Strategic knowledge management, innovation and performance

Our aim is to shed light on the consequences of knowledge management (KM) strategies on firm's innovation and corporate performance. Organisations are not aware of the real implications that KM may have. Based on an empirical study consisted of 310 Spanish organisations and structural equations modelling, results show that both KM strategies (codification and personalisation) impacts on innovation and organisational performance directly and indirectly (through an increase on innovation capability). Also, findings demonstrate a different effect of KM strategies on diverse dimensions of organisational performance. Our conclusions may help academics and managers in designing KM strategic programs in order to achieve higher innovation, effectiveness, efficiency and profitability.     

Human Anatomy: Teaching–Learning Experience of a Support Teacher and a Student with Low Vision and Blindness

In Brazil, a federal law ensures that all students with disabilities are entitled to enrollment in higher education institutions. Higher courses in human anatomy stand out for their complexity in both theoretical and practical contents. Therefore, adaptation is required to accommodate students with special educational needs. This study aimed to describe the experience of a Support Teacher in the development of inclusive pedagogical practices for the discipline of Human Anatomy offered in the physiotherapy course for a student with low vision and blindness. The challenges and learning difficulties faced by a visually impaired student are reported. Qualitative analysis was performed by interviewing a student with low vision and blindness and a Support Teacher. The audio recordings were transcribed, categorized, and analyzed using content analysis. The Support Teacher created schematics and drawings of anatomical structures, reviewed theoretical and practical contents, developed adaptations of the examinations, and applied palpatory anatomy to facilitate the student’s learning process. The findings illustrate that the student faced the greatest difficulty in dealing with the emotional aspects, due to the inability to visualize the anatomical details in human cadavers. Thus, the presence of a Support Teacher was fundamental to ensure that the student could learn the content and overcome this limitation. In conclusion, personalized adaptation, commitment, and collaborative work between the Support Teacher and students with low vision and blindness improve their learning conditions.     

Estudio de los efectos de la estimulación precoz en bebés con el síndrome de Down

RESUMEN

Existe una relación positiva entre la estimulación precoz regular y continuada y la maduración del sistema nervioso central. De cara a conseguir el máximo rendimiento de las posibilidades físicas e intelectuales de niños con lesiones y/o anomalías genéticas, se propone un trabajo experimental para comprobar los efectos de la estimulación precoz (control postural, coordinación sensomotora, sociabilidad y lenguaje) en grupos de bebés con síndrome de Down a los que se trató desde la primera semana de vida hasta los seis meses de edad. Aparte de las mejoras evidentes en estas tres áreas, a la vista de los resultados se concluye que la estimulación precoz parece ser un método válido para disminuir los déficits del desarrollo. El cociente de desarrollo en el grupo estimulado según la escala de Brunet-Lezine es significativamente más elevado que en el grupo de control. Además, los niños del grupo estimulado se mostraron más vivaces, activos y con más curiosidad hacia lo que les rodeaba.     

Learning to Count: Structured Practice With Spatial Cues Supports the Development of Counting Sequence Knowledge in 3-Year-Old English-Speaking Children

Research Findings: Children who speak English are slower to learn the counting sequence between 11 and 20 compared to children who speak Asian languages. In the present research, we examined whether providing children with spatially relevant information during counting would facilitate their acquisition of the counting sequence. Three-year-olds (n = 54) who played a 1–20 number board game in which numbers were grouped by decade into 2 rows learned significantly more of the counting sequence than children who played a linear version of the game or those who were in the control group. Both the row and linear versions of the game helped children improve their performance on an object counting task. Children’s performance on a number line task did not show an effect of either game intervention. Practice or Policy: These results suggest that counting practice that includes spatially informative cues can facilitate young English-speaking children’s learning of the challenging number sequence from 11 to 20.     

"I'm Not a Feminist...I Only Defend Women as Human Beings": The Production,Representation, and Consumption of Feminism in a Telenovela

This study examines a successful Latin American media product - the Venezuelan telenovela El País de las Mujeres [The Country of Women] - and analyzes how feminism and feminists are represented in it. Through interviews with the head writer and actors, the study also explores the production of these portrayals. In addition, consumption of the serial's representation of feminism is analyzed through individual and group interviews with audience members. The study highlights the paradoxes involved in the production and consumption of a media text that simultaneously delivers a critique of Venezuelan patriarchy, an empowering message for women, and a sharp rejection of feminism.     

Modelling the dynamics of children’s gross motor coordination

ABSTRACT

This study modelled children’s gross motor coordination, investigated sex-differences and identified the effects of fixed and dynamic correlates on motor coordination development. A total of 344 Portuguese children (170 girls), from 6 age cohorts (5 to 9 years of age), were followed consecutively for three years (age range 5 to 11 years) using a mixed-longitudinal cohort design. Birth weight, hand dominance and socioeconomic status (SES) were identified. Gross motor coordination, body mass index, physical fitness (PF) and physical activity (PA) were assessed annually. A sequence of multilevel hierarchical linear models were developed. Model 1 found that age, age², sex, sex-by-age and sex-by-age² were significant predictors (p < 0.05) of gross motor coordination. Boys outperformed girls from 6 years of age onwards. Model 2 found a cohort effect (p < 0.05). Model 3 found that right handers were more coordinated (p < 0.05). When the confounders of body mass index, PF and PA were added to the model (Model 4) it was found that boys and girls had parallel trajectories in their gross motor coordination development. In conclusion children with increasing body mass index were less coordinated, while those who were stronger and more agile had steeper trajectories of gross motor coordination with age.