3.3.5.1CREATING A COMMON BASIS FOR THE MEMBERS OF A CCVT46 3.3.5.2EFFECTIVE USE OF VCCs49 3.3.6INTERMEDIATE SUMMARY51 4.MODEL OF KS IN CCVTs AND TENTATIVE HYPOTHESIS53 5.COMPARISON OF THE EMERGED THEORETICAL APPROACH TO RELATED LITERATURE56 6.LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH63 7.CONCLUSION63 BIBLIOGRAPHY65 APPENDICES70 APPENDIX A: APPLICATION OF STRAUSS'S AND GLASER'S APPROACHES IN THIS WORK70 APPENDIX B: THE RESEARCH PROCESS EXPERIENCED AS A CIRCULAR PROCESS72 APPENDIX C: THE EMERGENCE OF THE CCV BARRIER73 APPENDIX D: THE FINDINGS OF ROSEN ET AL, (2007)74Textprobe:Text Sample: Chapter 3.1.4, UNSHARED PERCEPTIONS OF REALITY: The fourth counteracting factor is that people in CCVTs have unshared perceptions of reality. In order to understand this factor in more detail, the idea of unshared perceptions of reality between individuals from different places, along with expectations from external environments, shall be explained in the following, before coming to deliberations about the fourth factor as such. Due to geographical distance, traditionally, groups that were located at one place, had tendentially the same cultural characteristics. This relates to the idea of national culture that describes the culture of people from a particular geographical place. By the rise of the internet, however, providing the opportunity of connecting with various groups across the globe, as well as the opportunity to travel, it could be said that people are becoming more and more influenced by different ways of perceiving the world. Consequently, national culture was mentioned to be only one of several types of culture that had an impact on the different perceptions of reality of CCVT members and consequently on their personalities. In the context of CCVT work therefore, it is advisable to look at the personalities of individuals, who are influenced by multiple cultures by being part of different groups. So it was, for example, assumed that there existed city-cultures which combined the culture of all those people living in megacities across the globe, which could be kind of a new international culture. It was also mentioned that groups of professionals, and even different generations, had their own cultures. However, national culture was mentioned to having to be considered when CCVTs had to deal with groups of people from different countries. In this case, these groups consisted of individuals who shared the same perceptions of reality, and imposed on them external expectations to which they had to conform. An individual, dealing with such a group, had to obviously adapt to their expectations when communicating with them. A related example was given by an interviewee who had experience in collaboration between companies with low hierarchies and such with high hierarchies. He explained the situation and how they overcame the barrier of different realities: '… if CCVTs have an Asian in the team, due to their hierarchical system, it is as if the direct superior of the Asian team member, to whom he feels committed, would be within the team as well. And so, he always has to make sure that his superior gives his blessings to what he agrees on in the team. Therefore the CCVT leader has to somehow integrate this superior into the team as well, and has to consider his opinion'. It becomes obvious, to which external constraints individuals in such an environment have to subject. Additionally, any team member who had to communicate with the CCVT member in the strongly hierarchical company was, as well, connected to a certain degree with the tacit and explicit rules and policies the Asian team member had to comply with, which restricted open and spontaneous KS in the team. It was confirmed by interviewees that KS is much dependent on organisational culture. In this case it seems that the organisational structure and culture was influenced by the Asian national culture. At the same time, organisational culture can be influenced by the particular industry or their traditional values, even if the external environment had already changed. Organisational culture was thereby mentioned to play a major role in KS and could be understood as the shared perceptions of reality among people within an organisation. So, it was stated that there were differences between organisations, such as in their particular values and traditions. If for example, an organisation was more individualistic oriented, it was said that KS would be done less deliberately than if there was a collectivistic culture, with reward systems such as group bonuses. Organisations develop their individual shared perceptions of reality, influenced by their founders, the structure of the surrounding environment, and external and internal stakeholders. Therefore, organisations are influenced by external factors such as traditional values, political systems, infrastructure, and competitive environments, and by internal factors such as the individuals who join the organisation, who either adapt to the company's shared perceptions of reality, or not, but still permanently add new influence. Furthermore, organisations are exposed to permanent change, and so, always try to match the company's strategic goal to the best available external trend. This can require changing particular aspects of perceiving reality. Thereby, it is critical, how willing and able organisations are to change their perception of reality in order to adapt to these changes. In addition, size and structure of organisations have an impact. Larger companies might for example not be as flexible as smaller companies, which could have an impact on their culture, and consequently display more conservative, or in contrast, more innovative aspects. Referring to structure, hierarchically structured organisations would obviously cause different perceptions of reality, and consequently different values and behaviours among the employees, than companies with horizontal structures, where open door policies for example, would obviously be possible, whereas in hierarchical structure they would not. By coming back to the fourth factor of unshared perceptions of reality, it was reported, that individuals had totally different approaches and perspectives about what is important to be communicated. So, for example, in a kick-off meeting of a CCVT composed of people from two different branches of an organisation, a presentation, which focused straight on the project outcomes, was presented by the group from one branch to the group from the other. The listeners however, expected detailed information about the process of the actual project instead of hearing an entertaining presentation about intended results. Consequently, they were confused about the presenters. They started to mistrust them by supposing that the presenters would not know much about how to manage the process. It can be assumed that there thought pattern needed the information about the process, and could not be convinced by being presented intended outcomes. It was reported that this incident affected trust building in this CCVT. A further point was that people solved conflicts according to their particular perceptions of reality. For example, it was reported, that individuals who were much concerned about the well-being of their colleagues wrote long emails with a lot of relationship-related content in order to establish a good atmosphere. Some of their colleagues however, were more concerned about achieving quick results, and therefore upset about such long emails with 'irrelevant" information. They consequently wrote back very short task-related texts, which again offended their communication partners. The conflict solving process proceeded contrarily to a successful conflict solving procedure. Since the relationship-oriented individuals thought they had failed in achieving a good atmosphere due to being too little concerned about the relationship, they started to write even longer emails. In contrast, the result-oriented individuals wrote even shorter texts. Both sides became more and more confused about the effect they caused with their behaviour, which were opposed to the effects they intended to cause. This showed how two individuals, who valued exactly the opposite things, and tried to solve conflicts accordingly, intensified conflicts instead of solving them, which obviously restrict KS in CCVTs.

Matching grants are one of the most common types of private sector development programs used in developing countries. But government subsidies to private firms can be controversial. A key question is that of additionality: do these programs get firms to undertake innovative activities that they would not otherwise do, or merely subsidize activities that would take place anyway? Randomized controlled trials can provide the counterfactual needed to answer this question, but efforts to experiment with matching grant programs have often failed. This paper uses a randomized controlled trial of a matching grant program for firms in the Republic of Yemen to demonstrate the feasibility of conducting experiments with well-designed programs, and to measure the additionality impact. In the first year, the matching grant is found to have led to more product innovation, firms upgrading their accounting systems, marketing more, making more capital investments, and being more likely to report their sales grew.

This paper provides a summary of data about requests and appeals published by central reporting bodies in eight countries. It was prepared for the World Bank as part of a larger study on the implementation of right to information (RTI) laws. It examines available RTI data about requests and appeals from the most recent year of aggregated data—ranging between 2011 and 2013. It does not evaluate subnational data. It assessed these statistics for Brazil, India, Jordan, Mexico, South Africa, Thailand, The United Kingdom, and the United States. Through this assessment it provides trends in how countries are collecting and publishing these data. Statistics were retrieved from annual reports and through online portals. Online portals were used for Brazil, Mexico, and the United States. The types of data collected include: volume of requests and rate of responses, types of requesters, type of information requested, agencies receiving requests, use of exemptions, appeals and complaints, and sanctions.