Representations of work and worker in the three generations of knowledge management. Critical Discourse Analysis of selected texts.

The thesis studies the representations of different elements of contemporary work as present in Knowledge Management (KM). KM is approached as management discourse that is seen to affect and influence managerial practices in organizations. As representatives of KM discourse four journal articles are analyzed, using the methodology of Critical Discourse Analysis and the framework of Critical Management Studies, with a special emphasis on the question of structure and agency. The results of the analysis reveal that structural elements such as information technology and organizational structures are strongly present in the most influential KM representations, making their improvement also a desirable course of action for managers. In contrast agentic properties are not in a central role, they are subjugated to structural constraints of varying kind and degree. The thesis claims that one such constraint is KM discourse itself, influencing managerial and organizational choices and decision making. The thesis concludes that the way human beings are represented, studied and treated in management studies such as KM needs to be re-examined. Pro gradu-tutkielmassa analysoidaan työhön ja sen tekijään liittyviä representaatioita Tietojohtamisen kirjallisuudessa. Tietojohtamista tarkastellaan liikkeenjohdollisena diskurssina, jolla nähdään olevan vaikutus organisaatioiden päätöksentekoon ja toimintaan. Tutkielmassa analysoidaan neljä Tietojohtamisen tieteellistä artikkelia, käyttäen metodina kriittistä diskurssianalyysiä. Tutkielman viitekehyksenä on kriittinen liikkeenjohdon tutkimus. Lisäksi työssä pohditaan kysymystä rakenteen ja toimijan välisestä vuorovaikutuksesta. Tutkielman analyysi paljastaa, että tietojohtamisen vaikutusvaltaisimmat representaatiot painottavat rakenteellisia tekijöitä, kuten informaatioteknologiaa ja organisaatiorakenteita. Tämän seurauksena mm. panostukset em. tekijöihin nähdään organisaatioissa toivottavana toimintana. Vastaavasti representaatiot jotka painottavat yksilöitä ja toimintaa ovat em. tekijöille alisteisessa asemassa. Tapaa, jolla yksilöitä kuvataan ja käsitellään Tietojohtamisen diskurssissa, tulisikin laajentaa ja monipuolistaa.

Types of stereoselectivity in drug metabolism: a heuristic approach.

Stereochemical factors are known to play a significant role in the metabolism of drugs and other xenobiotics. Following Prelog's lead, types of metabolic stereoselectivity can be categorized as (i) substrate stereoselectivity (the differential metabolism of two or more stereoisomeric substrates) and (ii) product stereoselectivity (the differential formation of two or more stereoisomeric metabolites from a single substrate). Combinations of the two categories exist as (iii) substrate-product stereoselectivities, meaning that product stereoselectivity itself is substrate stereoselective. Here, published examples of metabolic stereoselectivities are examined in the light of these concepts. In parallel, a graphical scheme is presented with a view to facilitate learning and help researchers to solve classification problems.

Bone structure assessed by HR-pQCT, TBS and DXL in adult patients with different types of osteogenesis imperfecta.

UNLABELLED: Bone microarchitecture by high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) was assessed in adult patients with mild, moderate, and severe osteogenesis imperfecta (OI). The trabecular bone score (TBS), bone mineral density (BMD) by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and dual X-ray and laser (DXL) at the calcaneus were likewise assessed in patients with OI. Trabecular microstructure and BMD in particular were severely altered in patients with OI. INTRODUCTION: OI is characterized by high fracture risk but not necessarily by low BMD. The main purpose of this study was to assess bone microarchitecture and BMD at different skeletal sites in different types of OI. METHODS: HR-pQCT was performed in 30 patients with OI (mild OI-I, n = 18 (41.8 [34.7, 55.7] years) and moderate to severe OI-III-IV, n = 12 (47.6 [35.3, 58.4] years)) and 30 healthy age-matched controls. TBS, BMD by DXA at the lumbar spine and hip, as well as BMD by DXL at the calcaneus were likewise assessed in patients with OI only. RESULTS: At the radius, significantly lower trabecular parameters including BV/TV (p = 0.01 and p < 0.0001, respectively) and trabecular number (p < 0.0001 and p < 0.0001, respectively) as well as an increased inhomogeneity of the trabecular network (p < 0.0001 and p < 0.0001, respectively) were observed in OI-I and OI-III-IV in comparison to the control group. Similar results for trabecular parameters were found at the tibia. Microstructural parameters were worse in OI-III-IV than in OI-I. No significant differences were found in cortical thickness and cortical porosity between the three subgroups at the radius. The cortical thickness of the tibia was thinner in OI-I (p < 0.001), but not OI-III-IV, when compared to controls. CONCLUSIONS: Trabecular BMD and trabecular bone microstructure in particular are severely altered in patients with clinical OI-I and OI-III-IV. Low TBS and DXL and their significant associations to HR-pQCT parameters of trabecular bone support this conclusion.

Another Kind of Knowledge: Aristotle's Phronêsis from an Epistemological Point of View

In my thesis, I defend the idea that Aristotle's notion of phronêsis (practical wisdom) is best understood as a kind of practical knowledge. I interpret phronêsis as the knowledge we display when we make the correct decision to act. In a particular situation that demands a specific response, we have practical knowledge of what to do when we make the best decision possible. This interpretation of phronêsis involves that it is possible to evaluate our decisions epistemically, that is, to evaluate whether we really know what to do or not. Aristotle provides a tool for the evaluation of our decisions, which is a definite kind of argument and which the tradition has called the 'practical syllogism'. The practical syllogism stands as the explanation of our decisions or actions. We invoke it when we want to explain or justify why we act as we do. My claim is that the components of the practical syllogism enable one to evaluate not only the moral character of our actions, but also the epistemic strength of our decisions. Correspondingly, a decision is morally right, i.e. virtuous, if the agent considers the right moral principle to apply, and if he is aware of the relevant circumstances of the situation (moral evaluation). Moreover, a decision displays practical knowledge if the agent meets three conditions (epistemic evaluation): he must desire the moral principle for its own sake; he must have experience in spotting the relevant circumstances of the situation; and he must be able to closely connect these circumstances with the moral principle. This interpretation of phronêsis differs from other more traditional interpretations in the emphasis it puts on phronêsis as knowledge. Other interpretations focus more on the moral dimension on phronêsis, without taking its epistemic value seriously. By contrast, I raise seriously the question of what it takes to genuinely know what one should do in a particular situation. -- Dans ma thèse, je défends l'idée que la notion aristotélicienne de phronêsis (sagesse pratique) doit être interprétée comme connaissance pratique. Je comprends la phronêsis comme étant la connaissance que nous avons lorsque nous prenons une bonne décision. Dans une situation particulière qui demande une réponse précise, nous avons une connaissance pratique lorsque nous prenons la meilleure décision possible. Cette interprétation de la phronêsis implique qu'il est possible d'évaluer nos décisions de manière épistémique, c'est-à-dire, d'évaluer si nous savons vraiment ce qu'il faut faire ou non. Ma position est qu'Aristote fournit un outil pour évaluer épistémiquement nos décisions, qui consiste en un certain type d'argument et que la tradition a appelé le 'syllogisme pratique'. Le syllogisme pratique correspond à l'explication de nos décisions ou de nos actions. Nous invoquons un syllogisme pratique lorsque nous voulons expliquer ou justifier pourquoi nous agissons comme nous le faisons. Les éléments du syllogisme pratique permettent d'évaluer non seulement le caractère moral de nos actions, mais aussi la force épistémique de nos décisions. Par conséquent, une décision est moralement correcte, i.e. vertueuse, si l'agent considère le bon principe moral, et s'il est attentif aux circonstances pertinentes de la situation (évaluation morale). En outre, une décision inclut la connaissance pratique si l'agent remplit trois conditions (évaluation épistémique) : il doit désirer le principe moral pour lui-même, il doit avoir de l'expérience pour déceler les circonstances pertinentes, et il doit pouvoir lier intimement ces circonstances avec le principe moral. Cette interprétation de la phronêsis diffère d'autres interprétations plus traditionnelles par l'emphase mise sur la phronêsis en tant que connaissance. D'autres interprétations se concentrent plus sur la dimension morale de la phronêsis, sans se préoccuper sérieusement de sa valeur épistémique. Au contraire, je pose sérieusement la question des conditions nécessaires pour réellement savoir ce qu'il faut faire dans une situation donnée.

Informe d'Autors UOC a ISI Web of Knowledge. Agost 2014

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Informe d'Autors UOC a ISI Web of Knowledge. Setembre 2014

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Informe d'Autors UOC a ISI Web of Knowledge. Octubre 2014

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Analysis of TRIP expression in different types of skin tumor

TRAF-interacting protein (TRIP) is a ubiquitously expressed nucleolar E3 ubiquitin ligase. Ubiquitination of proteins is a post-translational modification, which decides on the cellular fate of the protein. TRIP in vivo substrate has not been yet identified. However, TRIP has been shown to play an important role in cellular proliferation, especially in keratinocytes. TRIP was found to be up-regulated in basal cell carcinoma (BCC) at the mRNA level. This prompted us to elucidate its role in skin proliferative diseases such as cancer by analyzing its expression in BCCs at protein level and in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) at mRNA and protein level. To that purpose, we performed a real-time PCR (qPCR) analysis followed by an immunohistochemistry (IHC) on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) biopsies. The real-time PCR was performed on 12 RNA samples of which 6 were extracted from SCC biopsies and 6 from normal human skin. The results were statistically insignificant. Further analyses are needed on new RNA samples. The IHC assay was performed on 20 biopsies from BCCs, 21 biopsies from SCCs and on 5 tissues from normal human skin. The results obtained showed an extensive expression of TRIP in keratinocytes nuclei. Due to various limitations related to the technique and to doubts about preservation of the antigens in the tissues from normal human skin, we could not highlight a clear difference in TRIP expression between the different tissues. In conclusion, further analyses are needed on new RNA samples (qPCR) and on better preserved FFPE tissues from normal skin (IHC) to assess TRIP relative expression in BCCs and SCCs versus normal human skin.

Informe d'Autors UOC a ISI Web of Knowledge. Novembre 2014

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Informe d'Autors UOC a ISI Web of Knowledge. Desembre 2014

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Informe d'Autors UOC a ISI Web of Knowledge. Gener 2015

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Informe d'Autors UOC a ISI Web of Knowledge. Febrer 2015

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Does social capital reinforce technological inputs in the creation of knowledge? Evidence from the Spanish regions

In this paper we seek to verify the hypothesis that trust and cooperation between individuals, and between them and public institutions, can encourage technological innovation and the adoption of knowledge. Additionally, we test the extent to which the interaction of social capital with human capital and R&D expenditures improve their effect on a region’s ability to innovate. Our empirical evidence is taken from the Spanish regions and employs a knowledge production function and longitudinal count data models. Our results suggest that social capital correlates positively with innovation. Further, our analysis reveals a powerful interaction between human and social capital in the production of knowledge, whilst the complementarity with R&D efforts would seem less clear.