The role of knowledge management and renewal in building innovation performance

Tämän työn tavoitteena oli selvittää tietojohtamisen eri käytäntöjen vaikutusta oppimiseen, uudistumiseen sekä yrityksen innovaatiokyvykkyyteen. Työssä on keskitytty erityisesti sellaisiin tietojohtamisen käytäntöihin, jotka edistävät oppimista ja uusiutumista yrityksissä. Työssä on käytetty tilastollisia menetelmiä, muun muassa faktorianalyysia, korrelaatioanalyysia sekä regressiota, analysoitaessa 259 suomalaisesta yrityksestä kerättyä kyselydataa niiden tietojohtamisen käytöntöihin ja aineettomaan pääomaan liittyen. Analyysi osoittaa, että useat tietojohtamisen käytännöt vaikuttavat positiivisesti yrityksen uudistumiseen ja sitä kautta innovaatiokyvykkyyteen. Henkilöstön kouluttaminen sekä parhaiden käytäntöjen kerääminen ja soveltaminen yrityksessä ovat positiivisesti yhteydessä innovaatiokyvykkyyteen. Henkilöstön kouluttamisella on merkittävin suora vaikutus innovaatiokyvykkyyteen ja tässä työssä on esitetty, että koulutuksen tarjoamisen suurin vaikutus on oppimismyönteisen kulttuurin kehittyminen yrityksiin sen sijaan, että koulutuksella pyrittäisiin vain parantamaan tehtäväkenttään liittyviä taitoja ja tietoja. Henkilöstön kouluttaminen, parhaat käytännöt sekä sosialisaatiossa tapahtuva tiedon vaihto ja suhteiden solmiminen vaikuttavat positiivisesti uudistumispääomaan. Työn tulosten perusteella uudistumispääomalla on merkittävä rooli innovaatioiden syntymisessä yrityksissä. Uudistumispääoma medioi koulutuksen, parhaiden käytäntöjen ja mahdollisesti myös sosialisaation vaikutusta innovaatiokyvykkyyteen ja on näin merkittävä osa innovaatioiden syntyä yrityksissä. Innovaatiokyvykkyyden osatekijöiden ymmärtäminen voi auttaa johtajia ja esimiehiä keskittämään huomionsa tiettyihin tietojohtamisen käytäntöihin edistääkseen innovaatioiden syntymistä yrityksessä sen sijaan, että he pyrkisivät vain vaikuttamaan innovaatioprosessiin.

MANICURE/PEDICURE TECHNICIANS: BIOSECURITY KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES FOR VIRAL HEPATITIS

Objetivo: Investigar o conhecimento e as práticas de biossegurança para hepatites virais de manicures/pedicures. Métodos: Estudo descritivo, transversal, quantitativo, através de questionário, utilizando instrumento de coleta de dados autoaplicado elaborado pelos pesquisadores, contendo dados da população (sexo, idade, tempo de atuação profissional) e conhecimentos básicos sobre transmissão de hepatite e práticas de biossegurança e higiene. Resultados: Entrevistaram-se 96 manicures/pedicures que atuam no Noroeste do Paraná. A maioria das profissionais já ouviu falar da patologia, mas somente 41,7% (n=40) fizeram o exame para detecção do vírus da hepatite; 38,39% (n=77) relataram como via de transmissão o sangue e 31,8% (n=63), a relação sexual. A reutilização de materiais descartáveis foi relatada por 60,4% (n=58); 55,2% (n=53) realizam esterilização de materiais e 27,1% (n=26) não a realizam. Não ficou evidenciada associação significativa entre tempo de profissão e as variáveis utilizadas: ouviu sobre hepatite (p=0,77025), realização de exames (p=0,035476), reutilização de materiais descartáveis (p=0,42691), lavagem de mãos (p=0,32876), uso de luvas descartáveis (p=0,33752) e esterilização de materiais (p=0,84443). Conclusão: As manicures entrevistadas não conhecem as exigências da Vigilância Sanitária no que concerne à prevenção da transmissão de hepatites.

The European Registered Toxicologist (ERT): Current status and prospects for advancement

Following its inception in 1994, the certification of European Registered Toxicologists (ERT) by EUROTOX has been recognized as ensuring professional competence as well as scientific integrity and credibility. Criteria and procedures for registration are contained in the ERT "Guidelines for Registration 2012". The register of ERT currently has over 1900 members. In order to continue the harmonisation of requirements and processes between national registering bodies as a prerequisite for official recognition of the ERT title as a standard, and to take account of recent developments in toxicology, an update of the ERT Guidelines has been prepared in a series of workshops by the EUROTOX subcommittees for education and registration, in consultation with representatives of national toxicology societies and registers. The update includes details of topics and learning outcomes for theoretical training, and how these can be assessed. The importance of continuing professional development as the cornerstone of re-registration is emphasised. To help with the process of harmonisation, it is necessary to collate and share best practices of registration conditions and procedures across Europe. Importantly, this information can also be used to audit compliance with the EUROTOX standards. As recognition of professionals in toxicology, including specialist qualifications, is becoming more important than ever, we believe that this can best be achieved based on the steps for harmonisation outlined here together with the proposed new Guidelines.

Discourses and practices regarding low-carbon strategy: the case of French integrated retailers

International audience

Socializing toddlers : autonomy-supportive parenting practices and potential risk factors

Selon la théorie de l’auto-détermination, l’autonomie est un besoin universel de base qui, lorsque soutenu, permet aux individus de mieux fonctionner et de vivre plus de bien-être psychologique (p. ex., Deci & Ryan, 2008). Le style parental des parents qui soutiennent l’autonomie de leur enfant est caractérisé par le soutien du fonctionnement autodéterminé de ce dernier. Sa définition traditionnelle inclut des pratiques telles qu’offrir des explications et des choix lors des requêtes, communiquer de l’empathie, et encourager les prises d’initiatives tout en minimisant l’utilisation d’un langage contrôlant (p. ex., Soenens et al., 2007). Les bénéfices d’un style parental qui soutient l’autonomie d’un enfant ont été bien documentés (p. ex., Grolnick, Deci, & Ryan, 1997), toutefois, peu d’études ont été effectuées auprès des bambins. Or, cette thèse visait à enrichir la littérature sur le « parentage » en explorant les pratiques soutenantes qui sont utilisées par des parents de bambins dans un contexte de socialisation (étude 1), ainsi qu’en examinant les facteurs qui peuvent brimer leur mise en pratique (étude 2). La première étude a examiné un grand nombre de pratiques de socialisation que les parents qui favorisent davantage le soutien à l’autonomie (SA) pourraient utiliser plus fréquemment lorsqu’ils font des demandes à leurs bambins. Cette étude nous a permis d’explorer comment les parents manifestent leur SA et si le SA dans ce type de contexte est associé à un plus grand niveau d’internalisation des règles. Des parents (N = 182) de bambins (M âge = 27.08 mois) ont donc été invités à rapporter la fréquence avec laquelle ils utilisent 26 pratiques potentiellement soutenantes lorsqu’ils demandent à leurs bambins de compléter des tâches importantes mais non intéressantes et de rapporter à quel point ils valorisent le SA. Huit pratiques ont été identifiées comme étant soutenantes: quatre façons de communiquer de l’empathie, donner des explications courtes, expliquer pourquoi la tâche est importante, décrire le problème de façon informative et neutre, et mettre en pratique le comportement désiré soi-même. De plus, l’ensemble des huit pratiques corrélait positivement avec le niveau d’internalisation des bambins, suggérant aussi que celles-ci représentent bien le concept du SA. Des études futures pourraient tenter de répliquer ces résultats dans des contextes potentiellement plus chargés ou ébranlants (p. ex., réagir face à des méfaits, avec des enfants souffrant de retard de développement). La deuxième étude a poursuivi l’exploration du concept du SA parental en examinant les facteurs qui influencent la fréquence d’utilisation des stratégies soutenantes dans des contextes de socialisation. Puisque la littérature suggère que le stress parental et le tempérament difficile des bambins (c.-à-d., plus haut niveau d’affectivité négative, plus faible niveau de contrôle volontaire/autorégulation, plus faible niveau de surgency) comme étant des facteurs de risque potentiels, nous avons exploré de quelle façon ces variables étaient associées à la fréquence d’utilisation des stratégies soutenantes. Les buts de l’étude étaient: (1) d’examiner comment le tempérament des bambins et le stress parental influençaient le SA parental, et (2) de vérifier si le stress parental médiait la relation possible entre le tempérament des bambins et le SA parental. Le même échantillon de parents a été utilisé. Les parents ont été invités à répondre à des questions portant sur le tempérament de leur enfant ainsi que sur leur niveau de stress. Les résultats ont démontré qu’un plus grand niveau d’affectivité négative était associé à un plus grand niveau de stress parental, qui à son tour prédisait moins de SA parental. De plus, le stress parental médiait la relation positive entre l’autorégulation du bambin et le SA parental. Des recherches futures pourraient évaluer des interventions ayant pour but d’aider les parents à préserver leur attitude soutenante durant des contextes de socialisation plus difficiles malgré certaines caractéristiques tempéramentales exigeantes des bambins, en plus du stress qu’ils pourraient vivre au quotidien.

Green supply chain management practices and firm performance: evidence from Finland

In order to address the increasing stakeholder requirements for environmentally sustainable products and processes, firms often need the participation of their supply chain partners. Green supply chain management has emerged as a set of managerial practices that integrate environmental issues into supply chain management. If implemented successfully, green supply chain management can be a way to achieve competitive advantage while enhancing the environmental sustainability of the firm. The overall purpose of this dissertation is to contribute to the discussion on green supply chain management practices from the perspective of their drivers and performance implications. The theoretical background arises from the literature on competitive strategy, firm performance and green supply chain management. The research questions are addressed by analysing firm-level data from manufacturing, trading and logistics firms operating in Finland. The empirical data comes from two consecutive Finland State of Logistics surveys in 2012 and 2014, combined with financial reporting data from external databases. The data is analysed with multiple statistical methods. First, the thesis contributes to the discussion of the drivers of GSCM practices. To enhance the understanding of the relationship between competitive strategy and GSCM practices, a conceptual tool to describe generic competitive strategy approaches was developed. The findings suggest that firms pursuing marketing differentiation are more likely to be able to compete by having only small environmental effects and by adopting a more advanced form of external green supply chain management, such as a combination of strong environmental collaboration and the increased environmental monitoring of suppliers. Furthermore, customer requirements for environmental sustainability are found to be an important driver in the implementation of internal GSCM practices. Firms can respond to this customer pressure by passing environmental requirements on to their suppliers, either through environmental collaboration or environmental monitoring. Second, this thesis adds value to the existing literature on the effects of green supply chain management practices on firm performance. The thesis provides support for the idea that there is a positive relationship between GSCM practices and firm performance and enhances the understanding of how different types of GSCM practices are related to 1) financial, 2) operational and 3) environmental performance in manufacturing and logistics. The empirical results suggest that while internal GSCM practices have the strongest effect on environmentalperformance, environmental collaboration with customers seems to be the most effective way to improve financial performance. In terms of operational performance, the findings were more mixed, suggesting that the operational performance of firms is more likely to be affected by firm characteristics than by the choices they make regarding their environmental collaboration. This thesis is also one of the first attempts to empirically analyse the relationship between GSCM practices and performance among logistics service providers. The findings also have managerial relevance. Management, especially in manufacturing and logistics industries, may benefit by gaining knowledge about which types of GSCM practice could provide the largest benefits in terms of different performance dimensions. This thesis also has implications for policy-makers and regulators regarding how to promote environmentally friendly activities among 1) manufacturing; 2) trading; and 3) logistics firms.

REDUCING TEACHER ATTRITION: THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF BUILDING PRINCIPALS IN A LARGE URBAN DISTRICT TO SUPPORT TEACHER RETENTION

The high rate of teacher attrition in urban schools is well documented. While this does not seem like a problem in Carter County, this equates to hundreds of teachers that need to be replaced annually. Since school year (SY) 2007-08, Carter County has lost over 7,100 teachers, approximately half of (50.1%) of whom resigned, often going to neighboring, higher-paying jurisdictions as suggested by exit survey data (SY2016-2020 Strategic Plan). Included in this study is a range of practices principals use to retain teachers. While the role of the principal is recognized as a critical element in teacher retention, few studies explore the specific practices principals implement to retain teachers and how they use their time to accomplish this task. Through interviews, observations, document analysis and reflective notes, the study identifies the practices four elementary school principals of high and relatively low attrition schools use to support teacher retention. In doing so, the study uses a qualitative cross-case analysis approach. The researcher examined the following leadership practices of the principal and their impact on teacher retention: (a) providing leadership, (b) supporting new teachers, (c) training and mentoring teaching staff, (d) creating opportunities for collaboration, (d) creating a positive school climate, and (e) promoting teacher autonomy. The following research questions served as a foundational guide for the development and implementation of this study: 1. How do principals prioritize addressing teacher attrition or retention relative to all of their other responsibilities? How do they allocate their time to this challenge? 2. What do principals in schools with low attrition rates do to promote retention that principals in high attrition schools do not? What specific practices or interventions are principals in these two types of schools utilizing to retain teachers? Is there evidence to support their use of the practices? The findings that emerge from the data revealed the various practices principals use to influence and support teachers do not differ between the four schools.

Knowledge and perceptions of quality of obstetric and newborn care of local health providers: a cross-sectional study in three districts in Malawi

Aim Quality of service delivery for maternal and newborn health in Malawi is influenced by human resource shortages and knowledge and care practices of the existing service providers. We assessed Malawian healthcare providers’ knowledge of management of routine labour, emergency obstetric care and emergency newborn care; correlated knowledge with reported confidence and previous study or training; and measured perception of the care they provided. Methods his study formed part of a large-scale quality of care assessment in three districts (Kasungu, Lilongwe and Salima) of Malawi. Subjects were selected purposively by their role as providers of obstetric and newborn care during routine visits to health facilities by a research assistant. Research assistants introduced and supervised the self-completed questionnaire by the service providers. Respondents included 42 nurse midwives, 1 clinical officer, 4 medical assistants and 5 other staff. Of these, 37 were staff working in facilities providing Basic Emergency Obstetric Care (BEMoC) and 15 were from staff working in facilities providing Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric Care (CEMoC). Results Knowledge regarding management of routine labour was good (80% correct responses), but knowledge of correct monitoring during routine labour (35% correct) was not in keeping with internationally recognized good practice. Questions regarding emergency obstetric care were answered correctly by 70% of respondents with significant variation depending on clinicians’ place of work. Knowledge of emergency newborn care was poor across all groups surveyed with 58% correct responses and high rates of potentially life-threatening responses from BEmOC facilities. Reported confidence and training had little impact on levels of knowledge. Staff in general reported perception of poor quality of care. Conclusion Serious deficiencies in providers’ knowledge regarding monitoring during routine labour and management of emergency newborn care were documented. These may contribute to maternal and neonatal deaths in Malawi. The knowledge gap cannot be overcome by simply providing more training.

Orthodox versus unorthodox care: A qualitative study on where rural women seek healthcare during pregnancy and childbirth in Southwest, Nigeria

Introduction Utilization of orthodox health facilities for maternal health services is determined by factors operating at the individual, household, community and state level. The prevalence of small family norm is one of the identified variables operating within the community which influences the decision of where to access care (orthodox/traditional). The objective of the study was to determine the use of orthodox versus unorthodox maternity healthcare and determinants among rural women in southwest Nigeria. Methods A qualitative study was done and involved three focus group discussions. A semi-structured interview guide was used to collect information from women of reproductive age group within a rural Local Government Area in Lagos state. Results Most of the women access some form of healthcare during pregnancy, orthodox, unorthodox or both. Those who patronize both services concurrently do so to benefit from the two as each has some unique features such as herbal concoctions for traditional, ultrasound and immunization of babies for orthodox. Traditional belief exerts a strong influence on decision of where to access maternal healthcare services. Actual place of delivery is determined by individual and household factors including financial resources. Conclusion Rural women utilize one or both orthodox and unorthodox maternal health services for different reasons. Ward Development Committees should be strengthened so as to reach the communities, educate and convince women to dispel myths which limit their use of orthodox care. Training and monitoring of Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) are vital to eliminate harmful practices. We also recommend improved financial access to orthodox healthcare.

COMMUNITY KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICES (KAP) ON FLUOROSIS AND ITS MITIGATION IN ENDEMIC AREAS OF ETHIOPIA

Optimum fluoride intake plays an essential role in the prevention of dental caries while fluoride consumption above recommended level interferes with the normal formation of tooth enamel and bones and may increase risk of dental and skeletal fluorosis. The knowledge and practices of endemic communities on etiology of fluorosis will help in its mitigation and prevention. The objective of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitude and practices of endemic community on fluoride contamination, fluorosis and prevention practices in order to devise coordinated and targeted prevention mechanisms. Focus group discussions (FGD) and key-informant interview were conducted in three dietary areas to collect knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) of the endemic community in July 2013.The results indicated that health consequences of fluoride contaminated water are fairly understood. None of the discussants mentioned the word “fluoride”. The knowledge and perception of the community on fluoride ingestion is poor. Health extension workers (HEWs) did not teach about fluoride and related health consequences. Dental fluorosis was reported to start at early ages and not commonly perceived as a major problem. However, adolescents worried and felt that they might be singled out when going to other areas. Older people have a skeletal fluorosis, which interferes with their day to day activities. In severely affected people, the teeth were weak and fragile and thus create difficulty in chewing hard foods like unfermented dry flat bread, sugar cane and toasted grains. People prefer rain water rather than water from borehole because of the inconvenient taste of the latter. The endemic communities have no sufficient knowledge and skills on potential sources of fluoride intake, the debilitating effect of high fluoride ingestion, and preventive and mitigatory measures to reduce fluoride intake. The effect of fluoride contamination and mitigatory methods should get sufficient attention by the community, health workers and concerned governmental bodies. The trend of harvesting and using rain water should be encouraged as it reduces fluoride intake. Future studies should focus on information communication on possible fluoride risks, intervention and evaluation studies on defluoridation, rain water harvesting and mitigatory techniques.

A PRELIMINARY SURVEY OF ANIMAL HANDLING AND CULTURAL SLAUGHTER PRACTICES AMONG KENYAN COMMUNITIES: POTENTIAL INFLUENCE ON MEAT QUALITY

Kenya is composed of over 40 ethnic communities who practice varied methods of animal handling and slaughter. Socio-cultural and religious traditions have the potential to influence animal handling and slaughter practices. These influences have, however, not been documented in the literature as far as the author is aware. Also, the literature has documented the connection between the manner of animal treatment and meat quality, but this is rarely discussed in the literature in Kenya; this connection is important as it informs modern meat trade practices by Kenyans as they trade in the global arena. This survey aimed to mainly establish and document the animal slaughter practices among Kenyan communities, and, to also highlight any current provisions related to meeting modern animal welfare requirements, animal handling procedures in the meat trade and discuss their potential influence on meat quality available in commerce in Kenya. This preliminary study surveyed the slaughter practices among 10 different Kenyan communities through a semi-structured questionnaire, focus group discussions and individual interviews. The survey demonstrated that different Kenyan communities practice varied methods of animal slaughter depending on whether the animal being slaughtered is for public feasting, domestic consumption or commercial merchandizing. The Kenyan communities surveyed in this study depend mainly on males to slaughter livestock for females preparing it for domestic use using a number of instruments and methods. For small stock for domestic consumption, females may slaughter the animal except for Muslims whose males have to slaughter the animal with a special knife (a Khalef) according to Muslim rites to render it Halal. Large stock is invariably slaughtered by males irrespective of the community, and the manner of use of the carcass. Gender, age, religion, community and the size of the animal were the major determinants of the method of animal slaughter. The animal welfare issues highlighted in the survey and related to the handling and slaughter of livestock have important implications for meat quality during commercial merchandizing. There is an apparent need to provide education to herders, livestock handlers, employees and management in the livestock industry in Kenya on the relationship between animal welfare requirements, animal handling procedures and meat quality. Such awareness can potentially improve the quality and economic value of the meat available in commerce.

A PHENOMENOLOGY OF MIMETIC LEARNING AND MULTIMODAL COGNITION: INTEGRATING EXPERIENTIAL KNOWLEDGE INTO PROGRAMS IN RHETORIC, COMPOSITION, AND TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION

My dissertation emphasizes a cognitive account of multimodality that explicitly integrates experiential knowledge work into the rhetorical pedagogy that informs so many composition and technical communication programs. In these disciplines, multimodality is widely conceived in terms of what Gunther Kress calls “socialsemiotic” modes of communication shaped primarily by culture. In the cognitive and neurolinguistic theories of Vittorio Gallese and George Lakoff, however, multimodality is described as a key characteristic of our bodies’ sensory-motor systems which link perception to action and action to meaning, grounding all communicative acts in knowledge shaped through body-engaged experience. I argue that this “situated” account of cognition – which closely approximates Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology of perception, a major framework for my study – has pedagogical precedence in the mimetic pedagogy that informed ancient Sophistic rhetorical training, and I reveal that training’s multimodal dimensions through a phenomenological exegesis of the concept mimesis. Plato’s denigration of the mimetic tradition and his elevation of conceptual contemplation through reason, out of which developed the classic Cartesian separation of mind from body, resulted in a general degradation of experiential knowledge in Western education. But with the recent introduction into college classrooms of digital technologies and multimedia communication tools, renewed emphasis is being placed on the “hands-on” nature of inventive and productive praxis, necessitating a revision of methods of instruction and assessment that have traditionally privileged the acquisition of conceptual over experiential knowledge. The model of multimodality I construct from Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology, ancient Sophistic rhetorical pedagogy, and current neuroscientific accounts of situated cognition insists on recognizing the significant role knowledges we acquire experientially play in our reading and writing, speaking and listening, discerning and designing practices.

Conceptualisation de l’activité pédagogique en contexte d’apprentissage hybride et développement professionnel des enseignant(e)s universitaires

L’intégration des nouvelles technologies en enseignement supérieur ne devrait pas être vue comme un simple effet de mode, mais plutôt comme un cadre de réflexion sur les orientations nouvelles à donner à l’Université du 21ème siècle, en termes de culture institutionnelle, de ressources organisationnelles et d’opérationnalisation d’objectifs de recherche et d’enseignement (Duderstadt et al, 2002 ; Guri-Rosenblit, 2005). En effet, l’émergence d’une nouvelle tendance de formation post-secondaire, qu’est l’intégration des solutions virtuelles au présentiel, n’est pas sans incidences sur les pratiques enseignantes. Or, la littérature n’offre pas de modèles descriptifs satisfaisants permettant de mieux saisir la pertinence des liens entre l’enseignement en contexte d’apprentissage hybride et le développement professionnel des enseignants universitaires. Aussi avons-nous procédé par des observations participantes de deux cours en sciences de la gestion à HEC Montréal, dans les programmes de certificat de premier cycle ainsi que par des entretiens d’explicitation et d’autoconfrontation, pendant toute la session d’automne 2014, pour respectivement recueillir des données sur les pratiques réelles d’un maître d’enseignement, en sociologie du travail, et d’une chargée de cours, en gestion de projets. Notre analyse du corpus, par catégorisations conceptualisantes, a permis la production d’énoncés nomologiques rendant compte de la dynamique de relations entre ces deux phénomènes. Sur le plan scientifique, elle a apporté un éclairage nouveau sur les processus de construction identitaire professionnelle en pédagogie universitaire, en regard des mutations technologiques, socioculturelles et économiques que subissent l’Université, en général, et les pratiques enseignantes et étudiantes, en particulier. L’approche inductive utilisée a donc permis de définir la structure des interactions des deux phénomènes, selon la perspective des deux enseignants, et d’élaborer des modèles d’intervention enracinés dans leurs pratiques quotidiennes. Aussi sur le plan social, ces modèles sont-ils l’expression d’une grammaire de la pensée et de l’action, ancrée dans les valeurs des enseignants eux-mêmes. Nous avons pris en compte le paradigme de la tâche réelle, versus celui de la tâche prescrite, en termes de mise en œuvre concrète des processus pédagogiques, pour rendre les résultats de cette recherche signifiants pour la pratique. Les modèles, qui ont émergé de notre configuration de la pensée dialogique des participants, peuvent être intégrés à la formation des enseignants universitaires en contexte de bimodalisation de l’Université.

"Going outside": discussing the connection between pedagogical practices with digital tools and outdoor learning in early childhood and primary education

Technology has an important role in children's lives and education. Based on several projects developed with ICT, both in Early Childhood Education (3-6 years old) and Primary Education (6-10 years old), since 1997, the authors argue that research and educational practices need to "go outside", addressing ways to connect technology with outdoor education. The experience with the projects and initiatives developed supported a conceptual framework, developed and discussed with several partners throughout the years and theoretically informed. Three main principles or axis have emerged: strengthening Children's Participation, promoting Critical Citizenship and establishing strong Connections to Pedagogy and Curriculum. In this paper, those axis will be presented and discussed in relation to the challenge posed by Outdoor Education to the way ICT in Early Childhood and Primary Education is understood, promoted and researched. The paper is exploratory, attempting to connect theoretical and conceptual contributions from Early Childhood Pedagogy with contributions from ICT in Education. The research-based knowledge available is still scarce, mostly based on studies developed with other purposes. The paper, therefore, focus the connections and interpellations between concepts established through the theoretical framework and draws on the almost 20 years of experience with large and small scale action-research projects of ICT in schools. The more recent one is already testing the conceptual framework by supporting children in non-formal contexts to explore vineyards and the cycle of wine production with several ICT tools. Approaching Outdoor Education as an arena where pedagogical and cultural dimensions influence decisions and practices, the paper tries to argue that the three axis are relevant in supporting a stronger connection between technology and the outdoor.