Innovation through virtual communities of Practice: motivation and constraints in the knowledge-creation process

Communities of Practice are places which provide a sound basis for organizational learning, enabling knowledge creation and acquisition thus improving organizational performance, leveraging innovation and consequently increasing competitively. Virtual Communities of Practice (VCoP‟s) can perform a central role in promoting communication and collaboration between members who are dispersed in both time and space. The ongoing case study, described here, aims to identify both the motivations and the constraints that members of an organization experience when taking part in the knowledge creating processes of the VCoP‟s to which they belong. Based on a literature review, we have identified several factors that influence such processes; they will be used to analyse the results of interviews carried out with the leaders of VCoP‟s in four multinationals. As future work, a questionnaire will be developed and administered to the other members of these VCoP‟s

Virtual communities of practice: investigating motivations and constraints in the processes of knowledge creation and transfer

With accelerated market volatility, faster response times and increased globalization, business environments are going through a major transformation and firms have intensified their search for strategies which can give them competitive advantage. This requires that companies continuously innovate, to think of new ideas that can be transformed or implemented as products, processes or services, generating value for the firm. Innovative solutions and processes are usually developed by a group of people, working together. A grouping of people that share and create new knowledge can be considered as a Community of Practice (CoP). CoP’s are places which provide a sound basis for organizational learning and encourage knowledge creation and acquisition. Virtual Communities of Practice (VCoP's) can perform a central role in promoting communication and collaboration between members who are dispersed in both time and space. Nevertheless, it is known that not all CoP's and VCoP's share the same levels of performance or produce the same results. This means that there are factors that enable or constrain the process of knowledge creation. With this in mind, we developed a case study in order to identify both the motivations and the constraints that members of an organization experience when taking part in the knowledge creating processes of VCoP's. Results show that organizational culture and professional and personal development play an important role in these processes. No interviewee referred to direct financial rewards as a motivation factor for participation in VCoPs. Most identified the difficulty in aligning objectives established by the management with justification for the time spent in the VCoP. The interviewees also said that technology is not a constraint.

Virtual communities of practice: examining the motivations and constraints in their knowledge creation and knowledge transfer preocesses

Paper accepted for the OKLC 2009 - International Conference on Organizational Learning, Knowledge and Capabilities (26-28th, April 2009, Amsterdam, the Netherlands).

Visual Screening Competencies Questionnaire (VSCQ) and orthoptic practice

The identification of core competencies which are important for undertaking accurate visual screening by orthoptists is considered in this study. The aim was to construct and validate a questionnaire for orthoptists to assess visual screening competency. This study comprised three steps. The first step involved a 69-item self-assessment questionnaire constructed to assess orthoptists' perception of their competencies in visual screening programs for children. This questionnaire was constructed with statements from the Orthoptic Benchmark Statement for Health Care Programmes (Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, UK) and included three competency dimensions: interpersonal (IP), instrumental (IT) and systemic (ST). The second step involved questionnaire translation.

Becoming a teacher: student teachers´ experiences and perceptions about teaching practice

In an attempt to build a more comprehensive and holistic understanding of the complexity, dynamics and idiosyncrasies involved in becoming a teacher, this study focussed on the experiences of 295 student teachers. Their feelings, cognitions and perceptions regarding teaching practice were analysed using the short version of the Inventory of Experiences and Perceptions of the Teaching Practice. Results emphasise some of the difficulties experienced during this period (e.g., stress, sense of weariness and ‘vulnerability’), as well the positive perceptions of these student teachers regarding their growing knowledge and skilfulness, as well as their sense of efficacy, flexibility and spontaneity in their performance and interactions. Their perception of their accomplishments in achieving reasonable levels of acceptance and recognition within the school community and their positive evaluation of the guidance and support provided by their supervisors are also emphasised. Differences were found – in terms of gender and graduate course background – in the way these student teachers experienced some aspects of teaching practice.

Crioterapia como tratamento de entorses de tornozelos de atletas: revisão sistemática

A crioterapia é prática comum na medicina esportiva, pela praticidade, facilidade de acesso e baixo custo, possuindo vantajoso uso na Saúde Pública. No entanto, os efeitos analgésicos do gelo tem pouca base objetiva e sistematizada em termos de técnicas, duração e frequência. O objetivo deste estudo foi sintetizar através da revisão sistemática (RS) as evidências relativas à efetividade da crioterapia para o tratamento das entorses de tornozelo de atletas. A RS é um método de pesquisa observacional e retrospectivo, pelo qual se tratam artigos, preferencialmente Ensaios Clínicos Aleatórios – ECA, como sujeitos da investigação, com rigorosos critérios de inclusão e exclusão e, quando possível, realiza-se uma macro estatística dos resultados – metaanálise. No presente RS, foram consultados cinco bancos de dados - Medline, Embase, Cochrane, Lilacs e PEDro para buscar ECA sobre crioterapia com os desfechos dor, edema, rigidez e função. Resultados: 289 estudos foram identificados inicialmente, dos quais nove com tratamentos isolados ou associados à crioterapia, porém apenas um preencheu aos critérios de inclusão, cujo N era 121 atletas, dos quais 64 receberam a crioterapia (funcional) e 57 no grupo controle (imobilização). Maior probabilidade para o evento dor foi observada no grupo controle, após 3 e 12 meses. A RS revelou uma lacuna em ECA dentro do tema, mas não encontrou efeito adverso na prática da crioterapia, sendo um princípio analgésico importante, sobretudo em lesões de tecidos moles.

Cost dependent strategy for electricity markets bidding based on adaptive reinforcement learning

Electricity markets are complex environments, involving a large number of different entities, playing in a dynamic scene to obtain the best advantages and profits. MASCEM is a multi-agent electricity market simulator to model market players and simulate their operation in the market. Market players are entities with specific characteristics and objectives, making their decisions and interacting with other players. MASCEM provides several dynamic strategies for agents’ behavior. This paper presents a method that aims to provide market players with strategic bidding capabilities, allowing them to obtain the higher possible gains out of the market. This method uses a reinforcement learning algorithm to learn from experience how to choose the best from a set of possible bids. These bids are defined accordingly to the cost function that each producer presents.

Transmission cost allocation using cooperative game theory: a comparative study

In this paper is presented a Game Theory based methodology to allocate transmission costs, considering cooperation and competition between producers. As original contribution, it finds the degree of participation on the additional costs according to the demand behavior. A comparative study was carried out between the obtained results using Nucleolus balance and Shapley Value, with other techniques such as Averages Allocation method and the Generalized Generation Distribution Factors method (GGDF). As example, a six nodes network was used for the simulations. The results demonstrate the ability to find adequate solutions on open access environment to the networks.

Dgenco market balancing - cost repartition under light regulation markets

In this paper we present a new methodology, based in game theory, to obtain the market balancing between Distribution Generation Companies (DGENCO), in liberalized electricity markets. The new contribution of this methodology is the verification of the participation rate of each agent based in Nucléolo Balancing and in Shapley Value. To validate the results we use the Zaragoza Distribution Network with 42 Bus and 5 DGENCO.

Data analysis model selection for estimating local population size of the Risso’s dolphin (Grampus griseus) in the Azores

27th Annual Conference of the European Cetacean Society. Setúbal, Portugal, 8-10 April 2013.

Concepção e instalação de tabelas multifunções para recintos desportivos cobertos

Mestrado em Engenharia Electrotécnica – Sistemas Eléctricos de Energia

Potential distribution and cost estimation of the damage caused by Cryptotermes brevis (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae) in the Azores

Copyright © 2014 Entomological Society of America.

Expert opinion on best practice guidelines and competency framework for visual screening in children

PURPOSE: Screening programs to detect visual abnormalities in children vary among countries. The aim of this study is to describe experts' perception of best practice guidelines and competency framework for visual screening in children. METHODS: A qualitative focus group technique was applied during the Portuguese national orthoptic congress to obtain the perception of an expert panel of 5 orthoptists and 2 ophthalmologists with experience in visual screening for children (mean age 53.43 years, SD ± 9.40). The panel received in advance a script with the description of three tuning competencies dimensions (instrumental, systemic, and interpersonal) for visual screening. The session was recorded in video and audio. Qualitative data were analyzed using a categorical technique. RESULTS: According to experts' views, six tests (35.29%) have to be included in a visual screening: distance visual acuity test, cover test, bi-prism or 4/6(Δ) prism, fusion, ocular movements, and refraction. Screening should be performed according to the child age before and after 3 years of age (17.65%). The expert panel highlighted the influence of the professional experience in the application of a screening protocol (23.53%). They also showed concern about the false negatives control (23.53%). Instrumental competencies were the most cited (54.09%), followed by interpersonal (29.51%) and systemic (16.4%). CONCLUSIONS: Orthoptists should have professional experience before starting to apply a screening protocol. False negative results are a concern that has to be more thoroughly investigated. The proposed framework focuses on core competencies highlighted by the expert panel. Competencies programs could be important do develop better screening programs.

Knowledge, attitude and practice of mammography among women users of public health services

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate knowledge, attitude and practice related to mammography among women users of local health services, identifying barriers to its performance. METHODS: A total of 663 women were interviewed at 13 local health centers in a city of Southeastern Brazil, in 2001. Interviewees were randomly selected at each center and they were representative from different socioeconomic conditions. The number of interviewees at each center was proportional to monthly mean appointments. For data analysis, answers were described as knowledge, attitude, practice and their respective adequacies and then they were correlated with control variables through the chi-square test. RESULTS: Only 7.4% of the interviewees had adequate knowledge on mammography, while 97.1% of women had an adequate attitude. The same was seen for the practice of mammography that was adequate in 35.7% of the cases. The main barrier to mammography was lack of referral by physicians working at the health center (81.8%). There was an association between adequacy of attitude and five years or more of education and being married. There was also an association between adequacy of mammography practice and being employed and family income up to four minimum wages. CONCLUSIONS: Women users of local health services had no adequate knowledge and practice related to mammography despite having an adequate attitude about this exam.